Dear Commissioner McDaniel:
The ONE NAPLES growth plan amendment and rezone will be coming up for your review and action within the next few weeks. We are respectfully asking that you ‘really’ listen to the expressed concerns of the citizens of North Naples, and Collier County in general, and understand the magnitude of why so many are strongly opposed to this project, as proposed.
Please understand everyone is in agreement that something needs to be done with this assemblage of land, as it’s presently an eyesore to residents and visitors alike. With that being said, development is not the objection here, it’s the proposed project’s egregious intensity, its non-conforming height and density, its deviations in architecture, landscape buffers, parking, sidewalks, setbacks, right of ways … and the list goes on. As proposed, the scope and scale of One Naples certainly does not meet the intent of the current Land Development Code (LDC), nor is it in keeping with, or protective of the local environment and it poses great safety concerns for pedestrians, bicyclists, cars, and emergency vehicles alike.
One Naples will negatively affect the heavily congested Vanderbilt Beach collector roadway, already having difficulty handling its existing peak hour traffic. The approval of this MPUD as proposed, steps from the public beach, will only serve to exasperate existing road-pedestrian safety issues with overpowering structures, short setbacks, vacation of right of ways, less parking and certainly less compatibility with the immediate surrounding public environment. Even with Stock's proposed traffic calming "gifts' and lush landscape, this project does not conform nor is it conducive to the local environment.
Stock Development continues to advise the public they have had more than 50 meetings with the surrounding neighbors, to be a good neighbor, and understand the concerns. They have scaled down the project, reduced commercial space and are offering community improvements to offset stated objections. Despite those offerings, many local residents think Stock Development is failing to recognize that even its revised GMPA/ rezone petition with to 172 residences with 2 – 16 story towers is still incompatible with the local environment and many view it as invasive, unsightly ‘urban sprawl,’ given its location and limited space.
As these petitions come before the BCC, Stock Development maintains their ‘reduced’ tower height of 208 ft is justified and in keeping with neighboring structures, even though the County staff comments do not agree. They also maintain that, while they overshadow their immediate neighbors, their towers will be shorter than the highly visible Ritz Carlton and Pelican Bay, Trieste. Again, many believe Stock fails to acknowledge that those properties being referred to are not encroaching on setbacks, sidewalks, right of ways, have different # of units per acre and/or were built under previous codes/guidelines… nor are any so close to the pavement or at the entrance to the public beach!
We are at a crossroad with the future of Naples...
We need you, as our elected Commissioners to be ‘for the people’ and part of the solution. When all is said and done, this will come down to a policy decision for the BCC. Every decision made has consequences and those consequences affect the future of Naples for decades to come. Granting such deviations to the current LDC will only allow future developers to come along and argue their project's consistency based on any deviations you allow today.
Please, do the right thing here and deny One Naples, as proposed. VOTE NO. Do not allow this project to intensely, exceed the allowable density of the LDC in this (already) congested area with little, open green space and limited parking.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
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