Sumter Electric Cooperative (SECO) Special Use Permit

by Horse Farms Forever | Feb 10, 2025 | News, Resolved

Sumter Electric Cooperative (SECO)

Special Use Permit

The Horse Farms Forever watchdogs have been alerted to an application from Sumter Electric Cooperative (SECO) for a Special Use Permit to build a utility company service yard on 3 parcels, totaling about 80 acres, inside the CR 475A Visual Enhancement Gateway Development Overlay Zone for the Florida Horse Park.

The County designated this overlay zone as worthy of special development regulations to maintain and protect its visual features by limiting the range of uses and requiring enhanced landscaping and buffering. The subject area is the gateway to the Florida Horse Park which is located inside the Cross Florida Greenway. This region has a significant amount of horse farms and agricultural activity. It also is home to many members of Horse Farms Forever who share our mission to preserve and protect horse farms and farmland for future generations.

SECO seeks a Special Use Permit to allow a utility company service yard on parcels with a zoning classification of Community Business B-2. The only zoning classification in the Land Development Code that allows a utility company service yard as a permitted use, by right, is Heavy Business (B-5). The Heavy Business classification is intended for just that, intense heavy-duty business. The proposed heavy business activity on these parcels would introduce intense commercial uses incompatible with the rural character and agricultural viability of the surrounding farms and other parcels. The application violates the intent and integrity of the Overlay Zone for the Florida Horse Park.

View Our Initial Position Statement

April Update

Horse Farms Forever® has updated its position from opposition to neutral regarding Sumter Electric Cooperative’s (SECO) application for a Special Use Permit to build a utility service yard on three parcels within the CR 475A Visual Enhancement Gateway Development Overlay Zone, which serves as a critical buffer for the Florida Horse Park.

Initially, in February, Horse Farms Forever opposed the proposal, citing concerns that it compromised the intent and integrity of the Overlay Zone. Since then, the organization has engaged in ongoing dialogue with SECO’s leadership, who demonstrated a strong commitment to being a responsible community partner. SECO agreed to make significant revisions to its original site and building plans in response to concerns raised by Horse Farms Forever and neighboring residents. These changes reflect SECO’s respect for the Overlay Zone’s purpose—to preserve the rural character of the area and protect it from encroaching development. Horse Farms Forever commends SECO, particularly CEO Curtis Wynn and VP/General Counsel Tracy de Lemos, for their responsiveness and efforts to be good neighbors.

View Our Updated Position Statement

View The Planning & Zoning Report

View The CR 475A Visual Enhancement Gateway Development Overlay Zone

January Membership Roundup & Founder Spotlight

by Horse Farms Forever | Feb 10, 2025 | News

Looking Ahead with Passion for Preservation

A new year brings new opportunities, and at Horse Farms Forever, we are charging forward with a renewed passion for preserving Marion County’s Farmland Preservation Area. Thanks to the dedication of our members and supporters, our mission continues to gain momentum, ensuring that the land we cherish remains protected for generations to come.

Every renewal and new membership strengthens our collective voice. Whether you’ve been with us from the start or are just joining our efforts, your support fuels real impact. Together, we are shaping the future—one that honors our rich equestrian heritage and safeguards the open spaces that make this region so special.

Horse Farms Forever is powered by people who care deeply about this cause. Take a look at our members’ logos and see the growing community standing behind preservation.

We’re excited to introduce our newest members and celebrate those who have renewed this month. With your support, we move forward with confidence, determination, and a deep love for the land we call home.

RENEWING Organizations

Corporate Founders

Neighborhood Storage

Naked Horse Farm – Kurt & Janet Giesselmann

Bronze

Next Level Farm – Steven & Michele Mayer

RENEWING Individuals & Families

Founders

Nicole Hornblower

Friends

John Rooney

Carol Tremblay

Julia Davies

Debra Stevenson

Alexis Evanich

John Crowe

Ron Beschmann

Sarah Almeida Dennis

Barbara Hudgens

New to the Herd

We welcome you!

LEADER

Friends

Tony Benefiel

Brian Turner

Althea Denise March PA

Anita Kramer

Gillian Johnson

John Langlois, DVM

Join Today!

View Current Threats

Questions About Membership and Sponsorship?

Contact Sara Fennessy – Executive Director

Call Sara

Email Sara

Dizney Double Diamond Development

by Horse Farms Forever | 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.

Forever Farms – Incentives for Conservation

by Horse Farms Forever | 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

EAR Update & Survey Results About Growth

by Horse Farms Forever | Jan 15, 2025 | News

HFF Website Featured Image (1200 x 400 px) (1)

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

1325 Marion County EOY 2024 Updatev2-pages-images-6

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

How Farms Protect Our Springs

by Horse Farms Forever | Jan 3, 2025 | Events, News

Horse Farms Forever thanks the Ocala Magazine for capturing inspiring moments from the Springs Forever! Conservation Summit held on November 14, 2024 at the Ocala Breeders’ Sales Arena in the January 2025 issue of the magazine.

This year’s Summit raised awareness about how protecting our farms and the Farmland Preservation Area helps preserve the springsheds and aquifer recharge areas for two of Marion County’s First Magnitude Springs, Rainbow Springs and Silver Springs.

The importance of conservation to help sustain a healthy community was also emphasized by AdventHealth Ocala President and CEO Erika Skula at the Summit.

“I was honored to represent AdventHealth Ocala as one of the presenting sponsors at the annual Horse Farms Forever event. This event aims to raise awareness about the importance of conservation, not only for our local horse farms but also in the broader region and state. It was incredible to welcome a crowd of nearly 400 attendees and speak about the necessity of creating a sustainable environment for our beautiful county, recognizing that healthy land leads to a healthy community,” wrote Skula in a Facebook post.

Skula also presented Advent Health’s new Harnessing Health: Equine Worker Health Initiative to provide on-site health care to horse farm workers.

Thank you to Title Sponsor Brook Ledge Horse Transportation and Presenting Sponsor AdventHealth Ocala for the generous support of the Conservation Summit!