Development near neighborhood raises concerns

Concerns are being raised over the development of an apartment complex near a quiet neighborhood.

The plan is to build the luxury apartments east of where Vanderbilt Beach Road intersects with Logan Boulevard in Collier County.

Neighbors said Cherrywood Drive in Collier County is quiet, safe and a great place to live.

“We’ve lived on this street for 10 years,” said Melody Klein, who lives on Cherrywood Drive. “I’m a Naples native. I’ve lived here all my life.”

Melody Klein and her husband Dan worry their lives are about to change.

There’s a plan in the works to turn a 17-and-a-half acre lot into a 280-unit apartment complex.

“Just because there’s a large plot of land here, it’s not necessarily meant to house multifamily or apartments,” Melody said.

Current zoning only allows for low-density development and limited agricultural activity.

“We need to preserve the integrity of the estates. That’s the whole reason we live here, and we love living– I love living here, you know, but if we lose that integrity and we allow this, what’s next?” Melody said.

While it would be a luxury complex, the plan is to set aside 30% of the units for essential workers like teachers and first responders, offering them lower-than-market rents.

Under Collier County rules, multi-family developers can get more density by including more affordable options.

“I just think it’s a shame that it would even be considered. There’s plenty of land in Collier County, and there’s more than enough room to put in low-income housing or apartments throughout the county,” Dan said.

Melody was so fired up that she hosted a neighborhood meeting at her home on Thursday.