SORA moves to stop Margaritaville
Rural protection group's writ asks the court to review its contentions but does not halt construction of the project.
The Margaritaville RV Park is shown in Orange Lake, Fla. on Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2026. [Michael Warren/Ocala Gazette file photo]
The rural protection group Save Our Rural Area (SORA) seeks to dam the flow of approval for a Margaritaville water park with a writ of certiorari filed in the Fifth Circuit Court against Marion County and 8M Holdings, LLC.
The plaintiffs are SORA and Mercedes Bongiovanni, a neighbor to the RV park, who are asking the court to review the Board of County Commissioners’ approval in February to allow the Margaritaville RV Resort on County Road 318 between Orange Lake and Citra to host the public at the water park.
SORA president Tim Gant said the parcel was zoned as a private RV park and the zoning was grandfathered in from an early 2000s ruling.
“We’re expected to follow the rules (to protest the zoning change),” Gant said, but the county and the developers didn’t follow those rules in allowing the change to the planned unit development (PUD). “It was grandfathered in many years ago as a private RV park. It’s pretty obvious now that they want to sell some margaritas,” not a quiet, rural lifestyle.
The court could take months to respond to the request, during which Margaritaville continues to move forward with the project. Gant hopes the court would require them to revert to the RV park only without public access to the amenities. But Gant said he has no expectations.
The writ, filed by attorney Ralf Brookes, a land-use and zoning expert based in Cape Coral, contends that the revision from an RV park with private amenities to one with public amenities fails “to meet the essential requirements of law contained in the County Code and illegal spot zoning prohibited by Florida case law.”
The revision to the PUD, SORA stated, creates an “RV park with themed amusement facilities for day-pass ticket holders. This changes the very nature of the RV park to a themed amusement park for daily ticket holders.”
The filing also states, “The subject rezoning is not externally compatible with Petitioners’ existing larger lot and parcel size in this rural area and Petitioners will be adversely affected by this rezoning as illegal spot zoning that will adversely affect Petitioners.”
The PUD, then named Oakwater Village, had an original approval in 2010 for private usage of the facilities for RV park tenants only. These were identified and limited to cottage units, RV units, accessory buildings, possible tennis courts, a clubhouse and a small convenience store.
“The change to a themed amusement water park with bar and restaurant facilities for which day passes will be sold (i.e., public amenities) is not compatible with surrounding properties that are predominately rural, agricultural and low-density residential in character in the Farmland Preservation Area and would be a new use that violates the letter and the intent of Land Development Code 4.2.31(B) on Permitted Uses in a Planned Unit Development,” the writ states.
Writ cites issues with legality of BOCC decision
In an email notice about the writ filing, SORA wrote, “For the residents of Marion County, this action represents more than a legal filing — it is a commitment to preserving the character of our community in the face of relentless development pressures. Protecting the FPA is not about resisting progress; it is about ensuring that growth is responsible, consistent with adopted plans and respectful of the landscapes and livelihoods that define our county.”
Of the many issues cited in the writ, one is the due process aspect of the hearings and the opportunity for public response. The writ asserts proper notice was not given to surrounding parcel owners and that the approved PUD uses spot zoning and is incompatible with the surrounding area.
Evangeline Linkous, who has a doctorate in planning, presented in opposition at the February county commission hearing. She also analyzed other coverage of the proposed park, citing one from moderncampground.com, and concludes that the marketing website for Margaritaville and the press coverage agree: this is a water park, not a private RV campground.
“Like the website, the article characterizes the pool complex as a water park,” Linkous said. “In this case, the article explicitly describes the water park as a major regional attraction that will require consideration of capacity management due to potential overcrowding as well as potential infrastructure expansion. The water park attraction is described as ‘amenity monetization as a revenue diversification strategy’ — which is certainly different from the small-scale, private amenities associated with a recreational resort for the approved PUD.”
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