About half of Florida is considered rural. But the cattle and orange groves that blanketed much of the interior of Florida are diminishing as many in the state push inland to escape storm surge and congestion.

About 40,000 people call Okeechobee County home. The county harbors just one incorporated city, by the same name, Okeechobee.

The majority of residents live in the southern end of the county that borders Lake Okeechobee and the city. Nearly 90 percent of the total land area in Okeechobee is agricultural or undeveloped.

On Tuesday and without any fuss or fanfare, Okeechobee made adjustments to its land use plan that could allow for higher housing density.

No longer in the master plan are land use changes that would have more readily paved the way for data centers in Okeechobee County.

That draft plan drew many opponents to the board chamber last month, begging the board of commissioners to re-consider the notion. The board directed staff to remove what they were calling technology overlays from the amended land-use code.

The amended master plan capitalizes on the existing water and sewer infrastructure in place in the southern portion of the county.

The land, long deemed as agricultural, has now been changed to allow mixed-use development.

The commissioners said the changes protect rural properties and also add needed guardrails to manage growth.

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