ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County commissioners voted Tuesday to pass the second and final portion of the rural boundary amendment on voluntary annexations that will grant the county veto power over an attempt to annex land.

This decision was unanimously voted on by commissioners and will advance a referendum to the November ballot, giving voters the opportunity to cast ballots on whether to change the county’s charter to include voluntary annexations.

Residents and community advocates who attended Tuesday’s commission meeting said this moment reflected a decade’s worth of hard work that is finally coming to fruition.

But now, the next step is to educate voters on the matter by Nov. 5.

Jimmy Hester has chosen a specific lifestyle for himself and his children, who are fourth-generation farmers in East Orange County.

He said living on the east side of the Econlockhatchee River for the past 27 years means everything to him and his family.

Pointing to his two cows, which he named Sunset and Dino, Hester said, “that’s why we moved out here, to be able to raise our own food.”

It’s a lifestyle he said he hopes to never give up.

“That was a huge answered prayer this community has been fighting for a long time,” he said.

Now, Hester said the priority is rallying the community together to educate people to vote in favor of the rural boundary and the voluntary annexation in November.

He said at the end of the day, it all comes down to helping one another.

“I’ve been called at 2, 3 in the morning to help get some cows that’s been on the road, and they’ll say ‘Hey, if there’s anything you ever need, give me a call.’ So it might be a year later, and I’ll call them and I’ll say, ‘Hey, I need you to vote on this. I need you to come to these meetings,' and they’ll show up,” Hester said.

Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings said it will be up to the people to change the county’s charter.

“I remain optimistic about the prospects of that. What this will do is level the playing field between the municipalities and the county to be on equal grounds as it relates to voluntary annexations,” Demings said.

But he said his decision to pass these two amendments stems from the variety of needs of the unincorporated and incorporated people of Orange County, which he hopes to balance.

Hester said he hopes the decision will preserve his quality of life and his property rights for a long time.

Demings said last week he met with half of the mayors and city leaders who sent him a letter opposing the rural boundary amendment a few days prior to the vote.

He said he listened to their concerns but made it clear that going forward, this legislation will only work if there is “good communication” between the county and the municipalities.

Demings said the only reason why the county is in this spot at the moment is because “most recently there had been large-scale voluntary annexations with no communication with Orange County about those annexations in advance of the notice that we receive from the cities.”