A Citrus Grove Standoff: Why FL Homeowners Are Fuming Over a Golf Course

In Naples, FL, the South Naples Citrus Grove—selling fresh-squeezed juice, orange-swirled soft serve, and just about anything else you can make from citrus fruit—has operated on Sable Palm Road for decades.

Nearby, black bears and Florida panthers amble through protected state forest. For those who walk and drive these roads, the area’s bucolic setting was a huge selling point for visiting and living in the area. 

But the citrus grove business has plans to close its doors in the near future, and the battle over what happens there next has set off numerous heated neighborhood planning meetings, with no clear resolution in sight. 

A developer is now seeking to rezone the land and build a private golf course—in a state where adjacency to high-level courses can spike home values. For those opposed to the development, it’s something of an existential fight. 

“If they do rezone the land, and turn this agricultural land residential, I’ve thought about this long and hard—I’ll move,” says local Gwen Ransone. “All I’ve wanted in my life is just peace and quiet. If this comes to fruition, all I will hear is trucks and cars.”

A housing proposal was a no-go

Throughout 2026, Collier County locals have waged a war of public and political opinion with local developer SWJR Naples LLC over the fate of 169 acres of zoned agricultural land, where the citrus grove now sits. 

This parcel of land is within the state’s “Florida Forever” conservation boundary. In January, the developer proposed that the land be rezoned for up to 423 homes, including some income-restricted housing. The response was swift and loud. 

“I rallied neighbors by posting on seven or eight different Facebook forums, encouraged attendance at county meetings, and rustled up about 70 speakers,” for the January commissioners’ meeting, says Susan Scalf, a former high school counselor who has lived part-time in nearby Verona Walk for six years. 

Environmental policy experts also spoke and warned that the site is both close to Picayune Strand State Forest—home to critically endangered Florida panthers, as well as other wildlife—and important for water management and habitat protection. 

The commission voted 3-2 to continue discussion—with two votes against any development. The other three commissioners, including Commissioner Rick LoCastro, whose district includes the property, supported exploring other options for the land, such as using a voter-approved fund for preserving environmentally sensitive land, called Conservation Collier, to purchase and protect it from development. 

Locals say they don’t need more supply

Housing supply is one of the biggest talking points in the American economy today. Neighbors shouting down the construction of a 423-unit housing development might be seen as a classic case of NIMBY-ism. Locals insist it’s more complicated than that. 

“All I see is development. Ever since COVID occurred, they have been building like crazy,” says Ransone, who moved to Verona Walk 11 years ago. “If you’re driving down here, there’s plenty of land for sale that’s residential. This is different; this is agricultural land, and it is precious and it is rare.”

“Housing inventory in parts of Collier does not appear critically tight right now,” agrees Scalf. “Some nearby developments [are] struggling with occupancy.”

Nationally, there is a shortage of over 4 million housing units. But Florida received a B grade, and ranked 11th out of all 50 states and Washington, DC, in the most recent Realtor.com® Affordability & Homebuilding Report Card.

Is the golf course a Trojan horse?

In a June 25 meeting, SWJR Naples LLC returned with a new concept: an 18-hole private golf course, a clubhouse with a restaurant, and up to 10 cabins for use by members and guests of the club. Once again, the neighborhood information meeting was reportedly packed with dozens of opponents. 

Ransone, for her part, thinks that it’s a Trojan horse.

“It’s just a ploy to turn the land to residential,” Ransone says. “‘We’re just going to build a golf course.’ Once that land is rezoned, that’s it. Then they’re going to build the 423 houses.”

Ransone cited the recently enacted Infill Redevelopment Act, which promotes residential development on environmentally impacted parcels of land in South Florida, as a possible inspiration. Her thinking: rezone the land for a golf course, let it sit unused, and then use the law to spur residential development instead. 

This law, as written today, won’t apply to the citrus grove, as Collier County isn’t within its confines, and agricultural land is specifically excluded. But her thinking speaks to the distrust that locals have for a developer attempting to remake a quiet plot of land in their neighborhood. 

Rich Yovanovich, the land use attorney representing the developer, insisted in the meeting that they “cannot do anything residential.” He also stated the financial case for the golf course, saying that the waiting lists for existing clubs in the area are “long.” (Yovanovich did not return a request for comment from Realtor.com.) 

The developer promised that the golf course would be “Audubon International gold-certified” and thus environmentally friendly. This certification is not affiliated with the National Audubon Society, which has taken pains to distance itself from Audubon International—an organization partially funded by the U.S. Golf Association. Regardless, it may not be enough to dissuade neighbors that the golf course is a bad idea.

“A private golf course with guest cabins would increase traffic on Sabal Palm Road… and add noise, lighting, and activity,” says Scalf. “I do not see it as clearly better for the community.”

The fate of the land is unclear

Collier County residents are now waiting on an August 6 planning commission hearing, where an advisory committee will make a recommendation to county commissioners after more public testimony. Then in September, the commissioners will decide the fate of the golf course.

“At the Sept. 22, 2026 BCC meeting the vote requested will be for approval or disapproval of the proposed golf course,” the Collier County Growth Management Community Development Department staff confirmed in an email to Realtor.com. “Four votes in favor of the golf course are required for the petitions to be approved.”

Locals aren’t sure which way the vote will go, but they’ve already been heartened by the success of their efforts. 

“When I first started this, everyone was telling me I was crazy, and they said, ‘It doesn’t matter, money and politics win, it’s going to happen.’ And that was about the housing development,” says Ransone. “I said, if we lose, we lose, but at least I did something, and I fought for what I thought was right.” 

There’s still an additional path for the land to take: In a June letter to constituents, Commissioner LoCastro announced that he’d led the approval of a formal appraisal of the property, to “see if it meets the parameters and requirements to be considered for ‘an offer’ to the landowner using Conservation Collier dollars.” 

LoCastro noted that the county can’t force anyone to accept or deny the conservation fund’s offer. “The landowner has the ultimate decision,” he wrote. 

If Conservation Collier can come up with a suitable offer for the parcel, the land will likely be preserved as is. Scalf said it would be “a major win.” But to people like Ransone, the damage from other developments has already been done. 

“It doesn’t seem like Naples anymore. That was the allure of Naples—it’s so peaceful and calm, and that’s why people would vacation here,” says Ransone, who was a visitor for years before she bought her home. “It was all I wanted. But if this happens, I’m gone. I won’t live like that.”