The rezoning of a proposed development that would bring over 300 homes to a 77-acre site in northeast Ocala will come up for a final vote on Monday, with over 1,400 residents having signed a petition in an attempt to prevent the rezoning.
Last month, the Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission voted 4-3 to recommend approval of a rezoning request for Sutton Ranch, the new proposed development at 3922 NE Jacksonville Road. The site is situated less than a mile from Vanguard High School.
Before that request was recommended for approval, Ocala resident Lauren Brown presented the commission with a petition that she created through Change.org in opposition to the proposed rezoning request.
In the weeks since, that petition has now garnered over 1,400 votes.
The property in question is owned by Alluja, LLC, which is registered to Shirley and John Rudnianyn, according to state records. Alluja, LLC is being represented by local firm Tillman & Associates Engineering, LLC.
Marion County property records show that the Rudnianyns purchased the property for $548,200 in September 2013 from Double D Ranch, LLC, a now-defunct company owned by Daniel Downey, Sr., and Angela D. Soto.
According to county records, the property was most recently approved for a PUD in 2009. At the time, the approval granted construction of up to 240 homes.
That approval has now expired and the group is asking the county to rezone the expired planned unit development to allow for the construction of approximately 310 single-family residential homes at the 77.52-acre site.
The conceptual plan for the new Sutton Ranch shows the community would offer several amenities, including a playground, dog park, pocket park, and walking trail, among others. The community would offer homes that are no taller than 40 feet high and would feature at least 20% open space.
During the PZC’s meeting, several members of the public expressed their concerns about the new development.
“My area that I live in is very quiet. And, personally, I want it to stay that way,” said Linda Decker, an Ocala resident. Decker said her number one concern was “traffic on NE 35th Street,” citing other developments that have sprouted up nearby, like Millwood Estates. The Ocalan also suggested that the additional development would strain infrastructure, including the school system, the electrical grid, and the water systems in the area.
In the petition authored by Brown, the document cites Emerson Pointe, which recently had its second phase green-lit, and new apartments nearby as additional developments that make Sutton Ranch unnecessary. The petition also makes a plea at saving the county’s wildlife and natural beauty.
“It’s time we voice our concern as the people of Marion County. Let’s stand for the preservation of rural heritage, the conservation of natural beauty, and for sustainable, mindful development that takes into account the delicate balance between our needs and those of nature around us,” reads the petition. “There are foxes, coyotes, hawks, an eagle that has been visiting, gopher tortoise, swallow-tailed kites that return every year and nest in the trees and so much more wildlife that is being pushed by the over-development.”
To sign the petition, visit Change.org.
Last month, over 2,000 residents signed a separate petition against overdevelopment in Marion County. That petition resulted in a meeting between the author and a Marion County Board of County Commissioner.
The Marion County Board of County Commissioners hosts its next Planning and Zoning meeting on Monday, February 17 at 1:30 p.m. at the McPherson Governmental Complex (601 SE 25th Avenue).