HORIZON WEST, Fla. — A petition against Disney’s affordable housing project in Horizon West is gaining traction. Residents are pushing back, saying it’s not the right location to build more than a thousand new apartments.

The project is currently days away from being presented to Orange County commissioners.

Jim Beltz and his wife moved to Horizon West seven years ago to escape Ohio’s winters, thinking the area would be the perfect place to retire.

“Horizon West has like a master plan on development and things like that, and that’s kind of what we were looking for in a new community,” said Beltz. “Plus we have always loved Disney, so it’s kind of nice being able to lay in bed and listen to the Disney fireworks at night.”

However, they’ve never lived somewhere with so much growth and it turned out to be more than they expected.

“Down here, it is just constant, never-ending change,” said Beltz.

While they enjoy living here, there’s a plan on the horizon that they are taking issue with: the Hartzog Attainable Housing Community. The Disney backed project is proposed to be built on an 80 acre plot of land off Hartzog Road.

“It’s a major thing,” said Beltz. “There’s a lot of people behind this that are really upset.”

In the last week, a petition against the project has been circulating online, gaining more than 300 signatures from nearby residents. Since the project was announced, the couple have been going to meetings, taking notes and voicing their opinions on the impact it will have on the community.

“I am not in any way shape or form against affordable housing,” said Beltz. “Anybody knows that we need it, but not here.”

The biggest issues he has with the project, which could consist of up to 1,400 units of mixed income housing, is the lack of infrastructure to support it.

He says there is already overcrowding in the area and traffic issues continue to worsen. 

“We haven’t even seen what is going to happen with the apartment complexes that haven’t opened or the ones that have already been approved, like at the corner of Seidel and Avalon, that will be starting soon,” said Beltz.

He’s also concerned that while 1,000 of the units will be labeled affordable, it still won’t help those in need.

“It’s not affordable. It’s not at all. And it’s like we’ve been sold a dead fish. You know, there’s different price ranges in there that nobody that really needs this housing can afford,” said Beltz.

Despite pushback, the project was given the green light at an Orange County Planning and Zoning Commission meeting last month. There, representatives from Disney shared that they have heard the feedback and are lowering the number of units, and are planning out changes to traffic patterns.

When asked for comment, a Disney spokesperson shared the following: “Our goal remains to help solve and contribute to what Orange County leaders have identified as one of the top issues in our region. We look forward to returning to the board of county commissioners and presenting this unique plan to bring more than 1,000 affordable housing units to Central Florida.”

The project will be presented to the board of county commissioners Tuesday, Oct. 8 at 2 p.m., where Beltz will make his voice heard one last time.

“If this is the end of it, if this meeting doesn’t change anybody’s mind and it goes ahead, I mean, what choice do we have?” he said.

The public hearing on Tuesday is the final adoption hearing for this item.

According to county staff, if the board approves the request, the county will transmit the future land use map amendment to the Florida Department of Commerce to begin the state review period. 

The plan amendment becomes effective 31 days after the Department of Commerce notifies the County that the plan amendment package is complete. Then, following the effective date, the project can move to the next stage of the permitting process.