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Tallahassee commission approves sale of Capital City Country Club land after heated debate over enslaved‑peoples' cemetery
Summary
After hours of public comment and appeals from neighborhood groups and descendants, the Tallahassee City Commission voted 3–2 to sell the 178‑acre Capital City Country Club parcel to the club for $1,255,000, adding deed restrictions and perpetual protections for a commemorative site; opponents called for further archaeological investigation and conservation alternatives.
The Tallahassee City Commission voted 3–2 on Dec. 10 to accept staff’s recommendation to sell the 178‑acre Capital City Country Club parcel to the club for $1,255,000, carrying permanent deed restrictions and a suite of legal protections intended to preserve the land as an 18‑hole golf course and to protect a commemorative site marking unmarked enslaved‑persons burials.
The sale drew intense public comment. Dozens of residents, neighborhood association leaders and descendants urged commissioners to halt the sale and to require a full, independent archaeological study and stronger reversionary language so the land would remain public open space. Charles Benz, a resident, told the commission the city would be “giving away 178 beautiful acres forever” for what he called an inconsequential one‑time payment. Several speakers cited Florida statutes governing the treatment of…
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