Lake County and several of its municipalities have begun discussions to create ‘no annexation zones’ within the county’s Rural Protection Areas that would strengthen development controls over those rural lands.

As the county grows and developments dot the landscape, Rural Protection Areas — or RPAs — are areas where the land use is intended to remain rural for environmental purposes or for residents looking to maintain a non-urban lifestyle. But landowners interested in denser development may seek annexation into an adjoining city to escape those rules.

The county has three RPAs, one of which is under discussion with officials from Leesburg, Groveland and Howey-in-the-Hills, among others, according to a report in GrowthSpotter. Known as the Yalaha-Apopka RPA, the area is located in the center of the county and stretches across 35,406 acres from Leesburg to Lake Apopka.

Stricter rules governing that area would be a growth-control milestone in Lake County, akin to controversial rules approved by voters in nearby Orange County last November.

Initial talks about proposed no annexation zones, according to Commissioner Sean Parks, began during a quarterly roundtable back in September attended by the five county commissioners and representatives from 14 cities across the county.

There, the officials discussed methods to preserve rural areas from future development and identified the existing RPAs as a way to codify that sentiment. If the cities instead were to annex pieces of the RPAs, that would open the door to urban development.

While he said he could not speak for his fellow commissioners, Parks called the discussion “a step in the right direction.”

“It moves us towards that goal of making sure we’re not just one mass suburbia where the cities don’t have any identity anymore and Lake County can maintain its identity of being natural, with conservation lands and agriculture,” he said.

One hurdle for the county and municipalities to clear would be Senate Bill 180, a law which limits development regulations that are more burdensome or restrictive.

That bill was initially pitched as a way to ease rebuilding hurricane-damaged structures and passed with little debate at the end of the 2025 Legislative Session. Despite the legislature’s intentions, the law has been interpreted by the DeSantis administration in a way that prevents any city or county impacted by 2024’s hurricanes from implementing stricter development rules of any kind.

Parks called the bill “a big problem” and said he’s “somewhat confident” that legislative delegations around the state are going to change it in 2026.

“In other words, they’re going to make it so that they’re going to put it back in our hands,” he said. “The current form of Senate Bill 180 is definitely a threat to state, county or city visions as to how they want to grow.”

Since the county roundtable in the fall, staff from various municipalities have continued to stay in touch regarding proposed no annexation zones, with Howey-in-the-Hills opening formal discussion of the zones during their most recent Town Council meeting in December.

One key question is what cities would get out of the deal.

With the RPA already cutting into their town’s boundaries, Howey Town Manager Sean O’Keefe and town officials suggested volunteering support for the no annexation zones in exchange for the ability to annex non-contiguous properties into the town.

O’Keefe said the town would lose its ability to annex within the Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement, or ISBA, between surrounding municipalities — if the no annexation zones were to go through — but could gain the right to annex in important properties and ongoing projects that do not currently touch the town’s boundaries.

“It’s not a significant loss necessarily, and we shouldn’t give it up just for the sake of giving it up, but I think there is something to be gained in this discussion,” he said. “If the county and the other municipalities are asking Howey to give up a right, the town should get something in return.”

According to O’Keefe, the town has already signed annexation agreements with developers of the proposed 98-lot Cedar Creek subdivision and 521-lot Falls at Drake Point boating community on Lake Harris.

“They are ready to be a part of the town, they have agreements stating such, but they cannot until they are contiguous or until the county approves them as a one-off annexation,” O’Keefe said. “It has come before them, and the answer was no until such time as the town amends the ISBA or creates a [Joint Planning Agreement].”

Joint Planning Agreements, or JPAs, are written agreements between Lake County and its municipalities meant to foster collaboration on infrastructure projects and growth principles.

Parks acknowledged “it would be best” if an agreement on non-contiguous annexations for Howey were to be done through a JPA, similar to nearby Groveland, which signed a JPA with the county back in May.

According to its strategic plan, adopted in 2022, Groveland plans to maintain at least 50% of its utility service area and joint planning area as conservation and agriculture.

Groveland Community Development Director Tim Maslow acknowledged that the main purpose behind the city’s JPA was to create a predictable plan for properties if, or when, they decide to annex into the city limits. The plan is meant to balance growth with maintaining the 50% open space goal, according to Maslow.

“The city has so far attended one meeting with our adjacent jurisdictions,” Maslow wrote to GrowthSpotter. “We are currently collecting more information, evaluating, and comparing to our recently adopted Joint Planning Agreement between Lake County and the City of Groveland. Any decisions on this will ultimately be made by our city council.”

While talks of potential no annexation zones are still in the early stages, Parks said it could be a topic of conversation during the county’s next roundtable meeting with the municipalities later this month.

“I want to reiterate how important planning for conservation and green infrastructure is in our county right now as we continue to grow,” Parks said. “It’s going to be important to plan for this infrastructure that includes flood plan protection, water resource protection and protection of agricultural lands. It all fits in there together.”

Have a tip about Central Florida development? Contact me at jwilkins@orlandosentinel.com or 407-754-4980. Follow GrowthSpotter on Facebook and LinkedIn.