Dizney Double Diamond Development

Dizney Double Diamond Development

by | Feb 3, 2025 | News, Watching

Dizney Double Diamond Development

The Horse Farms Forever watchdogs have been alerted to a potential threat to the Farmland Preservation Area. It is our understanding that the Dizney Double Diamond organization is in discussions with the County to develop portions of their Double Diamond Farm bordering on Highway 40, and especially at the intersection with SE 80th Ave.

View Dizney Double Diamond Maps

The Dizney family, headed by patriarch Donald R. Dizney, the founder of United Medical Corporation, are longtime owners of the Double Diamond Farm in northwest Ocala. The original farm was acquired in the early 1980’s and today totals over 500 acres on about 20 parcels. Mr. Dizney and Double Diamond Farm are well-known and highly regarded in the thoroughbred horse community. https://www.doublediamondfarm.com/

While the overwhelming majority of the Double Diamond Farm is inside the Farmland Preservation Area with Future Land Use of Rural and Zoning of Agricultural, there is one 31.78-acre parcel (21084-000-00) at the corner of Highway 40 and SW 80th Ave that has split Future Land Use and Zoning. Linked are a group of maps to help better visualize the parcel.

Dizney Double Diamond LLC owns a 31.78-acre parcel (21084-000-00) at the corner of Highway 40 and SW 80th Ave that has unusual split Future Land Use and Zoning. On that specific 31.78-acre parcel, 19.5-acres is within the Urban Growth Boundary, has a Future Land Use of Commercial and a Zoning classification of Community Business. Thus, the 19.5-acres can be commercially developed under its current Land Use, Zoning and Boundary.

  • On this unique parcel, a 19.5-acre portion is inside the Urban Growth Boundary and the remaining 12.28-acres are inside the Farmland Preservation Area

  • The 19.5-acre portion of the parcel has a Future Land Use of Commercial while the remaining 12.28-acres has a Future Land Use of Rural.

  • The 19.5 -acre portion of the parcel has a Zoning Classification of Community Business (B-2) classification, which is intended to provide for the shopping and limited-service needs of several neighborhoods, a community, or a substantial land area. The remaining 12.29-acre portion of the parcel has a Zoning Classification of Agricultural.

In addition, Dizney Double Diamond owns 2 parcels to the west of this unique parcel. While these 2 parcels have Future Land Use of Rural, a portion of each parcel has legacy Zoning of Community Business B-2. There are hundreds of parcels in the county with a Future Land Use of Rural and legacy zoning of Community Business B-2. The county labels these parcels as inconsistent. This inconsistency dates back decades when the Comprehensive Plan was first implemented. The Board of County Commissioners has been dealing with the inconsistent land use and zoning on these legacy parcels on a case-by-case basis.

It is our understanding that the Dizney Double Diamond organization is in discussions with the County to develop portions of their farm bordering on Highway 40 into commercial development. If this is correct, and this effort would expand beyond the 19.5-acre portion of the parcel at the corner of Highway 40 and SW 80th Ave, then an application for a Future Land Use change and Zoning change would be required. As with most large commercial developments, this often involves a Planned Unit Development application and Master Plan.

Horse Farms Forever will continue to monitor this activity closely. As part of that monitoring, we have made a public records request from the county to get facts ahead of any potential application to allow time to review and understand a plan.

Jumbolair Update

Jumbolair Update

by | Feb 3, 2025 | Development Threats, Watching

Jumbolair Hangar Update

The Horse Farms Forever watchdogs have been alerted to a change in the status of the County’s moratorium on building new hangars at private airports, specifically at the Jumbolair airport. The County Attorney has issued an opinion that the right to construct 22 hangars on the historical Jumbolair Greystone Airport parcel 14105-000-00 was “grandfathered in” and not subject to the moratorium.

A small portion of the parcel where the 22 hangars are located is within the boundaries of the Farmland Preservation Area. The airport predates the designation of the Farmland Preservation Area, therefore it is not subject to the Farmland Preservation Area guidelines in the Comprehensive Plan.

Jumbolair submitted a Major Site Plan to the County’s Development Review Committee (DRC) meeting held on Monday, February 17 to request waivers regarding shade trees, buffers, and building landscaping. All three waivers were approved by the DRC.

Horse Farms Forever constantly monitors development activity in the County. As part of that monitoring, we made multiple public records requests from the County to get facts ahead of any application to allow time to review and better understand any plan. Here’s a chronology of what we learned.

View Original Airport Site
View New Hangars Site Plan

The Recent Updates

On March 1, 2024, County Growth Services Director Chuck Varadin informed the engineering company representing Jumbolair of the following determination regarding the request to build more hangars at the Jumbolair airport. “Therefore, for the reasons previously noted, these hangars are not a permitted use on the suggested property at this time.

