NAPLES, Fla. — Naples mayor Teresa Heitmann met with the public Thursday to discuss the biggest issues facing the city. The biggest topic of discussion at Heitmann’s Community Conversations was growth and development.
Maintaining residents’ quality of life as Naples expands will be a key issue once the city council is sworn in Feb. 16.
“One of my goals is to meet with the county,” Heitmann said of managing the city’s growth. “We want to have a joint meeting because their growth affects the city, our beaches, our restaurants, our roads. We can partner together to make sure we have smart growth and make sure we don’t lose the quality of life for our residents.”
Beth Petrunoff is a newly-elected city council member. She said the most important topic on her to-do list is coming up with a comprehensive plan for development in city limits.
“How are we going to use the land? How are we going to build?” Petrunoff said. “From the comprehensive plan comes all of our ordinances and rules, so it really does define us for the next decade or two.”
Several Naples residents were at Community Conversations on Thursday to warn the mayor about growing too rapidly.
That includes Joan Fiore, who was there representing the group Citizens for Preserving Naples.
“We’re not against development, we just would like to see responsible development,” Fiore said. “The word coming from the community is they don’t want to see the overgrowth.”
Even Chamber of Commerce leaders, who are excited about what growth means for local businesses, say the development has to be done responsibly.
“We as a business organization have to think about making smart decisions,” said Jenna Buzzacco-Foerster, director of government relations for the Greater Naples Chamber of Commerce. “It’s making sure businesses can thrive and adapt … while also looking at how residents and visitors interact with those type of businesses.”
