My opposition to One Naples_ Reasons to reconsider - Vote No on One NaplesEXTERNAL EMAIL: This email is from an external source. Confirm this is a trusted sender and use extreme caution when opening attachments or clicking links.
My opposition to One Naples: Reasons to reconsider
Dear Commissioners,
First I want to thank you for your work on behalf of the citizens of Collier County.
I want to voice my continued concern regarding the One Naples project. I feel it is not in line with other developments in the area. Pelican Bay development is not comparable to the
Vanderbilt Beach community, as the setbacks were designed many years ago and it is one contiguous community as opposed to the beach area, which is a residential street.
I do not wish to quash development, but I do want smart growth. One Naples is a bad precedent for our town. It will lead to many other developments of high density being approved,
with will permanently alter the character of not just the immediate area around the project, but the whole community over time.
I have always said I would never want to leave Naples when I retire, as my husband and I have built our life here in this community. However, I do not wish to live in a recreation of
the towns on the east coast. People move to Naples to escape those! Why do we wish to destroy the very thing that makes people choose Naples as their home?
It is not just the One Naples project by Stock that I oppose. As a Realtor in the area I have been a big supporter of Stock. For me this is nothing against just them. It is opposition
to the continued waivers we hand out to developers - whether it be those building in the town or building in the expanding area out east. We can not continue this pace of growth and
maintain the charming charter of our beloved Naples. Traffic gets worse each year, access to the beach by the public is made more difficult, and little by little our quality of life
here slips away.
I understand the tax revenue, employment, and economic stimulus concerns that are behind our need for growth. These are legitimate. However, I wish to caution against the outcome of
continuing to give waivers to developers, be it for density, set backs, building height, or environmental in nature. It is changing our town and not for the better.
If we continue to grow without a means to preserve what has made Naples such a special place to live, we will sow the seeds of our downfall. Those who have moved to Naples over the
years have come for a reason. We have always been a special community. I oppose One Naples and the continued waivers of well established development guidelines for developers. We
are not just "Saving Vanderbilt Beach" we are saving our town. I am including my previous letters that detail my reasons for opposition to One Naples for your review below. I implore
you to consider your decision carefully in this matter.
Respectfully,
Ann Darwish
REALTOR®, GRI, RSPS, SFR®, BPOR, ABR®
Naples Resident since 2000
(239) 248-4965 <tel:(239)%20248-4965>
anndarwish@me.com <mailto:anndarwish@me.com>
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LETTERS OF OPPOSITION TO ONE NAPLES - REASONS FOR OBJECTIONS:
Subject: Opposition to One Naples - “Highest and best use” should not equate to maximum profits and high density
Dear Commissioner,
I am writing in opposition to One Naples. I believe Collier County is headed in the wrong direction. If we give waiver after waiver to developers, then we really have no standards!
I oppose the One Naples development, even with Stock’s latest revisions and wanted to share are my thoughts. I strongly oppose Stock’s One Naples and continued exceptions for developers.
Setbacks and other zoning regulations have been relaxed lately and I don’t like the results. This project is another on the list of “letting it slide” and lack of enforcement of current
long time zoning regulations.
For first time in 20 years of living here I am thinking I may not stay in Naples when I retire. Naples is trending in a BAD direction. I am not alone in that opinion.
Just because current zoning allows it does not make it in keeping with what has been built in the area. In my mind, there is a distinction between a project that is allowed and one
that would be appropriate. We can make choices that affect population density and the overall feel of our community.
“Highest and best use” should not equate to maximum profits and high density for the rest of us who live in Naples. I support growth that is in keeping with our goal as a community.
If growth means we become a Mini- Boca, is that what we want to be? If we resign ourselves to MONEY RULES then eventually the even “the rich” end up on the wrong side of the equation!
One thing Naples teaches us: no matter how rich you are, there is always someone who has more than you.
Commissioner, what happens when it comes to your neighborhood??? As the saying goes “be careful what you wish for.”
Again, I strongly oppose One Naples and continued exceptions for developers. I will rely on the words of others who can express the details of the issue better than me. Please consider
voting against continued waivers to our building and development codes.
Be mindful of the precedent you set and the underlying message it sends to the rest of the community.
