Ocala waives one-year rezoning pause for commercial tract, second waiver since 2022

Ocala City Council has approved both requests since 2022 to waive its one-year rezoning waiting period, most recently allowing a new owner to seek commercial zoning on land just approved for homes.

A fiberglass horse, stabilized over grass, with trees, two men talking and a building in the background.

352todayOn October 20, 2026, the Ocala City Council unanimously waived the one-year rezoning waiting period for the entire 283-acre Mockingbird Ridge site west of Interstate 75 so Flyover Ocala, LLC could pursue a commercial plan on the eastern tract.

OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The City of Ocala’s building code contains a deliberate pause after a rezoning, so the city and neighbors are not immediately asked to reconsider the same land. City council can waive that one-year waiting period with a vote of at least three members. Since January 2022, the city has received only two such requests. It approved both. In both cases, according to City of Ocala Public Information Officer Greg Davis, the minutes show that “no further discussion occurred following staff presentation.”

The more recent waiver is the clearer illustration. On May 5, 2026, council approved the Mockingbird Ridge Planned Development for a 283.55-acre site west of Interstate 75 inside the Heath Brook Development of Regional Impact (DRI). “It was signed and went into effect on that same day,” Davis said. Within months, roughly 109 acres along the interstate were sold to Flyover Ocala, LLC. The new owner wants to develop that eastern tract as a commercial project rather than the residential plan already entitled. Staff recommended waiving the one-year rule so a new rezoning application could be considered before May 5, 2027. On October 20, council approved the waiver unanimously and without conditions. “The waiver covers the entire 283-acre site,” Davis said. “No conditions were included in the waiver approval.”

The earlier waiver, approved on March 21, 2023, involved the West Oak Planned Development and was sought so the applicant could correct procedural and notice errors from a 2021 approval. Staff recommended it. Council approved it with no further discussion after the staff presentation.

Davis confirmed that approving a waiver does not itself change the zoning. “The formal process will be required,” he said. Flyover Ocala must still hold a neighborhood meeting (scheduled for next month), provide notice to nearby property owners, and go through the normal public hearings before the Planning and Zoning Commission and City Council. Whether the eventual commercial plan will require a formal amendment to the Heath Brook DRI remains unknown until an application is filed. The western portion of the original tract continues as a residential subdivision of roughly 493 homes under separate ownership. Davis also noted that additional research would be necessary to determine whether the city has ever denied a waiting-period waiver request outside the period since January 2022.