OCALA, FL (352Today.com) – The Marion County Board of County Commissioners on Tuesday, October 20, 2026, approved a petition to close and abandon part of SE 136th Court (historically known as West Canal Avenue) in the Lake Weir Beach Section, overriding a county staff recommendation.
Black Rock Lake Weir, LLC, represented by attorney W. James Gooding III, submitted the request. The company sought to vacate the unimproved roadway south of East Highway 25 as part of a planned replat of adjacent property it owns along the shore of Lake Weir.
Marion County Engineer Steven Cohoon recommended denial, citing the road’s historical public use and its role in canal maintenance.
“I myself, too, recommend denial. This has historically been used by the public for access to this parcel and these parcels,” Cohoon told the board. “Also, historically, we have maintained this section of canal from this roadway as well as the roadway to the east, and that was some of the basis for the recommendation for denial from [staff] and myself as well.”
Despite those concerns, commissioners adopted a resolution vacating the road. The resolution reserves any previously recorded easements for public utilities and requires a perpetual ingress and egress easement so the county can continue accessing the corridor for maintenance of the adjacent Lake Weir Atlantic Canal.
Cohoon acknowledged that the proposed easement and utility reservation addressed part of his concern, saying the easement “reduces the potential costs on the county” if canal maintenance is needed again. He still flagged uncertainty about future development on the parcels and the value of retaining singular public access.
In its findings, the resolution states that the road is occasionally used by the general public, does not form part of the federal or state highway system, and that closing it, while preserving the county’s access rights and utility easements, would benefit the general public welfare.
The roadway, platted in 1926, has never been fully improved down to the lake, according to the application. The applicant argued that portion “has never been opened or constructed.”
The item was heard as a public hearing during the board’s regular meeting at the McPherson Governmental Campus. The resolution takes effect immediately upon passage.