State parks in Florida appear off-limits to development as lawmakers react to outcry

TALLAHASSEE Fla AP State parks would be protected from pickleball courts golf courses and hotel enhancement under a bill passed unanimously by the Florida House on Thursday in response to last summer s statewide outcry over plans for these kinds of projects The bill now heads to Gov Ron DeSantis for final approval and his office hasn t mentioned if he ll sign it The Republican governor distanced himself from the proposal following the backlash saying he never saw or approved plans to allow resorts and sports facilities on state park land DeSantis leads and appoints the heads of all state agencies The issue created a dilemma for Republican lawmakers who have traditionally defended the governor s administration and increased scrutiny of DeSantis record on environmental conservation Protections for state parks are reflected loud and clear in the bill reported state Rep John Snyder We ve put real plans in place to make sure that for generations to come our state parks will be preserved commented Snyder who represents a district about an hour north of Palm Beach He noted the parks are enjoyed by millions of residents and tourists alike The bill doesn t ban all types of enhancement But any projects must be conservation-based recreational uses that backing things like hiking swimming horseback riding boating studying nature and other similar exercises according to a House staff analysis Snyder commented the bill s language was strengthened by an amendment proposed in the Senate which also added a name change for a state park in Tallahassee The population first got wind that DeSantis environmental agency was looking for recreational expansion plans in state parks when the Great Outdoors Initiative was leaked last August Hundreds of people protested at parks and the state s environmental protection headquarters waving signs like Parks Over Profit and Save Don t Pave Before the month was over the governor mentioned the Department of Environmental Protection s plans were going back to the drawing board The atmosphere secretary at the time Shawn Hamilton eventually stepped down after facing intensified scrutiny and bipartisan criticism of the initiative In November DeSantis appointed a new head of the agency Alexis Lambert