OCOEE, Fla. — A six-month moratorium on development is likely coming to Ocoee, one of the fastest-growing communities in Central Florida.
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Over the last year, the city has experienced so much new commercial and residential development that they want to take a break to catch up and make sure what’s coming online fits the needs of the city and those who live there.
When you drive into the city, you can see the construction on all sides, from Clarke Road to the Turnpike and Colonial to Clarcona Ocoee Road.
And it’s starting to look a lot different from the town Kevin Butler was born and raised in 55 years ago.
Butler said, “I moved into our house at Kimball Drive, and that was my first place to live. It was small.”
Now, growth is happening so quickly that city leaders want to place a six-month moratorium on approving new development.
It won’t impact projects underway or those that have already been approved.
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Mary Anne Ferrell purchased the building behind us more than four years ago because she followed planning and knew what was coming to downtown Ocoee.
Ferrell said, “There have been times when I’ve come in to work a little bit later, and the streets are busy, and I’m like, wait a second, this is downtown Ocoee.”
A six-month moratorium would give city staff a chance to digest its comprehensive development plan and cement its land use development codes.
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“Sometimes you have to slow it down to make sure you do it right.” Ferrell said, “4 or 5 building owners are on this street. We’ve all come together to try to, you know, what kind of ‘businesses do you want to put in here?’”
This way, developers know where construction can be located based on the needs of those who live here, and there are no plans to let new development drive them away.
Butler said, “We’re lifelong, and we’ll be here the rest of our lives.”
City Commissioners will likely vote on that 6-month moratorium next month.
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