*Updated to add photos and video from the county commission meeting.
MARION COUNTY, FL (352today.com) – A sea of red shirts filled the McPherson Governmental Complex auditorium in Ocala Tuesday afternoon.
The color-coordinated audience was designed to signal to the Marion County Board of County Commissioners they were all opponents of a developer’s rezoning application.
Jumbolair Aviation and Equestrian Estates filed a request to amend nearly 400 acres of prime pastureland inside the tony, gated community that caters to the aviation and equestrian interests of homeowners.
Jumbolair’s owners, Robert and Debra Bull, wanted to amend the land use as follows:
- 306.81 acres from rural land to low residential
- 39.26 acres from low residential to medium residential
- 30.28 acres from rural land to commercial
The proposal called for adding many more homes and airplane hangars.
Before the meeting began, Marion County Commission Chair Michelle Stone announced to the audience that Jumbolair’s developers withdrew their application and stated that the matter concerning the property would not be discussed. The zoning request was the last two items the commission agenda.
“The owner has the right to withdraw it, and they’ve withdrawn it,” stated Stone.
During the meeting, it was announced that representatives on behalf of Jumbolair sent in a letter just two hours before the meeting stating they were withdrawing their pending applications for their Comprehensive Plan Amendment and Rezoning.
“We look forward to reapplying and are committed to developing a unique, high caliber fly-in community for equestrian and aviation enthusiasts, as well as an adjacent neighborhood serving veterans in need,” shared law office Gooding & Batsel which is representing Jumbolair. “The plan will be a good fit within the Urban Growth Boundary, compatible with the surrounding neighborhood of Anthony, and consistent with our Comprehensive Plan.”
They shared that since filing their application, they have made “concessions and revised the plan to bring about density reduction, removal of townhomes, increased lot sizes, and reduction in the overall number of lots and hangars.”
“Moving forward, we anticipate revisions to address interim agricultural uses, equestrian common areas, revised property subject to our application (including removal of the portion previously designated for Medium Residential future land use designation, which will now remain Low Residential), and assurances that the project will exceed LDC requirements for tree preservation or replacement,” stated developers in the letter.
During the meeting, county attorney Matthew Minter suggested that there be some sort of revision to the land development code regarding private airfields/fly-in communities so that the criteria is more clear. During his comments, he also recommended that it be a yearlong analysis where they’d be “engaging in a zoning in progress situation” meaning all future applications would have to wait.
All commissioners agreed to that recommendation, which was followed by a sigh of relief for much of the crowd.
“Looking at this item, we discovered holes in our Comprehensive Plan and our Land Development Code. So as a result, we now are going to take action by bringing in some experts that will help us sculpt the code to allow us to better consider any future requests,” stated Stone. “Until that time happens though, no applications will be accepted.”
Commissioners still allowed for public comment which consisted of those opposing Jumbolair’s expansion. The opponents included area residents and advocacy groups like Horse Farms Forever, the Ocala Horse Alliance, and Save Our Rural Area. They stated their case against changing how the land could be used with objections focused on a host of quality-of-life issues ranging from noise pollution to environmental concerns to declining property values and more.
In addition to those points made, one resident suggested the expansion could even be a pathway for illegal drugs being flown in and out of the community.
For now, it looks as if those who want to preserve the nature of Marion County’s horse community have prevailed.