Updates on the Irvine/Sunny Oaks Developments and WEC-Jockey Club

World Equestrian Center–Jockey Club

The World Equestrian Center-Jockey Club (WEC-JC) Planned Unit Development (PUD) application to develop the 1,029-acre property into an equestrian facility was approved by the Marion County Commission on June 21, 2022 with several conditions. One of the conditions was to limit the use of the facility to equestrian uses only, as per the approved WEC Rural Land Use designation.

WEC-JC PUD plans included:

• Approximately 520 acres for open space and an equestrian event facility with 9 arenas and grand stands (9,000 seats total), polo fields, and renovation of the existing 4*level cross country course for three-day eventing.
• Approximately 89 acres to construct a new event/clubhouse, a 100 site RV park, and 120,000 square feet of commercial and retail space to support the equestrian events.
• Approximately 420 acres for 94 clustered home sites to allow for large, open common areas for equestrian uses.
• Water and wastewater treatment facility to protect water quality.

Challenged and Settled

After the County Commission voted to approve the PUD application, it was challenged with a Petition for Writ of Certiorari against Marion County and Golden Ocala Equestrian Land, L.L.C., owners of the WEC-JC property, by several neighbors including Damian and Rebecca Guthrie and Don Love, et al. and Save Our Rural Areas, Inc.

The administrative challenge was settled on March 7, 2023 in a Joint Stipulation of Dismissal and the development of WEC-JC will now be able to move forward, as stated in the settlement agreement. The agreement defines the uses of the property that are not permitted (for example, gas stations), and it also clarifies how the property will be buffered, lit, and the requirement for water and waste water management. The settlement also limited the use of WEC-JC to equestrian activities only, with one exception for the use of the fields for amateur youth sporting events. It also recommended further research of sites on the property that may have historical significance.

Irvine/Sunny Oaks Regional Activity Center

The Irvine/Sunny Oaks Regional Activity Center (RGAC) encompasses nearly 600 acres of land at all four corners of the Irvine I-75 interchange at CR 318. In 2012 and in 2014 the Future Land Use was changed by the Marion County Commission to Employment Center, Commerce District and a Regional Activity Center, which allows for millions of square feet of commercial and industrial development to be built. While these parcels are located within the Farmland Preservation Area boundaries, these Future Land Use designations overlay and override the Farmland Preservation Area regulations and restrictions. 

An application for a Planned Unit Development (PUD) on 453 acres of the Sunny Oaks RGAC was approved on March 1, 2022 by the Marion County Commission. The PUD will include five warehouses totaling 4 million square feet on 427 acres, 28 acres for commercial use, 3 acres for a fire station, and 5 acres for a water treatment plant. The County Commission also required a detailed master plan, with traffic, lighting, and sound studies to be submitted for approval. Once those studies are approved, the PUD can proceed in phases, with road improvements completed for each phase.

However, the Sunny Oaks PUD was challenged with a Petition for Writ of Certiorari on March 31, 2022 filed by over a dozen petitioners and Save Our Rural Areas, Inc. That action has been dormant for over a year. 

Horse Farms Forever took a neutral position on the Sunny Oaks PUD because the Future Land Use designations were approved over a decade ago. We provided detail about the project in this blog, published in February of 2022.