Rosh Hashana
Page A5
VOLUME 3 ISSUE 38
$2
SEPTEMBER 23 - SEPTEMBER 29, 2022
Give4Marion nets record amount The online giving campaign, which provides much needed support for area nonprofits, raised $771,075.
City denies controversial Saddlewood multifamily development THE DEVELOPER’S LAWYER PROMISES COUNCIL THEY’LL FILE A PETITION FOR RELIEF FROM THE CITY’S ZONING DENIAL. By Jennifer Hunt Murty jennifer@ocalagazette.com
T
third year, the campaign has become a staple of the foundation’s Nonprofit Resource Center and is an important annual fundraiser. Ashley Wheeler-Gerds, Director of Strategic Engagement for the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County who was instrumental in the effort told
he Ocala City Council on Sept. 20 voted 4-1 to deny a zoning request for a Georgia company to build a multifamily residential development consisting of up to 288 homes on 15 acres on Southwest 43rd Court, across from Saddlewood Elementary School. The last time the development was considered and denied by the council was on May 3, and it was standing room only in the chamber and the lobby. Residents had packed the auditorium on March 1, March 15, April 19 leading up to the May 3 vote to voice frustration about overdevelopment in southwest Ocala. The gist of their concerns surrounded two issues: poor traffic conditions that already exist in the neighborhood and overcapacity in the area’s schools. In June, the developer, Catalyst Development Partners II, LLC, filed a petition disputing the city’s denial of R-3 multifamily residential zoning denial. According to the city’s
See Give4Marion, page A3
See Saddlewood, page A2
Lauren DeIorio, the president/executive director of the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County, celebrates as donations rise above $750,000 for the Give4Marion conclusion at the Marion Theatre in Ocala on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
By Ocala Gazette Staff
F
rom 10 a.m. Tuesday through 7 p.m. Wednesday, the leaderboards for the Give4Marion online fundraising campaign kept showing updated numbers of donations. The statistics were offered in the categories of Large Budget, Small Budget and Peer-to-Peer Fundraisers.
Across the boards, the steadily increasing numbers offered great news for numerous area nonprofits. Give4Marion was started in 2020 by the Community Foundation for Ocala/Marion County to support local nonprofits in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic as many were forced to shut down in-person giving events due to health and safety protocols. Now in its
School concurrency continues to be debated Attorneys’ letters highlight challenges the county and school officials face with unabated growth. By Belea T. Keeney belea@magnoliamediaco.com
R
everberations from a contentious Marion County Board of County Commissioners meeting last month are continuing to be felt as local attorneys are waging a war of words over who should take responsibility for overcrowded Marion County schools. In letters to the board following its decision on Aug. 16 to pause a developer’s rezoning request to allow time for the county to better assess the impacts of the proposed development on adjacent crowded roads and schools, lawyers are criticizing each other and local government for the county’s problems. They all state, however, they are willing to work together to find solutions.
The first letter, dated Aug. 23, came from James Gooding of the law firm Gooding & Batsel, which represents not only the City of Ocala but numerous prominent developers in Marion County. It was sent to the commissioners, county staffers and Ocala staffers and noted the firm was not speaking on behalf of any one client but was following up on the board’s Aug.16 discussion. Gooding’s letter stated flatly that the school capacity issues are “a result of inadequate planning by the school system. Further, they are irrelevant; under the current interlocal agreement, concurrency is supposed to be measured districtwide.” Rather than punish developers for the school system’s mistakes, Gooding suggests adopting interim solutions that alert developers
of possible new school impact fees. He also states that School Board Attorney Jeremy Powers “lack any development experience” and has a “learning curve on concurrency issues,” while urging the board to “as soon as possible’’ get County Attorney Guy Minter and his staff be involved in the ongoing discussions to revise the 2008 interlocal agreement on development. Gooding also stated that he and his firm would no longer be working for the City of Ocala as its city attorney while also representing area developers as the firm has done for many years; that contract expires Oct. 31. He expressed a willingness to assist on the issue in the future. Gooding stated: “Obviously, See Lawyers, page A3
Jimmy Gooding, an attorney, speaks during the Planning and Zoning and DRC Waiver Requests meeting in the Marion County Commission auditorium at the McPherson Governmental Complex in Ocala, Fla. on Tuesday, August 16, 2022. [Bruce Ackerman/Ocala Gazette] 2022.
READ DAILY NEWS AT OCALAGAZETTE.COM
INSIDE:
City Attorneys................................ A4 School Safety................................. A8 Veteran’s Park................................ B3 Calendar......................................... B5 Sports.............................................. B7
Subscribers will receive their paper through USPS on the USPS schedule. Subscription orders must be received by 5 pm on Tuesday in order to be included in the following week’s delivery. Starting at $10/month ocalagazette.com/subscribe