Marion County P&Z commission approves new projects
Commission allows a new SECO operations complex, a nursing home/memory care facility and a change to a previously approved PUD in Silver Springs Shores.
SECO operations complex. [Photo courtesy Marion County]
The Marion County Planning & Zoning Commission gave the green light to several development projects in its May 28 meeting, including a new Sumter Electric Cooperative (SECO) operations complex, a new nursing home and memory care facility near On Top of the World and a change to a previously approved planned unit development in the southeast section of the county.
All the applications are slated to be heard and receive a final vote by the Board of County Commissioners during its June 16 Planning & Zoning meeting.
SECO operations complex on 475A approved
The commission voted 6-0 to approve a special use permit and rezoning of three parcels on County Road 475A for SECO to build a new operations facility on just over 79 acres.
The parcels are on the west side CR 475A (Southwest 16th Avenue) and bounded on the west by Interstate 75, to the south by Southwest 130th Street Road and to the north at approximately Southwest Eighth Avenue. The General RV site is to the southwest of the parcels.
The parcels are within the “475A Overlay Area,” a geographic designation that is intended to support the equine nature of the area. It is seen as the crossroads to the Florida Horse Park, the Marjorie Harris Carr Cross-Florida Greenway and is near the CR 475A Landbridge Trailhead, all elements of Marion County’s horse-focused economy.
The facility would include an office complex, covered storage for line buckets and equipment, emergency staging areas, maintenance buildings and extensive landscape buffering. After county staff expressed concerns about the buffering issue, the SECO team modified and expanded its landscape plans to include a three-foot tall berm, an eight-foot opaque green metal fence around the entire complex, and the retention of many of the mature trees already on the site, especially on the north boundary.
Among those who spoke in favor of the SECO project were representatives from the Ocala Metro Chamber & Economic Partnership, the Florida Horse Park and Horse Farms Forever.
Director of HFF Busy Shires said SECO was to be commended on its willingness to work with local groups to enhance the area’s visual appeal and maintain the equine feel of the area while still meeting operational needs.
Azaleas Skilled Nursing Facility. [Photo courtesy Marion County]
The commission voted 6-0 to approve a special use permit and rezoning of one 9.47-acre parcel for a new Azaleas Skilled Nursing Facility. The site is on the south side of State Road 200 near Southwest 80th Avenue across from the Walgreens and Walmart shopping areas on the north side. The site sits west of Southwest 93rd Street Road and the entrance into Countryside Farms, which has private roads.
C.L.D. Properties, LLLP, requested the zoning change to Community Business to construct the project, which they estimated to cost about $50 million. The plan is to operate the care facility as Aston Health; the non-expiring permit would convey with the property.
The proposed one-story facility would hold 141 beds with outdoor courtyards for the skilled nursing residents and a locked-down outdoor area for the memory care section. The sole entrance would be from SR 200, with a deceleration right-turn lane added to the busy highway.
Additional acres added to previously approved PUD in Silver Spring Shores. [Photo courtesy Marion County]
The Sandy Clay, LLC, requested a PUD amendment for its previously approved plan for the new community on just under 120 acres near the intersection of Southeast 110th Street Road and Southeast 92nd Loop near the Silver Springs Shores area. The entity added another 15.5 acres to the project and reduced its dwelling unit request from 452 units of townhomes and single-family homes to 442 single-family-only units. The community would include three drainage retention areas, a playground, a dog park, shaded seating areas and a cabana/clubhouse serving a 2,300-square-foot community pool.
The community would tie into city of Belleview water and sewer services.
The staff report mentioned concerns about traffic impacts as multiple other communities in the area have been approved or are in the process of development review. These include 269 units in Camillia Estates, 1,200 units in Emerald Village, 260 residential units for BaseDev Land Trust, 174 units in C-25 Group LLC, 640 units in Carissa Oaks North, and 370 units in the SHS Active Adult Community.
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