Fiscal Rangers

City of Leesburg, FL loses special magistrate hearing over residential development

The City of Leesburg, FL Commissioners lost a special magistrate's hearing regarding a developer litigation over Sunnyside Lake Landholding and planned construction of a 159-residence subdivision. Reading this article may give members an insight into how bad it can get when elected officials actually stand up to a developer proposal. Notice one of the contentious issues is the effect of the proposed development on local traffic where the traffic study said in my opinion "no problem here..." but City Commissioners believed the opposite. "Mayor Jimmy Burry also felt the roads were not adequate despite the traffic studies presented by the developer...". Residents need to hold Florida House & Senate members accountable until reform legislation is passed. Legislation is needed to require that affected cities or counties hire the Traffic Impact Study (TIS) engineers, not the developers. Here is a link to the Leesburg-news.com article. https://www.leesburg-news.com/2024/03/30/leesburg-commissioners-sidestep-costly-lawsuit-over-disputed-development/? And here is a link to the Sunnyside traffic impact study (TIS). Become familiar with them because in my opinion, they are biased toward the developers because the DEVELOPER, not the city, hires them for an "objective" study. Note: This TIS was published in Oct. 2019 or five years ago. A more current one may... Read more →

New May 15, 2022 Biden Affordable Housing Action Plan described by Realtor vlog in Louisiana

On May 15, 2022, the Biden Administration announced an Affordable Housing Action Plan, and this post describes it via a video, plus links and observations. Read more →

Leesburg, FL Residents: Two upcoming meetings you need to know about

Two Leesburg, FL City Council meetings are coming up (Dec. 30, 2021 & Jan. 3, 2022) without any details on their purpose. Both may include discussions relatedd to rampant development annexations by the City Council of Leesburg without regard to traffic gridlock that may result. As of Dec. 27, 2021, there is no online agenda for the Jan. 3rd meeting, and the Dec. 30 agenda only says each side will give presentations. Read more →

Updated! Tavares City Council denied a proposed SIXTY FOOT HIGH apartment building at HWY 19 & Lane Park Cutoff

The City of Tavares, FL is planning to approve (maybe) a (A) government warehouse development that would be removed from the Tavares property tax rolls, and (B) a humongous SIXTY FOOT HIGH 165 unit apartment complex that will generate almost 1000 road trips a day when the Highway 19 is at 98% of road "volume capacity". BOTH projects would MODIFY the existing zoning and density standards for the area along Highway 19. Read more →

Tell your Tavares, FL City Council members to allow citizen input at FIRST Readings of Planning & Zoning items

The City Council of Tavares, FL does not allow citizens to provide public input on "First Readings" of agenda items on Planning & Zoning or other issues, thus they cannot provide input until the next meeting and the FINAL "Second Reading". No other city in Lake County has this restriction, so citizens should demand that public input be accepted at First Readings. Read more →

REDUCE YOUR Lake County, FL Property Taxes by 50% by buying property in a low tax Lake County city

Buyers of residential, rental or commercial property in Lake County, FL can SAVE 50% on property taxes if they pick the right, low millage rate city in Lake County. This article describes the 2020 millage rates for all 14 cities plus the unincorporated Lake County areas so you can decide to buy in a LOW or HIGH property tax location. Read more →

Clermont, FL Taxpayers protest City Council decisions and rampant development at City Hall

Citizens showed up at the Clermont City Hall on July 22, 2020 to wave signs and discuss issues with those passing by. Led by local Clermont watchdog Dani Page, the group waved signs for two hours. This is a 30 minute segment. Read more →

Residents living on Lake County, FL Canals - read this about funding for needed canal dredging

Residents on private canals in Lake County, FL need to read this. A new funding process is being considered by the Lake County Board to allow residents to tax themselves over 10 years to fund needed dredging of their canals. Read more →

Promised improvements to intersection of HWY 19 & Dead River Road in Tavares are canceled

The Developer, D.R. Horton, of a proposed 200 unit development on Dead River Road in Tavares, FL, has canceled the development plans and their planned improvements to the intersection of HWY 19 and Dead River Road. Thus hoped for intersection improvements are canceled. Read more →

Tavares, FL City Council plans to discuss hiking budget and increasing the millage rate beyond the rollback rate - Friday, Sept. 6

The City Council of Tavares, FL is having their City Council meeting tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 6, 2019 and they will discuss proposed millage and budget figures. If they continue, should they rename the city Spendalot City or Camelot? Residents need to attend the 4pm meeting and provide input. Read more →

Lake County, FL County Commissioner Leslie Campione Provides Facts About Proposed H-2A FarmWorker Dormitory near Eustis, FL

Here is an analysis by Lake County, FL County Commissioner Leslie Campione on the proposed 50 room FarmWorker H2A housing dormitory on a 5-acre lot in an agricultural area north of Eustis, FL.  Neighbors have protested this contentious issue which will come to the Lake County, FL Board on May 21 for a decision. Read more →

Angry Tavares, FL BayTree Residents Demand answers from City about proposed development next door

The over-55 retirement community, BayTree, in Tavares, FL has erupted in anger over a plan to demolish an old golf course surrounding many homes and add many new, smaller homes on the old golf course land. We provide a video to our overview of the issue plus an April 29, 2019 meeting between residents and the Tavares, FL City Manager, Attorney and Director of Planning. Read more →