Commissioner Wilson has requested the Board of County Commissioners to explore a pause in development along Reams Road due to ongoing flooding. To secure a pause in development, the Board must hold a workshop to define the moratorium, such as areas impacted and duration. After the workshop, the measure would go before the Board during a Public Hearing to be voted on.
Mayor Demings indicated initial support for the pause, but had questions surrounding the specific restrictions, which would be addressed during the workshop.
In a statement, Commissioner Wilson said “Our residents deserve safe roadways and an infrastructure that keeps pace with growth. We must allow our Public Works team the time to resolve these flooding issues before approving any new developments that could make the situation worse.”
The work shop has been scheduled for January 7.
Intersection improvements at Reams Road and Ficquette Road are currently scheduled to begin construction in 2026. Commissioner Wilson, Bonilla, and Scott all had additional questions to Public Works on what has prolonged the construction design phase for Reams Road.
In August of this year, BCC denied a townhome development along Reams Road, citing infrastructure issues. Orange County also purchased 21 acres of land along Reams in 2023 to preserve conservation.
The Dream Finders community, Palms at Windermere, at the Reams Road and Ficquette Road intersection was approved in May 2020 by prior Commissioner Betsy VanderLey. During the approval for the development, Commissioner VanderLey said “The compensating [water] storage onsite alone will not only assist in the flooding issues in that particular area, in that particular development, but also in the area at-large.”
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