Orlando City Council will vote Monday on an interlocal agreement, already approved by Orange County commissioners, to halt a controversial land annexation request from Deseret Ranches, a Mormon Church affiliate and major landowner in Central Florida.
But there’s some trade-off involved on Orange County’s part. If approved, the interlocal agreement requires the county to drop its challenge of other annexations recently approved by the city, including parcels of Sunbridge land totalling about 11,000 acres.
RELATED: Orange County pursues conflict resolution over Orlando’s Sunbridge annexation
The county would also need to approve a collective $626 million in Tourist Development Tax funding for Camping World Stadium and the Kia Center, and agree to lease part of its Work Release Center to the city to use for a homeless shelter, at the rate of $1/year for seven years, under the pending agreement.
Additionally, by the end of next March, the county and city would enter into a 10-year Joint Planning Agreement to establish “a firm boundary outlining the extent of annexations by the City during this period.” That JPA would automatically renew every five years, according to the interlocal agreement attached to Monday’s City Council agenda item.
That “firm boundary” would be a step forward, according to Marjorie Holt, who serves as conservation and political chair for Sierra Club Central Florida Group.
“It would be a boundary line that separates the urban service boundary from the rural service area, so the city and the county have a clear definition of that boundary,” Holt said.
Another positive aspect to the pending agreement, Holt said: it ensures the 11,000 acres of annexed Sunbridge land remain under the authority of Orange County’s Environmental Protection Division. That matters because in Florida, Orange County is unique in maintaining control over its own environmental regulations, including stronger wetlands protections approved by the county last year, Holt said.
“It means greater protection,” Holt said. “Most jurisdictions don't have that local regulatory process. [Instead] those wetland impacts and requests go straight to the state of Florida.”
Still, the interlocal agreement isn’t a guarantee against future, potentially problematic land annexations — including of the very same Deseret land the city is currently offering to drop, Holt said.
“At the same time, [the agreement] provides access for the city to jump into that rural east side [of Orange County],” Holt said. “There's nothing, in my estimation, that prevents the city or Deseret [Ranches] going to the city for annexation.”
The best “guardrail” against that would be a set of charter amendments before Orange County voters right now, Holt said, which seek to establish a rural boundary, raise the bar for approving land annexations and make it more difficult to rezone and develop land designated for conservation.
“If those charter amendments don't pass, if I'm reading this correctly, there still could be an annexation request of the same land,” down the road, Holt said. “I just don’t see anything fixed against annexation.”
In her estimation, “the city made out on this deal,” essentially leaving Deseret Ranches empty-handed for now — and illustrating a key point, Holt said.
“It goes to show that these municipalities really can govern development, if they want to,” Holt said.
While cautiously optimistic about the interlocal agreement, Holt said she’d recommend keeping an eye out for similar annexation attempts, moving forward.
“I would always watch and be very guarded that the owners want to develop,” Holt said. “The city was receptive the first time, [and] could be the second time.”
