Audubon to Orlando Leaders: Reject Annexation of Deseret Ranches

As city leaders next week take up the issue of a major expansion of Orlando’s boundaries for the first time, the state’s top environmental group is calling on them to slow down.

In a letter to Mayor Buddy Dyer and city commissioners, Audubon Florida said the city — which primarily oversees land and urban development — is ill-equipped to manage the 52,453 acres of ranches and natural areas that comprise Deseret Ranches. The group advocates keeping the sprawling property — owned by a subsidiary of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints — under Orange County control.

“It is understood that the county’s regulations provide more protection to rural wetlands, scrub, long-cone pines and other ecosystem components than Orlando does,” wrote Julie Wraithmell, executive director of Audubon Florida, noting that the county’s boundaries include remote rural and natural areas. “The city’s regulations are instead tailored to the more urban areas of the city.”

City officials are expected to consider the annexation — which would increase the size of the city map by 60 percent — on Sept. 23. The annexation would require two separate, back-to-back council votes to be approved.

The Orange County portion of Deseret Ranches extends east from the present city limits almost to the Brevard County line, south to the Osceola County line, and north to State Route 50.

Its owners filed a petition to encroach last month. They hope to have it approved by Election Day, when county voters will have to consider a pair of charter amendments that would strictly regulate growth in rural areas and give the Board of County Commissioners veto power over future annexations.

Andrea Otero, a city spokesman, blamed the county for rushing to consider the unprecedented annexation.

“We would prefer that these decisions not be made in such a short time frame, but given the circumstances imposed by the county and our obligation to protect the best interests of our taxpayers and residents, we must review and make a decision on these applications before the county charter amendment goes into effect,” she said in a statement Monday.

Otero said city planners “will work with landowners to develop a multi-year development strategy that will include environmental protections for wetlands and wildlife.”

Developers seeking to join the city have already significantly expanded Orlando’s boundaries eastward this year, approving the annexation of about 12,000 acres, including the massive, ongoing Sunbridge project and the Stanton Energy Plant.

County officials have opposed those annexations and are expected to do the same with Deseret Ranches.

The church has not outlined plans for future development of the ranch land, although it has previously said it plans for about a half-million people to live on the entire 300,000 acres it owns in the area by 2080, which includes parts of Orange, Osceola and Brevard. While the church has agreed to a planning framework with Osceola County, no such agreement exists in Orange.

Audubon said city officials should also reject the annexation because of potential “floods and water supply issues that would later have to be resolved at taxpayer expense.”

“This petition is premature and not in the best interests of Orlando residents and visitors, and its impact could be dire for the region’s water supply and the protection of wildlife corridors,” Wraithmell wrote.

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