Leesburg Studies 3,443-Acre Growth Issue

LEESBURG, FL-City commissioners in this Central Florida city of 15,624 permanent residents, 45 miles northwest of Downtown Orlando, face a dilemma: Grow slow or grow fast.

Anti-development forces argue the city is in no financial position to service a 3,443-acre annexation and a commercial development that would follow. They also fear the planned project would deplete and contaminate the area’s drinking water supply. Some commissioners challenge that view.

Voting by the commissioners on the largest annexation request in the city’s 100-year-old history is expected this summer. If approved, the cattle pasture, owned by Dr. Clayton Pruitt of St. Petersburg, FL, would be sold to developers for a multimillion-dollar mixed-use venture near a strategically-located Florida Turnpike interchange at Country Road 470.