View Varadin to Tillman Correspondence

On May 22, 2024, Jumbolair attorney Robert Batsel wrote a lengthy response that contained the following paragraph. “Following our voluntary withdrawal of pending applications and in preparation for resubmittal, the Bulls plan to construct hangars adjacent to the Airport. Prior to our meeting in March, we submitted a draft site plan proposing 94 new hangars with specifications including sixty 60’ x 60’ hangars, thirty 70’ x 70’ hangars, and five 100’ x 120’ hangars (to complement the existing five 100’ x 120’ hangars that were previously permitted and constructed). Eventually, the hangar complex will constitute a portion of the forthcoming PUD and serve the community. Following our meeting and in response to your feedback, we have significantly reduced the size and scope of the initial site plan, which we will submit shortly. The plan will be limited to 22 hangars located on Marion County Parcel ID No. 14105-000-00, which is within the original licensed Airport adjacent to the original grass runway.

View Batsel to Varadin Correspondence

On August 12, 2024, County Growth Services Director Chuck Varadin informed Mr. Batsel of the following determination regarding the request to build more hangars at the Jumbolair airport. “Therefore, the proposed hangars may be developed on the noted property subject to pursuing either Option 1 by obtaining a policy 1.20 letter (i.e., a “letter of conformity” under Policy 10.1.5) that clearly delineates what was previously approved by the FDOT and the commercial use(s) as of April 7, 1994, or pursuing Option 2 by seeking a new SUP. (Note that Sec. 4.3.14(B) of the LDC outlines the additional materials2 needed for Growth Services to determine the eligibility to obtain an approved policy 1.20 letter.) Subject to obtaining an affirmative outcome under option one or option two, the development of the hangars will still be subject to Development Review approval for an applicable Major Site Plan.”

View Varadin to Batsel Correspondence

On December 12, 2024, County Attorney Matthew G. Minter reached the following conclusion after a legal analysis. “In consideration of the foregoing, I conclude that the Site Approval and Registration by FDOT of the Airport includes the right of the Airport owner to construct hangars within the Airport site. No other zoning or land use approvals from the County are necessary for the construction of these hangars. The Airport Registration does not exempt airport development from all County regulations, including those related to the building code; fire code, stormwater regulations, set-backs and building height restrictions. Therefore, I conclude that the application for site plan approval and building permits will go through the DRC review in the same manner as the five replacement hangars referenced above, in 2023.”

View Minter to Varadin Correspondence

On December 12, 2024, County Growth Services Director Chuck Varadin informed Mr. Batsel and additional legal counsel for Jumbolair of the County Attorney’s conclusion as follows. “This letter revises my prior letter dated August 12, 2024 (hereafter, “prior letter”). The revision is based on the County Attorney’s memo (dated December 12, 2024) regarding the application (AR #32136) to construct 22 new hangars at Jumbolair-Greystone Airport (hereafter, “Airport”), further research, and revisiting the historical documents of the Airport (enclosures 3 and 4). Therefore, I agree with the County Attorney’s conclusion “that the Site Approval and Registration by the FDOT of the Airport includes the right of the Airport to construct hangars within the Airport site.” It should be noted that this interpretation only applies to this airport based on its original development and its unique circumstances. It should not be interpreted as applying to all private airports in the County.”

View Varadin to Bouthillier Batsel Correspondence
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View Current Threats

Forever Farms – Incentives for Conservation

Forever Farms – Incentives for Conservation

by | Jan 31, 2025 | News

Many of Marion County’s most famous equine champions were raised and trained on the rolling hills and mineral rich pastureland that makes Marion County’s horse farms so ideal for raising horses. To help ensure the long-term viability of this industry, it is vital to safeguard and protect the County’s horse farms and pastureland.

As part of Horse Farms Forever’s mission to inspire the preservation of pastureland focusing on horses and their habitats, we are partnering with the nonprofit land conservancy, Conservation Florida to protect horse farms with conservation easements.

To help incentivize conservation, the U.S. Congress enacted powerful federal tax incentives for conservation easement donations. For landowners that qualify, these potential tax incentives include income, property, and estate tax benefits.

Learn more about conservation easements and the Conservation Tax Incentive in the Ocala Horse Properties 2025 portfolio article: Forever Farms.

With the increasing pressures of growth and development, it is more important than ever to proactively protect our horse farms and pastureland to ensure that this iconic and historic landscape will continue to raise the next equine champions!

A conservation easement on a horse farm in Marion County protects more than just the unique mineral rich pastureland; it preserves the equestrian way of life and the equine industry.

 

Read the Article on Ocala Horse Properties Here
Don’t Piggyback the RAC!

Don’t Piggyback the RAC!

by | Jan 29, 2025 | Development Threats, Ongoing, Watching

A landowner abutting the Rural Activity Center (RAC) at the intersection of NW Hwy 225A & NW Hwy 326 (Gilbert’s Hardware) has applied to change the land use and zoning on 24 acres from Rural/Agriculture to commercial RAC.

The landowner proposes a landscape contractor yard and plant nursery. Don’t be fooled by this attempt to Piggyback the RAC by changing the 24 acres from agricultural to commercial.

