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Osceola County has withdrawn the Orange County Charter Review Committee from its lawsuit to “overturn” the decision of Orange County voters on the Split Oak Forest last November.
But Osceola is still suing Orange County for doing the same.
“Osceola’s attorneys feel that the lawsuit is more properly an issue between the two counties, Orange and Osceola, and that the Charter Review Committee no longer needs to be a party since it was dissolved afterwards. the November elections. The lawsuit against Orange County to overturn Amendment 2 of the Orange County Charter will continue, ”according to a press release from Osceola County.
The referendum prevents Orange County Commissioners from changing rules protecting Split Oak Forest from development and won 86 percent of the vote.
However, Osceola County considers it “unconstitutional” on several fronts.
“Most blatantly of these is that he misled voters, implying that he could limit road construction without informing them that such easement restrictions are prohibited by state law and by failing to inform them that instead of protecting Split Oak Preserve as it describes itself, it made it unsustainable by preventing its agreed dramatic expansion that would double its size, ” according to Osceola County officials.
At the heart of the lawsuit is the future of a planned expansion of the Osceola Parkway through the Split Oak Forest, a 1,600-acre conservation area that straddles Osceola and Orange counties.
The two counties jointly purchased Split Oak 20 years ago with public funds, including state grants, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has maintained it over the years. The initial agreement says that the the property must be held “within perpetuity”As a public conservation space.
But county and regional transport officials have said extending the Osceola Walk through part of the forest is needed to meet increased traffic in the once rural area along Narcoossee Road. This is where the two counties connect and where tens of thousands of new homes have been built, are under construction, or will soon be developed.
The commissioners of Orange and Osceola have approved an expansion plan developed by the Central Florida Expressway Authority (CFX). This road would impact 160 acres of forest, but provides a donation of land from the development company that is building in the area.
CFX began reviewing the project at public meetings in 2017 and it has since been the center of a heated public debate, which culminated in the Orange County voting initiative last year.
Local owners near Lake Ajay and Lake Mary Jane have pushed back plans that would have impacted their neighborhoods. And environmental activists have pushed back against plans that would lead Osceola Parkway to Split Oak.
In May 2018, the Osceola County Commission agreed to work with Tavistock Development Company to “lead a public process (both local and state) to secure the release of associated lands in the Split Oak Forest for the grip “of the road.
Tavistock, the company that developed Nona Lake, built the huge community of Sunbridge in the area and lobbied for expansion of the road. The company has pledged to donate 1,550 acres of undeveloped land in exchange for the 160 acres of Split Oak needed to build the road.
The Friends of Split Oak Forest have rallied behind any plan that has touched the forest from the start. The group helped secure the 2020 charter amendment on the ballot in Orange County and led the charge to prevent the forest from being tampered with and to uphold the original agreement that protects it from the development.
“This is not good government. It is not the government that represents the best interests of the people, ”said Valerie Anderson, founder of Friends of Split Oak Forest.
Still, officials from both counties and the CFX board (which includes local county commissioners) have said the planned route through Split Oak is the fairer solution after considering many other alternatives.
“The chosen path came after years of public participation and in-depth study by leading experts using scientific analysis, public input and, ultimately, multiple public votes by elected county officials. of Osceola and Orange ”, Osceola County press release states.
The Osceola Parkway extension brings significant benefits to many stakeholders including environmentalists, area residents, commuters and those in the future who will find new economic opportunities associated with it.
Osceola County lawsuit against Orange County targets voter-approved amendment that restricts Orange County Commissioners Change Rules Protecting Split Oak.
“The amendment attempts to overturn a scientific decision by Orange and Osceola counties, according to Osceola’s press release.
Anderson said she doesn’t buy it.
“The purpose of a county charter and county charter amendments is to tell the county government what it can and cannot do,” she said. “I don’t understand how Osceola can argue (the Orange County Charter Amendment) is unconstitutional. Where in the Constitution does it say that the county government can do whatever it wants?
A hearing date for the Osceola-Orange trial in Split Oak has not been set.
Meanwhile, the ultimate fate of Split Oak Forest lies with the board of directors of the Florida Communities Trust, which works under the aegis of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. In order for the road to be built, the FCT board must approve an amendment to the Split Oak accord tabled by Osceola and Orange counties that FCT staff are currently reviewing.
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