The Collier County Board of Commissioners voted in favor of the Brightshore Village project on Tuesday December 13, 2022 (12-13-2022). The development in eastern Collier County, led by Barron Collier Cos., allows for 2,000 housing units with a minimum of 106,000 square feet of retail and office space on the almost 700-acre property just northwest of Immokalee Road and Everglades Boulevard. 

In addition, 170 units will be affordable housing, which the developer can put on-site or at an alternate proximate location. 

The 681-acre piece of land is part of the county’s Rural Lands Stewardship Area Overlay District, which was developed to protect natural resource areas and agricultural lands. The RLSA encourages property owners to protect their environmentally valuable land, known as Stewardship Sending Areas, in exchange for stewardship credits to be used in a Stewardship Receiving Area. 

The property owner received more than 7,000 credits from Stewardship Sending Area Six, which adjoins Camp Kaeis Strand, a flow-way system that connects Corkscrew Marsh and Florida Panther National Wildlife Refuge. Brightshore Village will cost more than 5,000 Stewardship credits to be built.

Brad Cornell, who spoke on behalf of Audubon Western Everglades and Audubon Florida, said that although a continuation of development is not ideal, the program effectively protects nature as much as possible. 

“Our job is to figure out how do we accommodate the increase over the coming decades in population without harming the resources on which we all depend, the water resources, the water quality, the wildlife, the habitat. That’s absolutely vital for the sustainability of Collier County and the attractiveness of why we all are moving here,” Cornell said. “So, in that vein, that is why Audubon has been supporting Rural Land Stewardship strategies that put commercial and residential uses together.” 

The increase in traffic from Brightshore Village concerns many who live in eastern Collier County. Barron Collier Cos. agreed to spend more than $500,000 on operational impacts to various intersections caused by the development and to pay for any necessary traffic signals. 

Rich Yovanovich, who presented on behalf of Barron Collier, said the developer is willing to spend extra funds on any significant community concerns. “We are committed to contributing up to an additional $50,000 above what’s already in the agreement to be used by the county, how it deems fit, to address neighborhood-related concerns,” Yovanovich said. “It’s something that they want to do above and beyond what’s legally required and is willing to do that and put it toward road improvements.” 

The commissioners unanimously approved the Brightshore Village Stewardship Receiving Area. 

“This is a smart way to deal with population growth that is inevitable,” Cornell said. “We’ve got to deal with it in a sustainable way that does not kill panthers, does not harm our water quality and resources.” 

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