A planned housing development first approved more than 40 years ago in Collier County could soon take shape, but it could look different.
On April 28, Collier commissioners greenlighted amendments to the Imperial Lakes Planned Unit Development (PUD) in North Naples.
Originally approved in 1982, the PUD has been in waiting for the expansion of Veterans Memorial Boulevard, west of Livingston Road.
With the expansion still not completed, the developer has agreed to design, permit and build the western extension of the boulevard to the Seminole Gulf Railway to provide access to the new community.
New community could include a mix of housing options
The approved amendments to the PUD will give the landowner and developer, going under the name N.A. Realty Trust Inc., the option to build a mix of housing, including single-family and two-family homes, as well as other multifamily homes.
The developer could still build the original plan, which allowed for up to 430 multifamily homes in five-story buildings.
The long vacant site spans nearly 80 acres. It sits north of the private Imperial Golf Club and to the west of the Castlewood at Imperial community, near Aubrey Rogers High School.
Naples land use attorney Rich Yovanovich, who represented N.A. Realty Trust at the public hearing, said the developer had worked to limit the height and types of homes built in the corner closest to Castlewood to address residents’ concerns about the visual impact.
“If we do elect to do one single-family home, the number of units goes down to 313,” he told commissioners.
Developer to provide road access to the community
In addition to requesting a rezoning, the developer asked the county to vacate, or give up the public rights to, half of a 60-foot road easement, which Yovanovich said: “goes to nowhere.”
The elimination of the easement will enable the developer to build a project that is consistent with the county’s Growth Management Plan, to avoid any potential public liability and to improve road access to the planned community.
“As part of this project, we will be extending Veterans Memorial Boulevard, and that will be our access, until the county extends further, all the way to, I believe, 41, ultimately,” Yovanovich said.
Commissioner Chris Hall shared that he’d received six emails ahead of the hearing from Castlewood residents concerned about the elimination of half of the easement, claiming the move would lower their property values. He said he didn’t understand how it would hurt property values, however.
In answer, Yovanovich said that without the requested elimination of the easement, the concerned neighbors would have five-story buildings overlooking their yards, rather than single-family homes capped at two stories, which had been offered up as a compromise.
“I honestly don’t understand the argument of how we would be reducing their property values,” Yovanovich said. “It’s not an access road for them to get to or from their project.”
He added: “I think we’re actually probably enhancing their value.”
The Collier County Planning Commission and county staff both recommended in favor of the companion petitions.
Audubon asked for more changes
At the hearing, Brad Cornell, a policy director of Audubon Western Everglades, sought more changes to the developer’s plans, including a request to shift the project to the east and to adjust the preserves to better protect “really rare scrub.”
However, Yovanovich said changing the whole configuration as suggested would be too costly, especially so late in the game.
He pointed out that the developer had already given Cornell much of which he’d requested through the public hearing process as it unfolded, including by agreeing to provide bear-proof dumpsters and trash cans in the community and by limiting outdoor lighting.
The latest site plan includes larger preserves than originally envisioned, and they’re in places that county staff has determined are the “better places,” where there are more valuable wetlands, Yovanovich said.
On behalf of the developer, Tim Hall, a senior biologist and principal at Turrell, Hall and Associates in Naples, explained that in the corner Audubon wanted preserved, there is little more than bare sand, and it’s been disturbed by off-road vehicles, and it would require “some pretty substantial restoration” to make a good habitat again for scrub jays.
“There haven’t been scrub jays in this area of the county in decades,” Hall said.
Commissioners unanimously approved the petitions
Commissioners approved both petitions unanimously.
Before the vote, Commissioner Bill McDaniel asked the developer to commit to written communications that would ensure the residents of the new community understood that there are controlled burns in the area, designed to reduce the risk of more dangerous wildfires. Yovanovich agreed to provide the formal notices to homeowners, so they wouldn’t be alarmed by the burns.
The development site is located near the Railhead Scrub Preserve, which is managed and owned by the county through its Conservation Collier program. The 135-acre preserve contains some of the region’s last remnants of Florida scrub habitat. At times, there are controlled burns to not only reduce wildfire risks, but to promote new growth that can expand the native vegetation and support wildlife.
The proposed community would have 15.45 acres of divided preserves.
The development will require other approvals and permits, including a surface water permit from the South Florida Water Management District.
Who is behind the proposed development?
State records show the real estate trust behind the proposed development is tied to Aubrey Ferrao, founder and CEO of the Gulf Bay Group of Cos. in Naples. The prominent developer serves as the trust’s president and as a director.
According to its website, Gulf Bay has developed more than $12 billion in luxury real estate in Southwest Florida, primarily in Naples and Marco Island, including 16 high-rise and mid-rise condo projects in Pelican Bay. The company is probably best known for the development of Fiddler’s Creek, a 4,000-acre master-planned community near Marco Island, which is still under construction and expanding.
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This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Collier County development approved decades ago moves forward in North Naples
Reporting by Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
