Maddie Herron
•9/8/2026
ORTONA, Fla. (WINK) — The future of 72 acres of land in Glades County is sparking controversy as the property owner seeks to develop an RV resort.
Glades County commissioners held a public hearing Tuesday, where they voted in favor of changing the future land use from residential to commercial. The decision is a step toward locking down the development, but it's nowhere close to a done deal.
The land is located on Williams and Ortona Locks roads. The land owner is looking to put up to 700 RV sites with visitors staying no longer than six months.
The development team argues the idea will cut down traffic compared to housing, add tourist spending and tax revenue, and deliver modern utilities at no cost to taxpayers. However, about a dozen neighbors stood strongly against it during Tuesday's county public comment.
"That's a very narrow road, and you start having RVs pulling vehicles behind them through a two-lane road with no shoulder, it's going to be difficult at best," Mark P., a Glades County resident, said.
"As far as spending money in the county, where are they going to spend it? At Loves? Even the people in the county don't spend money in the county because we can't shop here. There's nothing here because we don't have residents. We need residents," Charles G., a Glades County resident, said.
Amanda McRoy, whose family has lived in Ortona for five generations, was one of the public speakers. She tells WINK News reporter Maddie Herron her concerns about the project's impact on the small community.
"We do need growth in Glades County, but the larger Glades County, not a teeny tiny little 300 community, one way in, one way out," McRoy said.
While Tuesday's meeting ended with the future land-use approval the land owner's team was looking for, they acknowledged the RV project is far from a done deal. Ben Smith, the landowner's representative, addressed the ongoing process.
"I would like to stress there is going to be more opportunity for public input and for the county to shape what this development ultimately looks like," Smith said.
County staff tells Herron the next step for the land owners is to request a zoning change from "open use agricultural" to "planned development." When exactly that will be isn't clear, but with any rezoning, it will first have to go in front of another public hearing.
