ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – The developers behind a controversial proposal to build nearly 1,800 homes near Lake Pickett have sued to block Orange County from letting voters decide whether it should be more difficult to get such projects approved in rural areas.
Lake Pickett North LLC filed the lawsuit Friday against Orange County and its supervisor of elections, Glen Gilzean, in hopes a judge will deem null and void the county’s recently-passed Rural Boundary Charter Amendment and Municipal Annexation Charter Amendment ordinances.
[RELATED: Some Orange County residents want a rural boundary. What does that mean?]
The ordinances would require the establishment of a rural area and rural boundary, as shown on the map below, and a majority-plus-one vote from county commissioners to approve voluntary annexations within the rural area, respectively. Both amendments are set to be decided by Orange County voters in the 2024 General Election.
The lawsuit alleges that Orange County violated Section 125.66(3)(a) of Florida’s state statutes in failing to prepare or causing to be prepared a business impact estimate for either ordinance before issuing public notice of hearings or approving the measures.
If the amendments are ultimately approved by voters, Lake Pickett North LLC — which presently claims to own some 678.6 acres of land abutting Lake Pickett Road and the Econlockhatchee Sandhills Conservation Area — states it would “suffer immediate and irreparable harm.”
Lake Pickett Lawsuit by Brandon Hogan on Scribd
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Among hours of public comments already delivered by dozens of Orange County residents ahead of commissioners’ approval for both ordinances, some of these latest community-driven efforts have already seen the county vote 4-3 to deny the so-called Sustanee development from moving forward.
Lake Pickett North LLC, along with Orlando-based Canin Associates, sought to develop the ranchland between UCF and Lake Pickett with 1,789 homes and 90,000 square feet of community space. While the developers promised the neighborhood would be environmentally focused despite coming shoulder to shoulder with a conservation area, current Orange County Commission District 5 runoff candidate Kelly Semrad said in January, “it’s just a bad nightmare.”
“We’re building growth and development outside of the urban service area into the rural area where there’s no infrastructure to support it,” she said. “It begins to impact the quality of life of all the residents who live there and the residents who will be there in the future.”
Christopher Heath, Orange County Supervisor of Elections chief elections administrator, provided News 6 with the following statement:
Our office is aware of the lawsuit and will follow any guidance from the court.
Orange County Supervisor of Elections Chief Elections Administrator Christopher Heath
News 6 has reached out to Orange County for a statement and is awaiting a response.
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