City of Leesburg Planning Commission — June 18, 2026 (Agenda)
Meeting Overview
Type: Regular Meeting Time: Thursday, June 18, 2026, 4:30 PM Location: Third Floor, City Hall, 501 West Meadow Street
This is the pre-meeting public notice. Outcomes, votes, conditions, and public testimony are recorded in the minutes document for the same meeting (
2026-06-meeting-PC.md). This record is retained because the noticed Future Land Use designation for Case 4 differs from what the minutes reproduce, and because the City Commission reading dates advertised here moved before the minutes were published.
Agenda Items
Item 1: LSCP-26-905 — Merritt Ranch Large Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment
- Type: Comprehensive Plan Amendment (Large Scale)
- Case Number: LSCP-26-905
- Location: South of CR 48, west of North Austin Merritt Road, east of the Sumter County line (Section 07, Township 21 South, Range 24 East)
- Acreage: 445.38 +/-
- Request: Change the Future Land Use designation from Lake County Rural and City Neighborhood Mixed Use to City Estate Residential
- City Commission readings (as noticed): First reading Monday, July 13, 2026; second reading Monday, September 14, 2026
Item 2: PUD-26-906 — Merritt Ranch Planned Unit Development
- Type: Rezoning (Planned Unit Development)
- Case Number: PUD-26-906
- Location: Same 445.38-acre parcel as Item 1 (paired LSCP + rezoning)
- Request: Rezone from Lake County A (Agriculture) and City R-1-A (Single Family Residential) to City PUD
- City Commission readings (as noticed): First reading Monday, July 13, 2026; second reading Monday, September 14, 2026
Item 3: VAR-26-992 — Leesburg Square (Aldi Sign) Variance
- Type: Variance
- Case Number: VAR-26-992
- Location: South of US Hwy 441, west of Citrus Blvd, east of Thomas Ave (Section 15, Township 19 South, Range 24 East)
- Acreage: 25 +/- (shopping center site)
- Request: Variance to Sections 25-424(c)(2)a.5.i and 25-423(c) to allow an existing nonconforming sign to remain 30 feet in height in the C-3 (Highway Commercial) district
- Decision authority: Final decision by the Planning Commission
Item 4: LSCP-26-984 — JCQ Leesburg Palmetto Drive Large Scale Comprehensive Plan Amendment
- Type: Comprehensive Plan Amendment (Large Scale)
- Case Number: LSCP-26-984
- Location: North of Plantation View Drive, south of Palmetto Drive, west of US Highway 27 (Section 36, Township 20 South, Range 24 East)
- Acreage: 65.0 +/-
- Request (as noticed): Change the Future Land Use designation from Lake County Urban Low Density to City of Leesburg Neighborhood Mixed Use
- City Commission readings (as noticed): First reading Monday, July 13, 2026; second reading Monday, September 14, 2026
Item 5: RZ-26-985 — JCQ Leesburg Palmetto Drive Rezoning
- Type: Rezoning (Planned Unit Development)
- Case Number: RZ-26-985
- Location: Same 65.0-acre parcel as Item 4 (paired LSCP + rezoning)
- Request: Rezone from Lake County A (Agriculture) to City of Leesburg PUD
- City Commission readings (as noticed): First reading Monday, July 13, 2026; second reading Monday, September 14, 2026
Public Hearings Summary
All five items are noticed as public hearings. Testimony and dispositions are recorded in the minutes document for this meeting.
Key Signals
- Two paired county-to-city bundles on one docket, totaling 510 acres. Merritt Ranch (445.38 acres) and JCQ Palmetto Drive (65.0 acres) each arrive as a Future Land Use amendment bundled with a rezoning on the same parcel — the fourth and fifth such pairs Leesburg has noticed in three cycles, after Perry-Smith in April and Reserve at 44 in May. The paired-bundle vehicle is now the standard form for bringing Lake County land into the City in a single hearing.
- The noticed Future Land Use target for JCQ is Neighborhood Mixed Use, not Estate. The public notice advertises a change from Lake County Urban Low Density to City of Leesburg Neighborhood Mixed Use. The ordinance title reproduced in the minutes omits the designations, and staff's verbal summary at the hearing described the change as going to City Estate. The noticed designation is the one the public was advertised, and it is the one consistent with the project's townhouse, condominium, and 38,000 sf commercial program.
- This is a third-Thursday meeting. The Leesburg Planning Commission normally meets on the fourth Thursday. June 18 is the third — a cadence break also reflected in the May 21 minutes, which announced June 18 as the next meeting date.
- The advertised City Commission calendar for JCQ did not hold. Both JCQ ordinances were noticed here for first reading July 13 and second reading September 14. By the time the minutes were published, those readings had moved to August 10 and October 12 — a one-to-two month slip on a case that drew organized neighborhood opposition. Merritt Ranch's July 13 / September 14 dates were unchanged.
Raw Notes
- Filename on the City portal carries a "website DRAFT AGENDA" prefix; the posted document is the operative public notice for the meeting.
- Agenda footer carries the standard F.S.S. 286.0105 notice that the City of Leesburg does not provide a verbatim record of proceedings — appellants must arrange their own.
- Agenda lists ANNOUNCEMENTS and DISCUSSION ITEMS as standing sections with no items pre-noticed.
- Outcomes for every item on this docket are recorded in
2026-06-meeting-PC.md.