Proposed Fawn Lake Estates Clears Hurdle with Marion County Planning and Zoning Vote

OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously voted to approve a request for a rezoning change to go from single-family dwelling to a planned unit development (PUD) for a proposed project for 329 detached single-family homes at a public hearing on Monday, Dec. 29, 2025. The item will come before the Marion County Board of County Commissioners for final approval on Jan. 20, 2026.

The owner is Midway 65 LLC. The agent is Tillman & Associates Engineering. The proposed project is known as Fawn Lake Estates. The parcel is 110.14 acres in size.

There is a medium residential land use to the rear and high residential land toward the front of the subject property. Initially, it was all high residential, which would have allowed for four to eight dwelling units per acre, meaning that the applicant would be required to meet the minimum density, or roughly 440 units, said Kathleen Brugnoli, Marion County growth services project planner. A planned unit development would provide the county with more oversight.

The applicant went before the Marion County development review committee and requested a step-down for land use that’s allowed within the county’s comprehensive plan, which was granted, said Brugnoli. The portion in the back that’s now medium residential was granted as a step-down, allowing a lower density. The 329 detached single-family units that the applicant is requesting is appropriate for the land use they have.

The subject property is in Silver Springs Shores, north of the Lake Diamond and Crystal Lake subdivisions.

Neighboring communities 

Adjacent properties include Crystal Lakes subdivision, Lake Diamond subdivision, Lake Diamond Golf and Country Club, what is referred to as Silver Springs Shores Units 20 and 27 and state-owned land known as the Marshall Swamp.

Activity in the area includes Whisper Woods which is 82 residential units and Maricamp Market Center which is 192 residential units. Both are currently in the development review process, and are at some stage of platting, whether it be preliminary improvement or final plats, said Brugnoli. Cedarville is 34 residential units and has their approvals as needed for development review, so they can start building. Arden of Ocala is working through the process to get their master plan approval but has not reached the platting process stage as of this time.

Project planning

Amenities for Fawn Lake Estates include a walking trail that has benches throughout, a covered shelter, a recreation field, a playground area and a pickleball court.

For potential traffic generation, there’s an approved methodology in place. The traffic study for the proposed project is still taking place and has yet to be approved and is in the process of review with the office of the county engineer and the planner for traffic, using 356 dwelling units, said Brugnoli.

The trip generation that was provided from the 356 dwelling units’ number, was 3,245 daily trips, with a morning peak of 237 and an afternoon/evening peak of 328, so whenever that study happens and there are improvements provided that are to be put in place, the applicant would be required to meet those.

A road to the south is being abrogated. The applicant’s intent is for that to be removed because they’re looking to realign the road that would be connecting the western access to the east side of the development, said Brugnoli. The portion of Bahia Trace that’s not developed currently would be eliminated and a realignment would take place, connecting the east side to the west side.

If the proposed development was required to be high residential, it would be somewhere between 441 and 881 units, which the applicant is meeting.

The traffic study is in review and should be available prior to the second public hearing on Jan. 20, 2026. Connection is required for central utilities with Marion County utilities, and site development is subject to the Marion County land development codes.

Staff recommended approval with development conditions.

Change in plans 

The step-down was requested with regard to land use. If the subject property would’ve remained high density residential, the overall site would have to be developed as apartments to be able to fit that density on the parcel, said David Tillman, Tillman & Associates Engineering.

“We didn’t feel that was necessarily as compatible with this region as single-family housing, seeing that everything around there is single-family housing, and we wanted something that fit in and matched better to the remaining properties that were adjacent to us, and so we asked for that step-down,” said Tillman. “That step-down allowed us to come into range of that 329 units.”

Concerned citizens 

A number of people spoke in opposition to the proposed project, including John Townsend of Crystal Lakes, who resides in close proximity to the subject property. Fawn Lake Estates would add three new roads and bring heavier congestion into his neighborhood, with its current plan.

Crystal Lakes would be one of those subdivisions impacted by the increased traffic flow; then there is the potential for more crime being brought to the area. Crystal Lakes has only one point of egress and ingress. There were also concerns about the height of the buffers.

Additionally, some were worried about the proposed project’s impact on the surrounding area’s wildlife. Concerns were also raised about the traffic flow impacting Crystal Lakes, disrupting their quality of life with increased traffic and potential safety issues.

Excess traffic seemed to be the primary concern for residents of Crystal Lakes due to narrow roads, new roadwork and safety issues to residents and their pets, rather than the proposed project itself.

John Cormey knew when he built his home that there was always the potential for future development. He hoped any proposed project would feature “typical Silver Springs Shores-sized” lots.

“There was a composite sketch for Crystal Lakes Estates with all the conservation easements that were created from that,” said Cormey. “It’s an environmentally sensitive parcel and it’s very unique in its own right because of how it borders the Marshall Swamp. There is an abundance of wildlife. Navigating through the neighborhood is tricky, and a lot of times people will end up in your blind spot before you know it.”

Crystal Lakes resident Edward Macia brought up another issue: When the second phase of Lake Diamond was built, his house began flooding.

Tillman countered by saying a developer isn’t allowed to discharge more than than it did in the predevelopment stage–if there’s a preexisting problem, that’s not necessarily the responsibility of the developer, and generally any post discharge would be less than what occurs during buildout.

The proposed project would be going in under the new water management district criteria, which has a nutrient requirement, which has enlarged the majority of the stormwater ponds on the project, so there should be an improvement, said Tillman.

The applicant will bring back a road alternative before the board of county commissioners that features less connectivity from the proposed project to Crystal Lakes.