The Leesburg City Commission heard the first reading of five ordinances Monday night that are connected with the 1,127-acre parcel of land The Villages is purchasing from Leesburg.
Two of the ordinances involved an 11-acre parcel of land included in the Villages of West Lake. One calls for a comprehensive plan amendment changing the future land use on the small parcel to age restricted development from industrial and technology commerce park. And the other rezones those acres to age restricted development from city planned unit development.
Two of the ordinances center around an additional 531 acres south of County Road 470 that The Villages initially wanted to purchase but has to remain as a spray field owned by the city.
The first one changes the comprehensive plan amendment on the spray field/general municipal use property to institutional and conservation from age restricted development. And the second one contains the accompanying rezoning request to take the land to city public from age restricted and planned unit development.
The fifth ordinance contains provisions to amend existing Age Restricted Development requirements to:
- Establish a 1,000-acre minimum threshold;
- Clarify the process for amending an existing Age Restricted Development project;
- Add a list of existing Age Restricted Development projects approved by the city, which currently only includes the Villages of West Lake; and
- Allow communications towers and antennas as permitted within the Villages of West Lake area.
Last month, the Leesburg Planning Commission gave its blessing to all five ordinances. But that approval didn’t come until after a lengthy and somewhat contentious meeting where some of the planning commissioners – clearly upset over the 531 acres the city is retaining as a spray field – openly accused The Villages of “cherry picking” the land deal that will include about 2,800 homes.
“They don’t want the swamp land,” Commissioner Ted Bowersox said.
Commissioner Charles Townsend took it a step further by accusing The Villages of deception.
“It wasn’t fully laid out for us,” he said. “It was deceptive in the manner it was done, whether it was intentional or not.”
Bowersox described it as a “knuckleball” by The Villages.
“How come this didn’t come up in negotiations before?” he asked.
City Manager Al Minner explained to the planning commissioners that the 531 acres needs to be retained as a spray field until The Villages is ready to accept 6 million gallons per day of reuse water on a yearly basis. Currently, the community can only take the reuse water nine months of the year, excluding its peak snowbird season.
Minner added that Leesburg likely be hanging on to the rejected property for three to five years, with a possibility of eventually selling to The Villages.
