The Census Bureau reported last month that the Ocala metropolitan area–that is, all of Marion County–was the fastest growing metro area in the land last year. Not surprisingly, the news was met with vastly divergent reactions. On one hand, you have those who see our remarkable growth–we added 53,000 new residents between 2020 and 2024–as a sign that we are doing things right. Come to Ocala and you will find prosperity and a fabulous quality of life, they say. And they’re not all wrong.

On the other hand, there are those who believe being No. 1 in growth is a tainted crown because all this growth is destroying our small-town vibe and threatening much of what makes living in Ocala special. Gone are the leisurely drives crosstown. Gone is cheap housing. Gone is the notion that local government can actually manage the growth that has been steady and increasing since the 1970s. And they’re not all wrong.

Well, now that the Ocala metro’s population has reached an estimated 440,000 people–and more than 300 people a week are still moving in–there’s a truth that the stop-the-growth crowd should understand. It’s not going to stop.

At the same time, those who are profiting from our bounty of growth and the public officials charged with managing the unyielding influx of new people had better realize the stop-the-growth crowd is no small contingent. They have voices and they have votes, and as we’ve seen, they aren’t shy about using either.

But here’s the thing, people are not going to quit coming to Florida and Ocala especially. With Ocala being one of the state’s more affordable locales with a robust job market and, not unimportant, being somewhat insulated from direct hits from hurricanes, it will remain a hot destination for people looking to migrate to a better place to live.

Government, however, must answer the call for better management of this abundance of newcomers. Road capacity is not keeping up. Schools are scrambling to provide enough classrooms. A reassessment of our water supply is always on the back burner. The good news is the city and county have begun recognizing that development must be contained and thought out better. There was a time, back at the beginning of the century, when one survey ranked Marion County as the No. 1 place in the country for urban sprawl.

Alas, what would they think now? That led to the creation of the Urban Service Boundary around Ocala–a line where intense development ends and more limited development is permitted. For years the Urban Service Boundary was treated as more of a suggestion. That has changed. Look for places like Marion Oaks, Silver Springs Shores and On Top of the World to become more self-reliant, with more retail, more service oriented businesses, more housing serving them directly. They are designed to be just that, and the market will demand it. The county just won approval for a 20-year one-cent sales tax – that’s more than $1 billion – to build roads, so they do not have an excuse for failing to address the traffic woes that get worse every day.

The city is in the process of developing a new long-range plan, Vision 2050, and is working to turn downtown Ocala into a “destination.” Meanwhile companies recognize our strategic location as a distribution point and will continue to come
here, build warehouses and hire people. And with the World Equestrian Center capturing international attention from the equine community, the horse industry is on a new, different and bigger track. Oh, and the retirees? Not going to stop coming either.

Growth is as much a part of 21st century Ocala as horses, 55-plus communities and idyllic countryside that has long held us in awe. We have to manage our growth better, smarter and with more urgency, because it’s going to keep coming, like it or not. Being No. 1 is not a bad thing if you know how to handle it.