Respectfully,
Ann Darwish
REALTOR®, GRI, RSPS, SFR®, BPOR, ABR®
Naples resident since 2000
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Dear Commissioner,
In the coming weeks, you will be given the opportunity to do a great service to the citizens of Collier County in general and to the Pelican Bay, Vanderbilt Beach and Naples Park communities
specifically. You will have the opportunity of strongly and in no uncertain terms, recommending to the Board of County Commissioners that they deny the application of Stock Development
for the approval of its One Naples project at the corner of Gulfshore Drive and Vanderbilt Beach Road as it is currently proposed.
Why should you take this action? I know that the corner of Vanderbilt Beach Road and Gulfshore Drive is currently an eyesore, and I know that it needs to be redeveloped. Stock may
be a good choice as the developer, but his current plan is a significant overreach.
The current design which includes a 700-foot long 35-foot high wall 15-feet off his property line and a mere 35-feet from edge of the pavement along the length of Gulfshore and VBR,
no matter what the planting in front of it, is not in the public interest. It will be a monstrosity for decades to come. And the towers, two 208-foot high structures as close as 25
feet to the property line will dominate the landscape, dwarfing the surrounding buildings.
Save Vanderbilt Beach Inc has provided the County Planning Staff with its recommendations as to how One Naples might be redesigned to be neighborhood compatible. These recommendations
address building height, density of residential units, setbacks, open space and more. Latitude is provided to Stock, giving the development flexibility vis-à-vis the existing C-3 zoning
restrictions. I encourage you to request that the staff provide you with the Cover Letter and the Compatibility Standards document provided by Greg Stuart Associates, Planners to the
County planning staff.
Can I count on you to recommend denying his current design? Ask him to review the documents referred to above. You need not wait until the formal meeting. A call from you today indicating
that you can’t vote for today’s design, but that you would fully support a project more sensitive to neighborhood wishes and compatibility would go a long way to bringing Stock back
to the table It’s not too late.
Stock is asking the county to donate nearly .8 acres to him in the form of the vacation of various roadways that run throughout his property. What is he giving in return? A project
not in the public interest, adding density, traffic, safety concerns, and additional beach usage to an area already overburdened.
One more thing. At the Neighborhood Information Meeting and elsewhere, Stock has always stated that if the zoning is not approved, Stock would market the property to a commercial developer
who could build a Costco or a gas station there. That’s just not a real possibility. No such business would desire to be at that location. Stock recognizes that as well but thinks
that a hotelier might have an interest. Remember, hotels are not approved in the existing C-3 zoning. To protect his investment, however, and to give himself more flexibility, Stock
is asking that a hotel use be part of his new zoning.
Not only that, but Stock has not qualified that request in any way. There have been no site plans showing a hotel. There are no elevation drawings of a hotel. There is no way to know
if the ballroom will hold 200 or 700, or even if there will be one. There is no mention of restaurants serving large Sunday brunches. Nothing. Only that it can have up to 172 rooms.
This is not acceptable. Do the right thing, and recommend that the County Commissioners deny the project in its current form. Protect the public interest.
Thank you.
Ann Darwish
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My Additional Signed Letter and agreement with the opposition letter below.
Dear Commssioner,
As a Collier County Commissioner, I hope you are listening to the growing level of concern among North Naples residents opposed to the One Naples project, as proposed.
What is the value of planning when you can arbitrarily change zoning and request variances that conflict with safety, rights and common sense? The hundreds of walkers from Naples Park,
Beachwalk, Pavilion, etc. with chairs on their backs will wonder what happened, when people, not previously zoned, can simply cross the street to take their place at Vanderbilt Beach.
One Naples will add more than 500 vehicles that will be forced to use local streets not built for traffic. Vanderbilt Beach Road east of 41 is being widened to six lanes and is being
extended further east to the proposed 360,000 vehicle Rural Lands Service Area (RLSA) while west of 41 the two lanes can’t be widened.
Please note that Emergency Services must pass through Vanderbilt Beach Road from Hammock Oak Drive. Furthermore, the county has built an expensive four-mile bike path, including bridges,
north of Bluebill Avenue to Bonita Springs and you must use Vanderbilt Drive to access.
Please consider these facts before deciding. Thank you.
Ann Darwish
: anndarwish@me.com
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Subject: My opposition to One Naples: Reasons to reconsider - Vote No on One Naples
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