After a contentious Leesburg, FL City Commissioner meeting last night (Apr. 14, 2025), four of five commissioners voted against perhaps 300 citizens there to support a resolution to limit residential annexations for 1+ years. Commissioner Jay Connell added the resolution to the meeting agenda that would put a one-year+ moratorium on approving proposed residential annexations, or proposals to change other land uses to residential. The idea was to let the city catch up with fixing traffic jams, school capacity, and planning reforms.
A PowerPoint slide from Connell is here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/1174720147480410
After a long line of 40+ citizens gave public input, the four other Commissioners barely asked questions and voted against the proposal.
Perhaps 10 people, mostly business advocates who, in my opinion, do NOT care about citizen complaints about traffic gridlock (Don Magruder, Mandy Wettstein (Committee of 100), Chamber of Commerce, etc.). provided input to recommend a NO vote, which was the result.
Here is the link to the LeesburgNews.com article on the 3+ hour event:
https://www.leesburg-news.com/2025/04/15/debate-over-rampant-growth-exposes-deep-divisions-in-leesburg/
It is clear to me that, like prior meetings I have attended, the majority of the Leesburg Commission is under the control of local businesses and not for citizens and has little concern over citizen concerns about traffic, school capacity, taxes on existing residents to subsidize new home infrastructure, etc. Instead, they are, in my opinion, in the pocket of local businesses and developers, and seek no solutions to traffic problems. They blame traffic on the state or county "because the main roads are their responsibility," and not the city. However, the city collects the property taxes from developments on BOTH sides of the roads, but does not contribute to traffic solutions, in my opinion.
In contrast, Lake County Board Chair Leslie Campione gave public input and said the city could legally turn down development in rural land areas and that the Commission needs to meet AGAIN with the County Board to work out solutions. The County has no power to order cities to use low-density planning, so cities always go for the traffic-generating HIGH-density housing developments.
You can watch the entire meeting on Lake Front TV's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99-fpfCZicM
At the end of the full meeting, after most citizens left, Commissioner Jay Connel made some comments about the City Manager and his posting in recommendation earlier to deny the proposal. It is worth watching at: https://www.youtube.com/live/99-fpfCZicM?si=A79M8q8HPqC_gsMY&t=12350
In my opinion, it is sad to see how four of the Leesburg Commissioners ( Alan Reisman, Allyson Berry, Mike Pederson, Jim Burry) ignored citizen comments about traffic gridlock, school capacity, and increased taxes to subsidize the new developments that most likely cost more for infrastructure than new revenues collected from the new properties. If you want to see national examples of how new residential communities cost more than the projected revenues, thus must be subsidized by existing residents, review this website: www.urbanthree.com
LEAVE your comments! Who do you think is right?
This blog post is my opinion based upon my observations explained above.
Vance Jochim
FiscalRangers.com
