ST. CLOUD, Fla. – Neighbors in east Osceola County are worried a proposed development will disrupt their rural community.
Geri Lockhart has enjoyed the beautiful scenery of Lake Lizzie and the rural character of her neighborhood for 22 years. It’s a slice of old Osceola County and one of the few slices remaining.
“The sun comes up right over those trees with the sandhill cranes in the foreground,” she said.
Development has been exploding throughout the rapidly growing county, and it’s now spreading closer to Lockhart’s rural neighborhood.
A developer is looking to bring 97 living units — 82 townhomes and 15 single-family homes — to a 16-acre lot along Pine Grove Road on the shores of Lake Lizzie.
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“We’re going to lose the nature and beauty of this place,” Lockhart said. “I think it would be a mistake for the environment, for this lake. Pine Grove Road, with all the developments they’re putting in, has no light at 192. There have already been terrible accidents up there.”
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The new developments and homes that have been built on the west side of Pine Grove Road have more density than the existing homes closer to the lake. It’s more rural, maybe a home per acre, and Lockhart wants to keep it that way.
“I don’t know of any other development or any other PUD on the chain of lakes at all,” she said. “It’s going to change the whole atmosphere of the area, I believe.”
Before the project breaks ground, though, it still has some hurdles to clear.
The developer is requesting to annex the property into the city of St. Cloud and to change the land use designation from Osceola County’s low-density residential to the city’s medium-density residential.
Lockhart said the plans were discussed at a community meeting a few weeks ago.
“They listened, they did take questions, but one thing that was said, which kind of stuck with me, was that they’re going to build on that land whether it be city or county,” she said. “Basically, what everyone came away with was they’re going to find a way. How much they’re going to build, that’ll be up to the county or city, I’m sure.”
The annexation, land use designation and rezoning of the property — three key components of the project’s future — will go to the St. Cloud Planning Commission on Feb. 20.
A city spokesperson told News 6 it’s too soon to say if the requests will go through.
“I know they have the right to build,” Lockhart said. “We’re not arguing that at all. I’m just asking that everything be taken into consideration, and they build responsibly.”
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