Clarification: This story has been updated to clarify that, while the Cloyd's Dairy Landfill property was privately owned, it was operated by the county and that only a portion of the site's property taxes are involved in the proposed Tax Increment Financing plan.
A developer's proposal to use $60 million in future tax revenue to remove an old landfill and make way for luxury apartments didn't fly with the Orange County Commission on Tuesday.
MMI Development wants to build Fieldstream Village on Lake Underhill Road, with 1,500 apartments, plus shops and restaurants. The proposal includes widening the road, something the county has been planning.
But the 65-acre property -- plus land under the road itself -- used to be Cloyd's Dairy Landfill, dump was on private property but operated by the county in the 1960s. It closed in 1980.
Using a Tax Increment Financing district, MMI wants to redirect a portion of property taxes from the development to cover the cost of removing that trash. Of an estimated $112 million by 2053 from those property taxes, 75% would go toward the project.
Commissioner Mayra Uribe and others questioned the fairness of that approach.
"[W]e can't tell people who live there, 'You're not allowed to have animal services' or 'You're limited on emergency services.' Where does that gap fall when it comes to that funding?" Uribe asked during a workshop meeting Tuesday.
The county administrator's answer: other taxpayers.
Commissioners want their staff and MMI to continue negotiations.
