ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County leaders made their stance clear on the future of a Split Oak Forest toll road project Tuesday when they passed a motion directing county staff to say they no longer support the plan.

What You Need To Know

  • Orange County Board of Commissioners passed a motion Tuesday that directs county staff to say they no longer support the toll road project through Split Oak Forest

  • Valerie Anderson, the president of Friends of Split Oak, said the forest was protected specifically for rare plants and animal conservation and any development around the property would harm wildlife and endangered species

  • The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will meet on Dec. 5, and an update on the project is expected and the public will be allowed to comment

A years-long controversial proposal to extend the Osceola County parkway through the protected conservation land was a key focal point during Tuesday’s Orange County Board of Commissioners meeting.

As part of the project, the Central Florida Expressway Authority would use the land for a 9-mile tollway to connect State Road 417 and accommodate projected growth.

The Expressway Authority and the Florida Communities Trust’s Governing Board have already voted unanimously to approve funding and request for the project to move forward. In 2020, though, Orange County voters overwhelmingly passed an amendment to the county charter to protect Split Oak Forest from future development.

After a lengthy discussion, the Orange County Board passed a motion that now directs county staff to say they no longer support the toll road project, and that’s the message county staff will have to stand on.

Despite opposition in 2019, Orange County commissioners approved an $800 million toll road through Split Oak Forest.

But with an advocacy group that doesn’t want any development on the conservation land, and residents voting against the project in 2020, District 5 Commissioner Emily Bonilla said it was important for county leaders to stand with the voters.

“I feel that this board should direct staff to state that we no longer support this toll road through Split Oak Forest because 86% of the voters voted not to do that,” she said. “We can’t continue to have staff go over there and tell them that we support this because that’s what they were told to do in 2019 before the vote.”

The proposed development would affect 160 of the forest’s nearly 1,700 acres.

Valerie Anderson, the president of Friends of Split Oak, said the forest was protected specifically for rare plants and animal conservation, and any development around the property would harm wildlife and endangered species.

“Putting a toll road in or near the forest makes it difficult to manage the forest for ecological values,” Anderson said. “You’ll have a lot of birds dying from road mortality; you won’t be able to burn because you won’t be able to put smoke on the highway; and, so, having Split Oak in its entirety is very important for everything that lives there.”

Anderson, who has been working to preserve Split Oak Forest since 2017, said the Board’s decision to stand with opponents of the project is a “win.”

“We don’t get a lot of wins for people who are fighting for environmental protections and conservations,” she said. “So getting small wins and large wins in recognition for the value of peoples’ opinions, and, of course, larger value of plants and animals that we have here in Florida, is really nice to see on a larger scale.”

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will be meeting on Dec. 5 , where an update on the project is expected and the public will have the ability to comment.

Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental area is jointly owned by Orange and Osceola counties, and is managed under an agreement by FWC.