Open Letter to the Collier County Planning Commission: South Naples Citrus Grove Development
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April 23, 2025
Dear Members of the Collier County Planning Commission,
The Save Florida Citrus Groves Foundation, Inc., alongside countless Floridians, write to express our profound disappointment, shock, and outrage at your recent recommendation to amend the county’s growth-management plan, paving the way for SWJR Naples I LLC to bulldoze South Naples Citrus Groves and build 423 homes, including affordable townhouses, on 169.19 acres near Picayune Strand State Forest. This decision, voted on April 17, 2025, with a 4-1 approval—despite Commissioner Paul Shea’s dissent over environmental concerns— threatens not only a cherished piece of Naples’ agricultural history but also the fragile ecosystem of the Picayune Strand area, an area already scarred by one of Florida’s most infamous real estate scams. We are stunned that you would risk repeating history, ignoring the lessons of the past, and further eroding Florida’s crumbling citrus industry.
Let us remind you of the Picayune Strand State Forest’s troubled history. In the 1950s and 1960s, the Gulf American Corporation orchestrated what became known as the “swampland in Florida” scam, targeting the area for the largest residential subdivision in the world—Golden Gate Estates. Salespeople used high-pressure tactics, flying prospective buyers over the land during the dry season to hide its unbuildable nature. Lots were sold to 17,000 unsuspecting buyers worldwide, many of whom never saw their land from the ground. The scheme drained wetlands with an extensive canal system, disrupting the natural sheet flow of water across the landscape. By the 1970s, the ecological devastation was undeniable: the altered hydrology led to increased salinity, loss of freshwater flow to mangroves, invasion of upland and non-native vegetation, and a catastrophic loss of wildlife habitat in Faka Union Bay and the Ten Thousand Islands area. The state recognized the disaster, purchasing the land from those 17,000 owners starting in 1985 under the Save Our Everglades program, with federal aid of $25 million by 1998. The Picayune Strand State Forest was officially named in 1995 as part of the Comprehensive Everglades Restoration Plan (CERP) to restore the natural hydrology and preserve this 78,000-acre ecosystem. This scam remains one of Florida’s worst land frauds, a cautionary tale of development gone wrong, with a lasting, devastating impact on the natural ecosystem.
South Naples Citrus Grove, operational since the 1970s, is more than just an orange grove and retail nursery—it’s a living piece of Naples’ agricultural heritage and a vital part of Florida’s citrus industry, which is already on its knees. Your decision directly impacts the Naples community in devastating ways. The South Naples Citrus Grove is bordered by a conservation easement in Hacienda Lakes and the Picayune Strand State Forest, a critical part of the Big Cypress Basin ecosystem. Converting this land to residential use disrupts groundwater recharge, a benefit citrus groves provide, as noted by Florida Citrus Mutual CEO Matt Joyner. The canal system from the 1960s Golden Gate Estates scam already altered the hydrology, and further development risks exacerbating salinity issues, as seen in past restoration efforts where increased salinity harmed mangroves. Developers like Jon Rubinton, with a history of projects like Mangrove Bay, may promise benefits, but the cost to the ecosystem and community identity is too high.
For Florida’s citrus industry, this is another nail in the coffin. The Save Florida Citrus Groves Foundation has been fighting to help these growers, offering grants to bring abandoned groves back to life, but decisions like yours undermine our efforts. Executive Director Adrian Bryce stated, “From a citrus grove perspective, they are nostalgic and I don’t think people realize how important they are, especially Floridians.” Losing South Naples Citrus Grove isn’t just a local loss— it’s a blow to Florida’s citrus legacy, already diminished by the closure of institutions like Gulf Citrus in May 2024.
We ask you: what makes this different? The Picayune Strand area’s history is a stark warning—unbuildable land, sold under false pretenses, led to ecological ruin and a decades-long restoration effort. Yet here we are, watching history repeat itself under the guise of “affordable housing.” How can you justify risking another environmental disaster, further eroding Naples’ natural and agricultural heritage, when the scars of the 1960s scam still linger? We urge you to reconsider this amendment before the Board of County Commissioners’ vote on May 27, 2025, and prioritize the preservation of South Naples Citrus Grove and the Picayune Strand ecosystem.
Open Letter to the Collier County Planning Commission: South Naples Citrus Grove Development
The time to act is now.
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