Questionable Land Swap Approved by Florida Cabinet

Jane Goodall has said, “As humans we are losing our indigenous wisdom.” What she meant by that is, as a society our daily decisions and actions are based too much on our needs and intentions of today and without regard for the impact those needs and intentions will have for tomorrow.

This morning, I read about a land swap approved recently by Florida’s Cabinet that would exchange a 324-acre designated conservation area for a remote 861 acres of planted pines which, presumably, would one day be clear-cut and sold as timber.

Curiously, the action was presented as an emergency item on Florida’s State Cabinet agenda which, notably, prevents having to meet the prior public notice requirements normally associated with non-emergency items. Also, there was no staff presentation or even a quizzical thought by Cabinet officials as to why it was an emergency, what the fiscal implications were, or why the exchange was under consideration in the first place. And, the item was presented and approved in less than 30 seconds, according to the report.

Okay, very unusual. So what?

The primary members of the Florida Cabinet are Governor Ron DeSantis, State Attorney General Ashley Moody, Commissioner of Agriculture Wilton Simpson, and Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Petronis. The decisions these people make on any given day can and do have important repercussions upon the state’s future. The land swap they approved so casually and demonstrably without reasonable public notice is an example.

The 324-acre parcel was originally purchased in 2016 by the Florida Department of Transportation for $6,000,000 to mitigate the permanent loss of another area of natural Florida that would be destroyed by construction of the Suncoast Parkway. It was then deeded to the State Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) which in turn leased it to the Florida Forest Service for management.

So, the purpose of the acquisition was out of concern for the loss of a part of natural Florida and, as such, was done out of respect for the state’s future and the importance of preserving as much of Florida’s disappearing natural systems as possible for future generations.

Here’s where this story goes badly awry.

The 324-acre designated conservation area is located immediately adjacent to a golf course previously known as Sugarmill Woods Country Club and World Woods Golf Club. In December 2021, Cabot SMW OpCo LLC, headquartered in Toronto, Canada, purchased the golf course and associated properties. Since then, it has planned a complete renovation of the property involving a world class golfing experience, luxury homes and related golfing amenities. According to public records of the County Clerk’s office, Hernando County has approved “Community Development District” status for Cabot’s 1200-acre redevelopment project which will allow Cabot to issue $250,000,000 in bonds to finance the project.

Again, so what?

Well, Cabot, recognizing how highly beneficial the adjacent 324-acre conservation acreage would be for expanding its redevelopment project, then offered a proposal to acquire it in exchange for that remote 861 acres of planted pines near Cedar Key.

As mentioned, the exchange was then presented to the Cabinet and approved in less than 30 seconds with no staff or Cabinet-member discussion and the Department of Environmental protection was delegated responsibility to get it done.

What’s wrong here is this: 1), the item was added to the agenda only 24 hours before the meeting without public notice; 2), apparently, to make this possible, emergency status was given the item without proper justification; 3), no appraisals were provided for discussion or concerns mentioned that once the property becomes part of Cabot’s project the 324 conservation acres will be fully developed and its value will skyrocket to tens of millions, well beyond any value that might be associated with a remote 861 acres of planted pines; and most importantly, 4) its purpose as an environmental offset for the natural area destroyed by construction of the turnpike will be negated and lost forever to the diminishing remainder of natural Florida.

This action reflects stark disregard for how fast the state’s natural systems are disappearing, and why Jane Goodall would rightly be appalled. The decision was wrong and should be reversed.