Paisley’s Deep Woods Ranch could soon become a training facility for Embry Riddle Aviation College.
With a 4-1 vote, the Lake County Planning & Zoning Board on Wednesday recommended changes to zoning that would allow plans to move forward, according to a Growth Spotter report. The Lake County Commission has final say on this issue. The committee’s meeting is scheduled for June 3rd.
Kim Shumale’s 119-acre Deep Woods Ranch is surrounded by Paisley’s Ocala National Forest.
Currently, there are 2,800 feet long equipped runways in the home, maintenance shed/hangar, and properties. Tara Tedrow, an attorney for Embry-Riddle, said at the meeting that the university has not requested changes to future land use.
Erau will be building developments at stages. The first phase will only include runways paved to allow planes to land from the university’s Daytona campus, Tedrow told the board on Wednesday. Rodney Cruz, senior vice president and COO at ERAU, told the board that the school will land the facility in the 172s. He pointed out that aircraft types can land on paved or dirt runways.
The second phase requires conditional use permission. The plans include a 2,500-square-foot classroom building with a new 10,000-square-foot auxiliary hangar, two additional maintenance hangars, and a rest room and vending area. According to the application, the site may also include drone pilot training facilities and autonomous vehicles and AI testing facilities. The plan designated 66 acres of open space. This is 81% of the sites.
The board heard from a large number of nearby residents involved.
One of the main concerns was access. This property reaches Clay Lake Road, a dirt US Forest Service Road. Embry-Riddle sought exemptions to keep these roads unpaved.
Ian Smith showed the board a photo of the truck on Clay Lake Road. It took up most of the roads and was measured at 9 feet, 4 inches. Smith said some parts of the road will be wider.
“How do you get a concrete truck… Paving this runway is not possible without damaging the surrounding environmental areas,” he said. “The road is not quite wide for construction vehicles. It’s barely big enough for a Ford F-250.”
Other neighbors told the board they wanted to preserve the forest and country lifestyle.
“That part of the forest is absolutely amazing,” Diana Williams said. “You’re going to destroy this most pristine habitat.”
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