The Deep Woods Ranch in Paisley may soon become an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University training facility.
By a 4-1 vote, the Lake County Planning & Zoning Board on Wednesday recommended approval of a rezoning request that would change the zoning from agricultural to community facility district. The Lake County Commission will have the final say on the matter. It’s scheduled for the commission’s June 3 meeting.
Owned by Kim Schmale, the 119-acre Deep Woods Ranch is surrounded by the Ocala National Forest in Paisley.
Currently, there is a house, a maintenance shed/hangar, various structures, as well as a 2,800-foot long unpaved airstrip on the property. To assist with the rezoning, Embry-Riddle engaged Lowndes shareholder Tara Tedrow, who gave a presentation at the meeting. She said the college is not requesting a change to the future land use, which will prevent other types of institutional uses from being developed on the property.
ERAU plans to construct the development in phases. The first phase will only include a paved airstrip to allow for planes to touch down from the university’s Daytona campus, Tedrow told the board on Wednesday. Rodney Cruise, ERAU senior vice president and COO told the board that the school would be landing Cessna 172s on the property. He noted that type of aircraft can be landed on paved or unpaved airstrip.
The second phase includes more and would require a conditional use permit. A concept plan presented Wednesday, done by engineering firm Halff, earmarks four areas for future development. A previous plan shows a new 10,000-square-foot auxiliary hangar plus two additional maintenance hangars. Plans also show a 2,500-square-foot classroom building with a breakroom and vending area. According to the application, the site could also include a drone pilot training facility as well as an autonomous vehicle and AI testing facility. The plan also designated 66 acres of open space — 81% of the site.
The board heard from a slew of nearby residents, who passionately stated their cases.
One of the main concerns was access — the property is accessed by an unpaved U.S. Forest Service road — Clay Lake Road, which connects to Deep Woods Road, which is also unpaved. Embry-Riddle has asked for a waiver to keep those roads unpaved.
Ian Smith showed a photo of a truck on Clay Lake Road to the board. It took up most of the road and was measured at nine feet, four inches. Smith said some portions of the road get wider, he added.
“How you’re going to get concrete trucks up there to… pave this airstrip is an impossibility without damaging the surrounding environmental area,” he said. “That road is not wide enough for any construction vehicles at all. It’s barely big enough for my Ford F-250. There’s no way that can be done without going into the environment around there and destroying it and that’s only concrete trucks for an airstrip for phase one. We already know there’s more.”
Many neighbors spoke about the environmental effects of the proposed development, telling the board that they want to preserve the forest and their rural 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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