Marion County commissioners directed staff on Jan. 13 to start the process of repealing a December 17, 2024 rezoning ordinance after staff said the Board adopted the rezoning using an incorrect future land‑use designation on the county map.

County Growth Services Director Chuck Verdin told the Board that the parcel in question had been shown as "high residential" on the published map but that the correct designation, adopted earlier, was "medium residential." Verdin said the discrepancy dated to a 2016 amendment and a subsequent mapping error. County attorney and process advisor explained that an adopted ordinance cannot simply be "rescinded" and that the correct procedure is to adopt a repealing ordinance; commissioners agreed to begin that repeal process and to accept a new resubmittal from the applicant for the April application cycle if needed.

"The board's decision on December 17, 2024 was based on inaccurate information about the underlying land use for the parcel," Verdin said during staff remarks. County attorney Minter told commissioners an ordinance to repeal must be adopted following the standard legislative process; he also asked the chair to sign an ordinance to be filed with the Secretary of State so an ordinance number would exist to support the repeal.

Members of the public who attended urged the Board to consider how the error occurred. Several neighbors said documentation provided to the county and the developer had shown the correct designation, and raised concerns about the effect of the error on neighborhood compatibility and traffic. Commissioners agreed the matter should go through Planning & Zoning and then the Board for a formal repeal hearing. Staff indicated a February Planning & Zoning date and a March Board date were likely for the repeal and any new application.

At the Jan. 13 meeting commissioners approved a separate motion to file the ordinance paperwork with the Secretary of State so it can be available for later repeal action and gave staff direction to process a repeal ordinance and to allow a resubmittal without an additional application fee because the error stemmed from county mapping.

The county said it will notify affected neighbors and the applicant of dates for Planning & Zoning and the Board hearings once the repeal and any resubmission are scheduled. The Board did not act on the merits of any new application at the Jan. 13 meeting.

The county will bring the repeal and any related rezoning back to Planning & Zoning and the Board in the coming months; staff gave tentative dates including a Planning & Zoning meeting in late February and a Board hearing in March.

Ending: The Board capped the procedural move by approving staff to file the ordinance paperwork with Tallahassee and by giving staff direction to process a formal repeal so the legal record will be in place when the repeal and any revised application are heard later this spring.