By Marvin G. Cortner
Editor

The Osceola County Commission Monday approved a comprehensive plan change allowing the B-K Ranch to have a 954-acre site off Old Tampa Highway designated for future industrial use.

The site, now mapped as low density residential, is north of the highway, near the intersections of Wooten Road and Bobroff Boulevard. The northern tip of the site touches on the community of Celebration.

According to county documents, only 450 acres of the site could be developed, with the remainder in wetlands. County staff, in recommending the change, said the industrial designation would be appropriate for the site, which is vacant pasture now, and would add significantly to the land set aside in the county for future industry.

Haynes E. Brinson, local attorney representing the ranch, said the site has access to various utilities, has other industrial property around it and that it is next to a railroad line, making it an appropriate site for light industry. He did not disclose any development plans.

Before voting for the change, Commissioner Michael Harford, whose district includes the site, said there were both pros and cons to the proposal. He said nearby Intercession City could benefit from light industry, which would provide higher paying jobs, but that he has worries about Old Tampa Highway’s ability to handle any additional traffic, since it is only two lanes now.

Residents living nearby opposed to the change said the site is not appropriate for industrial use given the distribution of wetlands on the property and because Old Tampa Highway could not handle any additional traffic. They also said they could not support any change without knowing more about development plans.

Kissimmee Realtor Michael Cambron, of Cambron Commercial Real Estate, as an interested party urged commissioners to allow the industrial use, saying it is a good site for that purpose, being close to the CSX railroad line and close to utilities. He said rail in the future would play a larger role in the state’s economy and that high-speed and commuter rail in Central Florida are only two components of the picture.

Cambron, who said he has no business interests relating to the B-K Ranch site, said the city of Winter Park in March approved a land use change to allow a CSX industrial park on a 932-acre site. The Realtor also said that approval was a prelude to eventual development of the site as a warehouse and distribution center that would complement CSX’s 318-acre freight terminal.

Cambron pointed out that the way freight moves around Florida will be even more important in the future and that changing global trade patterns — driven in part by super-sized cargo ships that will be able to pass through the Panama Canal beginning in 2014 that would be able to dock at Florida’s ports, could generate freight-related and light manufacturing industries, even in Kissimmee. Which is why, he said, Osceola County must have industrial sites ready to accommodate any such businesses.

Currently, most of the larger container ships from Asia dock on the West Coast of the United States, and from there, the freight is shipped by rail or truck across the county. However, port officials in Jacksonville, according to published reports, have said they hope to have improved facilities available within a few years to begin handling these large ships, creating opportunities throughout the state for freight-related businesses. 

The commission vote on the issue was 4-0, with Commissioner Ken Smith absent. The amended future land use map change will now be forwarded to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for review and approval.

B-K Ranch operates out of offices on Robinson Street in Orlando.

Avatar Properties future land use request OK’d

On Monday, the commission also approved a request from applicant/owner Avatar Properties to change the future land use designation for a 279-acre site near Poinciana High School to mixed use from low density residential.

This site is east of Poinciana Boulevard, near its intersection with Octavia Boulevard.

No development plans for the site were announced.

Change to allow new water facility

The commission also approved a future land use map change for a 1.24-acre site owned by the Tohopekaliga Water north of the intersection of Peabody Road and Halifax Drive, also near Poinciana. The requested use is for natural resource utilization; it currently is designated low density residential.

The change, which also must go to the Florida Department of Community Affairs for review and approval, would allow the utility to expand its nearby water treatment plant, taking capacity up to 6.3 million gallons per day from the current 2.6 million. The utility would also sink two water wells on the property and construct a 2-million gallon water storage tank.

The upgrade would allow the utility to provide water in the Poinciana area to another 10,000 residents; the current plant now serves 25,000 residents.

The state also must approve this change.