Residents trying to block development on a golf course in Windermere won a victory Tuesday night. 

  • Golf course in Windermere closed in April
  • Designated a green space by Orange County
  • County denied request by new owner to change zoning

Orange County commissioners denied the golf course owner’s request to rezone the property, something homeowners feared could create a path to new development.

Sarah and Chet Moody moved to their neighborhood so their kids could grow up playing golf, literally in their backyard.

“We moved to Windermere Club two years ago with the hope to raise our children on a golf club, playing golf,” said Sarah Moody.

The golf course closed in April. The course’s new owner asked Orange County commissioners to relinquish the county’s development rights, which now keeps the course as the green space it is.

But dozens of residents argued that would open the door for development, something they say would change their neighborhood forever, increase traffic and decrease property values.

An attorney for the applicant says the owner would still have to go through several steps before homes could be built on the course.

“That doesn’t mean we automatically have development rights,” said attorney Truong Nguyen. “There’s a lot of talk that we can start putting up properties that are 10, 15 million, and we can start selling it and putting lots in place. It does not. We still have to go through the entire process.”

After more than two hours of public speaking, the commissioners voted to deny the request, saying they had to stick with a decision back in the 1980s that guarantees the golf course stays a green space.

The Moodys are thankful commissioners denied the owner’s request.

“He would’ve been able to proceed with a plan to develop the property, a right that he never had in the first place,” said Chet Moody. “He purchased the course knowing that he did not have the right to develop that property.”

The Moodys and other residents say they hope the owner will either re-open the golf course, or sell the land to someone who will.