VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. — Residents in Samsula said they are fighting to protect their way of life. They told Channel 9's Blaine Tolison that they are concerned that their peaceful pastures filled with cattle and horses will be replaced by a borrow pit filled with dump trucks hauling away dirt.
Bill Ranew was one of several Samsula residents who met with Tolison Monday alongside State Road 415.
Ranew pointed out an open pasture filled with birds and cattle across the street from his rural neighborhood. It would be the location of a proposed 50-acre dirt pit.
"We'd like to keep it just like it is, (zoned) A2, agricultural, rural residents out here," Ranew said.
The land, owned by the Carter-Volusia land trust, is zoned for agriculture, but the owner wants a special exception to allow for dirt excavation on the property.
County documents show that the owner plans to use the dirt for the Interstate 4 widening project that is currently underway.
Residents said it would mean 120 more dump trucks on the road hauling dirt for at least the next five years.
"It's going to alter the character of this community because the pit is going to be less than 300 feet from the road here," resident Cheri Joiner-Smith said.
Joiner-Smith and her neighbors said they have gathered 575 signatures on a petition to stop the proposed pit.
Over the weekend, they held a protest along SR 415.
They said they hope to show their opposition to the pit at a county planning meeting Tuesday.
They told Tolison that they fear the pit would be the beginning of the end of their natural lifestyle, if they don't stop it.
"It's going to set a precedent for any other person that wants to dig up there or do any other kind of project that requires a special exception," Joiner-Smith said.
Tolison attempted to contact the attorney representing the landowner who is asking for the zoning change, but his calls were not returned.
The Volusia County Planning Board meets Tuesday morning at 9 a.m. in DeLand