LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — In Lake County, growth and development are a big deal. Many folks who live in the area want a rural community. There are guidelines in place in the county to manage growth, but there is a loophole of sorts.

What You Need To Know

  • Lake County published its Comprehensive Growth Plan back in 2011. It extends through 2030. The plan addresses growth and balancing it with the rural landscape

  • However, if the property is directly adjacent to a city limit then it can annex into that city. The county can object, but really the county doesn’t have much standing

  • Now some unincorporated Lake County residents feel they don’t have a say

The Lake County government published its Comprehensive Growth Plan back in 2011, which extends through 2030. The plan addresses growth and balancing it with the rural landscape. But some cities are annexing parts of unincorporated Lake County in order to develop the land. The county commissioners really can’t do much about it.

“If the property is directly adjacent to a current city limit, then it can annex into that city. The county can object, but really the county doesn’t have much standing,” said Lake Co. Commissioner Sean Parks.

This is happening right now in Groveland. A contractor wants to turn a rural landscape into hundreds of homes. Those living in unincorporated Lake County feel they have no say about what happens around them.

There’s always something to do on a farm. Rebecca Myers brought her family out to unincorporated Lake County, getting away from the hustle and bustle of city life.

“It’s just a simpler way of life. It’s an easier way of life. Things don’t have to be as stressful,” said Myers.

They now have an organic u-pick farm. one of the few in the area!

“I don’t want to be like, ‘oh my gosh I just sprayed, you can’t eat that’. So I don’t spray. I take it very seriously. I don’t want the chemicals in my body, I don’t want them in my children’s body,” said Myers.

With the City of Groveland annexing the land across the street, a developer has plans to turn the empty green space across the street into a neighborhood with 455 single family and townhomes.

“We’re gonna get some action. We’re gonna get some more neighbors, which we love neighbors. We’re all for that,” said Myers.

It’s not the new neighbors that concern Myers. It’s the amount of neighbors, without addressing the current infrastructure needs.

“It’s really the traffic. The amount of people who are going to go down this road is wonderful for business. But as far as my family, it’s already dangerous,” said Myers.

But Myers feels like she doesn’t have a voice. She’s not a City of Groveland resident and this development isn’t on county land anymore. Yet it still affects her.

“The fact that we have this neighborhood coming isn’t the problem. The fact that we have this neighborhood coming and there is very little to no pre-planning. Where are these children going to go to school? What bus drivers are they going to have? Where are they going to shop?” said Myers.

Myers isn’t anti-development, but she wants her new neighbors to still be able to enjoy Lake County’s wide open spaces.

“We wanted to live out here. How can I fault someone else for wanting to live out here? It’s beautiful, it’s prestige. But it won’t stay that way if everyone moves out here,” said Myers.

She told Spectrum News if the development goes through, as is, she may have to look into moving elsewhere.