On Wednesday, Aug. 28, Gov. Ron DeSantis distanced himself from a controversial plan to build golf courses at Jonathan Dickinson State Park, which has drawn an outburst of anger and protest from the Palm Beaches to the Treasure Coast.
In his first public comments since outrage exploded over state plans to add golf courses, lodges and pickleball courts to nine state parks, DeSantis deflected the issue, briefly saying it was an attempt to build a “narrative” from the political left.
“A lot of that stuff was just half-baked and it was leaked to a left-wing group to try to create a narrative,” said DeSantis from a press conference in Polk County, later referring to it as “obviously a phony narrative” that the state parks were about to become “a big parking lot.”
The governor added the proposal was nowhere near coming to fruition and nowhere near ready for prime time, and he intimated it was not a project he would pursue. He did say that there had been some calls for improvements at state parks, but that the Department of Environmental Protection needs to go back to the drawing board on this.
The state DEP had scheduled a series of meetings on Tuesday to discuss the plan with the public, but those meetings, which included one in Stuart, were postponed.
“Here’s the thing, I’d rather not spend any money on this, right?” DeSantis said. “If people don’t want improvements, then don’t do it.”
He then added: “I’m totally fine to just do nothing and do no improvements if that’s what the general public wants.”
The firestorm over the proposal did not appear to be dying down since news organizations, including The Palm Beach Post, first reported on the state Department of Environmental Protection’s “Great Outdoors Initiative,” triggering an almost universal backlash.
The plan to add the amenities, thus developing pristine areas at some of the most prized state parks, sparked protests and drew rebukes from some of the governor’s most stalwart allies, such as Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis and Florida Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Commissioner Wilton Simpson, both of whom may seek to succeed DeSantis.
Republican congressional representatives, including U.S. Rep. Brian Mast of Stuart, slammed the idea as well as U.S. Sens. Marco Rubio and Rick Scott.
Mast, in particular, has been sharply critical of the proposal.
He has vowed to get to the bottom of how the plans to put golf courses at Dickinson State Park, which…
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