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A Winter Garden homeowner last week filed a petition for a writ of certiorari with the Ninth Circuit Court against the City of Winter Garden and developer Scott Boyd’s companies McKinnon Groves LLLP and McKinnon Corp. “for failure to meet the essential requirement of law contained in City Code and Florida law.”
A writ of certiorari is a request for a higher court to review a decision made by a lower court or local government, like the City of Winter Garden when it acts in a quasi-judicial manner, such as changing a zoning designation. (Certiorari comes from the Latin for “to be more fully informed.”) The commission voted unanimously May 28 to approve Ordinance 26-12, changing the zoning for a 337-acre parcel of land from “no zoning” to “urban village planned urban development.”
Adam Garcia, 36, a financial newsletter publisher who lives in the neighborhood next to the property Boyd plans to develop into the Johns Lake Urban Village, has opposed the project since 2023. According to the petition, he claims the city commission violated state law when it created “an entirely new zoning category,” which he alleges was requested by Boyd for the project.
Per the petition:
The applicant negotiated with the city prior to the quasi-judicial public hearing in back-and-forth emails and staff meetings to create a brand new zoning category which the applicant requested expressly for, and unique to, this project with the city. The requested rezoning created an entirely new zoning category created expressly and only for this acreage to be called the “Johns Lake Urban Village Planned Unit Development” (UVPUD), in exchange for certain improvements. This rezoning was done in exchange for 13 acres of park land and other conditions of approval in order to obtain the rezoning approval without the benefit of a statutory “development agreement” and constitute contract zoning that is not permitted in Florida.
“This type of contract zoning is considered an illegal abandonment of the government’s police power,” Garcia states in his petition, claiming the city “kicked the can down the road” when it chose to approve the project without ensuring the local infrastructure could handle the massive new development.
Boyd did not respond to an emailed request for comment.
Boyd’s plans for the land, which he has said has been in his family of citrus growers for generations, include 613 single-family homes, townhomes and estates; a 40-room hotel; a 200-person capacity events center; a 13-acre public park and commercial district. The development is bounded by Amber Sweet Lane to the south and the shores of Johns Lake to the north.
Garcia’s petition contends the commission ignored city reports that the site has inadequate roads for the current traffic; no connection to water or sewage; and no room in nearby schools to accommodate an influx of new students coming from the Johns Lake Urban Village.
Garcia wants the court to quash the commission’s decision to rezone the property. If a judge agrees, the project would effectively be put on hold until infrastructure concerns are resolved.
Responding to a request for comment, Winter Garden City Manager Jon Williams said Tuesday via email, “The City (sic) is aware that a Writ of Certiorari has been filed to request the court to evaluate the rezoning decision. As with any pending litigation, it would not be appropriate for the City (sic) to comment on the specific allegations.”
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Norine Dworkin contributed reporting.
