The Marion County Board of County Commissioners approved a rezoning request for a new development that will see the creation of dozens of larger properties at a 400-acre site in the county alongside nearly 5,000 acres of conservation land.
On Tuesday, county officials unanimously approved a rezoning request from Drake Ranch, LLC, to change the multi-acre site at 13210 SW Highway 200 in Dunnellon from general agriculture (A-1) to planned unit development (PUD).
The approval comes with several conditions. During a discussion on the request on Tuesday, county staff recommended denial after sharing several points of contention about the proposal, including issues with buffer height, the number of proposed homes, and the connection to central water rather than the use of septic and wells.
The developer will construct approximately 38 one-acre lots and two farm lots at the site. Each lot will feature a single-family residence and an accessory family cottage/guest home. A separate caretaker residence was to also be constructed to manage all ranch operations. That residence was a point of contention brought up by county staff, who said that it changed the overall density at the site.
As a point of clarification, the developer agreed to have no more than 40 lots, including the caretaker residence.
In response to this density issue, the developer’s representative, David Tillman of Tillman and Associates Engineering, LLC, cited a provision from the county’s land development code about wetlands that allows the density from any land mitigated as conservation area to be included in the development’s overall density.
“For mitigation conservation efforts within Marion County, the full maximum density of the onsite, mitigated wetlands potential density under the land use designation shall be available,” read Tillman. He went on to state that the development had “another 410 acres of wetland area that’s under conservation easement,” suggesting if that “density is available at one unit per ten acres, that’s another 41 units and I’m asking for one,” in reference to the caretaker home.
County attorney Matthew “Guy” Minter, said he wasn’t sure if the section quoted by Tillman was applicable and took issue with possibly giving the developer credit for something in a conservation area.
County staff also reported that the market demand and “necessity for change,” which are both criteria for changes to comprehensive planning and zoning, were not formally presented in the project. Staff noted that “these specific types of high-end subdivisions” are not overtly sought by the public. Staff stated that the area in question generally has not seen a lot of development, noting that most of the properties surrounding the site are large sites.
During discussion about the conditions proposed by county staff for approval of the project, board members shared their excitement about the new development, which they heralded as a way to preserve “old Florida.”
“I’m excited about this. I’m excited about the opportunity to preserve the Drake legacy. The Drake Ranch has always been an exclusive and elusive place to go. I’ve never been there. I’ve never been out there. Always wanted to go. Because it is old Florida. It truly is old Florida. And finding a way to preserve the Drake Ranch in perpetuity, and I believe that this is a way to preserve it from someone coming in in 30 to 40, 50 years and developing it, because in 40 or 50 years it will be gone – I am not usually in favor of all of this, but I am in favor of this because we are losing old Florida every single day,” said Commissioner Kathy Bryant.
“This is not going to be one of those types of subdivisions that we’re used to seeing, and I think what [staff is used to] recommending for improvements,” said Stone.
“I’m just sad that I won’t be able to afford one of those lots, ever,” joked Bryant. “I might have to put together a conglomerate for that.”
In October, the Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval of the rezoning request with several conditions.
In addition to the lots, the site will feature recreational and agricultural amenities that include a community center, sports fields, an equestrian area, a shared-use path, and a boat ramp/pavilion.
The original proposal called for the creation of 44 lots on around 446.72 acres, with 40 of the lots being at least one acre in size and four additional farm lots being be at least 20 acres in size.
On October 21, David Tillman of Tillman & Associates Engineering amended the request, asking instead for 40 units on 407.4 acres. Additionally, the request for four farm homes was reduced to two.
At the end of Tuesday’s meeting, the MCBCC approved the request with several of the conditions proposed by county staff. Most of those conditions were largely supported by the developer. The maximum number of lots agreed to is 40, unless County Attorney Minter determines in the next 30 days that 41 is allowed. County officials said the types of homes were irrelevant.
The final planned unit development conceptual plan will have to come back to the board for approval before construction begins at the site.
The Marion County Board of County Commissioners regularly meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 9 a.m. at the McPherson Governmental Complex (601 SE 25th Avenue, Ocala).