If approved, this change would allow this landowner, or any potential new owner, over 35 commercial uses, including many intense uses like large-scale storage facilities and fuel plants, and over 350,000 sq. ft of buildings. These commercial uses threaten the rural character and agricultural integrity of the surrounding farms and the Farmland Preservation Area.

RACs in the Farmland Preservation Area are there to provide needed goods and services that make sense in a rural area. They are limited in size and scope to prevent needless sprawl from eating away at the Farmland Preservation Area. But that doesn’t stop some landowners from trying…

At the January Planning & Zoning Commission hearing, with a denial recommendation from the professionals at Growth Services and strong opposition from Horse Farms Forever and neighbors, the applicant requested a continuance for further review and a date certain for the Planning and Zoning meeting has been set for April 28, 2025.

 

Join our efforts to protect the Farmland Preservation Area!

View Our Position Statement
View RAC Uses
View Land Use Application
View Zoning Application

Photo of the current Notice on the property.

Always Watching

We work hard to keep you informed, and to represent our members' interests in preserving our horse farms, farmland and the unique character and culture of Marion County's 193,000 acre Farmland Preservation Area.

Join the herd. Every voice matters.

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EAR Update & Survey Results About Growth

EAR Update & Survey Results About Growth

by | Jan 15, 2025 | News

From L to R Marion County Commissioners – Matt McClain; Carl Zalak, III, Vice Chair; Kathy Bryant, Chair; Michelle Stone, and Craig Curry. 

To help plan for growth over the next 20 years, Marion County is updating its Comprehensive Plan through the Evaluation and Appraisal Report (EAR) process. The County Commission held 17 workshops and also conducted an online survey to seek feedback from citizens about growth and their vision for the community through the Beyond 2024 Survey. Horse Farms Forever attended about a dozen of the EAR workshops as part of our role to monitor the process of updating the Comprehensive Plan. The Commissioners all expressed support of the Farmland Preservation Area and also to protect our rural areas and neighborhoods.

The results of the Survey were compiled by Kimley-Horn & Associates, the consulting firm that is leading the workshops and drafting the updates to the Comprehensive Plan. The feedback from the nearly 700 citizens that completed the Survey includes top priorities to protect rural and natural landscapes and to promote sustainable growth.

Top Three Survey Results:

1. Promote sustainable and strategic growth

2. Enhance transportation infrastructure and connectivity

3. Preserve and enhance rural and natural landscapes

One of the Survey questions was: When you think about the future of Marion County, what concerns you the most? Traffic, Growth, Infrastructure, Roads and Overdevelopment were listed as top concerns.

On the flip side, the similar but different question – When you think about the future of Marion County, what excites you the most – one of the top results was also Growth. In addition, Opportunities, Horses, Rural, and Farms were also listed as top items.

Some of the comments received from the Survey include: “I’d like to see our Rural areas stay rural.…Growth is good but too much or inappropriately placed will destroy the reasons everyone wants to come to Marion County.” And ““Marion County needs to bring up the roads and infrastructure.”

The comments from citizens were presented to the County Commission during the EAR workshops. To addresses these concerns, the Commission discussed several ways to help protect the rural neighborhoods within and also outside of the County’s designated Urban Growth Boundary. Some of the proposed changes include increasing buffers between different densities and types of neighborhoods, step down zoning, tree protection, and updating the Transfer of Development Rights program to help preserve farms and rural landscapes.

“The Comprehensive Plan will help guide growth inside the Urban Growth Boundary,” said County Commission Chair Kathy Bryant. “The Urban Growth Boundary encompasses 122,000 acres and about 50% of that land is available for development, so there is plenty of room to grow inside of the boundary.”

The Commission will be holding additional EAR workshops and will be discussing topics such as the Urban Growth Boundary, the Farmland Preservation Area and the Transfer of Development Rights program, Traffic and Levels of Service, and defining Planned Service Areas (existing urban areas outside of the Urban Growth Boundary such as Marion Oaks and Silver Springs Shores).

Additional EAR workshops are scheduled to be held in the McPherson Governmental Campus auditorium, 601 SE 25th Ave., Ocala. Be sure to attend or watch the workshops livestreamed online. Horse Farms Forever will be attending the upcoming EAR workshops.

Feb. 6 | 2:30 p.m. Targeted Workshops: FAR, Cluster Density Bonus

Feb. 24 | 2 p.m. Targeted Workshops: Step Down Approaches, Protection of Rural Land & Rural Neighborhoods

View the 2024 EAR Update

Contact the County about the EAR:

For any additional questions regarding the EAR process, please email Planning@MarionFL.org with your subject line including ‘EAR’ or call us at 352-438-2675 & ask for a planner.

https://www.marionfl.org/agencies-departments/departments-facilities-offices/growth-services/planning-zoning/ear

The workshops will be livestreamed. Check the County’s agenda webpage for the link: https://marionfl.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx