CHULUOTA, Fla. — Seminole County leaders are considering buying a huge piece of land in the eastern part of the county that has sparked years of debate.

What You Need To Know

  • The High Oaks Ranch property sits near Chuluota along County Road 419, not far from UCF

  • On Tuesday, the county’s Acquisition and Restoration Committee, or ARC, scored the High Oaks Ranch property higher than all other properties up for sale and under consideration for county purchase

  • The property makes up nearly 700 acres of what’s now undeveloped farmland

  • ARC will send their recommendations to Seminole County Commissioners, who will decide at a meeting in June how to move forward

The High Oaks Ranch property sits near Chuluota along County Road 419, not far from UCF. So far, county leaders have turned down developers who wanted to the land rezoned so they could build on it.

People with ties to the area and several environmental and conservation groups continue to urge the county to keep the land undeveloped.

On Tuesday, the county’s Acquisition and Restoration Committee, or ARC, scored the High Oaks Ranch property higher than all other properties up for sale and under consideration for county purchase. The property makes up nearly 700 acres of what’s now undeveloped farmland. It’s the largest by far out of several properties the county is considering buying.

Teddy Mello’s family has lived in rural Seminole County for three generations. For many years, he’s encouraged the county to preserve rural lands. One of his biggest concerns is the additional traffic more development could bring.

“At eight o’clock in the morning it’s already backed up from Oviedo all the way up to 2nd Street and past now, so they don’t have enough roadway,” said Mello.

Mello lives in Chuluota, near High Oaks Ranch. He’s worried if it’s developed, it would make storm flooding worse.

“And we already have big problems with that up and down the river, it’s made it to here from Kissimmee, and it’s up and down the St. Johns River right now,” said Mello. “So the more density you add to it the worse it’s going to get for everybody around there.”

Last year, county leaders created Seminole Forever, which sets aside millions of dollars of county money to buy properties to preserve natural lands.

“I’d rather see Seminole County spend the money now, and buy the land rather than spending the money to keep up the infrastructure with developments later on,” said Mello.

Mello knows the High Oaks property will come with a high price tag.

“Maybe do a Seminole Forever pass or something like that. It would help future land buys that are that big,” said Mello.

Commissioner Lee Constantine told Spectrum News the property will likely be too costly to buy all at once. He’s hoping the county can buy it in parts.

Ken Clayton, one of the property’s co-owners, told ARC committee members they would rather not sell the property in parts.

Committee members suggested the county could garner support from the state or preservation groups to come up with enough money for the purchase.

ARC will send their recommendations to Seminole County Commissioners, who will decide at a meeting in June how to move forward.