Brodeur facing questions over rural zone
Residents of east Seminole wonder if he’ll protect the land
Two years ago, as a member of the Florida House, Jason Brodeur voted four times for legislation that would have helped the proposed River Cross development sidestep county rules meant to protect rural lands in eastern Seminole County.
Brodeur, a Republican who is now running for a seat in the Florida Senate in one of the most hotly contested elections in the state this year, said he voted for the controversial legislation by mistake and that he is committed to protecting
Seminole County’s rural boundary.
But activists who have been fighting the River Cross plans for years are skeptical — especially because Brodeur is a longtime friend and political ally of Chris Dorworth, the lobbyist and former legislator who is the developer of River Cross and who is continuing to pursue the massive project.
River Cross and Seminole County’s rural boundary are flashpoints in the race for Senate District 9 — which covers Seminole and parts of Volusia - and pits Brodeur against Democrat Patricia Sigman. The election will help determine control of the narrowly divided state Senate. Both political parties are expected to spend millions of dollars on the race, where the incumbent, Republican Sen. David Simmons, is leaving due to term limits. Television ads promoting both candidates have started airing, and political flyers are arriving in mailboxes.
East Seminole County residents say one of the most important issues in voting for their next state senator is whether the candidate will protect the rural boundary from big developments — such as the proposed River Cross, a sprawling housing and retail project on 669 acres east of the Econlockhatchee River and just north of the Orange County line.
“Protecting the rural boundary is pretty important here,” said Jeff Abbott, a resident of the Black Hammock community since 1994. “And speaking for myself, as a resident of the rural boundary, Brodeur has not shown any visible action in supporting the rural boundary,”
The River Cross controversy erupted in early 2018. That’s when Dorworth submitted plans to Seminole County for a development made up of 600 singlefamily homes, 270 townhouses, 500 apartments and 1.5 million square feet of shops, restaurants and offices within Seminole’s rural zone.
That rural boundary — which covers nearly a third of Seminole — was established in the county charter by voters in 2004. Development densities are limited to either one home per five acres or one home per 10 acres unless changed by a majority of Seminole commissioners. Many residents in that area live on large tracts that include horse farms and pastureland and are highly protective of preserving that lifestyle from urban sprawl.
But that same year, a bill worked its way through the state House that would’ve done away with any rural protections on land within three miles of a state university. And that meant any protections on the River Cross land, which is
within three miles of the University of Central Florida’s campus, would’ve been lifted and open to bulldozers clearing the old pastures into thousands of new rooftops.
Brodeur, who was then a member of the state House, said at the time that the bill, including that three-mile amendment, “isn’t perfect” but that he intended to support it.
Bill supporters said there was a need for affordable housing near fast-growing universities, such as UCF, for students, faculty and staff. Brodeur called UCF an “economic development driver” for the area.
On March 7, 2018, Brodeur voted four times in favor of the legislation that would have helped River Cross. He voted three times on amendments that included the provision and then on the final bill. The amendment with the threemile restriction was added into the bill by former state Rep. Matt Caldwell of Fort Myers, who formed a company, Econ Farms LLC, with Brodeur in 2019, according to state records. Caldwell also runs a political committee that gave $50,000 to Brodeur’s political committee
But 21 minutes after the bill passed by a 65-52 margin, Brodeur went back and switched his vote to “no” for that final vote — a symbolic gesture that doesn’t change his official vote.
Brodeur’s spokesman, Alan Byrd said Brodeur’s final “yes” vote was cast as a “mistake” and that’s why he changed it.
“The only vote on the entire bill, the last vote… which passed the bill, should have been a no vote for Jason Brodeur, and the record of
the House clearly shows that was his intent,” Byrd said in an email. “Unequivocally, Jason Brodeur will not vote to eliminate the rural boundary.”
Byrd did not explain why Brodeur also voted yes on three amendments that included the provision that would have helped River Cross. Brodeur did not go back and symbolically change his votes on those amendments.
Ultimately, the bill was sent to the Florida Senate, where Simmons, the incumbent in District 9 who is leaving because of term limits, stripped out the language about the three-mile restriction. The bill then died.
“There were people who called me and they were concerned about it. And so I caused the bill not to be presented to the Senate,” Simmons recalled this week. “It had a potential dramatic impact on the rural boundary and the local decision making of Seminole County.”
In a written statement to the Sentinel, Brodeur said Thursday he “does not want to see anything” that would go against the limits voters approved on development in the eastern portion of the county.
“As a state Senator, I will work to protect this rural boundary as it is important to the community,” said Brodeur, who left the House in November 2018 due to term limits.
But Seminole County activists say they are also wary of Brodeur’s close relationship with Dorworth, the lobbyist, former legislator and River Cross developer.
Brodeur and Dorworth have been friends since their days attending the University of Florida together. Dorworth and his wife, according to state records, have each contributed the maximum $1,000 directly to Brodeur’s Senate campaign.
And Brodeur’s wife, Christy Daly Brodeur, is a partner with Dorworth at Ballard Partners, a lobbying and public relations firm.
In 2002, Dorworth and Brodeur formed Shamrock Staffing Inc., based in Winter Park, according to state records. The company dissolved that year.
“All of us here know Brodeur is connected with Dorworth,” said Nancy Harmon, secretary of the Geneva Citizens Association and east Seminole resident since 1991. “Rural boundary means rural boundary. And when these politicians say they are going to protect the rural boundary, the question is: Do they understand what that means? It means that you cannot allow one suburban development. Because then you’re setting a precedent to allow more developments.”
Asked about his relationship with Dorworth, Brodeur said in an email that “I served with Chris Dorworth in the Florida House and have expressed my commitment to protecting these rural lands to him directly.”
Dorworth did not respond to a request for comment.
For her part, Sigman, an attorney, called Seminole’s rural area one of the county’s “environmental treasures” and “an important environmental area.” And as a state senator, Sigman said she would not approve any state legislation that preempts any local development restrictions or environmental protections that the “people of Seminole County put in place,” such as the rural boundary.
“The state should set a floor for smart growth management that is environmentally responsible, and the local people and local governments must have the right to enact additional en
vironmental protections that fit the needs of their own unique area,” she said. “I would not support a law that would take away that right.”
Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine said he fears that Dorworth will try to submit a new version of the bill if Brodeur is elected.
“I think that Chris Dorworth is very tenacious and someone who will use every means to his benefit to try to win,” Constantine said. “He will continue to try to use his influence in the Legislature to change the [rural boundary] law.”
But Byrd pointed out that Brodeur wrote a letter in March urging Gov. Ron DeSantis to veto a controversial growth-management bill that would have killed Seminole’s ability to protect its rural area from a development such as River Cross. Under the bill, which DeSantis vetoed, counties like Seminole could not prevent city governments from deciding land-use issues.
“Senate Bill 410 will open the floodgates for higher density development, destroying our way of life that has made the area Seminole County’s natural choice for rural living,” Brodeur wrote in his letter.
Kay Subich, who has lived in Geneva for 22 years, said “protecting Seminole’s rural boundary is extremely important,” and residents have to always be on guard.
“Developers are always looking for angles. And I think Brodeur is another angle Dorworth is looking to use,” she said. “They will allow little tiny bites of development. That will set a precedent. Eventually those bits and pieces get bigger and bigger, and it’s soon all gone. That’s exactly what developers are looking to do.”