The Quail Creek Golf Club in North Naples has dropped a controversial proposal that would have allowed it to have much taller barrier fencing by right.
Originally, the club sought an amendment to the county’s Land Development Code to allow fencing up to 70 feet by right in a Golf Course and Recreational Use (GC) Zoning District — the district the club is in and is governed by in the county.
The rules would have applied to all courses in GC districts within the unincorporated area unless the courses were granted special exceptions to build even higher.
The county does not currently have a height cap written in its Land Development Code for golf course safety and containment netting. However, county staff has interpreted the code to read that there’s a limit of 35 feet for everything in the GC district, including fencing.
The barrier fencing is designed primarily to protect golfers and homeowners from “errant,” or fly-away, golf balls.
The Quail Creek Golf Club has now revised its requested code amendment to require a conditional use approval for golf course fencing over 35 feet.
The club filed its initial petition for an amendment last year after facing resistance from county staff and opposition from neighbors in its attempts to install more than 60-foot-tall fencing behind their homes, without warning or permits.
Unhappy with the proposed amendment, homeowners filed one of their own.
Golf club has changed its stance
On July 16, the club presented its revised amendment to the Collier County Planning Commission to be more like the competing one – to the surprise of its neighbors.
After learning about the club’s new proposal, Letitia Accarrino, one of the sponsors of the citizen-driven amendment, said: “Quail Creek ultimately chose to support the most fundamental tenet of the homeowners’ proposal — that Golf Course District homeowners have a legitimate expectation that heights in those districts will be limited to 35 feet. Therefore, a site-specific, quasi-judicial hearing will be required as part of the conditional use process to attempt to gain county permission for a higher golf barrier.”
The public hearings would allow homeowners to express concerns when they feel their views and property values are threatened.
Zach Lombardo, the golf club’s land use attorney, told the planning commission that his client’s decision to change its proposed amendment came after considering input from the county’s Development Services Advisory Committee and representatives from a few other golf courses in town.
“We’ve concluded that we need to reduce the scope and change the scope of our ask,” he said.
With no advance notice of the change in scope, he apologized for the “curve ball.”
No matter what, he told the planning commission that the county needs to fix the confusing situation, with only one permit issued for a stray-ball containment fence in the county — even though the fencing exists throughout the county.
“What we’re really asking from you today is for a pathway forward that allows each of the golf courses to come in on their own merits and deal with the compatibility issue,” Lombardo said.
The club’s updated amendment doesn’t include design standards, unlike the one proposed by neighbors.
The planning commission favored the club’s new proposal, including the exclusion of standards, suggesting that specifics could be worked out on a case-by-case basis during the conditional use approval process for fencing taller than 35 feet.
“I mean, each golf course is going to be different, and each application is going to be different,” said Chuck Schumacher, the planning commission’s vice chairman.
Neighbors wanted design standards for fencing
The competing amendment by neighbors addressed everything from setbacks to landscaping — down to the materials and spacing of the fencing.
“We regret only that the planning commissioners didn’t wish to impose design criteria such as landscaping, distance requirements or netting type on barriers up to 35 feet; but their reasonable concern was that golf courses have site-specific needs that may differ,” Accarrino said.
She said homeowners are likely to withdraw their petition now, even though it didn’t include everything they wanted.
“Just waiting to see the draft language on the concepts discussed in the planning commission meeting first. It was all very sudden. Quail Creek counsel changed their position at the very last minute at the hearing and I haven’t seen a draft yet,” Accarrino said.
For her, the fight has been personal.
A little more than two years ago, she and her husband watched in shock as the club’s giant poles came into view from their backyard without notice. The poles sit about 240 feet from the edge of their property at Quail Creek Estates.
The club is located off Valewood Drive, roughly one mile east of Interstate 75 and north of Immokalee Road.
In addressing the planning commission, Letitia emphasized that she didn’t care about what happened to the existing golf courses with fences that were never permitted and stated that she never meant for them to be dragged into the dispute with the Quail Creek club.
“I’ve looked at every single one of those fences. None of the homeowners there have objected. They’re actually a lot less damaging than the Quail Creek proposal” to build taller, denser fencing so close to homes, she said.
County staff recommended denial of the club’s original amendment, finding it unnecessary and inconsistent with the current standards in the GC district, but it supported the revised one.
Before the unanimous vote in support of the club’s new proposal, Planning Commissioner Michelle McLeod said she appreciated that both sides were very cordial and professional in presenting their amendments and the reasons behind them. She said the residents made it a very good process that led the club to rethink its position.
“I think it just all worked out very well today, and I appreciate everyone that came out for it,” she said of the lively discussion and testimony by residents and experts on the dueling applications during the meeting.
County commissioners must approve any changes to the Land Development Code.
Club still wants higher fencing
If it’s approved as envisioned, the Quail Creek Golf Club’s fencing would be closer to 63 feet at its maximum height, including a berm.
With the help of consultants, the club determined that higher fencing is needed to address its safety concerns, based on the design of the golf course and the location of the driving range.
The desired netting is meant to prevent practice balls from reaching Hole No. 10 on the Creek Course.
The decision to install the mesh fencing came after six golfers got hit by range balls on that hole, including Christopher Ragain, who has argued in favor of the taller fencing at public hearings, saying he could have died if he’d been hit a few inches lower on his head.
After the club started installing the fencing without warning, some homeowners complained that the unsightly poles hurt their property values, with one couple claiming to have lost $1.25 million after selling their home for half the expected price. Some of the affected homeowners shared their stories of financial losses with the planning commission.
In her plea to planning commissioners, Accarrino said: “Let’s try to make an effort to make these things look okay. We’re the ones that have to look at it every day.”
County commissioners to make a decision soon
County commissioners are expected to make a decision this fall.
Two hearings are required for a code amendment. The tentative hearing dates are Sept. 22 and Oct. 13.
At this point, the county commission may only have one amendment to consider, the one supported by the planning commission, making the final decision much simpler.
“To me, the most important thing is that we, as well as other potentially affected homeowners in Collier County, will now be entitled to a full quasi-judicial hearing. That is crucial, and it doesn’t matter whose amendment that is contained in,” Accarrino said.
If Quail Creek goes through a conditional use process for its fencing, it could take eight months or longer, including staff reviews, neighborhood meetings and public hearings.
In considering the potential outcome, Accarrino said: “I think that with the protections of the conditional use process, golf clubs are much more likely to act responsibly and to take account of the neighbors’ legitimate concerns about property value declines from unsightly barriers that obstruct the view. The process will be likely to cause golf clubs like Quail Creek to seriously consider the concerns of the surrounding community, instead of acting unilaterally.”
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Laura Layden is a senior business and government reporter. Reach her by email at laura.layden@naplesnews.com.
This article originally appeared on Naples Daily News: Golf club backs down on controversial code amendment in Collier County
Reporting by Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News / Naples Daily News
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By Laura Layden, Fort Myers News-Press & Naples Daily News | USA TODAY Network
