COURT RULES IN FAVOR OF

RIDGELINE EQUESTRIAN ESTATES!!!

Today, May 7, 2012, Superior Court Judge Robert Moss ruled the following:

• The Orange Park Plan IS part of the General Plan of the City of Orange
• The Orange Park Plan designates the Ridgeline Equestrian Estate site as BOTH open space and low density residential
• The property owner can IMMEDIATELY proceed with Ridgeline Equestrian Estates
• Judgment AGAINST Orange Park Association and Orange Citizens for Parks and Recreation

This determination makes the November 2012 ballot referendum irrelevant.

As Judge Moss wrote: “The potential repeal of a General Plan Amendment adopted by the City to clarify aspects of the General Plan and to remove uncertainties surrounding the project will NOT impact Milan 's ability to proceed with the Ridgeline Project.“

The November 2012 Ridgeline referendum supported by the Board of Orange Park Association would have placed in jeopardy the following benefits for our community:

Donation of the Sully–Miller Equestrian Arena

The City Council 's approval of Ridgeline Equestrian Estates resulted in a legally–binding Development Agreement with the City which required that the Sully–Miller Arena be donated to a non–profit organization for the enjoyment of the community. However, last year the Orange Park Association Board demolished the entire Arena, leaving only a hole in the ground. Since then, the John Martin Family and their investor partners at Milan Capital Management as well as members of the new non–profit (OPA–ETC) and dozens of community volunteers have worked together to purchase and install brand new Arena facilities. A grand opening of the new Mara Brandman Horse Arena is scheduled for this summer.

New Recreational Facilities

• A 16,000–square–foot public, Ride–In Only equestrian arena with no night lighting
• New multi –use trails open to the public
• An open space/passive park open to the public

A 65% Drop in Traffic

When compared to the old golf course and clubhouse, the plan for Ridgeline Equestrian significantly reduces traffic.

Environmental Improvements

• The planting of nearly 200 additional trees
• Preservation of Handy Creek in its existing natural condition
• Improved storm water runoff and water quality protection

Thank you to all the incredible Orange Park residents and our dear friends who supported the plan for Ridgeline Equestrian Estates and have joined the effort to build the new Arena. Thank you to those members of the Orange City Council who voted in support of Ridgeline Equestrian Estates, a plan which creates first–time public access to numerous recreational amenities which are consistent with our equestrian community. And, thank you to Orange City Attorney DeBerry for his unwavering commitment to legal accuracy.

While today we celebrate this great victory, tomorrow we must begin the process of healing our community. It's time for signs to come down and for Association dues to fund trails not trial lawyers. It 's time for leadership that inspires us to greatness instead of scaring us into submission. And, it 's time for trust to be restored among neighbors so that our community can continue to be one of local pride, unity, fun and family. Thank you. God Bless You.

HELLO TO A NEW ARENA!

Happy New Year to all our Friends and Neighbors:

To help launch the New Year, my family recently purchased a brand new, 150' x 250' horse arena with loading shoot, roping return and a new 60' round pen, specifically (and exclusively) for installation at the newly renamed Mara Brandman Horse Arena.

For decades, the Arena has stood as a symbol of our rural, equestrian roots and the promise to protect those roots, despite changing times. Under Mara Brandman's leadership, the Orange Park Acres community united around this promise and common purpose, which inspired my family to purchase the Arena – so that it would endure to serve the current and future needs of our local equestrian community.

With that said, I am delivering this message to you, so you have the facts straight from the source. Below is the receipt from Red River Portable Arenas in Coleman, Texas for the purchase of the new arena and round pen, a purchase which has been carefully researched and underway for the past weeks.

Once it is installed, the new arena will allow for a wider variety of activities to be conducted at the Arena, including riding lessons, regular horse exercise, and equestrian competitions (i.e., Gymkhanas, Western and English horse shows, and cattle sorting). The new arena and round pen are currently scheduled to be delivered toward the end of January at which time a host of new items will be installed at the Arena site including underground water and electrical lines, soil and road base, decomposed granite, arena railing, sand, and more.

We also will get back on schedule with some of the site efficiency projects we were trying to conduct before the Orange Park Association Board submitted its first offer as part of the failed negotiations for the old, recently removed Arena facilities. These projects include the removal of tree stumps and logs, new directional and use procedure signage, creation of additional parking spaces, installation of hitching posts, weed abatement, and fencing.

Many of you already know that we halted the on–site rehabilitation and maintenance work over the holidays because we did not know what items would stay and what would be removed by the Association Board as we negotiated various offers for the on–site Arena property. In fact, we thought we had reached agreement with the Board when we learned they were ripping–out everything on–site, including the judges booth which we paid to have rebuilt just a few years ago. Below are links to many of the correspondences between the attorneys conducting the arena property negotiations.

So, here we are today – with good news for the New Year. Leilani and I look forward to the community coming together to celebrate the Arena's Grand Re–Opening soon under the wise stewardship of a new Orange Park Acres–based non–profit organization, which truly is dedicated to retaining the equestrian lifestyle right here, in Orange Park Acres. Thank you. Happy New Year. And, May God Bless You.

John Martin

Orange Park Acres Resident and Donor of the Mara Brandman Horse Arena

Red River Portable Arena Receipt (Click to read)

Arena License Agreement Termination Correspondence (Click to read)

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Ridgeline Equestrian Estates Approved!

The Orange City Council has voted overwhelmingly to approve the plan for Ridgeline Equestrian Estates! The benefits from the approved 39, one-acre equestrian estate sites at Ridgeline Equestrian Estates include:

• New, multi-purpose trails open to the public
• New Ride-In Only equestrian arena for the community
• New open space/passive park open to the public
• 65% drop in traffic from the previous commercial recreation land use
• Preservation of Handy Creek and hundreds of new trees
• Storm water run-off system improvements

Plus, the vote allows the Mara Brandman Horse Arena (formerly the Sully-Miller Equestrian Arena), which is zoned for one-acre estates, to be donated to the City of Orange and then operated/maintained by a non-profit organization completely devoted to equestrianism and trails at no expense to taxpayers.

Attending the unveiling of the signage rendering for the future Mara Brandman Horse Arena sign were, left to right: Jed and Jordan Brandman, Orange Mayor Carolyn Cavecche, Michael and Pam Brandman, Elliot Forrester, and Joshua Brandman.

UPDATE: Despite an effort to collect enough signatures to overturn the City Council’s approvals of Ridgeline, the Orange Registrar of Voters has certified that the effort was unsuccessful. Therefore, the Ridgeline Equestrian Estates Development Agreement (which legally binds us to providing the public amenities and benefits listed above) and Zone Change to one-acre estates, remains intact.

We will continue to post project updates to our website as they become available.

Thank you for your support!