Ocala-News.com has received dozens of letters over the past several weeks in response to stories regarding the development of housing across Marion County. These are a few of the letters:
Rose Vidal, Citra: “Every one of the commissioners scratches each other’s back and all make money. It’s all the same click in that office, the whole county is run that way. Meanwhile the rest of north Marion County is neglected in every way. No affordable housing, no work, no medical or anything up here. Especially no police to remove the generations of drug dealers killing people here. They won’t allow it to change, just like the country’s government. You know, the norm there.”
Elaine Strickland, Orange Springs: “I do agree with others over the land clearing madness of our trees of beautiful, wooded lands just for building homes to be sold to people wanting to live in Marion County, Florida, those from other states that live in cities wanting country life. But how on earth are we going to be able to have what we have in Marion County with all this land clearing going on? I think that there needs to be a tap on how much forest that can be cleared and overdeveloped. There are buildings that sit empty, why not put them in use for businesses and foreclosed homes that should be bought before land takeover and cleared. My small community is going to morph into one big city between Fort McCoy and Citra, God help us all. Marion County is getting overpopulated with humans.”
Sandra Norcrosa, Ocklawaha: “I have written before regarding this subject and so have many people. What do we have to do to stop the growth that is ruining our beautiful county? It does no good to seek our commissioners for help when they are getting their pockets padded by big developers even though we voted for them to help preserve our lifestyle, not turn it into another Orlando. More and more traffic fatalities are happening, the road maintenance is horrible, etc. So could someone please come up with an idea on how to save this county?”
Jackie White, Reddick: “I agree, again, with those who question this overdevelopment of houses at the expense of vegetation and wildlife. Stop! Your quota has long been met.”
Jack Shepherd, Ocala: “With all this construction and disruption of native habitat for the animals in our county, please remember to leave some food out for the wild life or at least some water. As the summer heats up. Animals need to be hydrated like all of us. And the new construction scares them and they may flee areas they know well, leaving them lost and confused. So please leave water out for the wildlife . At least the wildlife that has not been destroyed and is still left as the developers envelop the county with car washes, WaWas and apartment buildings.”
Sal Di Domenico, Ocala: “We bought our home in 1994 on the north end of Marion Oaks. I thought we were in paradise. That quickly changed when I realized we were about to inundated with reckless development! Marion County can’t handle the current population with the corroding infrastructure that they seem to be unable to maintain, but they insist on granting building permits like giving out lollipops! I will soon be cashing out and getting far away from the land-grabbing developers that have all our elected officials in their pockets. We have no one to blame but ourselves for what is about to happen here. Very sad.”
Susan Williams, Ocala: “I’ve been in Ocala since 1964. I loved Ocala up until about 5 years ago. Hwy 200 was a two-lane, beautiful drive through with multiple horse farms. Highway 40 was a two-lane. You could get anywhere in about 15 minutes. Now, with the traffic, if you can make it safely to your destination, better plan for at least 30-45 minutes. Highway 27 has been spared from the growth until now. You’ll see the beautiful horse farms disappear quickly. I read that Ocala is the #1 city in the Nation for growth. Why? Infrastructure is not keeping up, crime is rampant, people are rude, traffic is dangerous, rent is outrageous. Why Ocala?”