A Seminole advisory board has recommended the county oppose a controversial request by former state legislator Chris Dorworth to carve 67 acres of old farmland out of the protected rural boundary so he can build scores of new houses on what once was the popular Pappy’s Patch strawberry picking field.
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The Wednesday night decision steepens what was already an uphill battle for Dorworth, who now needs at least four of the five county commissioners to approve his proposal for the site just northeast of Florida Avenue and DeLeon Street, south of Lake Jesup, in the Black Hammock area. The county commission meeting is scheduled for Dec. 8.
Seminole’s rural boundary is a hot political topic, with nearly every candidate running for office in Seminole this election year vowing to protect the area mostly east of the Econlockhatchee River and covering about one third of the county.
And Dorworth is not just any developer. He is a well-connected former state legislator — once destined to become Speaker of the House — who has long fought Seminole officials and conservationists in being allowed to build high-density residential communities within the protected area.
A visibly prickled Dorworth blasted the county’s staff report Wednesday, which said his proposal didn’t present any data showing a need for new residential development within a rural area.
Dorworth argued that as a developer he should have the right to pull land out of the boundary and build a subdivision that partially abuts two existing communities of the same density he planned.
Seminole County has “created a paradigm where you can never take land out of the rural area,” Dorworth said. “It’s a landlocking that can never be undone. It’s literally a system that is designed to [have an application] fail…It’s no secret what’s going on here. I just find the entire thing incredibly distasteful.”
Nearly 40 people spoke out against his request.
“If we move that boundary, where does that line stop?” said Megan Fox, a Black Hammock resident. “When is the next developer going to come in and use that as a precedent to put in another subdivision next to this one?”
David Bear, president of the non-profit Save Rural Seminole, also criticized Dorworth’s argument, saying his logic essentially would do away with most development restrictions and lead to the rural boundary being paved over to the Brevard County line.
“That would be an insane way to develop any area. It would lead to no end,” he said.
No resident spoke in favor.
For years, Pappy’s Patch was a popular spot for families with young children to pick strawberries. The farm closed several years ago. Today the 14 vacant parcels are used for cows “to graze and poop,” Dorworth said, adding that it would be a prime area to build needed housing near Oviedo and Winter Springs.
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Dorworth’s company, Strawberry Lane LLC, proposes to eventually build a community of 136 single-family homes, according to the 272-page application.
Because the land is currently within Seminole’s protected rural boundary, residential development is restricted to either one house per five acres or one home per ten acres depending on the location. The Strawberry Lane development proposes a density of about two homes per acre if removed from the boundary.
Dorworth repeatedly cited an opinion by Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier this year that said rural boundaries established by local governments, including Seminole’s, could be considered unconstitutional because they may deprive developers of their private property rights.
An amendment was later added into a land-use bill at this year’s state legislative session that would have allowed property owners within or adjacent to rural boundaries, including Seminole’s, to seek compensation if the county didn’t give them permission to remove the development restrictions.
The amendment — backed by Republican state Sen. Jason Brodeur, a friend of Dorworth whose district includes Seminole — eventually failed in the state Senate. But the issue is likely to return in the 2027 state Legislative session.
At the meeting, Maitland Mayor John Lowndes, a Democrat who is running against Brodeur for the state Senate seat, spoke out against Dorworth’s assertion that the county’s development process was rigged in favor of preserving the rural boundary.
“The application is flawed,” he said of Dorworth’s proposal. “It’s a bad idea.”
It’s not the first time Dorworth has faced opposition in wanting to remove land from the rural boundary.
In 2018, Dorworth pitched River Cross, a massive development of 600 single-family homes, 270 townhouses, 500 apartments and 1.5 million square feet of shops, offices and restaurants on the 669-acre Hi-Oaks Ranch just north of the Orange County line.
County commissioners unanimously rejected River Cross that year at a public meeting attended by hundreds of residents, most in opposition.
Kevin Oglesby of the Black Hammock pointed out that Pappy’s Patch land could today be developed with 17 homes with five acre lots under the county’s code.
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“He could still make a ton of money,” he said. “This is all about greed.”
Dorworth later shot back at those criticizing him and his application.
“People are very nasty,” he said.