A Seminole County advisory board voted Wednesday night to recommend denying a developer's request to take the old Pappy's Patch U-pick strawberry land out of the county's protected rural area, sending the fight to county commissioners in December.
The Planning and Zoning Commission, acting as the county's local planning agency, sided with county staff after a meeting of nearly four hours, Oviedo Community News reported. Its vote is a recommendation only. The Board of County Commissioners has the hearing scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, Dec. 8.
What is being asked
Strawberry Lane LLC, managed by developer and former state Rep. Chris Dorworth, wants about 67 acres at the northeast corner of DeLeon Street and Florida Avenue, in the Black Hammock area south of Lake Jesup, removed from the Charter Rural Boundary and Rural Area, according to the county agenda. If commissioners approve, the comprehensive plan change goes to state reviewing agencies.
The application itself does not rezone the land. Conceptual plans filed with it show as many as 136 houses on lots measuring 80 by 125 feet, a quarter of the site left as open space and a 15-acre stormwater pond. Under the current rules, about 17 homes on five-acre lots could be built there.
The developer's case
Dorworth described the site as a cattle pasture. "It's compact. It's across the street from existing subdivisions," he said, according to Central Florida Public Media.
He said the land is well placed for homes close to Oviedo and Winter Springs, the Orlando Sentinel reported, and argued that the boundary leaves owners no realistic way out. In his view, he said, "the most important opinion about a piece of land and its use should be the owner of it," Oviedo Community News reported.
He also cited a 2026 opinion from Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier that said boundaries like Seminole's could be considered unconstitutional, according to the Sentinel.
