Newly Sworn Orange County Commissioners Emphasize Transportation, Housing and Environmental Protections

Mayor Jerry O. Demings and members of the Orange County Board of County Commissioners used a post-ceremony media availability to outline priorities for the new term, with commissioners emphasizing mass transit, workforce-attainable housing, and environmental protections, and noting an upcoming board discussion on a proposed moratorium on church development in rural areas.

Mayor Jerry O. Demings said the swearing-in marked “a new day in the history of our county with a very, very diverse, board of county commissioners,” and opened the session to questions from reporters. Commissioner Simrad said improving quality of life through a stronger local economy and sustainable development are top priorities. “So both my priorities are basically I’m looking at improving quality of life, basically, through our local economy. I’m a tourism expert, and looking at how we can best use tourism to help have a very, vibrant local economy and then also sustainable smart development and making sure that we’re protecting our environment,” Simrad said.

Commissioner Eribe told reporters transportation is “really the first and forefront that we have got to be handling right now,” and tied transit improvements to economic opportunity and housing. “If you can’t connect people, if they can’t get to work, they can’t get to school, that is a major, major threshold,” Eribe said, adding that workforce-attainable housing is a top priority.

Commissioner Wilson highlighted recent county actions on environmental protections and said the commission must implement voter-approved measures. “We just recently passed the wetland protection ordinance. We are now looking at charter amendments that we understood as a board of county commission that the voters wanted to see on their ballot,” Wilson said, urging careful implementation to withstand legal challenges and protect residents’ quality of life.

When asked about immediate agenda items, a reporter noted a memo from Commissioner Bonilla proposing a moratorium on church development in rural areas. Commissioner Simrad confirmed that Bonilla’s memo “is a discussion item that will come before the board,” but no vote or formal action occurred during the media availability.

The commissioners repeatedly returned to common themes raised on the campaign trail: protecting parks and wetlands, slowing urban sprawl through a rural boundary approved by voters, and developing mass transit and affordable housing so people can live and work in Orange County. Wilson mentioned specific environmental areas of concern, including Shingle Creek and the St. Johns River Basin.

The media availability lasted several minutes following the oath of office ceremony; the mayor closed by inviting one-on-one interviews with commissioners. No formal motions or votes were taken during the media availability; the items discussed will be considered through the board’s regular agenda process.