Tallahassee commission approves sale of Capital City Country Club land after heated debate over enslaved‑peoples' cemetery

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 unmarked human burials (section 872.05 of the Florida Statutes) and urged the city to contact the state archaeologist and descendant communities before approving any transfer.

City staff, led by Assistant City Manager Christian Doolin, said the purchase and sale agreement was drafted to include multiple legal layers to protect the open‑space character, the commemorative site and public access. Doolin told the commission the package includes a deed restriction requiring operation as an 18‑hole golf course, an irrevocable perpetual utility easement, restrictions that run with the land, and a reservation requiring commission approval for any subsequent transfer. He said those terms were updated in response to neighborhood input.

Representatives of Florida A&M University (FAMU) and the university’s golf coach spoke in favor of the deal, describing the proposed improvements as necessary to bring the course up to NCAA and PGA standards and to provide nearby practice access for FAMU student‑athletes.

Commission debate split over competing priorities. Commissioner Diane Williams Cox said protections had been strengthened and voiced support for the staff recommendation, while Commissioners Jared Matlow and Jacqueline Porter pressed for additional scrutiny. Porter successfully moved for a separate action directing the city manager to refer the matter to the district medical examiner and the state archaeologist and to put out a bid for a full archaeological survey; that motion passed 3–2.

The final sale vote (substitute motion approving staff recommendation) passed 3–2, with Commissioners Matlow and Porter in dissent. The commission recorded the sale price at roughly $1.255 million and required that the permanent easement and deed restrictions “run with the land,” preserve the commemorative obligations and preserve city access and maintenance rights for the cemetery area.

Opponents said the price was too low for a large in‑city parcel and that the agreement did not guarantee public ownership in perpetuity; supporters said the deal secured long‑term protections and funding to build a meaningful memorial and to complete course improvements. The vote closes a contentious chapter of public input and signals near‑term staff work to finalize transfer documents and to implement the archaeology and commemorative commitments the commission directed.

What happens next: staff will finalize purchase and sale documents with the deed restrictions and related easements, implement the archaeological referrals and follow‑up the commission directed, and return to the commission as necessary for ministerial approvals and oversight of the recorded protections.