Collier County commissioners approve Corkscrew Grove East SRA and SSA 22 amid heated public opposition over panther habitat

Collier County commissioners voted to designate 1,446.59 acres for the Corkscrew Grove East Village as a Stewardship Receiving Area (SRA) and to approve a companion Stewardship Sending Area (SSA 22), a package the applicant says will secure roughly 1,200 acres of conservation to protect wildlife corridors.

The decision follows a multi-hour hearing on April 28 that included a detailed presentation from Aliko Inc., technical testimony from county staff and consultants, and more than two dozen public speakers, most urging the board to deny the project because of concerns about panther habitat, water resources and long-term public costs.

“This is the tenth SRA that you’ve seen in the past,” said Rich Yovanovitch, attorney for the applicant, as he opened the developer’s presentation. He outlined the requested designation, noting the project’s allowable density (up to 4,502 dwelling units), the required set‑asides for neighborhood commercial and civic uses, and the 362 units proposed as affordable housing to meet program rules.

Mitch Hutchcraft, an Aliko representative, described the firm’s analysis of wetlands, floodplain and habitat maps and said project design places development in lower‑value portions of the site while putting higher‑priority lands into conservation. “All of the Felda property will be put into conservation,” he told commissioners, describing SSA 22 as a restoration and connectivity measure.

County ecologist Heather Samborski said the SSA 22 work will include restoration of more than 700 acres of former agricultural lands, coordination with state and federal wildlife agencies and project features—such as wildlife underpasses and fencing along State Road 82—that the applicant and Florida Department of Transportation say are intended to reduce vehicle collisions with wildlife.

Planning staff and the county’s planning commission recommended approval of the SRA and SSA. “This SRA does a very good job of attending to the needs of the large‑mammal corridor,” Planning Director Mike Bozzi told the board, citing the program’s criteria and corridor objectives.

Public comment, however, was overwhelmingly opposed. Speakers representing conservation organizations, scientists and local residents said the proposal would fragment core panther habitat and increase vehicle mortality risk. “This project will build 4,500 residences and put about 9,000 new vehicles on roads slicing through panther habitat,” said Matthew Schwartz of the South Florida Wildlands Association. Tom Mortensen, a long‑time trail‑camera monitor, said he documents panthers adjacent to the site and warned development would displace breeding animals.

Audubon Western Everglades’ Brad Cornell, while supportive of restoring and protecting corridor lands, urged commissioners to be rigorous about where preserves are sited and how designs connect across county lines. “Assembling subdivided landscapes is how you secure long‑term outcomes,” he said, while repeating concerns that mitigation cannot fully substitute for intact, connected habitat.

Aliko’s closing remarks reiterated that the project meets the county’s Rural Lands Stewardship Area (RLSA) criteria, that it includes a mix of context zones and a trip cap, and that the SSA 22 conservation parcel was chosen to support regional connectivity. The applicant also said it had worked with the sheriff’s office and fire districts to reserve land for public safety facilities within the village.

Commissioner McDaniel moved to approve the combined SRA and SSA designations; the motion carried on a unanimous voice vote. The board did not provide roll‑call tallies and no formal record of the second was read into the record. The motion approved designation of the Corkscrew Grove East Village SRA, authorized associated credit agreements and accepted SSA 22 as the conservation component tied to the project.

What happens next: the SRA designation sets the land‑use framework but does not by itself grant construction permits. Aliko and county staff will still need permits from state and federal agencies for wetlands, water‑management and other regulatory approvals. Multiple public speakers told the board they expect continued legal and agency review; several urged the county to ensure the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission thoroughly evaluate panther impacts before development proceeds.

Officials said the underpass on State Road 82 is already under construction and that additional mitigation and coordination with FDOT and wildlife agencies will be part of subsequent permitting.

The board’s action was the latest in a series of RLSA‑era SRA designations. Supporters say the program leverages private conservation and public protections to concentrate growth in designed villages while protecting larger acreage elsewhere; opponents say the tradeoffs are too risky for endangered species and county finances.