Two North Naples Republicans seek Collier Commission seat

With its pockets of suburbia and swaths of sprawling golf course communities, the County Commission district in North Naples faces some of the challenges the whole county faces — how to plan for a growing population, manage redevelopment and create affordable housing. 

Two Republican candidates want to help District 2 and Collier County overcome those hurdles during the next four years.

Commissioner Andy Solis, an attorney who was elected to the seat in 2016, and challenger Brad Schiffer, an architect and former member of various county committees, are facing each other in the Aug. 28 primary election. 

More:Here's what you need to know about election season in Collier County

No other candidates have qualified for the District 2 race, which means the primary will be open to all voters, regardless of party affiliation, and will determine the district’s next commissioner. The district stretches from the Gulf coast in the west to Interstate 75 in the east, and borders Bonita Springs to the north and Naples to the south.

Solis, elected in 2016 to fill the remainder of former Commissioner Georgia Hiller's term after she left the seat to run for clerk of courts, has championed improving mental health treatment options in Collier and establishing a plan to deal with what he sees as an emerging crisis.

"It was clear to me that we are really unprepared, both in terms of the tools and the infrastructure," he said. "For virtually every other thing that could be a crisis in Collier County, we have tools and infrastructure, either physical or fiscal infrastructure, for dealing with it immediately. We have nothing."

His opponent, Schiffer, wants to bring his architecture and planning expertise to the board and has made “smart growth” — a development approach that encourages, among other things,a range of housing choices and walkable neighborhoods — a central theme of his campaign.

"Smart growth acknowledges the connection between development and lifestyle, which means how we develop really does affect how our lifestyle is," he said.

More:Newcomer challenges political veteran in Collier Commission District 4 primary race

Managing growth

Schiffer, 69, lived and worked in Miami for more than two decades before moving to Collier in 2000. He is worried that without the proper oversight, Collier will experience a fate similar to Miami-Dade County with out-of-scale developments, crowded roads and growth putting increased pressure on the environment.

Residents in Collier and Naples, he said, buy into the largely suburban lifestyle it offers.

“The people I know, the people who supported our district, the people that essentially pushed me to run are people that don’t want Miami,” Schiffer said.

Though the first wave of development has already swept over his district, largely filling it out, Schiffer said the next phase of construction will follow, potentially adding a little higher density. 

He wants to manage growth and make sure it doesn’t skip too far ahead: New development should gradually build to an increased density and follow the rules the county already has on the books.

Land-use changes should be considered with great care, because they can be potentially precedent-setting for future developments, Schiffer said.

More:Collier commissioners, challengers discuss mental health, growth, sales tax at forum

“The trouble is once you give that approval, that becomes a vested right to that landowner,” he said. “And you’re going to have everybody saying, ‘Why did he get it and I didn’t?’ So it’s a dangerous thing to not be careful on the land-use approvals.”

However, Solis said the growth management issues "that we don't like about" counties like Miami-Dade or Broward “really can’t happen” in Collier anymore, because those “happened before the advent of comprehensive planning.”  

"We have a comp plan," he said. "You can't just build a commercial facility with no green space and no water retention in the middle of a residential area. It just can't happen that way."

Growth will occur and has to be managed very carefully, but the county has a good process and plans in place, Solis said.

“By and large, Collier County over the years has done a very good job of planning the growth,” he said.

From Miami to Collier 

Schiffer was born in Meriden, Connecticut, and later moved to Allentown, Pennsylvania, where he spent most of his teenage years. His father worked as a banker, his mother ran a temporary help franchise.

He graduated from Ohio State University with a bachelor’s degree in architecture in 1972 and briefly returned to Allentown before moving to Miami.

There he eventually opened up his own architecture firm, Brad Schiffer/TAXIS Inc., working and living in Miami until coming to Southwest Florida in 2000 — first to supervise construction of a bank and soon for good. (TAXIS is a Greek word that refers to balance and proportion.)

“I came over here for the year and just never went back,” Schiffer said. “I never minded Miami, but it was the lifestyle, the suburban lifestyle, we had here that I always found attractive.”

In Collier, Schiffer soon became civically engaged, serving on the county’s Planning Commission for nearly a decade and sitting on various local boards and committees.

Since 2012, he has also served on the Florida Building Commission after being appointed by Gov. Rick Scott.

More:Collier commissioners to decide fate of key affordable housing proposals

Schiffer favors 'smart growth'

As an architect and self-described “geek” when it comes to land-use codes, Schiffer would tune into planning board and County Commission meetings, monitoring them from his studio while he worked. 

He soon noticed what he said was a lack of land-use know-how or planning background on the part of some of the decision makers.

“It finally made me want to come out of the stands and onto the court, because nobody really seemed to be discussing the things in the proper terms even,” he said. 

Much of his platform as a candidate revolves around development, growth management and land-use issues, in part, because he says those topics affect nearly every facet of everyday life. 

“Smart growth, it is one catch-all word, but it has its tentacles in every part of our lifestyle,” Schiffer said. “I mean how long it takes us to drive, where the store is, how do I get to the store.”

