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Special Hearts Farm wins Orange County’s approval for hotly contested zoning change

Farm for special-needs adults will house up to 30 clients

Pictured in May 2023, at Special Hearts Farm's site in Winter Garden, Deanna Blitch, center; Devin Brooks, left and Juan Pablo (JP) Rodriguez leave a barn after a day's work. All three who participate in the farm's programs pleaded Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, with Orange County commissioners to approve a land-use change needed for the farm to move to an 18-acre property in the Avalon Rural Settlement. Commissioners unanimously voted yes. (Rich Pope, Orlando Sentinel)
Pictured in May 2023, at Special Hearts Farm’s site in Winter Garden, Deanna Blitch, center; Devin Brooks, left and Juan Pablo (JP) Rodriguez leave a barn after a day’s work. All three who participate in the farm’s programs pleaded Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, with Orange County commissioners to approve a land-use change needed for the farm to move to an 18-acre property in the Avalon Rural Settlement. Commissioners unanimously voted yes. (Rich Pope, Orlando Sentinel)

The farm, which offers job training for special-needs adults, will house up to 30 clients on an 18-acre former equestrian center. Neighbors said the plan didn't fit with the surrounding rural area, but county commissioners unanimously endorsed it.

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