OCALA, FL (352Today.com) – At its Tuesday meeting, the Ocala City Council approved rezoning and terminated a 2008 developer’s agreement for a vacant 2.8-acre property at 5203 SW 20th Street, giving the owner more flexibility to pursue a small church and office space.
Council members voted unanimously to adopt Ordinance 2027-4, changing the zoning of Parcel 23320-005-05 from B-1A, Limited Neighborhood Business, to B-1, Neighborhood Business. They also approved a concurrent request to terminate the developer’s agreement. Planning and Zoning had recommended approval of both items 4-0 in September.
Growth Management Planner for the City of Ocala, Endira Madravaren, told council the property was annexed in 1997 with no zoning. In 2008, the previous owner first sought light industrial zoning, which raised compatibility concerns with nearby residential areas. The request was changed to B-1A, and the owner recorded a developer’s agreement that limited uses and expressly prohibited alcoholic beverage establishments.
Current owner Valentine Jimenez bought the property in 2019. A 2020 site plan for a small church was submitted but never approved. Under the old agreement, a church required a special exception, and the agreement also limited building size to 6,000 square feet.
Agent and engineer Davis Dinkins said the owner came to him with an older site plan for a small church on the front of the property and wanted to add office space for his business in the back. The square-footage limit in the developer’s agreement blocked that plan. Dinkins said the request was intended to allow normal B-1 uses without the extra restrictions. He told council he has not been told that alcohol sales are the owner’s intent, and that any proposal involving alcohol would still require a separate public hearing and council approval.
Staff said the move from B-1A to B-1 is a relatively modest change. It would allow additional uses such as a pharmacy, roadside fruit and vegetable stands, and full-service gas stations by special exception. It would also remove the previous hours-of-operation restriction (7 a.m. to 11 p.m.) and the 6,000-square-foot building size limit. Terminating the agreement means churches and daycares would be permitted as principal uses, and alcohol establishments would no longer be automatically prohibited.
No one from the public spoke on either item. With the votes, the property is now zoned B-1 without the 2008 restrictions.