Ocala family fights back after county approves massive mixed-use development

A family that has lived in northwest Ocala for six decades says Marion County commissioners didn’t listen — and they’re not done fighting.On Tuesday, commissioners approved a mixed-use development project that will bring up to 535 homes, a 500-room hotel, 450,000 square feet of retail, offices, and restaurants to the intersection of Northwest 49th Street and Northwest 44th Avenue.Natalie and Evelyn Kelly live directly next to the site. They have three main concerns: traffic, security, and the environment.“Here we are destroying in this year 250 years of growth,” Evelyn Kelly said.What’s coming to the areaThe approved project sits near a planned new Buc-ee’s, which will be located directly across the interstate. A new diamond interchange will also funnel traffic from I-75 into the area — something the Kellys say commissioners are underestimating.“This is the exit that millions of people, and I do mean millions, of people will be exiting,” Natalie Kelly said. “And when they exit, they’re