Marion County officials have cleared the way for a new Home Depot to be built at a site in southwest Ocala next to a retirement community that was previously approved for an apartment complex.
The Marion County Board of County Commissioners approved the special use permit request from Home Depot, Inc., during the board’s regular meeting on Tuesday. The commission voted 4 to 1 in favor of the permit, with Chairman Carl Zalak III the lone dissenter.
The special permit allows Home Depot to maintain outdoor storage and sales, given adequate buffering between its property and its neighbors.
Home Depot will build its new location on a 13.25-acre portion of a 22.62-acre site located at 8445 SW 80th Street in Ocala. The new Home Depot is at a site that is bordered to the east by TownPlace Suites and to the south by Cody’s Original Roadhouse.
During Tuesday’s meeting, at least 10 residents shared opinions about the new Home Depot, with many asking the commission for outright denial of the special use permit, and others asking for buffer assurances.
Kim North, whose bedroom window faces the property where the new Home Depot will be built, said she and her neighbors along SW 84th Terrace wanted the county to deny the application for several reasons, including potential noise and light pollution.
“Please deny this application for outdoor storage because this will greatly affect our lives. This is an insult that we have to ask you to uphold the code. Look at the newly installed lift station. There has not been any trees put up there or bushes to hide that. We were told a year and a half ago, that would be all covered up to protect us. It’s still wide open,” said North.
While she spoke, North presented pictures to illustrate how close the new Home Depot would be to her yard, suggesting that construction of the new structure would be “heard by all.”
“Please do not allow this [land development] code to be modified. We need to be protected, and I appreciate the opportunity to remind you all that last year, you all stated that commercial to residential required a concrete buffer wall,” said North. She went on to cite Home Depot’s lumber loading area, suggesting it was “very, very noisy” due to the “constant operation of forklifts, the sounds of wood being moved, and the noise from saws.”
“Residents in the adjacent properties should not see items that are stored outside in commercial areas. On Top of The World residents will clearly see and hear outside storage activities. And this is not allowed. I listen to Cody’s [Roadhouse] music every night. It’s enjoyable, but it’s two hours. It’s not all day and all night,” said North.
Other residents asked that a buffer be considered, including Susan Byrne, who lives next door to North.
“Our back yards are going to be about 50 feet from where Home Depot wants to do all of this. We need a sound deadening wall,” said Byrne. She went on to cite the commissioners’ own words from the meeting in April 2024, when the board approved the development of hundreds of apartments and made comments critical of potential commercial development at the site. During the discussion in 2024 about the site, which is Owned by On Top of The World Communities, LLC (OTOW), residents shared strong sentiments against the proposed (and eventually approved) apartments.
When given the opportunity to explain the buffering that will be in place and the positioning of trucks and lumber, representatives of Home Depot indicated that there would be an eight-foot fence between the business and the community, which is above the six-foot fence requirement by the county. They said the lighting would be shielded from the neighbors, and also established that buffering met all of the criteria established in the county’s current land development code.
During comments by the commission, Chairman Zalak said he didn’t think this was the “right location” for Home Depot, citing the proximity of the retirement neighborhood and potential for noise and light pollution. He indicated that it might even be better to flip the building’s position and have it abut the street, not the neighbors’ yards.
“I hope there’s plenty more Home Depots in Marion County, just not here,” said Zalak III.
Commissioner Michelle Stone said that she believed more commercial businesses in that area of Ocala would assist with traffic along State Road 200.
“I think the more commercial we get out there is going to assist us in that neighborhood…I think Target is going to be in that neighborhood before too many months. The more commercial we can get out there, the better we’re going to be in our traffic situation on Highway 200,” said Stone.
Home Depot currently operates over 2,300 stores across the United States. Approximately 163 of those stores are situated in the state of Florida. The original Home Depot in Ocala (3300 SW 35th Terrace) has also been the only store in Marion County until this point.
What are your thoughts on the new Home Depot coming to Ocala? Share your opinions with us in a comment or, if you have more to say on the topic, write a letter to the editor.