A judge will soon decide whether Orange County voters were “misled” with a referendum on a 2020 ballot.

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Osceola County filed the lawsuit shortly after 86 percent of Orange County voters approved the charter amendment to protect and preserve the Split Oak Forest.

Osceola wants to void the Orange County charter amendment and what Orange voters overwhelmingly decided.

Orange County defended the referendum and its charter when a judge heard from both sides Monday.

In 2020, when this was voted on, Orange and Osceola County governments were both on board to build the proposed toll road, known as the Osceola Parkway Extension, through part of the protected forest– despite it being conservation land. Both counties put the land into conservation in the 1990s because of its wetlands and protected species like gopher tortoises.

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The proposed toll road would directly impact 60 acres of the forest.

The 2020 referendum simply stated it would “limit use of Split Oak Forest to conservation and the protection of its wildlife, vegetation and environment,” and revoke Orange County Commission’s ability to take any action against the protection of the forest.

But Osceola County argues the charter amendment “mislead the voters to believe that it was protecting conservation land” when in actuality it was preventing the proposed toll road, the county claims.

Osceola pointed to an Orange County committee report. “The committee’s report is troubling but clear because it indicates it’s being done simply to stop a road,” said Todd Norman, an attorney representing Osceola County. “It fails to inform the voter of the fundamental change it’s making. It’s hiding the ball.”

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Orange County attorneys said the ballot proposal clearly stated to the voter what its primary purpose was– to protect Split Oak in its current form.

“The voters are smart enough to do their own research, judge, and do more research into what a referendum means just like they are a political candidate,” said Orange County attorney.

Friends of Split Oak Forest President Valerie Anderson says the 2020 ballot question was worded broadly intentionally.

“The ballot amendment is not specifically about the toll road. It’s about what Orange County does. It’s about what Orange County commissioners are allowed to do because the people of Orange County saw that the county commissioner may or may not have been respecting the protections of Split Oak,” Anderson said.

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Judge Margaret Schreiber acknowledged how important the case is and said she will issue a decision soon. She did not give a time frame of when the decision would be released.

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