| View this email in your browser |
Pelican Bay Challenges with Preservation, Conservation and Development
By Hank Rossi, Vice President PBPOA
Member E-Blast May 19, 2020
When you receive the June Issue of the Pelican Bay Post and read, “Pelican Bay Before and After the Corona Virus (COVID-19)”, it raises a series of questions/concerns that our local communities will undoubtedly have to deliberate on as we move forward. The vision, long-term planning and actions taken by developers in the initial development of our community is what made Pelican Bay Southwest Florida’s premier, beachfront community. Suffice it to say, decisions we make today (and tomorrow) will also have a profound impact on our future. So, let’s take a look back to see how some of those decisions have impacted our life today…
PB History: Preservation
Pelican Bay, originally referred to as Clam Bay, was purchased by Coral Ridge Properties from Baron Collier in 1972. The plan for the 2,330+ acres was to develop the beachfronts richly forested land with an eye toward creating a unique haven, one that would blend Florida’ natural treasures with the Naples region’s stylish sensibilities.
They hired an environmental planning and design firm and were presented with two alternatives for developing the site. The 1st option was considered the conventional plan, preserving the open water but destroying much of the 570 acres of indigenous mangroves, and the 2nd option was considered to be “highly progressive.”
Because of the (1972) Clean Water Act (CWA), Coral Ridge was unable to replace the mangrove forest with homes and canals as intended (like previous Naples developers had in Old Naples and the Coquina/Moorings and Park Shore areas), so much of the estuary had to remain intact with housing to be built to the east of the mangroves.
As a result, the planning/design firm’s recommendation was the “highly progressive” option, as it was reflective of conversations with local county environmentalists (today called, “a model of environment planning”) because it preserved the mangrove forest and beaches, by placing its higher density development along its property edge.
PB History: Conservation
In 1974, Clam Bay was renamed Pelican Bay and the Pelican Bay Improvement District (PBID) was formed to provide those infrastructure-related services, which later would become the Pelican Bay Services Division.
In 1982, WCI deeded Clam Bay to Collier County with the developer retaining approval authority over construction in Clam Bay. WCI set aside a number of common areas to be maintained in perpetuity under the guidance of the PB Foundation, the master homeowner’s association, and the Pelican Bay Services Division (PBSD), an advisory board of Collier County, was formed to provide municipal services such as streetscape beautification, street lighting, water management and mangrove maintenance.
As you can see, Collier County has had a long standing relationship with Pelican Bay in the development of our community and its shared interest with regard to the preservation and conservation of our natural resources.
Today: Preservation and Conservation vs. Economics and Development
Today, Pelican Bay and Naples’s coastal communities (west of US41) are built out and facing multiple challenges: limited space to improve roads, aging infrastructures, higher demands on use of roads with needs to expand local community services and increase parking.
We are facing some challenges that cannot be ignored…
Currently, it is impossible to funnel traffic from arterial roadways like Immokalee Rd, Vanderbilt Beach Rd. east of US41, Pine Ridge Rd, etc. into collector roads that do not have adequate capacity available to serve the current development at high demand times. Just in the last few months we have seen two severe accidents resulting in two fatalities and several injuries on Vanderbilt Beach Road.
Our actions today impact our future…The challenge remains!
How does Collier County create that delicate balance between the preservation and conservation of our natural resources plus meet the economic supply / demand of today’s development in keeping with Collier County’s original vision and comprehensive plan?
To add any proposed new development in these areas of North Naples without an extensive reevaluation of the county’s Concurrency Management System only creates additional problems, and without offering concurrent solutions, is irresponsible. Agitated drivers are already using alternative routes, cutting through local roadways in residential neighborhoods that were never intended to handle this traffic, and creating safety hazards.
Our actions today impact our future…The challenge remains!
How does Collier County create that delicate balance between the preservation and conservation of our natural resources plus meet the economic supply / demand of today’s development in keeping with Collier County’s original vision and comprehensive plan?
The conservation and preservation of Naples’s natural resources is of utmost importance, and so, too, is human life!
What are your thoughts? The PBPOA wants to hear from you…
