OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Ocala Downtown CRA Advisory Committee Meeting – February 24, 2026

City Council & Boards — Tuesday, February 24, 2026
BodyOcala, Florida
SessionCity Council & Boards
DateTuesday, February 24, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:03:30

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Roll call Ms.

0:03

York here.

0:05

Dr.

0:05

Murdaw is excused.

0:08

Mr.

0:08

Shaq?

0:09

Here.

0:09

Mr.

0:10

Harper.

0:10

Here.

0:11

Mr.

0:11

Gowling.

0:12

Here.

0:13

Miss Gill is not present.

0:16

Mr.

0:16

Drake.

0:17

Here.

0:17

We have a quorum.

0:18

Fantastic.

0:20

Public notice?

0:21

The public notice for the downtown Ocala CRA advisory committee committee meeting was posted on the City of O'Cala's website on February 18th, 2026.

0:30

Approval of minutes.

0:32

Before we approve them, I just want to call attention.

0:36

And it's seems like a long time ago in ancient history.

0:40

But if you look at staff comments and number eight, there is no representation in here as to the potential transfer of city property as part of that economic package for the Marion Hotel.

0:56

Okay.

1:03

This group, if it's an advisory committee for the CRA, needs to know what the CRA is going to be presented with if we're going to advise.

1:11

So I'd ask when the city comes forward with a package like that, make sure we get all of the details, not just a summary.

1:20

Anyone else have comments about the minutes?

1:27

Then I'll entertain a motion.

1:29

Move to approve the minutes.

1:31

I second it.

1:33

Any opposition?

1:34

Minutes are approved.

1:37

We don't have any grants or applications.

1:40

We're going to do project updates.

1:42

Yeah, um, I'm gonna Charlotte Whitehead economic development project coordinator.

1:46

Um, I'm just giving an update on one of the grants that went to the CRA board um in Lewis of our last scheduled advisory committee meeting that we had to cancel um due to lack of quorum.

1:57

It's CRA 25-0052.

2:01

Uh the applicant was easy wellness LLC LLC or Hagenda's, and the representative was Jamie Zimmelman.

2:08

Um it's at 40 South Magnolia Ave.

2:11

It's what I believe used to be Magnolia Gallery on the square.

2:14

Um advisory committee member Don Gulling submitted um a written support of the application.

2:20

It's for full interior build out of the vacant space into a Hog and Doss like cafe um ice cream shop.

2:26

It's a franchise.

2:27

There are some in I think the villages and maybe a couple others in Central Florida and throughout the country.

2:32

Um the grant recommended grant amount was $50,000.

2:36

Um the site visit was December 5th.

2:38

Tamara York record represented the advisory committee at that visit.

2:42

Um the application went to the January 20th CRA board meeting, and the CRA board did vote to approve the $50,000 grant application for that grant.

2:52

So just wanted to give you an update that that did move forward without coming to your committee.

2:58

And project updates.

2:59

We didn't have any project updates currently, but we are gonna um have Aubrey Hale um planning director go through some of the Vision 2050 slides and kind of give you a bit of an update on where we are on that and how it may relate to the CRAs in general.

3:14

So I'll let them switch over.

3:16

Thank you.

3:27

Thank you.

3:28

Yeah.

3:30

Good morning, Eric Smith here, City of Ocala Growth Management Senior Transportation Project Administrator.

3:36

Uh, just a couple quick project updates.

3:38

Like Charlita said, we don't have any major ones to announce at this time, but we did have a negotiation process going back and forth with FDOT for some intersection improvements and going from 441 all the way to 8th Avenue.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Planning and Zoning████████████████████████████████████36%
Public Engagement███████████████15%
Transportation Safety█████████████13%
Economic Development██████████10%
Public Works█████████9%
Meeting Scheduling██████6%
Parking█████5%
Procedural████4%
Engineering And Infrastructure██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Ocala Downtown CRA Advisory Committee Meeting – February 24, 2026

The Downtown Ocala Redevelopment Advisory Committee met on February 24, 2026 at Ocala City Hall to approve previous meeting minutes, receive updates on past grants and ongoing transportation projects, and hear a presentation on the draft City of Ocala Vision 2050 plan. The committee also discussed property tax burdens on small downtown businesses and quorum challenges.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Minutes (October 28, 2025): The minutes were approved unanimously after a member noted that the previous meeting summary omitted details about a potential transfer of city property as part of the Marion Hotel economic package. The committee requested that future summaries include all relevant details.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • No members of the public spoke during the public comment period.

