Orange voters to decide if county can veto rural annexations

Orange County voters will decide in November whether to give county leaders the power to veto attempts to annex rural lands into cities.

County commissioners unanimously approved the ballot measure Tuesday evening, drawing cheers from advocates of the measure. It is one of a pair of sweeping growth control decisions voters will face, joining a measure to draw rural boundaries within which development projects will face higher hurdles.

The newest proposed amendment to the county’s governing document would grant it the “authority to approve or deny voluntary annexations” and approval would require a super-majority of the board of county commissioners.

Hal Coats, of Christmas, a small unincorporated community about 25 miles east of downtown Orlando, believes the amendment will rein in growth cities would otherwise allow.




https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/08/13/orange-voters-to-decide-if-county-can-veto-rural-annexations/