Orange County commissioners sided with the environment Tuesday by unanimously rejecting the proposed Tuscana development and the thousands of hotel rooms and housing units it would bring to Shingle Creek Basin.

“We got to learn from our mistakes, because the reason property insurance is going up is not a mystery,” Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad said during the meeting. “We have developed in places that it didn’t belong and the water doesn’t know boundaries — it goes where it needs to go.

“The issue is not just about environmentally sensitive lands, this issue is about public safety.”

The project involves building over 1,200 hotel rooms and 4,800 multifamily dwelling units on an area of agricultural-zoned land near Central Florida’s theme parks and close to parts of 20-mile-long Shingle Creek, extending into sensitive wetlands that serve as headwaters to the Everglades and run through Osceola County.

The vote offers a strong pro-environment signal in the first major development issue to confront the board since the November election. In that election, voters rejected commission candidates backed by developers and endorsed two ballot measures limiting growth outside of urban areas.

More than a dozen people spoke against Tuscana at the meeting. Many cited reasons for opposing including loss of animal habitat and risks of increased flooding from developing land that absorbs water.

“The Everglades have been decimated enough over centuries by development that flooded after it was developed,” said Val Mobley, an Orlando resident. “I’m worried that the more concrete we pour on this peninsula, the sooner we’re going to be completely underwater.”

Commissioners also heard from the applicant, Shingle Creek Co-Owners LLC, and its team of lawyers and engineers during the nearly two-hour discussion. Many of the over 170 property owners who collectively make up the applicant argued it was their right to sell their land for development.

Dan Shabel owns one parcel of the property that would become Tuscana. He said he and fellow property owners have waited decades to sell their land for profit.

“We did substantial amount of due diligence, we did not buy unusable swampland,” Shabel said. “We bought property close to Disney and SeaWorld that you designated for very intense development and showed future plans for access.”

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County spokeswoman Amanda Dukes said by email that the commission’s decision is the final step unless the developers decide to take the issue to court.

Engineering and design firm Kimley-Horn represents developer Kobo Development on the project that would directly impact just over 22 acres of wetlands. The entire development would occupy 227 acres surrounded by undeveloped forest and lies on the eastern portion of Shingle Creek Basin — an area home to species including bald eagles, black bears and endangered bats.

Bald eagles and black bears are routinely recorded in the area which has three known eagle nests near the project’s limits, according to a memo from the county’s environmental protection division. In addition, recent acoustic monitoring found at least three rare or imperiled bat species located within the creek basin: the Florida bonneted bat (designated as endangered at state and federal levels), the tricolored bat (proposed for listing as endangered) and the Rafinesque’s big-eared bat (considered regionally rare), the memo said.

Tuscana has been stuck in Orange County’s application process for years — going back and forth with county staff since 2022 to amend the proposal in an effort to minimize the impact to wetlands. The latest proposal offered over 150 acres of wetlands preservation and buildings that exceed the maximum height of 60 feet for that area — some as tall as 150 feet — in an effort to cluster development and minimize environmental impact. But the county’s development review committee denied the project April 2 as did its planning and zoning commission on April 24.

Jennifer Stickler, Kimley-Horn engineer, said during Tuesday’s meeting that the applicant team was committed to meeting state and federal stormwater requirements, amending its proposal to work with the commission and providing a stormwater model not required by county code detailing how the development won’t impact water flow.

The county is hosting a workshop Wednesday to consider studying the Shingle Creek drainage basin to see if additional development protections are needed. The meeting will take place at 6 p.m. at Dr. Phillips Elementary School, 6909 Dr. Phillips Blvd.