Tackling affordable housing

When it comes to affordable housing, a longstanding discussion point in Collier, Schiffer said developers should get incentives to include more moderately priced units in their projects by allowing them to build more units overall.

“If you build more affordable units, you can also build more market units,” he said. 

Schiffer said he prefers incentives as a tool to steer developers in the right direction rather than restrictions or measures like discounting impact fees.

“Because that just ends up punishing the people that do it right,” Schiffer said.

Overall, he said, the county needs a greater variety of housing options to provide more affordable units instead of the “homogeneous” projects that have made aerials of Collier look “like a box of zippers,” referring to the house-lined curved roads typical of gated communities.

“We need small one-bedrooms, we need five-bedrooms, we need all kinds of different size housing choices,” he said.

Solis said to meet Collier’s affordable housing needs, the county will have to take a comprehensive approach and look to creative solutions.

One such idea could be to allow owners of existing “activity centers,” commercialdevelopments at major intersections that already have public transit connections, to build housing atop the existing development. 

Solis said that would circumvent Collier’s high land costs, often an inhibitor to affordable housing, and tenants would benefit from the center’s existing infrastructure, including bus stops.

“These areas already have transportation, that’s the beauty of it,” he said. “There’s services, there’s shopping, there’s employment. I just think it’s a great idea.”

More work left do for Solis

With his term in office going by “in a flash,” Solis still wants to tend to some unfinished business, including continuing his efforts to address a burgeoning mental health and addiction crisis that he says the county is currently not equipped to handle.

“We don’t have a strategic plan,” he said. “We barely have any infrastructure, either fiscal or physical, and I mean I see it as an emergency.”

By organizing workshops and meetings among mental health advocates, law enforcement and hospital officials, Solis said he helped initiate a process that hadn’t been started before and saw “significant” steps being taken, including quantifying the size of the problem.

But there is much work left to be done, he said.

At the top of the to-do list for Solis is the creation of a center for streamlined access to treatment.

“This is really the way you start addressing this so that people don’t start out necessarily in the jail,” he said.

In June, stakeholders at a workshop organized by Solis discussed a draft plan for such a 55,000-square-foot center, which could be built on the campus of the nonprofit David Lawrence Center on Golden Gate Parkway in East Naples. It would add 90 beds, more than doubling the current number.

The estimated cost to build it is $26.5 million. The project is one of many that could be funded through a 1 percent sales tax hike residents will vote on in November. 

Solis: Mental health issues touch every family

Solis said he is also working on creating an advisory board that would take recommendations from previous workshops and begin fleshing them out, through public hearings, to come up with a formal strategic plan that could be adopted by the county. 

“So that we can start following these things up, next steps, goals,” he said. “And we can start dealing with this like we deal with everything else that’s important.”

Mental health issues, in one way or another, have touched the family of every person he knows, Solis said. The topic affects all areas of life, from education to the economy, he said.

“We see it in the news everyday,” Solis said. “All of these shootings, you know, the Pulse, the Parklands. These are mental health issues at their core.”

What scares him the most is that “there’s nothing that prevents that from happening here.”

From college tennis star to attorney

Solis, 55, was born in Lakeland, Florida, after his parents fled Cuba’s communist dictatorship. 

His father, an engineer, first worked in the phosphate industry before becoming a professor of architecture at the University of Florida. His mother, an architect in her homeland, worked alongside her husband. 

Growing up in Gainesville, Solis played tennis and attended the University of Alabama on an athletics scholarship. A two-time All American tennis player at Alabama, Solis graduated with a bachelor’s degree in industrial management in 1986. He got his law degree from Florida State University in 1991 and served as a law clerk to Florida Supreme Court Justice Ben Overton.

After moving to Collier in 1993, Solis started working for a land-use attorney before his focus shifted more toward litigation, including construction and real estate-related litigation. He joined Cohen & Grigsby in 2006 and now is a director of the firm.

Recusals questioned

Although Solis said the last true land-use work he handled in Collier dates back to 2004, critics have claimed his work background has forced him to recuse himself from a disproportionate amount of votes compared to other commissioners.

However, Solis said there has been only one public hearing on a land-use matter for which he recused himself during his time in office. 

That matter was a recommendation to change the zoning change for land near Livingston and Pine Ridge roads to allow for up to 66 singe-family and/or multi-family dwelling units in late January 2017, board meeting records show. He abstained because the developer, WCI, is a client of his law firm, and the item passed 4-0.

“I have a partner that does represent WCI Communities in things other than land-use matters, and I’m very careful that if that ever comes up I just won’t vote,” Solis said.

The rest of his recusals, he said, have come on consent or summary agenda items that are considered more routine items that haven't garnered opposition.

A review of recusal forms filled out by Solis since he took office shows that he abstained from voting on at least 32 items, though all but the January 2017 zoning change came on consent or summary agenda items. All 32 items were passed unanimously, records show.

(Commissioners Penny Taylor, Burt Saunders and Bill McDaniel each filled out two recusal forms since 2016, records show. Commissioner Donna Fiala has filled out none during the same period.)

