North Port city admits "glitch fixes" needed after rezoning backlash

NORTH PORT, Fla. (WINK)—Some homeowners in North Port are taking matters into their own hands to keep their neighborhoods residential.

Now, the city is considering making changes for some homeowners.

After a lifetime in New York, there was something about the suburban feel of Sawyer Circle in North Port that brought Bill Leonard and his wife to Southwest Florida.

"We could have went anywhere. We chose to be here. We got the waterway behind us. We have wildlife," Leonard said.

When the Leonards bought their North Port home in August 2024, they thought it would be their last big move.

But then, they found out the city had changes in mind and re-zoned the neighborhood to a commercial district.

"What does it do to our property values if businesses start moving in," Leonard said.

In August 2024, the city of North Port did a complete rewrite of its Unified Land Development Code, which changed the city's zoning map to make room for more commercial development. Leonard's street, which only has single-family homes, can now have commercial businesses next door.

Earlier this month, WINK Investigates showed how one property owner can't build his retirement dream home on his own land because the city re-zoned it to be commercial.

"First off, there's no infrastructure here. The only here is electricity. We're all on well water, septic. There's no natural gas. What are you putting in here," Leonard said.

To keep their piece of paradise, the Leonards bought the vacant lot next door.

So did Maureen Fry, who has called this neighborhood home for 20 years.

"It's very sad that you move to an area, you chose an area because it's quiet, it's peaceful. Then, you find out the city pulled a fast one, basically, and made a decision that was against what we wanted," Fry said.

North Port's Director of Development Services Alaina Ray tells WINK Investigates there are built-in protections in the zoning changes to keep unwanted businesses out of single-family neighborhoods.

"So, for someone to come in and put a bar next door to or in between two single-family homes—they're just not going to be able to do that," Ray said.

The zoning changes were more than a decade in the making. Ray says at the time, less than 10% of land in North Port was dedicated to commercial uses, and the city commission wanted to get between 20% to 30% to sustain the city budget.

That said, Ray says the city is paying attention to neighbors like Leonard and are planning some changes.

"We've got some glitch fixes to do with the ULDC. We have some changes that we need to make," Ray said.

While the neighborhood Leonard and Fry live in is not in a flood zone, other neighborhoods that were re-zoned are, which is another reason why those neighborhoods were re-zoned to commercial.

The city is also offering land swaps for some homeowners. If they can't build a single-family home on their lot anymore, the city will try to work out a deal to give them a similar lot in a residential neighborhood.

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