Published by the Florida Center for Government Accountability
Multi-million dollar land deal: Who wins?
WINK News by Celine McArthur, Matthew Seaver
Should county commissioners be allowed to vote on projects on land they recently had a stake in? Some people living in Collier County say no.
“Who benefits from all this? Not the taxpayers who benefit from all this,” says Golden Gate Estates homeowner, Marcela Zurita. “Obviously, if it’s a favorite, favorite. It;s not whether it’s legal or not, but it’s unethical.”
Or is it? In any event, they want an ethics investigation. We take a closer look at what happened, and if any rules have been broken.
The controversy surrounds a major housing development going on the land beyond this lake, which was once a limestone quarry. It’s on the edge of the Everglades, and borders Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary. The Immokalee Road Rural Village project includes up to 4-thousand homes. People I spoke to who live in bordering Golden Gate Estates, are against the development.