Residents fighting a massive proposed development near their homes in the Shingle Creek area of Orange County are not backing down.

Opponents packed a community town hall Thursday night to protest the Tuscana development, a project built on wetlands that could bring nearly 5,000 apartments, along with about 1,000 hotel rooms, to the Shingle Creek Basin.

The neighbors who spoke out at the event say they were given little notice before county commissioners recently voted on it.

They say it is about more than another development in their community: it is about the environment, flooding and protecting the Everglades for years to come.

For people like Lori Gladkowski, the issue is personal.

“I’m actually on one of those waterways,” she said. “So as the water table rises, it’s literally in my backyard. And the animals that are all being displaced are always ending up in my backyard.”

“It will get way, way worse, way worse,” Gladkowski said.

Orange County commissioners last month, in a narrow 4-3 vote, advanced the project, reversing a unanimous denial from 2025.

A Special Magistrate reviewed the case and recommended revisiting the project.

Orange County Vice Mayor Kelly Semrad, who voted against the move, said developers assumed risk when they purchased the land.

“They bought a piece of land that didn’t have its zoning and its map in order,” she said in a Thursday interview. “So you made an investment risk. That doesn’t mean that we need to subject citizens to flooding risks.”

Some commissioners who voted for it this time tell News 6 they were worried continuing to block it could expose the county to hundreds of millions of dollars in liability.

Developers argue the project would create thousands of jobs and say they have plans to mitigate flood risks, including elevating access roads.

Community organizer Lee Perry said the measures proposed thus far are not sufficient, even though the “ball is in the developer’s court” regarding modified plans.

“It’s one of the most environmentally insensitive projects I’ve ever seen, probably the most catastrophic, especially since this is the headwaters of the Everglades,” Perry said. “There’s a lot of other approvals that are still needed, and the community should be there to speak up.”

Perry also encouraged voters of Orange County to support candidates who are not backed by developers.

Semrad said the process is in the early stages, and residents have an opportunity to influence what happens next.

“What they’re asking for is a mega resort, and to me, is there an opportunity to stop a mega resort?” she said. “Yeah. I think that there’s an opportunity to look at what the entire package that they’re presenting is, and then to be able to determine what actually fits safely in that place.”

Gladkowski said she hopes the opposition changes the outcome.

“I’m hoping yes, I’m very hopeful,” she said. “That’s why I’m here. I mean, I think that the problem is so many people don’t know about the project.”

Developers are expected to submit additional plans as the project moves forward.

Neighbors who oppose the project said they plan to keep showing up and speaking out at future meetings.