Orange County commissioners approve the Tuscana project near Shingle Creek, 4-3, reversing their 2025 denial

Orange County's commissioners approved the Tuscana project on Tuesday, Sept. 29, 2026, by four votes to three. The county's draft minutes record the motion: "to approve the Special Magistrate’s Recommendation as has been modified with the proposed condition from the applicant related to raising the road and the approval of the waiver." The board had denied the project in May 2025; GrowthSpotter reports that "The reversal came 16 months after commissioners denied the project in May 2025".

What changed

• The vote. For: "Aye: 4 - Mayor Demings, Commissioner Crabb, Commissioner Uribe, and Commissioner Scott". Against: "Nay: 3 - Commissioner Wilson, Commissioner Gomez Cordero, and Commissioner Martinez Semrad".
• A motion to reject came first, and failed. The minutes record "A motion was made by Commissioner Wilson, seconded by Commissioner Martinez Semrad, to reject the Special Magistrate's Recommendation."
• What was approved. The item was "the Special Magistrate’s Recommendation regarding the Tuscana Land Use Plan (LUP-22-01-022) and Conservation Area Impact Permit (CAI-23-05-022)". The approval also included "the approval of the waiver". No source we read says what that waiver is.
• The size. As GrowthSpotter reports, the magistrate's recommendation "did not reduce the proposed 4,814 apartments, 1,291 hotel rooms or 653,400 square feet of commercial space." The site is "the 227-acre property".
• The conditions. Per GrowthSpotter, the recommendation "called for a 25-foot buffer beside wetlands, mitigation for indirect effects in an additional 50-foot area and more detailed floodplain and stormwater studies before a later development plan is approved."
• Who asked for it. The applicants are "Shingle Creek Co-Owners, LLC and developer Geyer Development, LLC", as Spectrum News 13 names them. The owners' statement speaks for "the 176 individual property owners".

When

• The vote: Tuesday, September 29, 2026. The minutes are still a draft, "Printed on 10/5/2026".
• The magistrate's finding: Sept. 3. GrowthSpotter reports that the special magistrate "concluded Sept. 3 that the county’s denial was unreasonable".
• The denial it reverses: May 2025.

Where

• The Shingle Creek Basin in Orange County. Central Florida Public Media places the land "just west of the Shingle Creek preserve".

What it means if you live here

• More reviews come first. GrowthSpotter: "The vote gives the developers a land-use plan and conservation-area impact permit subject to the new conditions, but detailed engineering, drainage calculations and other development reviews remain ahead." No source we read gives a construction start date.
• Wetlands, three different measures. The land "includes nearly 59 acres of wetlands". "County leaders say the project would eliminate more than 20 acres of wetlands." And "The 2025 plan would have directly affected more than 22 acres of wetlands".
• County staff still recommend denial. Central Florida Public Media quotes Hull: "EPD's position is still recommending denial".
• The damages claim. The owners claimed a loss under the Bert Harris Act, and the sources give the figure three ways:
• the owners' appraiser, per GrowthSpotter: "a claimed loss of roughly $115 million";
• Central Florida Public Media: "developers allege a loss of more than $112 million";
• Commissioner Uribe, who voted yes, per Spectrum News 13: "She claims the county faced the prospect of paying the landowners at least $120 million".
• The settlement is still open. The board also passed a motion under which "the County Attorney's Office would prepare the written settlement offer to make a settlement offer and issue a statement of allowable uses corresponding to the modified relief approved by the Board and agreed to by the Owner." Central Florida Public Media: "commissioners voted 4-3 to approve two motions." GrowthSpotter: "County attorneys said that if the owners accept the modified terms, the settlement should resolve the Bert Harris claim without a lawsuit." The board's October 13, 2026 agenda and draft minutes and its final October 27, 2026 agenda do not mention Tuscana.
• Opponents are not done. Lee Perry of Protect Shingle Creek told ClickOrlando that a new commission "can rescind the decisions of the existing board".