If approved, this plan is going to put our area on the map, and will make Citrus County a much more competitive and attractive place to do business. Along U.S. 19 there will be an area for general and waterfront commercial interests—businesses and retail stores—providing services and goods for the water-related industry and customers.

There is no plan to put a residential area on the property.

This marina will take a lot of the boating pressure off of the Crystal, Withlacoochee and maybe even the Homosassa Rivers. The Port District will support boating, fishing and recreation. Better still, the goal is to have the new marina be a Florida Clean Marina. That’s a program of the Florida Department of Environmental Protection. The program certifies marinas that maximize the benefits of accessing the water while protecting the environment.

To ensure that good jobs stay in the region, there will be a light industrial area, too. It’s hard to say what kind of industry, but it’s vitally important to ensure that our children and their children have the opportunity to stay and work in Citrus County.

An undertaking this large, with the potential to affect so many people, must have a plan. Dixie Hollins has proposed what is called an “Area Plan.” Technically, these can go by many names. No matter what it’s called, the purpose is clear — have a plan that fits the property and lets everyone know how the land will be used, what they can expect and the standards of development.  In short, what was unknown — the future of the ranch — will be known. 

Everyone agrees that long range planning is a good idea. Disagreement is centered on the processes and procedures used in the planning process. It’s very bureaucratic, but it’s also very important—to all of the stakeholders.

In this case, the mining will be gone in 20 to 30 years. When that happens, how will the land be used? The Hollinswood Area Plan offers Dixie Hollins’ vision of that future.

In the county’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan, the Barge Canal is the site designated for a marina. It’s basically a deep, manmade canal. It’s so deep that it does not provide food for the manatees. That’s why it’s been designated as the best place in the county for a marina. Some people have claimed that the Barge Canal area is “prime birthing habitat,” but state and federal wildlife management officials say they have no evidence of that. ...MORE

Private Investment and Public Benefit
People in Citrus County have waited a long time to have a marina with direct Gulf of Mexico access for recreation and commercial fishing. The Hollins family would like to see the marina include a high and dry storage facility, restaurants, a resort hotel and retail shopping. This is called the Port District. The Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Citrus County and other local interests are making sure that the marina and Port District are done the right way. The Port District will provide a great opportunity for the region — it will be a vibrant economic center appealing to tourists, and at the same time it will be a unique local place for direct Gulf of Mexico access.

 

IThe Hollinswood Area Plan has four main activities: mining, a port district, a waterfront commercial district and an industrial area.

To be clear, the plan does not propose expansion of mining. Rather, the Area Plan calls for “swapping” land that is presently zoned “extractive” for some that is presently zoned “industrial.” The total area to be mined is a little smaller, but moves it to the northern section of the property. That leaves land on the Barge Canal (which is zoned for mining) available for developing the marina.

Planning for future growth is critical. This plan calls for land to be set aside for Progress Energy’s possible expansion of their two existing transmission lines. The future land use also calls for land to be set aside for the possible expansion of Florida Gas’s transmission lines....more