From Staff Reports
The Apopka City Council, at its May 21st meeting, is expected to approve a consent agenda item that would authorize the release of the city’s reserved mineral and petroleum rights beneath a property that is a part of the Apopka City Center. The site was sold to Taurus Apopka City Center in June 2018. Taurus is the developer of the Apopka City Center.
Under Florida Statute 270.11(1), the city retained a three-fourths interest in any phosphate, minerals, or petroleum located beneath the property, as outlined in a Special Warranty Deed recorded following the sale. These types of reservations are common when local governments sell public land.
Taurus has requested that the city formally release those rights to facilitate a potential sale of the property to another buyer, reportedly at the request of a lender involved in the transaction.
In a public records request, The Apopka Voice learned that City Attorney Cliff Shepard reviewed and approved the proposed document with minor edits, but stopped short of recommending the action.
“I made a couple minor non-substantive changes for readability,” Shepard wrote in an email to Mayor Bryan Nelson, City Clerk Susan Bone, and Interim City Administrator Radley Williams. “I do not know whether this is a good idea or a bad one when it comes to the value of the rights we are releasing, but the attached draft accomplishes the goal of releasing the reserved rights. I would also point out that I am unaware of a requirement that we must do this as other than accommodation to the developer.”
The item appears on the consent agenda for the meeting—a section typically reserved for matters considered routine or unlikely to require discussion.
The Apopka City Center development, envisioned as a mixed-use downtown-style district, was originally planned to include commercial, residential, and dining components. Taurus was given a ten-year window to complete the project. With approximately one year remaining, development has been limited, and several elements of the original plan remain incomplete.
The Apopka City Council meeting is scheduled for 7 pm at City Hall, and livestreamed on the City’s YouTube Channel.
Disclosure: Some of the research, content, and sourcing for this article were produced using ChatGPT, an AI language model, to enhance research, generate ideas, or draft content. The Apopka Voice performed all final edits and fact-checking to ensure accuracy and alignment with our journalistic standards.
