Orange County denies Tuscona plan and conservation permit after months of review and public opposition

Orange County commissioners unanimously denied a planned-development rezoning and related conservation-area impact permit for the 227-acre Tuscona proposal near International Drive on May 20, 2025. The board voted to accept staff findings of inconsistency with county policy and to deny the conservation-area impact permit after lengthy staff review and public comment.

The board’s vote followed recommendations from county technical staff, the Development Review Committee and the Planning & Zoning Commission, which each recommended denial. County Environmental Protection Division (EPD) staff said the project still proposed significant impacts to class‑1 wetlands in the Shingle Creek basin and had not demonstrated adequate avoidance, minimization or an overriding public benefit to justify the impacts.

Why it mattered: the site sits inside Orange County’s Shingle Creek basin, the headwaters that ultimately feed into the Everglades. EPD staff and conservation groups told commissioners the wetlands and adjacent uplands on and around the property perform important flood storage, water‑filtration and habitat functions — and that recent scientific evidence supports larger upland…