Planning commissioners approve Ivy Ridge annexation follow-up; rezoning conditioned on city landscape code

The Clermont Planning & Zoning Commission on Nov. 4 approved a large-scale comprehensive plan amendment and rezoning for Ivy Ridge, a roughly 57-acre property annexed from Lake County that was previously entitled under Lake County PUD ordinance 2020-03 for up to 155 single-family homes. The commission approved ordinance 2025-039 (future land use) and ordinance 2025-040 (rezoning to the City of Clermont PUD with a low-density residential future land use), both on roll call votes.

City staff presented the item as a follow-up to a staff-initiated annexation. Justine Day of Development Services told commissioners the property sits southeast of the Lake Louisa Road and Hammock Ridge Road intersection, is moving forward with construction activity, and was annexed in June to preserve $1,800,000 in impact fees for the city. Staff recommended the city adopt ordinances 2025-039 and 2025-040 to transfer the Lake County PUD into an equivalent city PUD with code-reference adjustments.

Public comment focused on traffic safety, road capacity and habitat loss. “I don't think we should approve this development because Hancock Road has so many different accidents on it anyway,” said Paul, a nearby resident who identified his address as 200 Center Lane, citing repeated crashes and a local curve known locally as Dead Man's Curve. Several residents told the commission they saw trees cleared and asked for additional studies and site plans before the city accepted the annexation.

Commissioners pressed staff for details about traffic mitigation measures. Planning/Growth Management staff said turn lanes and two access points were included in the Lake County-approved site plan and that lighting and other infrastructure elements would be provided under those approvals, but staff did not have the full traffic study at the dais. Staff and commissioners noted that annexation had already occurred and construction activity had begun, and that delaying action could forfeit the city's ability to capture the impact fees.

The commission voted 5-0 to approve ordinance 2025-039, the comprehensive plan amendment. For the rezoning, commissioners added a condition requiring the project to be built to the City of Clermont landscape code (including replanting or payment into the city's tree fund where mitigation is required); that motion also passed 5-0. Commissioners and staff said annexation brings the property under the city's future regulatory authority for subsequent modifications, but does not retroactively undo vested approvals issued by Lake County.

The measures approved were: ordinance 2025-039 (large-scale comprehensive plan amendment) and ordinance 2025-040 (rezoning to City of Clermont PUD, conditioned to comply with the city's landscape code). The commission recorded the vote on both measures by roll call and noted that impact fees had already been captured by annexation.

The commission moved on to other agenda items after the votes; several residents and commissioners said they would continue to press county officials about road improvements.

Provenance: Staff presentation and entitlement details appear at 00:26:07; public comments begin at 00:30:05 and commissioner questions/roll calls are recorded at 00:59:28 and 01:09:20.