DeSantis signs bill banning development of golf courses, hotels at state parks
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill Thursday to prohibit the building of golf courses, hotels and other amenities on state parks, putting an end to a nearly yearlong controversy that united people from across the state and political spectrum in support of preserving public land.
The Florida Senate website showed the bill, House Bill 209, called the “State Park Preservation Act,” as having been signed just before 5 p.m. The governor’s office did not immediately announce the signing, nor did his office respond to an email requesting comment.
DeSantis had previously said he would sign the bill, which passed the Legislature unanimously. Still, his signature was momentous, in part because the bill directly outlawed an initiative his administration had pursued last year: to add amenities in nine parks, including golf in Jonathan Dickinson State Park, pickleball in Pinellas County’s Honeymoon Island and a hotel near the rolling dunes of Anastasia State Park.
The proposal was leaked by a concerned state employee, James Gaddis, who opposed the potential habitat loss and later lost his job for releasing the information. After the state’s plans were first revealed by the Tampa Bay Times, Floridians protested at their local parks, and politicians — even those usually counted among DeSantis’ allies — quickly condemned the idea.
DeSantis shelved the proposal in August amid the backlash.
Sen. Gayle Harrell, a Republican from Stuart who sponsored the legislation, said her day was made Thursday afternoon when her legislative aide called her with the news.
“I’m just ecstatic. Without the support of the people of Florida, this would not have happened,” Harrell told the Times.
“The people stood up and said, ‘Our parks are precious and they should be preserved.’ They are the ones who won this battle.”
Eric Draper, the former director of Florida state parks under DeSantis who has since criticized the plan to build on state parks, underscored the importance of transparency.
Last year, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection gave Floridians less than a week’s time to review the park development plans before a series of simultaneous meetings were to be held across the state.
The law now requires the public be given 30 days’ notice.
“The best way to protect our state parks is to involve park users in park plans,” Draper said in a text. “This good law puts an end to secret proposals to turn wildlife habitat into hotels and golf courses. It says: ‘Hands off our lands.’”
Even with an extraordinary amount of public support, passing the bill wasn’t easy. It stalled for weeks in the Senate, then withstood an unsuccessful amendment filed by a prominent Republican that would have weakened its protections. Its passage came down to the wire, with rumors flying that the bill could be gutted in the final days of the legislative session. Now it will be law.
Rep. Peggy Gossett-Seidman, a Republican from Highland Beach and a co-sponsor of the House version of the bill, said the measure will prove to be “one of the most historical pieces of legislation” passed to protect Florida’s beloved parks.
“It’s a thrill and a joy for every resident, every bird, gator, deer and every living critter in Florida,” she said.
But as environmentalists and lawmakers celebrated Thursday, they were still reeling over another conservation fight that has further undermined the public’s trust that protected land is protected for good.
Last week, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection unveiled a proposal to trade away more than 600 acres of conserved land in the Guana River Wildlife Management Area in exchange for a patchwork of parcels across the state.
Similar to the parks scandal, there was a mysterious entity at the center of the swap, known only as “The Upland LLC.” After five days of growing public outcry in northeast Florida, plus intervention from the chief of staff to President Donald Trump, the company announced it was withdrawing the proposal.
The state has repeatedly declined to reveal the identity of the person or entity behind it, both to reporters and at least one Republican state representative.
That contentious land swap also came on the heels of another scrutinized deal, first revealed by the Times. That trade would have granted more than 300 acres of state forest in Hernando County to Cabot Citrus Farms, a luxury golf developer.
A top staffer in DeSantis’ office helped add that proposal to an agenda of the state Cabinet at the last minute, records showed. Earlier this month, though, the state environmental agency revealed that that deal, too, had died after the golf developer walked away.
Gossett-Seidman said the Guana land swap proposal showed there’s more work needed to bolster state laws around public land conservation.
She said she’s going to prioritize that issue during next year’s legislative session to “shut down all the end-arounds” used to develop protected areas.
“We don’t want to lose that little bit of Old Florida that we have left.”
This story was originally published May 23, 2025 at 8:50 AM.