Residents in rural east Orange County celebrated Wednesday the dramatic early morning defeat of the latest mega-development proposing to build hundreds of homes on a former cattle ranch in the environmentally sensitive Econ River basin.
Many, wearing their red “Stop Urban Sprawl” t-shirts from previous fights, endured a marathon Orange County commission meeting Tuesday to cheer the 4-3 vote against requesting a land-use change from state authorities. But some were convinced they haven’t seen the last such proposal for the area.
Developers were asking the board for “transmittal” of their plan, a mandatory step in Florida’s process to make large-scale land-use changes and, in this case, to turn the ranchlands into Sustanee, as the developer had dubbed the project of nearly 1,800 homes.
Commissioner Emily Bonilla, whose east Orange district includes the former Rybolt ranch on which Sustanee would sit as well as the rural homesteads opposed to the project, spent more than an hour of a debate that lasted until 1 a.m. citing land-use rules and her legal basis for voting no.
Commissioners Nicole Wilson, Mayra Uribe and Maribel Gomez-Cordero sided with her.
Mayor Jerry Demings and commissioners Christine Moore and Michael “Mike” Scott voted for transmittal.
The vote capped a nearly six-hour hearing which included over two hours of public comment.
Residents had flooded commissioners with emails over the past few weeks, urging them to vote no.
Some sent thank-you emails Wednesday.
Jimmy Hester, who has fought repeated efforts to develop the ranch, spray-painted “WE WON” Wednesday on banners that had urged the community to join the grass-roots fight against the development he argued would ruin rural life.
Developer Sean Froelich did not reply Wednesday to an email request for comment.
In opening remarks to the board on Tuesday evening, Froelich recalled an earlier version of the project, also known as Lake Pickett North, insisting the updated, reworked proposal had been improved with the help of “some great minds in sustainability.”
“We believe we’ve created a community that is far surpassing what came to you before, as well as maybe one of the most sustainable communities in the state of Florida,” he said of Sustanee, which would include 860 acres of open space.
But most of the 115 people who asked for time to address the board opposed the project. They raised concerns about traffic, flooding risks and its proximity to the Sandhills Conservation Area, a publicly owned park intended to protect one of the only remaining natural communities of the long-legged, long-necked birds in eastern Orange County.
Proponents of the project pointed out that Orange County needs more housing for its increasing population.
Sustanee was at least the seventh effort since 2009 to build hundreds of homes on the land, much of which was acquired in 2014 for $15.5 million by Texas-based developers, according to Orange County property records.
Debbie Parrish, who lives near the proposed development, has fought against all of them.
“We’re not saying, ‘No, don’t build, don’t develop.’ We’re saying, ‘Work with our community and build something that fits there,’ ” Parrish said.
Bobby Beagles, a long-time east Orange advocate, said the project would clog roads that are already failing.
“I’m not against growth,” he said. “But we don’t need overgrowth and we don’t need this project.”
Seminole County commissioners also sent a letter to their Orange County counterparts, repeating concerns about the potential spillover of storm-water and traffic impacts Sustanee was likely to create and push across the county line.
Seminole commissioner Lee Constantine said Sustanee would have a regional impact because of its size.
East Orange resident Jeanne McKnight was relieved by the vote, but wary of what may come next.
“You hear a little bit of chitchat here and there,” she said. “For the people who are providing the financial backing, I don’t know when enough is going to be enough. It’s hard to predict and I don’t have any inside scoop.”
But, she added, “We’re not letting our guard down.”
Staff writer Martin Comas contributed to this report.
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