Orange County’s Green PLACE (Park Land Acquisition for Conservation and Environmental Protection) Program has been approved to purchase 20.845 acres of land along Reams Road. The action will preserve Environmentally Sensitive Land and was identified as providing water resource protection, aquifer recharge, and floodplain storage; closes gaps between other publicly owned
lands and enhances an existing wildlife corridor.

The location of the land is immediately adjacent to a portion of Reams Road that was closed for several weeks due to flooding after Hurricane Ian. In a statement provided to HorizonWestInfo.com, Commissioner Nicole Wilson stated,

“I am thrilled to include this property in Orange County’s Green PLACE program. When I sought to revive the GreenPLACE program upon entering office, it was with the goal of preserving environmentally fragile land exactly like this one. The Reams Road area marks the nexus of several related issues: traffic safety, wetland destruction, wildlife endangerment, and flooding. As county staff noted in their evaluation, the risks of development impacts in combination with rare beneficial environmentally features make this parcel perfect for preservation under Green PLACE. The land met the key criteria for preservation including, rare habitat for imperiled species, water resources, and necessary for Wildlife migration. 

Following last year’s hurricanes, our residents living along Reams saw exactly what happens when we don’t preserve natural flood mitigation. We know wetlands provide better storm water retention than engineered alternatives.”

The Green PLACE program was unfunded for many years, and in 2021 the Board of County Commissioners approved a goal of acquiring an additional 23,000 acres of environmentally sensitive land before the year 2030 with a budget of $100 million. The county spent $2.7 million for this purchase along Reams Road.

For more information on the Green PLACE Program, view the 2022 Annual Report.