Teresa Sargeant
Key Points
- The Apopka City Commission unanimously advanced the South Apopka annexation toward a March 2028 referendum, directing staff to prepare an ordinance.
- The annexation would add 1,235.7 acres and about 4,063 residents, increasing Apopka's land by 5.3% and population by 6%.
- A feasibility study projects a $5.56 million annual operating deficit but excludes other revenue sources like utility fees and state sharing.
- The annexation study estimates over $30 million in capital costs and needs at least 18 police officers and 25 fire personnel to maintain city services.
The Apopka City Commission voted unanimously Wednesday to advance the proposed annexation of South Apopka toward a March 2028 referendum, directing city staff to prepare an annexation ordinance.
The March 2028 target is a year later than the March 2027 election contemplated in the city’s agenda materials.
Mayor Nick Nesta said the decades-old question of annexing the unincorporated community should ultimately be decided by voters.
“I was not here in the 1930s. I was not here in the 1980s,” he said, adding that he wants residents to vote on annexation.
The vote followed a presentation of a feasibility study prepared by The Corradino Group, which concluded that annexing approximately 1,235.7 acres containing an estimated 4,063 residents is legally and physically feasible. Annexation would increase Apopka’s land area by about 5.3% and its population by about 6%.
The study identified finances as the principal constraint. It projects approximately $6.87 million in annual municipal service costs compared with about $1.31 million in annual property-tax revenue, leaving a projected annual operating deficit of approximately $5.56 million.
However, that calculation does not include potential revenue from utility fees, communications services taxes, local-option gas tax distributions, state revenue sharing or permit and development fees.
“This is just a base point of conversation,” Nesta said, noting that the study relies on assumptions that could change. “A $30 million expenditure is not day one when this gets voted on.”
Separately, the study estimates more than $30 million in capital costs for police, fire rescue and public services. Maintaining city service levels is projected to require at least 18 additional sworn police officers, 25 additional fire personnel, a new fire station, vehicles and equipment, as well as additional public-services resources.
Commissioners questioned several assumptions behind the projections, including staffing levels, code enforcement, police and fire coverage and potential revenue. Commissioner Yesenia Baron also questioned how the proposed Amendment 3 property-tax measure could affect the financial picture.
“It breaks my heart,” Baron said, expressing concern that unincorporated Orange County residents have not received the attention they need.
Residents expressed both support for and opposition to the proposed annexation.
Francina Boykin, a South Apopka resident and annexation opponent, presented commissioners with a petition she said had collected close to 100 signatures within 24 hours.
“There’s a lot of questions to still be answered regarding the study,” Boykin said.
She also invoked the community’s history of racial discrimination and questioned why annexation is being pursued now.
Other residents urged the city to proceed. The Rev. Jimmy Howard, who described having his own property annexed into Apopka, pointed to fire response and utility services as reasons for joining the city.
“I think we should move forward with this,” Howard said.
The commission’s motion directs the city clerk to file the feasibility study with the Orange County Board of County Commissioners and directs staff and the city attorney to prepare an annexation ordinance.
City Attorney Andrew Hand clarified that the proposed process would include votes by both incorporated Apopka voters and voters within the unincorporated annexation area.