An investment arm of the Mormon Church today applied to incorporate 52,450 acres of ranchland into the city of Orlando, Florida. This massive expansion would increase the city’s area by almost 60 percent.
The landowner, known as Farmland Reserve, says he has no immediate plans to develop the land; the land will be annexed as the East Orlando Deseret Ranch Planning Area.
“City and Farmland Reserve planners will work together to design a framework for smart growth over the coming decades, but until that growth occurs, the land will continue to be used for agricultural purposes,” said a Farmland Reserve press release issued this morning.
As the Orlando Sentinel previously reported, preparations to annex the area into Orlando have begun in recent weeks to avoid restrictions voters may impose in November when a bill is voted on that would give Orange County new power to prevent annexations.
The long-term plan of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints calls for half a million people to live on 300,000 acres in Osceola, Orange and Brevard counties by 2080.
This is roughly equivalent to the population of Seminole County. The population lives in an area that is now largely undeveloped and is used primarily for livestock, grass and citrus farming.
The incorporation of Orlando would significantly alter the city’s map, extending its recent eastward expansion nearly to the St. John’s River and the Brevard County border. In 2022, Orlando’s jurisdiction covered about 76,000 acres, and through incorporations it has since grown to at least 90,000 acres.
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