ST. AUGUSTINE, Fla. — Hundreds of people lined Highway A1A in St. Augustine Sunday, protesting the governor's plans to build a hotel, pickleball courts and a disc golf course inside Anastasia State Park.
An estimated 400 to 500 people attended the protest, calling to keep the park pristine.
Desiree Sanders organized Sunday's protest that pulled together the old and the young, families and strangers, during a divided political time.
"I’m sure everyone had different opinions on political views, but today, that’s not what this is about," said Sanders.
This was about Anastasia State Park which draws more than a million visitors annually. That's more than any other state park in its district.
Gov. Ron DeSantis' office and the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) proposed the "Great Outdoors Initiative" which would build hotels, pickleball courts and disc golf courses at nine state parks.
Anastasia State Park would have the biggest hotel — the state is calling it a lodge — with 350 rooms. The only larger hotel in St. Johns County is the Sawgrass Marriott in Ponte Vedra which has more than 500 hotel rooms. The Embassy Suites (next to the park) has 217 rooms.
Florida's 175 state parks attracted nearly 30 million visitors in 2022-2023, contributing to a $3.6 billion economic impact and supporting over $50,000 jobs, the DEP says.
Through this new initiative, DEP said it will begin to update state park plans to allow for "increased public access" while "ensuring all improvements are welcoming and reflective of Florida's heritage."
The state had scheduled meetings where the public — Floridians who have largely been outraged online — could speak their minds on the project early next week.
However, Friday afternoon, DEP announced these meetings would be postponed due to "overwhelming interest." There is no scheduled date for the public meeting that was planned for Tuesday in St. Augustine.
Stacey Strumpf attended Sunday's protest. She is trying to spread correct information for awareness, but it’s been challenging. She said, "The FDEP says, 'We’re going to have a meeting.' And everybody starts to mobilize. Then they say 'Actually, we’re not going to have a meeting.' 'Hey, fill out these surveys.' 'No, actually we are only going to take this survey.'"
The Florida Times Union reports a leaked memo revealed the Office of Park Planning "was instructed to play pre-recorded presentations at these meetings, receive feedback and not answer questions — setting the stage for (the initiative) to roll to approval next month."
Now, the protest organizer is calling for the community to do more than protest.
"Email. Fill out the DEP survey," said Sanders.
"All these people in the sun, we're all sweating," Tyrone Bennett said, "but democracy is in motion. We come out here peacefully. We have a lot of guests sticking up for the environment. The environment is not for now. It’s not for the current moment, but for the future."
St. Johns County Board of County Commissioners Chair Sarah Arnold expressed concern and outrage at the proposed developments at Anastasia State Park, claiming the county was not contacted by the state about the project. Arnold provided the following statement to First Coast News:
"The State of Florida has not contacted St. Johns County with any details of this project. Parks are for people and not about projects for profit. Our Board of County Commissioners has been consistent in our views on natural resource conservation and protection. This proposed project is absolutely contrary to our County Board's vision and priorities. As a Board, we will seriously address this proposed project with all available recourse. Anastasia State Park is a state-owned recreation area inside the city limits of the City of St. Augustine. It may involve a review by its staff and its City Commission."