Marion County Commission Approves Special Use Permit for Home Depot

OCALA, FL (352today.com) – The Marion County Board of County Commissioners approved a special use permit request on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025, to allow outdoor storage and sales in a planned unit development, by a 4-1 vote, with the lone dissenting vote being cast by Marion County Commission Chairman Carl Zalak, III.

The owner of the property is On Top of the World Communities, LLC; the agent is Home Depot, LLC. This was a previously approved planned unit development. On Top of the World made a request to rescind the PUD and revert back to the original zoning designation that was assigned to it previously. It’s located by the Canopy Oaks Development, by the main entrance of the On Top of the World development at 8445 SW 80th St. The parcel is almost 23 acres, but only 13.25 acres of this parcel is being considered for this proposed use, said Kenneth Odom, Marion County Growth Services senior planner.

However, there were a number of On Top of the World residents who voiced their opposition to the special use permit request, with noise, lighting, buffer and traffic concerns as it is adjacent to residences. Many of the residents would prefer a wall as the buffer.

The special use permit is for outdoor storage and outdoor sales only. This is B-2 zoning, meaning internal sales. A big box store is allowed to begin business at this location, typically in B-2 zoning, where the business is allowed to have things go out on the exterior of the property and then be returned back in at the end of the day.

Home Depot has permanent exterior storage, and that’s why they made the request for their special use permit. The applicant had requested a conditional revocation of the PUD depending on the outcome of the special use permit.

The applicant’s decision was to meet the staff’s conditions and to build a wall. The items being stored have to be buffered and somewhat concealed from general line of sight. The wall will only be along the rear of the property.

Changing landscape 

This is part of the Circle Square Woods vested Development of Regional Impact. The DRI was approved in 1978. All of the commercial in the immediate area is community business.

The predominant uses to the north are residential–this is the oldest portion of the On Top of the World DRI. This node of Canopy Oaks was the commercial location of the original On Top of the World DRI, that’s what the area was designated for, said Odom.

When the agent for the applicant came to staff, the first thing that was addressed was the buffers on the northern side of the property.

Consideration for the neighbors

Originally with the two-foot berm and six-foot wall, there was an agreement by the board to maintain the mature vegetation that exists on the north side of the parcel. It was the belief of staff, that if one tried to put a masonry wall that far out and close to that buffer that it could be compromised because of the stability of the construction required considering continued plant growth in the future, said Odom.

There was a berm that could be separated out and then the fence could be built on top of that, but what staff was considering was light and sound coming from this particular location. A wall that far out on the property does not mitigate the noise or the light that much from a particular property, said Odom. The initial buffer was going to be a 20-foot modified buffer with the existing fence that was there. The applicant would fill in the gaps to a width of 20 feet at that location. On the northern portion of the parking lot, they would have a 730-foot-long buffer on the edge of the parking lot, with a low hedge row underneath it.

Residents from On Top of the World voiced their concerns to county staff, who had further discussions with the agent for the applicant. Staff recommended returning to the two-foot berm, with a six-foot vertical structure that the board had originally promoted at that location, but instead of having it on the exterior, it would be more toward the north in order to mitigate the light and sound, having it as close to that parking lot as possible.

There is an access road in front that’s within the DRI. This development will actually build a cart path on that DRI. Having trucks come in at this location was a major concern. Amplified noises are not allowed beyond the edge of the property; they’re allowed up to 65 decibels up until 10 p.m. at night, after that they have to be 55 decibels or lower. All lighting on site has to be pointed inwards and down and shielded from exterior bleed onto other properties.

Code modifications?

The agent for the applicant, Gene Losito, Kimley-Horn and Associates, acknowledged they were in agreement with staff’s conditions that were recommended.

The plan for the property is to have it subdivided and platted into three separate parcels, creating a parcel on the west, a parcel on the east and then the Home Depot parcel in the center, said Losito.

The agent’s justification for the special permit use request is that customer access and storage of the items must occur outside of the building due to the size and nature of the items. To buffer the storage areas from the public view, landscaping will be provided on the north, south, east and west property lines. The northern buffer will remain as existing with a heavily vegetated tree line and existing fence; additional landscape will be added in areas of open views, and approximately 40 trees will be added for additional screening. The site improvements will be located over 100 feet from the northern property line adjacent to the residential development, said Losito.

“Another consideration that Home Depot has made during their planning of the operational items for the site, reviewing the county noise ordinances, they plan to be able to comply with those by using electric forklifts, which will be used to do their loading and unloading of these materials to limit their noise impacts to adjacent neighbors as much as they can,” said Losito.

Commission Chair Zalak asked the agent for the applicant if a sound study had been done, and they have yet to perform an evaluation. Zalak also asked a series of questions regarding truck deliveries, and the methods they use. Pallets and lumber deliveries would be made to the back of the store.

However, the agent for the applicant did respond that based on the county’s ordinances, the electric forklifts do comply with the decibel levels listed in the code.

Commissioner Kathy Bryant asked the agent for the applicant why he would come in, knowing what the code is, residential to residential, especially with the conversations that the board has been having about buffering, and was surprised that they would ask for the special use permit.

There was concern that trucks would be bringing in deliveries during off hours, potentially creating a disturbance, more than 10 times a week.

The buffer is important because it would mitigate light and sound at all times, said Odom. Staff doesn’t believe a wall on the exterior, which would’ve been appropriate for residential to residential, would be appropriate at this location, and that’s why there was additional discussion with the applicant about an interior wall. The Home Depot would bring more than 100 jobs to the community.

“The more commercial we get out there is going to assist us in that neighborhood,” said Commissioner Michelle Stone. “The more commercial we get out there the better we’re going to be in our traffic situation on SR 200.”