On October 6, the county’s five‑member board voted 5‑0 to reject a settlement that would have let D.R. Horton construct 126 single‑family homes on 51 acres by Raymond Road. Commissioner Teresa Mast urged a conservation approach, while Mark Smith cautioned that the county must secure a fair market price.
The dispute began when D.R. Horton first proposed 170 homes in 2024, later trimming the plan to 126. After the board’s February 2025 rejection, the developer and the Smith Farm owners sued over the rezoning, and a separate Live Local Act proposal for 864 apartments up to 65 feet tall has kept the case alive in court.
The land sits beside the Celery Fields, a critical wetlands corridor. Audubon Society president Sara Reisinger pledged nearly $20,000 toward the county’s legal fight and offered to help close any funding gap for a purchase, arguing the acreage could bolster bird habitat and storm‑water capacity.
County Attorney Joshua Moye said the idea of buying the property surfaced during earlier dispute‑resolution talks but was dismissed by D.R. Horton then. With no purchase price set and no timetable for negotiations, the county’s next move will be to negotiate with Horton and the Smith Farm owners while keeping the litigation pending.