“ The developer is seeking a judicial declaration that the property is eligible for the special benefits of the Live Local Act and that the city must administratively approve of a development application without a public hearing before you,” Geller explained during the May 19 city commission meeting. “ The city's position is that the project is not permissible under the development agreement governing the property. There's also an SB 180 claim, which we think is without merit.”

Passed in 2023 by the state legislature, the Live Local Act was intended to ease the housing crisis by providing developers with incentives, like waiving impact fees or increasing floor space, to build housing units that middle- to low-income residents could afford. In return, developers had to commit that 40 percent of any rental units would remain affordable for at least 30 years.

In its lawsuit, Ocoee Gateway — which ended two attempts at mediation before the special magistrate hearings — argued that Ocoee’s development agreement for the property has either expired or is superseded by the Live Local Act. In its motion to dismiss, the city responded that the developer is cherry picking from what it calls "Original Live Local Act" and the 2025 amended law. For instance, the Live Local Law now excludes the Wekiva Study Area, which encompasses the majority of Ocoee, including the property near White and Clark Roads.

The city also states that Ocoee Gateway has no standing to bring the lawsuit because it does not own the property it wants to develop, nor is it resident to Ocoee. Despite its name, the developer is based in Deerfield Beach. With the amended complaint, Ocoee Gateway included property owner Lake Lotta Ltd.

The lawsuit also argues that the city’s new Envision 2045 comprehensive plan is null and void ab initio — which is Latin for “never existed.”

Geller told the commission he thought that claim was "without merit." That's because the Florida Department of Commerce had attempted to render the city’s new comprehensive plan null and void ab initio, but the city fought back. In a November 2025 administrative hearing, the judge ruled that the Department of Commerce had no jurisdiction to make that determination and that Envision 2045, which contains an opt-out provision that allows developers to build under the city’s old plan, is valid.

In the motion to dismiss, Geller wrote that Ocoee Gateway had failed to show how the city's denial of their project was at all connected to the city's new comprehensive plan nor how the developer was negatively impacted by any new provisions in the plan that are "more restrictive or burdensome."