A judge will soon decide whether Orange County voters were “misled” by a referendum on the 2020 ballot.
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Osceola County filed the lawsuit shortly after 86 percent of Orange County voters approved a charter amendment to protect and preserve the Split Oak Forest.
Osceola wants to invalidate the Orange County Charter Amendment and what Orange voters overwhelmingly decided.
Orange County defended the referendum and its charter when a judge heard from both sides on Monday.
In 2020, when it was voted on, the Orange and Osceola County governments were willing to build the proposed toll road, known as the Osceola Parkway Extension, through part of the protected forest — despite it being protected land. Both counties placed the land under protection in the 1990s because of its wetlands and protected species such as gopher tortoises.
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The proposed toll road would directly impact 60 acres of forest.
The 2020 referendum simply stated that it “would limit the use of the Split Oak Forest to preserve and protect wildlife, plants and the environment,” eliminating the ability of the Orange County Commission to take any action against protecting the forest.
But Osceola County says the charter amendment “misled voters into believing it was protecting protected lands” when in fact it was blocking the proposed toll road, the county claims.
Osceola pointed to the Orange County Commission report. “The commission’s report is troubling but clear because it indicates it was done simply to stop the road,” said Todd Norman, an attorney representing Osceola County. “She fails to inform voters of the fundamental change she is making. “He hides the ball.”
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Orange County attorneys said the ballot proposal made clear to voters its primary goal — to protect Split Oak in its current form.
“Voters are smart enough to do their own research, make their own judgments, and do more research about what the referendum means, just as if they were political candidates,” the Orange County district attorney said.
Friends of Split Oak Forest President Valerie Anderson says the 2020 ballot question was intentionally worded broadly.
“The ballot amendment does not specifically relate to toll roads. It's about what Orange County is doing. “It's about what the Orange County commissioners are allowed to do because the people of Orange County saw that the county commissioner may or may not have respected the protections that Split Oak provides,” Anderson said.
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Judge Margaret Schreiber acknowledged the importance of the case and said she would issue a decision soon. It did not specify a time frame for when the decision would be issued.
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