Tuscana development near Shingle Creek sparks community outcry, town hall

Orange County commissioners approved a large-scale development near Shingle Creek earlier this month, but opponents of the project are not backing down.Protect Shingle Creek is holding a community town hall Thursday at 6 p.m. at Somerset Village, 11425 Sandy Hill Dr., Orlando, to explain what comes next and what actions residents can still take. The development, called “Tuscana,” would be built north of State Road 417 and south of Central Florida Parkway. The project would bring more than 4,800 apartments and around 1,000 hotel rooms to nearly 230 acres in the Shingle Creek Basin.Commissioners voted 4-3 this month to approve the project’s land use plan application — a reversal from last year, when the board unanimously rejected it.Odette Davis lives right by Shingle Creek and said the area’s protected status was a major reason she chose to move there over 30 years ago.“That’s why we bought here, because it was protected and we want it to stay that way,” Davis said.Fellow resident Linda