Naples City Council postpones vote on petition to rebuild Port Royal Club

June 24, 2024

The City Council has postponed a decision on a member-submitted request to build the Port Royal Club in Naples “bigger and better.”

While the project is supported by more than 90% of club members, Terry Mullen, one of the closest neighbors, is fighting it.

The council’s pause will allow for further negotiations between the private beach club’s management and Mullen to address his remaining concerns and flesh out a list of concessions.

Mullen, a newer resident and member who lives just south of the club, near Gordon Drive, wants a remodel. He feels the remodeling would unfairly impact him, particularly with the noise coming from the new pool, which would be much closer to his property line than the old one.

After about five hours of presentations, discussions and debates last week, the council unanimously decided to postpone the public hearing on the petition until August 21 – the first meeting after the summer recess.

The club’s leadership presented a list of late-night concessions at the June 19 hearing in the hope that it would be enough to get City Council approval that day.

However, many Council members felt that the wording needed to be adjusted to make the promises more absolute, understandable and enforceable.

A prosecutor described some of the club’s proposed terms as “mere ideas.”

The conditions include building a higher wall and creating additional green space as a buffer between the pool and Mullen’s house, enclosing an upstairs dining area across from his house, and eliminating a private beach access near his property line.

At its next meeting in August, the council expects to also discuss the club’s request for outdoor dining.

Mayor Teresa Heitmann emphasized that all club matters would be voted on the same day so that things could move forward in a timely manner.

“We will be right there,” she said. “And we won’t have lost any time.”

More: “Jewel of the community”: Redesign of an exclusive club in an affluent Naples neighborhood clears hurdle

And: The exclusive Port Royal Club is being rebuilt bigger and better after the severe damage caused by Hurricane Ian

Conditional use permit from city council required

In order for the club to be rebuilt, the City Council must issue a conditional use permit for a new two-story clubhouse and approve site-specific parking plans, including valet parking. The approximately 5.5-acre property is located in a public services district that allows such a project, but only with a special permit under city ordinance.

“It’s going to happen,” Heitmann said. “We just want to make sure it happens so the neighbors are happy and there are no unintended consequences.”

She said she simply wanted the Council to be “fair and just” to all sides.

“One person is important, especially if it’s you,” Heitmann said.

She stressed that the details matter and that if they are not worked out properly, “it will come back to haunt us,” potentially leading to a lawsuit against the city.

The mayor helped convince other council members to support the continuation.

In the end, the vote was unanimous. One motion came from Councilwoman Linda Penniman and a second from Vice Mayor Terry Hutchison.

Without the delay, Hutchison said, he would have voted against the petition because questions about compatibility remained unanswered.

Although Councilman Ray Christman sided with the rest of the board, he did so hesitantly.

Before the vote, he said he was not convinced that negotiations between the club’s management and Mullen would be “anyway productive.”

He said it seemed Mullen would only be satisfied if the club was completely redesigned and he was hired as architect.

“I find this outrageous,” he said.

Hurricane Ian caused so much damage to the legendary Port Royal Club that it could no longer be saved.

Built in 1959, the one-story club, just steps from the Gulf of Mexico, served as a social gathering place for Port Royal residents for decades. The right to membership is one reason the wealthy flocked to the community named after the famous Jamaican pirate haven.

With a West Indian look that lives up to its name, the redesigned clubhouse would meet the latest hurricane standards while offering a larger floor space and more dining options. The goal is to retain as much of the charm as possible, with a design that will stand the test of time and last for another 70 years.

Neighbour fears impact of larger club

Although Mullen loved the old club, he said the new one would significantly and negatively impact his family’s quality of life as well as the enjoyment and value of their home.

In addition to moving the pool from the center to the southwest corner of the club’s property, closest to his home, Mullen is concerned about the height of the clubhouse and the design of the open-air restaurants and bars. He’s worried not only about his views and noise, but also about more traffic and lighting from the larger operation, which will include a new parking garage.

He told the city council that when he first saw the scale of the plans, “it really looked like the south campus of the Four Seasons Naples.”

“That was not a sign of discretion,” he said. “That was not a sign of restraint.”

He and his team of experts argued that the project was incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood, among other things because of its height of 15.8 meters.

However, Erica Martin, the city’s planning director, said the 30-foot height meets the city’s requirements and is above the required base height of 18.6 feet.

Although noise is one of Mullen’s main concerns, she said the club has not been “excessively loud” and would be subject to the city’s usual rules and regulations, noting that the council could adopt stricter restrictions under the conditional use permit.

The club’s members are older and more distinguished, so management has stressed that they are not the type to party wildly or become violent.

“It’s not Miami Beach. It’s a beautiful beach club that’s been around for 70 years,” said Nancy Carlson, the club’s board chairwoman.

“This is the ‘Naples way.’ There aren’t many drunks or cigar smokers,” she said.

Events, including weddings, are limited to members and their families; outside sponsors are not permitted.

One of Mullen’s experts, who questioned the club’s noise study, was criticized by the plaintiff’s attorney and others for his lack of experience in acoustics. Councilman Bill Kramer said that based on his credentials submitted to the city, the expert was not the “home run hitter type” he expected.

He praised the club’s management for working with Mullen and described it as a “step in the right direction.”

Many members urged the Council not to delay the vote

Many club members urged the City Council not to delay the vote on the conditional use request and expressed their willingness to reopen and breathe new life into their cherished clubhouse, which fosters community spirit among Port Royal residents.

Among the speakers supporting the proposal was Bob Kohlhepp, a member of the club’s board of directors. He argued that if there are further delays in the implementation of the project, real estate prices in Port Royal, one of the most expensive neighborhoods in America, could soon plummet.

He added that a redesign would not only delay the project but also cost millions of dollars due to more work required by the club’s architectural team and higher construction costs, which continue to rise locally and nationally. As it stands, members will be paying high dues to finance the construction.

The end result of an alternative design, Kohlhepp warned, could be a club that is completely inadequate and does not meet the needs or expectations of the community now or in the future.

The club has already lost members since Ian joined. Membership is capped at 700, but numbers are falling – currently around 660.

In advance of the conditional use hearing, the council received dozens of letters supporting the new design.

After a review by all city departments, city planners found the site plan sufficient in March. They concluded that the applicants had met all city standards, including compatibility, and recommended six conditions should the council approve the application.

The city’s planning advisory board also approved the multi-million dollar project, but attached its own conditions to it.

The Design Review Board gave preliminary approval to the project in November, but required some changes and more information when the club returns for final approval, including on landscaping and signage.

Final approval from the Design Review Board is required before building permits can be issued. The project cannot be resubmitted to the board until the City Council signs off on the plans.

If all the necessary permits are in place by autumn, construction could begin as planned this year. Construction of the new club would take about two years, with the grand opening scheduled for the end of 2026.

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