OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A community fixture will continue to be held once a month in Dunnellon.
The Marion County Board of County Commissioners unanimously approved the planning and zoning board’s recommendation for a special use permit with conditions allowing for a community flea market and other outdoor events at the Wall-Rives American Legion Post no. 58. The 1.69-acre parcel is located in a community business zone at 10730 S. HWY 41, just north of the City of Dunnellon.
There were no objections to the special use application. Heading into the meeting, the board’s primary concern regarding the special use permit focused on whether or not the application is consistent with the comprehensive land use plan. The board also had to determine whether or not the application is in the public interest: The uses allowed by the permit need to meet proposal’s conditions, be consistent with the broad issues of land development in Marion County–including whether or not the application would be beneficial to the community for business, economic or other reasons–and prove compatible with surrounding properties.
The county imposes conditions on the approval of every special use permit.
One individual stood up in opposition to the application during the Marion County Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing on Sept. 29, representing property owners that live immediately east of the location.
The flea market, which provided the main reason for the permit application, has been operating at the location without a special use permit for the better part of a decade. The American Legion Post wishes to continue to operate the flea market once a month, on the weekend, on a Saturday or Sunday. The special events also referenced in the application are primarily military remembrance days and other observations, such as Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. The hours of operation for the flea market would be from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Any amplified music that accompanies an event is to be conducted inside the building, as one of the permit’s conditions.
“I’d like to have this put through because with doing these flea markets, it was a big community gathering, it drew the community together,” said Carl (CJ)Kester, Wall-Rives American Legion Post no. 58 post commander. “It drew more veterans in with the community, and we were able to help each other out. We’re trying to keep it where we stay to the four pillars of the American Legion, the community, the veterans, the kids and Americanism. We’re trying to get back to basics because we’re trying to pull the community back together because that’s what they want.”
Currently, the zoning is listed as commercial, a B-2 zoning designation. The current use would be allowed in a B-1 designation. There are agricultural vacant conservation lands to the west that are owned by the state, the department of transportation and one private landowner. Commercial zoned property located at the adjacent parcel, and residential subdivision The Chatmire is directly behind those commercial parcels on U.S. 41.
The primary argument made against this particular use, concerned traffic on U.S. 41. This concern about the decade-old flea market was made as a code enforcement violation that the county’s code enforcement supervisor self-generated after noticing the market activity on the weekends (as she lives in the area), said Kenneth Odom, Marion County growth services planner and project manager. The permit and market won’t create any additional traffic, as U.S. 41 is getting more congested overall, and is scheduled to be widened in the future–though that project continues to be delayed, and construction has been scheduled toward the end of the decade, he said.
Typically, the county allows for special events to occur quarterly, depending on what the event is; if the event is large enough in scale, the applicant would have to apply to the county.
Staff had recommended a number of special use requirements that go along with the site, said Odom. The operation of the flea market should be limited to one weekend per month for a total of 12 per year, which is the current frequency.
This special use permit has been written up for three consecutive renewals of five years each, at the discretion of the board. The permit doesn’t carry over if the property happens to be sold or if the American Legion Post decides to move.