COLLIER COUNTY, Fla. — A proposal for an apartment complex in North Naples came under fire at Thursday's meeting of the Collier County Planning Commission. People who live in gated communities near the proposed "Allura" apartments claim that the traffic in the area - near the intersection of Livingston Road and Veterans Memorial Boulevard - is already too heavy.
"If you add seven hundred people to the area we're in, traffic is going to be worse," Tom Griffith told planning commissioners during public comments at the meeting.
Griffith, who lives in the nearby gated community of Barrington Cove, said he is also concerned about property values.
"Common sense tells us our home values will go down, because people do not want to buy next to these apartments," he said.
But Catherine Cardoza, who said she would manage the Allura complex if it's built, also lives in Barrington Cove. She told commissioners that she has a vested interest in keeping it an area where people want to live.
"I don't believe the apartment community is going to bring down property values," Cardoza said. "We do a very thorough background check and credit check. All pets are screened."
Other representatives for Stock Development, which would build the complex, argued that the people living in the apartments would not have a major impact on the traffic.
Planning commissioners made no decision at Thursday's meeting. Commission chair Mark Strain said discussions on the proposed project, including public comment, would continue at their next meeting scheduled for February 7.
