Future Land Use Map Amendment & Rezoning Request for Special Hearts Farm
Public Hearing – Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting
Thursday August 15, 12pm (noon)
Orange County Administration Building, BCC Chambers
201 South Rosalind Avenue, Orlando
We need your help to maintain the integrity of our Rural Settlement by asking the Planning & Zoning Board to RECOMMEND FOR DENIAL of the Special Hearts Farm’s request to change the Future Land Use to INSTITUTIONAL and change the zoning to Planned Development for their entire 18.89-acre parcel.
What can you do?
- Attend the Public Hearing and speak in OPPOSITION to the requested change in Future Land Use and Zoning. If you do not wish to speak, you can donate your speaker time to someone else to speak against this request, but you must still be present at the meeting.
- Email the P&Z Board expressing OPPOSITION to this request. Talking points and email addresses are listed below. Don’t forget to include your name and address at the end of your email message.
Background:
Special Hearts Farm has submitted an application to Orange County to make Future Land Use and Zoning changes to the 18.86 acre property at 4151 Avalon Road. This property is between Sandhill Road and Phil C. Peters Road on the East side of Avalon. It currently has a large partially completed barn and partially completed house on the property.
The applicant requests to change the Future Land Use from Rural/Agricultural (R) to Institutional (INST), and the zoning from Citrus Rural District (A-1) to Planned Development (PD).
They wish to construct:
- 15,000sf training facility for 50 students and 20 staff
- 12,000sf animal barn
- 1,712sf caretaker residence
- 3,500sf event barn
- 8,000sf residential care facility for 30 overnight residents
The applicant has also requested a waiver from Orange County Code to allow for unimproved overflow parking areas.
A Community Meeting was held on May 30 where the applicant explained their organization and its mission to provide agricultural education and training to special needs adults, and to provide on-site facilitated housing for some of their students. They then presented the above details of their application. The community members at the meeting were overwhelmingly against the request.
Opposition Talking Points:
- The Applicant knows we do not object to the agricultural portions of their project, raising animals, growing gardens, and crops, and hands-on learning center activities, which will enable the Applicant to provide a meaningful and productive day for their students.
- The Future Land Use change to Institutional (INST) and the Zoning change to Planned Development (PD) are not compatible or consistent with the development patterns of the existing Lake Avalon Rural Settlement.
- An 8,000sf Residential Care Facility (aka Assisted Living Facility) to accommodate 30 unrelated adults is inappropriate in the Lake Avalon Rural Settlement.
- There are other potential sites in Orange County, including the 14+/- acres that the applicant already owns in Mt. Dora, that would be more suitable for this type of development.
- Once the Future Land Use/Zoning are changed for this parcel, it is permanent and will negatively change the rural character of the Lake Avalon Rural Settlement.
- The parcel does not have access to County water or sewer services. It will require septic tanks and wells to accommodate 50 students, 20 staff and 30 full-time residents.
- The County’s adopted Rural Settlement policies were created to protect the communities’ unique rural character, history and resources. The applicant’s planned Institutional uses do not fit with any of these policies.
- We request that the Planning & Zoning Commission RECOMMEND FOR DENIAL of this application.
Email Addresses of P&Z Commission Members & Staff:
Jason.Sorensen@ocfl.net; district1@ocfl.net; dboers@ab.ocfl.net; gwiggins@ab.ocfl.net; gwiggins7777@gmail.com; ocpzcfernandez@gmail.com; gspears@ab.ocfl.net; JGSpears.ocpzc@gmail.com; marrington@ab.ocfl.net; arrtyme@icloud.com; cevans@ab.ocfl.net; c.evans.public@gmail.com; ecardenas@ab.ocfl.net; evelyn.cardenas.pzc@gmail.com; npena@ab.ocfl.net; nelsonpena2@yahoo.com; egray@ab.ocfl.net; egray@christianservicecenter.org
