Florida reverses course, approves 4,800 apartments and 1,000 hotel rooms

Orange County commissioners in Florida have approved the large Tuscana land-use plan in a close 4-3 vote. The decision reverses a unanimous rejection of the same project 16 months earlier. The approval allows more than 4,800 apartments and about 1,000 hotel rooms to be built across nearly 230 acres in the Shingle Creek Basin. Nearby homeowners say they fear the high-density project will cause serious flooding, destroy wildlife habitats, and put too much pressure on local roads. In May 2025, county commissioners unanimously rejected the proposal because of environmental concerns. But the decision was later reviewed after an independent Special Magistrate examined the case under state land-use rules and formally recommended that the commission reconsider its original decision.Legal pressures and magistrate findingsThe push to reconsider the application grew after the magistrate found that the county's earlier rejection was not supported by competent, substantial evidence.