Solis said he spends hours “going through every single agenda and every single contract” to make sure there are no conflicts of interest and abstains when there are.

“I have bent over backwards to be as ethical and upfront as possible,” he said.

Brad Schiffer

Age: 69

Family: Wife, daughter, granddaughter

Hometown: Allentown, Pennsylvania

Collier County resident since: 2000

Work background: Practiced architecture and planning with rad schiffer/TAXIS, Inc. since 1978

County service: Collier County Planning Commission (2003-2012)
Development Services Advisory Committee (2016-2018)
Building Board of Adjustments and Appeals, Chairman (2001-2008 and 2013-2018)
Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (2008-2012)
Local Mitigation Strategy Working Group (2005-2012)
Fire Review Task Force, Co-Chairman (2007-2008)
Architectural Standards Review Committee
Florida Building Commission appointee by Gov. Rick Scott since 2012

Florida Fire Code Advisory Council (2004-2008) 

More:Learn about Collier Commission District 2 candidate: Brad Schiffer

Q: What would you do as commissioner to encourage the creation of workforce housing?

A: "A core principle of Smart Growth is building a variety of housing types in all price ranges within a geographic area. Smart Growth encourages mixed-use projects, walkable neighborhoods and efficient design with residences closer to offices, shops, restaurants and schools. As an architect/planner I will bring an unprecedented level of knowledge and experience on housing to the Collier County Commission."

Q: What steps should the county take to diversify its economy?

A: "Three sectors lead Collier County’s economy: tourism/hospitality, healthcare and
construction/development. Agriculture also plays a seasonal role. Collier may never become Silicon Valley, but Florida’s favorable corporate and income tax structure, great weather and pro-business image positions Collier to attract clean manufacturing companies and corporate headquarters, like Arthrex. Strengthening our education system and training capabilities is critical in economic development."

Q: How should the county prepare for a surging population?

A: "Collier’s population has been, and will continue to be, decidedly older. Given this fact, future development must include expansive healthcare services and recreational amenities while attracting a corresponding workforce. Adopting the principles of Smart Growth creates a variety of housing options so we don’t price out families, generate additional traffic congestion or approve developments disrupting the lifestyle shared by all Collier residents."

Andy Solis

Age: 55

Family: Divorced, son and daughter 

Hometown: Lakeland, Florida

Collier County resident since: 1993

Work background: Director, Cohen & Grigsby, P.C. 2006 - Present
Partner, Siket, Solis & Maher, PA 2002 – 2006
Partner, Kelly, Price, Passidomo, Siket & Solis, LLLP 1998 – 2001
Associate, Young, van Assenderp & Varnadoe, PA 1993 – 1998
Law Clerk to Justice Ben F. Overton 1991 – 1993

County service: Chairman, Collier County Board of County Commissioners 2017 - present
Vice-Chairman, Collier County Board of County Commissioners 2016- 2017
Commissioner, Collier County Board of County Commissioners, 2016- present
Member, Collier County Planning Commission, 2015-2016
Liaison, Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance, 2016 - 2017 Implementation Committee, Opportunity Naples, 2014-present
President, Council of Hispanic Business Professionals, Inc., 2012-2015
Board of Directors, Council of Hispanic Business Professionals, Inc., 2009-2016 President, Hispanic Council Foundation of Collier County, Inc., 2014-present
Steering Committee, Partnership For Collier’s Economic Future, 2013-2014
Investor Advisory Committee, Southwest Florida Economic Development Alliance, 2014-2015
Board of Directors, Avow Hospice, Inc., 2012-2014
Board of Directors, Collier County Bar Association
Chairman, Trial Law Section, Collier County Bar Association, 2010-2011
President, Thomas S. Biggs American Inn of Court, 2005-2006

More:Learn about Collier Commission District 2 candidate: Andy Solis

Q: What would you do as commissioner to encourage the creation of workforce housing?

A: "Adopt the community housing plan options that encourage the creation of workforce housing by lowering the land and per unit costs: 1) offering county-owned land for workforce housing, 2) creating an affordable housing trust fund, 3) providing density bonuses for workforce housing, and 4) open commercial Planned Unit Developments to provide affordable housing units where employment, services, and transportation already exist."

Q: What steps should the county take to diversify its economy?

A: "We must 1) continue to streamline the permitting process, 2) create an inventory of shovel-ready commercial/industrial zoned land with sufficient acreage for major employers, 3) invest in a workforce training center to create skilled workers that high-tech, medical, pharmaceutical, and clean manufacturing companies look for, and 4) support the Naples Accelerator and Culinary Accelerator to encourage new investment and entrepreneurship."

Q: How should the county prepare for a surging population?

A: "Review and adopt the Rural Land Stewardship Area five-year review revisions proposed in 2009 (not adopted) to encourage the planning of “villages” in eastern Collier County. The RLSA program and revisions encourage conservation, would cap population at build-out, and cap the acreage that could be developed. Revisions to the Rural Fringe Mixed Use District and RLSA programs should incentivize more landowner participation and be strictly adhered to."