Discussion Items

  • Grant Update (CRA 25-0052): Staff reported that a $50,000 grant for full interior build‑out of the former Magnolia Gallery at 40 South Magnolia Ave into a Hagenda’s ice cream shop (franchise) was approved by the CRA Board on January 20, 2026 after the advisory committee was unable to meet due to lack of quorum. Committee member Don Gulling submitted written support. Site visit was December 5, 2025, with TaMara York representing the committee.
  • Project Updates (Eric Smith, Transportation Project Administrator):
    • FDOT has agreed to review intersection improvement concepts for State Road 40 from 441 to 8th Avenue, including stamped brick crosswalks, enhanced lighting, and shrubbery. Six intersections are being considered (e.g., Aceola, Magnolia, First, Watula).
    • Brick City: The second building is about to begin; sidewalk portion is 99% complete; trees and shrubbery are being installed; a road diet / lane reduction project is planned.
    • State Road 40 corridor improvements: Speed limit reduction from 30 to 25 mph has already been approved by FDOT. The project is part of a larger resurfacing effort from 441 to the forest. Intersection enhancements are being negotiated, and discussions about golf cart crossings across SR 40 are ongoing.
  • Vision 2050 Presentation (Aubrey Hale, Planning Director):
    • The draft Vision 2050 plan builds on the 2035 Vision. The city aims for adoption by May 2026.
    • Consultant Urban 3 analyzed land values: 11% of city land is undeveloped; downtown high‑density areas generate far more value per acre (e.g., Malley’s Alley at $5.1M/acre) than typical big‑box retail ($0.4M/acre).
    • Population is projected to grow 31% by 2050, reaching about 92,000 residents, with daytime population possibly reaching 350,000.
    • Downtown CRA has a 53% exempt / 47% taxable property split; the plan encourages converting exempt government parcels into redevelopment sites.
    • Key citywide initiatives include: updating the 40‑year‑old land development code, shifting to mobility fees, enhancing transit (Sun Tran), updating the downtown and midtown master plans, and focusing on internal redevelopment over annexation.
    • Four focus areas defined: Downtown High Intensity, West Ocala, East Ocala, and a new Medium Intensity Special District for North Magnolia.
    • Committee member comments raised the need to include golf‑cart connectivity north of SR 40 and the Tourist Development Council (TDC) gap study (which identified a need for a large venue) in the downtown core section of the plan.
  • Committee Motion: A motion was made and seconded to request that the Vision 2050 document incorporate (1) golf cart connections north of SR 40 and (2) consideration of a downtown venue identified in the TDC gap study. The motion passed unanimously.
  • Board Comments – Tax Burden Discussion: Committee members expressed concern that rising property valuations, if not offset by millage rate adjustments, will drive up rents and property taxes for small downtown businesses (e.g., one restaurant saw a 30% increase in one year). They noted that retailers on triple‑net leases are particularly vulnerable and that downtown may become unaffordable for local small businesses.
  • Quorum and Meeting Schedule: Staff noted that when a quorum is missed, the resulting delay (four months) has led to grants being approved by the CRA Board without committee input. Committee members were asked to provide alternative dates if they cannot attend a scheduled meeting. No additional meetings beyond the six currently planned were proposed.

Key Outcomes

  • Minutes Approved: Unanimous approval of October 28, 2025 minutes.
  • Motion on Vision 2050: Committee voted unanimously to recommend inclusion of golf‑cart crossings and TDC venue considerations in the downtown focus area of the Vision 2050 plan.
  • Next Meeting: Scheduled for April 28, 2026.
  • Meeting adjourned.

Meeting Transcript

Roll call Ms. York here. Dr. Murdaw is excused. Mr. Shaq? Here. Mr. Harper. Here. Mr. Gowling. Here. Miss Gill is not present. Mr. Drake. Here. We have a quorum. Fantastic. Public notice? The public notice for the downtown Ocala CRA advisory committee committee meeting was posted on the City of O'Cala's website on February 18th, 2026. Approval of minutes. Before we approve them, I just want to call attention. And it's seems like a long time ago in ancient history. But if you look at staff comments and number eight, there is no representation in here as to the potential transfer of city property as part of that economic package for the Marion Hotel. Okay. This group, if it's an advisory committee for the CRA, needs to know what the CRA is going to be presented with if we're going to advise. So I'd ask when the city comes forward with a package like that, make sure we get all of the details, not just a summary. Anyone else have comments about the minutes? Then I'll entertain a motion. Move to approve the minutes. I second it. Any opposition? Minutes are approved. We don't have any grants or applications. We're going to do project updates. Yeah, um, I'm gonna Charlotte Whitehead economic development project coordinator. Um, I'm just giving an update on one of the grants that went to the CRA board um in Lewis of our last scheduled advisory committee meeting that we had to cancel um due to lack of quorum. It's CRA 25-0052. Uh the applicant was easy wellness LLC LLC or Hagenda's, and the representative was Jamie Zimmelman. Um it's at 40 South Magnolia Ave. It's what I believe used to be Magnolia Gallery on the square. Um advisory committee member Don Gulling submitted um a written support of the application. It's for full interior build out of the vacant space into a Hog and Doss like cafe um ice cream shop. It's a franchise. There are some in I think the villages and maybe a couple others in Central Florida and throughout the country. Um the grant recommended grant amount was $50,000. Um the site visit was December 5th. Tamara York record represented the advisory committee at that visit. Um the application went to the January 20th CRA board meeting, and the CRA board did vote to approve the $50,000 grant application for that grant.

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