FLORIDA, USA — Meetings where the public could come to express their opinions on Florida's "Great Outdoors Initiative" have been postponed as the Department of Environmental Protection looks for new venues to accommodate the "overwhelming interest."
The "initiative" consists of a plan to build pickleball courts, golf courses and hotels inside Florida's state parks that was launched seemingly overnight Thursday. St. Augustine City Manager David Birchim said the city had never been contacted about plans to build on Anastasia State Park when the state announced their ambitions for the land.
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. 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."
Friday afternoon, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection announced these meetings will be postponed due to "overwhelming interest." A new date has not yet been announced.
"Due to the overwhelming interest with the 2024-25 Great Outdoors Initiative, DEP is looking for new venues to accommodate the public. We want to ensure everyone has the opportunity to participate. Public input is vital to DEP decision-making," the department wrote in a post on X.
The post says they expect meetings to take place the week of Sept. 2, but no official dates have been announced. It also links to a webpage where the public can express which park they are interested in speaking about.
A post on the First Coast News Facebook page Thursday night yielded 729 comments, with nearly every commentor expressing their dismay at the idea.