HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023 05 22 Public Hearing 400 - First Reading of Ordinance No. 2023-02: 1333 Highway 17-92 Voluntary Annexation of real property owned by Florida Auto Auction Properties, LLC.
26:
271
272
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
Annexation Report 1333 Hwy 17-92
This report addresses a voluntary annexation request petitioned by Florida Auto Auction
pursuant to Section 171.044, Florida Statutes, affecting real
property consisting of four tax parcels generally located on the east side of SR 17-92 just north of
Shepard Road and legally described in Exhibit B to this Report. The subject property has a street
address of 1333 N US Hwy 17-92 Longwood FL 32750. Florida Auto acquired the property on
August 15, 2022 and intends to use the property for the additional storage of vehicles and an
ancillary office in support their existing auto auction business (Orlando Longwood Auto Auction)
located a short distance away on the west side of SR 17-92 in unincorporated Seminole County at
2800 N US Hwy 17-92, Longwood, FL 32750. As explained below, the subject property being
considered for annexation is a contaminated site and is currently designated a Superfund Site by
the US Department of Environmental Protection. The EPA recently issued a Record of Decision
in September of 2022 to remedy the contamination.
Specifically, this Report evaluates whether this request meets the requirements for annexation as
outlined in Chapter 171 of the Florida Statutes. Generally, a property owner may request an
annexation of real property into the City if the property is
boundaries at the time the annexation proceeding is begun and reasonably compact, the annexation
of the property does not create an enclave, and no part of the area shall be included within the
boundary of another incorporated municipality. Further, the property has to be suitable for urban
purposes, which is defined as land is used intensively for residential, commercial, industrial,
institutional, and governmental purposes, including any parcels of land retained in their natural
state or kept free of development as dedicated greenbelt areas. Section 171.031(10), Florida
Statutes.
The property consists of four (4) parcels, all of which are currently developed and used for
municipal boundaries and is reasonably compact, creating no enclaves, pockets, or finger areas in
serpentine patterns.
The subject property consists of approximately 9.82 acres of land with existing structures currently
being used for file storage purposes. There are no residential units nor any registered electors living
on the property. Annexation of this Area is
Objective 1.8: Annexation. The City shall pursue a policy of annexation which will provide for the
most efficient use of public facilities and services, eliminate areas of jurisdictional problems, and
provide for sound growth and development of the City and surrounding area. Subsequent
Comprehensive Plan Policies implementing Objective 1.8 are also relevant, in addition to the
The property is located in an unincorporated Seminole County located on the east side of Highway
17-92 just north of Shepard Road (See Exhibit A Annexation Map). It is legally described by
273
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
metes and bounds in Exhibit B. The property is bounded on the south by the City of Winter Springs
and on all other sides by Unincorporated Seminole County. The property is contiguous to the
boundary of the City of Winter Springs and compact. The subject property is in Seminole County
Commission District #2, which is currently represented by Commissioner Jay Zembower. If
annexed into the City of Winter Springs, the area will be included in City Commission district #4,
which is currently represented by City Commissioner Cade Resnick (See Exhibit C Commission
District Map).
The development pattern within and to the south of the property has been primarily light industrial.
The property is expected to be used for vehicle storage and ancillary office space.
If the property is annexed, the annexation will not attract or facilitate any other additional voluntary
annexations by the City of Winter Springs because the property is bounded on the west by US
Highway 17-92 and the north by Spring Hammock Preserve owned by the Board of Trustees of
the Internal Improvement Trust Fund of the State of Florida.
Superfund Site
The subject annexation presents additional considerations for the City Commission because it is
an EPA Superfund Site.
status of the Site to dev
Historically, General Dynamics Corporation or its affiliates manufactured printed circuit boards
and other electronic equipment at this property from the mid-1960s to the early 1980s. Workers
cleaned manufactured products with vapor degreasers on site. Cleaning agents in the vapor
degreasers included chlorinated solvents. In 1994, a new owner purchased the property and used
it as a publication business and became known as the Gould property. After initial investigations,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency )
National Priorities List (NPL) in 2010 because of soil and groundwater contamination. EPA
believes that contaminated groundwater from the site has merged with contaminated groundwater
from the adjacent Sprague Electric Company site. According to the EPA, site contamination does
not currently threaten local residents living and working near the site. One potentially responsible
party (PRP) has placed filters on two private drinking water wells. All other residents and
businesses use the local public water system for drinking water. The EPA has identified the party
responsible for the contamination as General Dynamics and United Technologies Corporation
(both are now Raytheon Technologies).
