Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Land Use topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners approve conditional use for Golden Gate Estates church after adding traffic and buffer conditions
Summary
The Collier County commission approved a comprehensive plan amendment and conditional use to allow a 12,000‑sq‑ft church with up to 299 seats in Golden Gate Estates, adding conditions on hours, special events, a ROW donation for future road widening and a required buffer/wall to address neighbor concerns.
The Collier County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously Jan. 27 to approve a growth‑management map amendment and a conditional use allowing a new church at the northwest corner of Shady Hollow Boulevard East and Immokalee Road in Golden Gate Estates.
Commissioners said they were persuaded by the applicant’s commitments — a 12,000‑square‑foot cap, a 299‑seat cap, services limited to Wednesday afternoons and Sunday mornings, no daycare, enhanced landscape buffers and dark‑sky lighting — but insisted on explicit conditions to address neighborhood concerns. Planning consultant Richard Dubois and engineer Michael Dellota outlined the site plan and mitigation measures, including about 128 paved parking spaces plus grass parking and a voluntary turn lane off Shady Hollow Boulevard to improve access.
The board required language in the development order to prevent unlisted uses (for example a daycare or outdoor sports courts) without a future public hearing or a temporary‑event permit. Staff said funerals and weddings would be treated as customary church uses and would not be subject to the proposed day‑and‑hour restrictions; separate ‘special events’ are limited under the conditional use. Commissioners also secured a commitment that the applicant will donate a 50‑foot right‑of‑way reservation for future Mokeley Road widening and agreed to add a solid wall or enhanced planting along the west property line to reduce noise and light impacts on the nearest residence.
Neighbors had testified both for and against the project during public comment. Supporters said the church would anchor community life and generate minimal regular traffic; residents who live adjacent to the parcel warned of weekend and seasonal traffic linked to a nearby bird rookery and said parking, noise and light could affect property values and wildlife.
Commissioner McDaniel moved for approval with the added stipulations; the motion passed unanimously. The conditions adopted at the hearing require the applicant to follow the hours, uses and limits set in the conditional use, coordinate temporary events with growth management and public safety providers, and implement the buffer and ROW commitments before final approvals. The board recorded the motion and immediately closed the item.
Next steps: the planning division will incorporate the conditions into the development order and the county will transmit the adopted GMP amendment to the state as required.
