Commissioners vote against developer in land battle

COLLIER COUNTY, Fla.- It was a packed house at the Collier County Commission meeting on Tuesday.  Neighbors were livid that a proposed housing project could have gone through, but commissioners voted against the developer.

The homeowners were angry that the developer, Lodge Abbot wanted to build 62 single family homes on 175 acres of land at Vanderbilt Drive and Wiggins Pass Road in North Naples.

In 2008, the county settled a lawsuit with the developer saying they would leave the land as green space, build a golf course or build two estate homes. But, the developer wanted to change the agreement saying golf courses were no longer profitable.  Homeowners tell WINK News they’re pleased with the commissioners’ decision.

“This was a matter of public trust. We had a settlement agreement. Land adjacent to Glen Eden was supposed to be a golf course or green space forever and the developer wanted to build homes on it and change it to residential and as a community we were very opposed to that,” said resident Diane Rupnow.

It is possible this issue can be brought up again in the future.