ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County leaders are looking to update land development regulations and they want to hear from residents. 

Over the course of the next few weeks, the county is hosting town halls where residents can learn more about the Orange Code.

What You Need To Know

  • The Orange Code entails new land development regulations that have been in the works since 2019

  • It will go before county commissioners in the fall for adoption

  • The Orange Code will be used to implement Vision 2050; it's meant to guide the county's growth over the next 25 years

  • Vision 2050 goes over land-use types and where growth can occur, while the Orange Code will be used to actually see that through

  • As to why the county is rewriting the zoning code? It’s because the zoning code was originally approved in the 1950s. It’s been updated slightly, but doesn’t necessarily respond to things like population growth in the county

The residents say they are looking forward to what future development could mean. 

“I think the urban side of the code updates is exciting, the mixed-use developments that they’re going to be making where it’s not just residential, it’s not just commercial. We can have them both in one block,” Ben Shepler, a College Park resident, said. 

According to Orange County, Vision 2050 and Orange Code will work together. 

Vision 2050 goes over land-use types and where growth can occur, while the Orange Code will be used to actually see that through. 

“Growth is still going to happen in Orange County. It should not be reactive, we should be planning for it,” Alberto Vargas, planning division manager for Orange County, said. 

The county plans to do so by rethinking the county’s placemaking regulations. 

Basically, that means where things will go. 

Vargas wants to protect and enhance different areas in the county that are distinguished by transect zones.

County officials say it is a zoning code meant to meet the current times while also evolving over time to be sustainable for generations. 

It’s all about thinking ahead to the future, one step at a time, some say. 

“On the urban side, I think this would be an improvement to some of our urban centers,” Shepler said. 

For more information on the Orange Code and Vision 2050, visit here.