Collier County Settlement Allows Golf Course Conversion To Homes.

The Collier Board of County Commissioners on Dec. 10 unanimously approved a settlement for two lawsuits Naples Golf Development LLC filed last year against the county and Commissioner Bill McDaniel Jr. The settlement averts an expensive trial set for January, reimburses the developer for $250,000 in legal fees, and allows 122 more homes than what it proposed last year when commissioners denied the development.

“The settlement protects the public’s interest while also preventing the golf course conversion regulations from inordinately burdening the property,” county Attorney Jeff Klatzkow wrote in a memo to commissioners.

The litigation began when Naples Golf filed a Bert Harris Claim against the county in April 2023, days after McDaniel convinced fellow commissioners to halt a staff settlement that would have allowed Naples Golf Development to build 247 homes, three units per acre, on land at 16161 Tamiami Trail E., east of Collier Boulevard and just west of Hamilton Road. McDaniel had branded the staff settlement and recommendation premature.

The 1995 Bert Harris Claim legislation states if property owners can prove a governmental action “inordinately burdens” their property, they’re entitled to compensation. Naples Golf alleged McDaniel’s actions cut the value of its property from $9 million to $3 million.

The lawsuit contended McDaniel and county officials tried to artificially depress the property’s market value so it could be purchased at a lower price after McDaniel tried to negotiate a purchase for affordable housing. Naples Golf demanded all McDaniel’s communications about county business, including personal emails and texts on all devices.

“Commissioner McDaniel is a former developer and a savvy real estate professional who has utilized his knowledge of real property for monetary gain throughout his career in the private sector,” the lawsuit alleged. “…Commissioner McDaniel utilizes his private nongovernment issued e-mail account and personal devices as a repository for public records.”

In May 2023, the county provided McDaniel’s emails, but they came from his county account and Naples Golf said it “became clear” he used private devices and email accounts for emails.

In September 2023, when Naples Golf again demanded all public records from McDaniel, Klatzkow told them McDaniel was out of town due to a family emergency. After more than two weeks, Naples Golf sent the county a final demand and pre­lawsuit notice, demanding that McDaniel’s emails and texts be provided by Oct. 5, 2023. Seven days later, Naples Golf sued McDaniel.

Later that month, Klatzkow told Naples Golf attorney Ethan Loeb the county’s public records coordinator would provide the emails, which were now on the county’s public server, and that would “presumably end the issue.” That day, the public records coordinator told Loeb that searching McDaniel’s 349,868 emails would take 1,749 hours to review and cost $57,244.77.

Naples Golf told the county attorney that turning over the records would not end the issue because Naples Golf was being forced to sue to vindicate its rights under the state public records act, and it was uncertain whether all McDaniel’s emails had been provided.

The county attorney said the county would only produce records if Naples Golf agreed to pay $57,244 and wait nearly a year for the county to review public records on McDaniel’s “county email” account to determine if any were exempt from disclosure under the public records law. McDaniel contended there was nothing to redact.

The property is currently zoned Rural Agricultural District in the Rural Fringe Mixed-Use District and only allows up to one home per acre. The settlement allows 4½ units per acre, up to 369 multi- or single-family homes, or both. The prior plans allowed three homes per acre, up to 247 single-family homes.

The settlement requires the developer to add a Type-B Buffer on the eastern boundary, which abuts single-family homes. The buffer would be 15 feet wide, 6 feet high, and will be 80% opaque within one year.

In his Dec. 10 memo to commissioners, Klatzkow noted that in February 2023, commissioners directed staff to prepare a land-development code amendment to the golf course conversion section to minimize future litigation involving the conversion process.

The county ended up hiring outside counsel, Naples-based Woods, Weidenmiller, Michetti & Rudnick LLP, to handle the lawsuits, but they were unsuccessful after several attempts to dismiss the case following several depositions and an “imminent trial.” As a result, both sides settled.