The Ocala City Council denied a rezoning request from a local business that sought to build a manufactured home sales center in southwest Ocala.
On Tuesday, council members unanimously voted to deny a rezoning request from APMRHK, LLC for a 2.16-acre portion of a 6.29-acre property located at 1500 SW 17th Avenue within the Ocala Industrial Park.
According to city records, the company sought to rezone the property from light industrial (M-1) to wholesale business (B-5).
A map of the site shows that it is situated on the southeastern side of SW Martin Luther King Avenue, between State Road 200 and State Road 464.
The company has been using the site for outdoor vehicle storage against city ordinance.
During Tuesday’s meeting, council members cited an active code enforcement case and multiple other violations by the organization in the past as reasons for the denial.
“This is not something that I think is compatible,” said council president pro-tem Kristen Dreyer. Dreyer and her fellow councilmembers all expressed concerns that a rezoning to B-5 would afford this or any future property owner a wide range of uses for the site.
As the council began voting against the measure, David Tillman of Tillman Engineering interrupted the vote to remind the council that they had skipped public comment on the topic.
Tillman, whose firm represents the applicant, went on to suggest that the parking lot was “not holding up very well” and was “kind of a mess.” He said that the rezoning was going to help the business move forward with the property and make necessary changes to create a “mobile home sales center.”
The proposed sales center was going to be located adjacent to the manufacturing center, according to city records.
Tillman said that despite the company currently selling from its manufacturing site, it didn’t have room to construct a sales center there. As a result, it planned to continue selling its products to wholesalers from that location while moving its public sales to the proposed center.
After Tillman spoke, the council reiterated its position.
Councilmember Jay Musleh made multiple suggestions in an attempt to allow the applicant to return with a different request, but ultimately was told the applicant would not return with a “PD” (planned development).
Dreyer once again pointed to incompatibility.
“I think mobile home sales there is kind of ridiculous,” said Dreyer, joking that she could go to a nearby Target instead. She said the applicant had shown a “clear disregard” for rules based on past and current code violations.
The council voted 5-0 to deny the request.