In September of 2022, based on the Administrative Record for the site, the EPA issued a Record
of Decision (See Exhibit I Excerpt of EPA Record of Decision). The Record of Decision presents
the selected remedy for the site which is identified as Alternative 5: In-Situ Treatment with
Reagent Injection and Institutional Controls in accordance with the Compensation Environmental
Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), as amended by the Superfund
274
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986 (SARA), and the National Oil and Hazardous
Substances Pollution Contingency Plan (NCP).
the timely cleanup of hazardous waste sites and to ensure that the costs of such cleanup efforts
were borne by those responsible for the contaminBurlington N. & Santa Fe Ry. Co. v.
United States, 556 U.S. 599, 129 S.Ct. 1870, 1874, 173 L.Ed.2d 812 (2009). In general, the remedy
involves injection treatments into the aquifer to enhance the rate of reactions in groundwater at the
site that are designed to destroy the existing groundwater contamination and is estimated to cost
approximately $560,784. Changes in the cost elements are likely to occur as a result of new
information and data collected during the engineering design of the remedy. Groundwater
monitoring will assess the effectiveness of the injection program and attainment of groundwater
cleanup levels. Further, institutional controls preventing drilling of groundwater supply wells and
restrictions regarding groundwater use to preclude human exposure to contaminated groundwater
will remain in place until remedial action objectives are met. The Record of Decision states that
there are no principal threat wastes known to be present at the site. The estimated timeframe for
construction completion is less than one year. Long-term monitoring is expected to continue until
groundwater cleanup levels are attained throughout the plume. The Administrative Record
regarding this EPA Superfund Site can be reviewed at the following link:
https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/SiteProfiles/index.cfm?fuseaction=second.Cleanup&id=0410
013#bkground.
The Record of Decision describes the current and future land and resources uses for the site as
follows:
Current land use near the Site is mixed. Spring Hammock Preserve borders the Site to the
north. Highway 17/92 is located west of the Site. Forested land is located west of the
highway. Commercial and industrial properties are located south of the Site. A day care
center and an elementary school are located less than 1,000 feet east of the Site. A
residential area is located within 1,000 feet south and southeast of the Site. Land use near
the Site is not expected to change. The current and reasonably anticipated future land uses
for the Site are commercial, industrial, and recreational uses. The EPA also considered
potential residential exposure scenarios, which can be used to conservatively estimate risks
to non-residential child receptors, such as children in a school or day care setting. The Site
was purchased on August 15, 2022, by a local businessman who plans to use it in support
of his auto auction company, primarily to park cars. Historically, it was used for industrial
purposes. The Site has several buildings, driveways, and parking lots. The land is zoned
M-1 under the Seminole County, Florida Land Development Code, which allows a range
of commercial and light industrial uses.
FDEP classifies both the shallow aquifer and the Floridan aquifer at the Site as Class G-II
under F.A.C. Chapter 62-520.410 for potable water use. There were previously four water
wells on site that were screened in the Floridan aquifer. These wells were abandoned in
.
275
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
here are no limitations on the development of the property
se for ancillary parking in connection
In addition, the attorney advised that the EPA completed its
site visit on January 24, 2023 and is working with Raytheon on developing the scope of work to
implement the remediation plan. So long as the owner cooperates with the EPA on its response
actions, the o
which is the safe harbor provision intended to encourage the purchase and redevelopment of
Superfund properties.
CERCLA is a strict-liability statute, which creates liability for parties that are or were responsible
for contaminating the environment with hazardous chemicals. The EPA is responsible for
enforcing the provisions of CERCLA and may also be responsible for cleanup and site remediation
under CERCLA. CERCLA creates environmental
operators of sites; (3) transporters of hazardous substances, (4) arrangers of hazardous substances;
and (5) generators of hazardous substances. While local governments can be PRPs, the annexation
of property does not in and of itself make a local government a PRP. In essence, to be liable under
CERCLA, a party must currently or have at one time exerted some measure of control over a
contaminated property, or must have taken responsibility for the property in some manner.
As sucho the jurisdictional limits of the City will not, in
and of itself, create any environmental liability for the City under CERCLA. Further, Section 42
U.S.C. 9607(d)(2) provides an exemption to municipal liability under CERCLA for responses to
emergencies: No State or local government shall be liable under this subchapter for costs or
damages as a result of actions taken in response to an emergency created by the release or
threatened release of a hazardous substance generated by or from a facility owned by another
person. This paragraph shall not preclude liability for costs or damages as a result of gross
negligence or intentional misconduct by the State or local government. For the purpose of the
preceding sentence, reckless, willful, or wanton misconduct shall constitute gross negligence.
