Special Magistrate Archie O. Lowry Jr., Wildwood’s gatekeeper for land use and zoning cases since 1999, is resigning effective Aug. 31.
Lowry’s resignation comes amid a continuing wave of development including a proposed 4,500-acre expansion of The Villages.
He serves as the sole member of the city’s Planning and Zoning Board, which reviews land use and zoning cases and makes recommendations to the city commission.
In a July 17 letter to City Manager Jason McHugh, Lowry, an attorney associated with a Mount Dora firm, said he is open to serving longer if the city needs time to find a successor.
“I sincerely hope that future growth brings commercial and industrial businesses with good paying jobs that attract young people who want to live in a new vibrant city of Wildwood where there are mixed age groups and demographics,” Lowry wrote.
McHugh told city commissioners Monday night that Lowry’s resignation is just a matter of cutting back on some of his activities.
Commissioners also took action on several land-use cases at the meeting.
They gave initial approval to a plan to convert 4,130 acres east of County Road 470, site of the proposed Landstone development, to pasture land. The commission’s action means the conversion will be sent to the state for approval. It requires state approval because the planned 8,000-home project was designated a development of regional impact.
Buffalo Hide & Cattle Co., a Villages-related entity formed in April, applied for the conversion. A zoning change from planned development to agriculture will be voted on at a future commission meeting.
The commission also granted a zoning change for Nature Calls Portable Toilets, businesses operated by Jessica Demers on a 15-acre site along County Road 121 across from the Village of Buttonwood.
The land recently was annexed to Wildwood and the zoning was changed to low density residential.
Melanie Peavy, development services director, said she has prepared a home occupation permit that will allow the business to continue its operation.
She said the permit will require that the toilets will not be visible to neighborhood residents and must be stored inside a building.
Buttonwood residents expressed concerns about the business at a recent meeting of the Planning and Zoning Board.
Rodney Rogers, an Ocala engineer who represents Demers, said she plans to move the business to a commercial area in a couple years.
Commissioners also approved several plats for the Village of Fenney, including the 78-unit Lantana Villas, the 62-unit Tupelo Villas and a 62-home subdivision.