Green Acres

Follow the sunset west from Orlando's bustling downtown and you'll eventually enter Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County, with its small towns, sparkling waterways and rolling hills.

But if you haven't been to Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County lately, you may be surprised to find that many of those rolling hills, which were once lined with lush and fragrant citrus trees, are now tightly packed with new homes, creating vistas of rooftops.

For buyers willing to accept a relatively brief commute to Orlando's major employment centers, Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County has become a haven of opportunity and affordability. And for builders seeking developable land, the once rural region has become a new frontier for growth.

That has county officials struggling to find the right balance between accommodating newcomers and preserving what's left of the rural charm that attracts them.

"We've heard a lot of slowdown sentiment out there," says Amye King, deputy director of Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's Department of Growth Management, which has held more than a dozen recent public forums on the subject.

Legislation may put a damper on the county's housing boom. Last year the state legislature tapped Lake as one of six counties in the state-and the only one in Central Florida-to participate in the so-called "pay-as-you-grow" law, a pilot program requiring funding to be in place for new classrooms before local governments can approve new subdivisions where children will live.

The law takes effect in 2008, but participating counties have until this summer to determine how they're going to comply with the looming state mandates.

Yet, the "pay-as-you-grow" restrictions, plus $7,055-per-home school impact fees, may be simply changing the character of the county's growth, not slowing it down. Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County, already a haven for retirees, is now attracting more age-restricted communities (24 have been approved since 1991, including several gigantic ones) where children aren't allowed.

In fact, some new communities that had been originally proposed as all-inclusive have changed their focus to allow only residents who are 55 or older. Such communities can both avoid school impact fees and win approval more easily since they're exempt from the "pay-as-you-go" provisions.

How it all shakes out remains to be seen. But as of today, despite growing pains, Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County remains largely a family-friendly place where natural beauty and Mayberryesque small towns abound.

A 1,156-square mile vertical strip of land that crosses the heart of Florida, Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County stretches from the border of Ocala National Forest in the north to Lake Louisa State Park in the south.

Unlike much of Florida, where the land is flat as a sandbar, this is hill country, ranging from 50 to 190 feet above sea level, with "mountains" up to 315 feet tall. The hills and valleys are dotted with old oaks and other deciduous trees, which provide a touch of fall foliage when the air temperature dips in the fall.

True to its name, the county is home to more than 1,000 lakes, many of which form interconnected waterways. The Ocklawaha Chain of Lakes, which links to the St. Johns River, even allows boat passage to Jacksonville and the Atlantic Ocean.

The Timucuan Indians were the first people to be attracted by the area's rich natural resources. Then, following the arrival of European colonists in the 16th century, the region was occupied by French Huguenots, Spanish and British settlers in turn.

Sporadic settlement continued until the 19th century, when two Homesteading Acts, one following the 1842 Seminole War and the other following the Civil War, brought the first homesteaders, many of whom arrived on paddlewheel steamboats.

In 1887 Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County was carved from sections of Orange and Sumter counties. Its towns began to flourish, from Leesburg, the largest, to tiny Howey-in-the-Hills. Tavares became the county seat, and Mount Dora, with its quaint New England-style architecture, began attracting well-to-do northern vacationers.

Initially, Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County was known for its bumper crops of peaches, watermelons, tomatoes and ferns. But citrus was king and remained so for decades. In 1956 the Citrus Tower was erected in Clermont to celebrate the reigning local industry. When it opened, tourists could see nothing but expansive orange groves from its 226-foot observation deck.

Then disaster struck. Three hard freezes, atypical for Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's mild climate, killed the citrus crops in 1983, 1985 and 1989. After the third freeze, many citrus farmers gave up and sold their groves to developers.

By the end of the century, new housing projects had started to spring up in the area. In the decade between 1990 and 2000, the county's population soared by 38.4 percent, to 210,528.

Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's existing Comprehensive Plan for strategic growth had been drawn up using data recorded prior

to the crop failures and did not anticipate the scope of the development boom to come.

"We found ourselves behind the eight-ball," says King. In response, the Board of County Commissioners created a local planning agency to write an updated growth management plan, known as Planning Horizon 2025.

The new plan, which is still being drafted and is slated for completion in late summer, includes a land-use map designating high- and low-density areas within the county. "That maintains the rural feeling that the people love so much, but at the same time accommodates the growth that's coming," King says.

The goal, she stresses, "is not necessarily to slow or stop the growth, but to ensure that the growth that does come helps to improve the roads and schools; that it brings the things Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's people want."

Recognizing that Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County's natural treasures are a key selling point to relocators, a number of developers already are designing their new communities to blend into the landscape rather than overpower it.

Lennar Homes' The Reserve at Lost Lake in Clermont, for example, offers "walk-in" designs with one story in front and one in back. That configuration allows the homes to follow the contours of the land.

"Instead of flattening the hills, we're building into them," says Bing Hacker, president of Lennar Homes' Clermont Division. His team just began selling in Phase Three of the community, with homes ranging from the $360s to the $490s.

Lennar is also building the nearby Legends Golf and Country Club. A gated community with homes in the $455,000 to $500,000 range, it features a golf course, clubhouse, fitness center, swimming pool and views of Lake Louisa from its hillside lots.

Both Lennar communities offer a small-town atmosphere within a short drive of big-city amenities. Clermont's S.R. 50 corridor has seen major commercial development in recent years, including upscale shopping centers and restaurants. For example, a newly approved, 1.2 million-square-foot retail and commercial complex called Plaza Collina is scheduled to break ground at the end of the year.

Indeed, the theme of enjoying an active, rural lifestyle with a plethora of professional services, shopping and dining nearby is common in Orlando" target="_blank">Lake County.

Heathrow Country Estates, near the Seminole County border in Sorrento, is a case in point. The 500-acre, country club community, developed by the Heathrow Land Company, features a charming covered bridge, a Dave Harmon-designed golf course and golf- and lake-view homes set among rolling hills and 100-year-old oaks.

"This incredible area makes you feel like you're out in the country, but in close proximity to all the privileges you've always been used to," says Brad Millsap, project director for Heathrow Country Estates. Phase Two has just opened, offering homes by custom builders from $840,000 to $3 million.

Another even grander club community, called Bella Collina, is under development in Monteverde, on the western shore of Lake Apopka. The 1,900-acre Tuscan-themed project includes a golf course designed by Nick Faldo, a day spa and an equestrian center.

The Ginn Company, Bella Collina's developer, set a one-day Florida real estate sales record in April 2005 when it sold 403 home sites for more than $320 million.

In addition to the two dozen or so significant residential projects already under way in the county, King says four new developments of regional impact have been proposed.

The largest project, called Karlton, is a massive, mixed-use community on 21,000 acres south of Clermont. Divided almost equally between residential and commercial use, Karlton will include two schools, a hospital and a civic center.

To the north, on the Sumter County line, two projects under discussion, called Renaissance Trails and Secret Promise, would bring between 10,000 and 15,000 new homes to the Leesburg area. Yet another huge project, located in Minneola, would involve building an interchange off Florida's Turnpike.

County residents continue to be vocal in their resistance to unchecked growth.

"They're watching natural features stripped away, but we don't approve projects like that anymore," King says. "I think that once people will see we can preserve our natural lifestyle while allowing growth, they'll accept our plan."