Tuesday, October 29
Orange County Administration Building, 201 S. Rosalind Avenue
Board of County Commissioners Meeting
Public Hearings begin at 2pm. The specific time for this item will depend on the order of other applications on the agenda.
ππ₯πππ¬π πππππ§π ππ‘π October 29 Public Hearing during the πππ π¦ππππ’π§π to voice your OPPOSITION to the requested Future Land Use and Zoning changes for this project. Following the Public Hearing portion of the meeting, the Board of County Commissioners will vote to approve or deny the requested changes. This will be the final Public Hearing and vote on this application.
If you wish to speak during the Public Hearing, you must sign up in advance, before the Public Hearing begins. You can sign up online (https://www.orangecountyfl.net/BoardofCommissioners/BoardAppearanceandPublicComment.aspx) or at the desk in the lobby when you arrive. If you wish to donate your speaker time to another speaker, you must still be present at the meeting, and you must still sign up as a speaker before the meeting.
Please email the Board of County Commissioners in OPPOSITION to the requested Future Land Use and Zoning changes for this project. Send your email to: District1@ocfl.net; District2@ocfl.net; District3@ocfl.net; District4@ocfl.net; District5@ocfl.net; District6@ocfl.net; Mayor@ocfl.net; ahpoa4@yahoo.com; jason.sorensen@ocfl.net
You may use the following information as a guide when composing your email to the BCC:
- The Lake Avalon Rural Settlement has always been supportive of, and applauds the Special Hearts mission, to provide a meaningful and productive day for their students.Β We do not object to the agricultural portions of their project that do not require a change in Future Land Use and Zoning: raising animals, growing gardens, crops, and hands-on learning activities. Β We object to the portions of their project that require a Future Land Use change FROM R/S 1/5 TO INSTITUTIONAL and a Zoning change FROM A-1 TO PLANNED DEVELOPMENT.Β Changes in Future Land Use and Zoning once approved, become permanent entitlements to that parcel, regardless of the owner.
- We do not object to the agricultural portions of their project that maintain the Future Land Use of Rural Settlement 1/5 and A-1 Zoning; raising animals, growing gardens, and crops, etc., which enable the Applicant to provide a meaningful and productive day for their students.Β
- This Future Land Use and Zoning change to INSTITUTIONAL and PLANNED DEVELOPMENT that the Applicant is seeking, is not compatible or consistent with the development patterns of the existing Lake Avalon Rural Settlement.
- Approval of 8,000 square feet of Residential Care Facilities to accommodate 30 unrelated adults is inappropriate in the Lake Avalon Rural Settlement.
- This facility will increase traffic through the Rural Settlement during both am and pm rush-hour time frames.
- There are other potential sites in Orange County, including the 14+-acres they already own in Mt. Dora, that would be more suitable for this type of development.Β
- We do not feel this change is in our best interest as once the Land Use/Zoning is changed, itβs permanent and will forever negatively change our Rural Settlement as itβs done to other Rural Settlements, notably the destruction of the rural nature of the Gotha Rural Settlement.
- This parcel does not have access to County Water or County Sewer, it would require septic tanks and wells to accommodate 50 students, 20 staff and 30 full-time residents.
- The Countyβs adopted Rural Settlement policies were created to protect the communitiesβ unique rural character, heritage, historic preservation, and resources, the FLU and Zoning change components of this projects request do not enhance these.
Background: This application is requesting a change to the parcel’s Future Land Use from Rural Settlement 1/5 to Institutional and a change in the parcel’s Zoning from A-1 to Planned Development. Once changed, the FLU and Zoning designations would remain with the parcel regardless of future ownership changes, and would enable other uses that require a Institutional/Planned Development designations. Note that the applicant and the community worked together to try to have this project approved under a Special Exemption instead of a FLU/Zoning change. This would have applied the changes only to the project, and not permanently to the parcel. That request was denied by the Zoning Department. Refer to previous News articles on the main News page for additional background information.
If you cannot attend the meeting, you can stream it live on Orange TV or stream it afterward from the Orange TV Video Archive. https://www.orangecountyfl.net/OpenGovernment/OrangeTVVisionTV.aspx
