ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — Orange County voters made their voices heard Tuesday on important Charter amendments, including Charter Amendment 9.
Amendment 9 passed with a 73% of the vote, and will establish a rural boundary and rural area. This means it will be tougher to develop areas within designated rural boundaries.
District 5 Commissioner-elect Kelly Semrad beat incumbent Steve Leary with 57% of the vote and made handling growth a focal point of her campaign.
“Essentially what people did, is they stood up, and they said, we’re not going to leave it up to elected officials any longer. We’re going to take some of this power and put it in our own hands. I’m so proud to be a part of that movement,” Semrad expressed.
She’s also the vice chair of Save Orange County — a grassroots organization dedicated to fighting urban sprawl.
She said now is the time to invest in areas that need it most.
“We started looking at this back in 2023. And during the course of over a year of public hearings, discussions, and speaking with experts, and folks within the county — we became clear that there was a need for a rural boundary,” Semrad explained.
Rishi Bagga served on the Charter Review Commission, which agreed to send Charter Amendment 9 to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners.
Commissioners then agreed to put the measure on the ballot.
Bagga is glad voters believe in this.
“When we have growth, that it’s smart, and the commission has all the information to make those sorts of decisions. When you’re changing land that was previously designated as rural to urban, you need to know what you’re doing, what the implications are, and what the costs would be,” Bagga said.