Nevertheless, there is existing case law involving questions of municipal liability under CERCLA
by virtue of the fact that the municipality contracts with (arranger liability) the landfill operator
for transport and disposal of waste. Liability under CERCLA as an arranger requires sufficient
nexus between municipality and hazardous substances, one that does not seem to exist in cases
where the governmental unit is responsible only for promulgating disposal regulations or for
permitting disposal facilities. Thus, while environmental clean-up remedy selected for the site
appears to involve ground water injections, and not the transport of contaminated material, care
would need to be taken during the remediation process to ensure that the City is not involved in
the transport and disposal of any contaminated material. Otherwise, the annexation of a Superfund
site might not impose much more of a significant liability risk than that incurred on a normal basis
by virtue of its contractual relationship with a waste hauler for mixed household and commercial
and industrial waste.
276
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
In addition, it appears that local governments are often involved in some way in imposing
regulations (including zoning) that serve as at least a portion of the institutional controls package
for a Superfund site.
The EPA takes a layering approach, suggesting that using
different types of institutional controls helps to ensure the protectiveness of the response
action. Proprietary controls refer to controls on land use that are considered private in nature
because they tend to affect a single parcel of property and are established by private agreement
between the property owner and a second party who, in turn, can enforce the controls, such as
restrictive covenants. Local governments are listed as possible grantees or even third-party
beneficiaries for enforcement of these proprietary controls, but a grantee could also include the
EPA and a number of other governmental and conservation organizations. Governmental controls
impose restrictions on land or resource use using the authority of a government entity. Typical
examples of governmental controls include zoning; building codes; state, tribal, or local
groundwater use regulations; and commercial fishing bans and sports/recreational fishing limits
posed by federal, state and/or local resources and/or public health agencies. Zoning is used as a
tool to reduce exposure to contamination. The EPA guidance documents state there are drawbacks
to zoning ordinances as institutional controls and care needs to be taken that cumulative zoning
., zones that are industrial or commercial in
nature may permit other types of uses like day-cares that could pose a risk to human health as a
result of exposure). The Record of Decision states that institutional controls will be implemented
to prevent drilling of groundwater supply wells and to restrict groundwater use to preclude human
exposure to contaminated groundwater until RAOs are attained which is expected to be achieved
in less than 5 years. The implementation of institutional controls would begin prior to finalizing
the remedial design. The Record of Decision does not identify any institutional controls being
required or implemented by Seminole County government. However, if the property is annexed,
it is uncertain whether the EPA will find it necessary in the future to impose additional institutional
controls and whether the City will be approached to assist with implementing such institutional
controls including future monitoring. Presumably, environmental liability could potentially attach
to the City as an operator depending upon the extent of the role (if any) that the City takes with
respect to enforcing institutional controls.
Current and Proposed Future Land Use and Zoning
Following annexation, the City of Winter Springs will initiate comprehensive plan amendments to
assign the appropriate City future land use designation for the annexed properties. The proposed
future land use designations and zoning classifications presented in this Annexation Report are
preliminary and may be modified once a more detailed land use analysis occurs when initiating
the necessary comprehensive plan amendments.
Pursuant to Section 171.062 Florida Statutes, Seminole County future land use and zoning
regulations will remain in effect until the City of Winter Springs adopts a comprehensive plan
amendment and rezoning of the annexed area. Please refer to Exhibit D Existing Future Land
277
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
Use Map, Exhibit E Existing Zoning Map, Exhibit F ApplicaProposed Future Land Use
Map designation, and Exhibit G . The applicant
has requested C-2 General Commercial District zoning and Industrial future land use. Staff will
further analyze the requested zoning a
use of the property is permitted in the I-1 Light Industrial District zoning district in addition to the
C-2 General Commercial District.
Provision of Public Facilities and Services
The table below gives the current service providers and the potential providers that would serve
the property if the annexation ordinance is adopted. Exhibit H illustrates the presence (or lack
thereof) of the City of Winter Springs sanitary utility lines and stormwater utility lines in the area.
Current and Potential Service Providers
Current Potential
Service Providers Service Providers
Service (Seminole County) (City of Winter Springs)
Potable Water N/A City of Winter Springs
Wastewater Private Septic Tank Private Septic Tank; City of Winter
Springs when available
Reclaimed Water None None; City of Winter Springs when
available
Electric Service Duke Energy Duke Energy
Solid Waste None Waste Services of Florida, Inc.
Stormwater None City of Winter Springs
Police Seminole County Sheriff City of Winter Springs
Fire Seminole County Seminole County
What follows is a brief description of how the City of Winter Springs will provide each of the
needed urban services for the property upon annexation.
Potable Water:
Water service is currently not available on the site. After annexation, potable water will be
southeast edge of the property which would allow the property to connect to City water.
Wastewater:
There are no wastewater or reuse lines in place to service the study area at this time. The applicant
will remain on private septic until such time that City service is available.
Reclaimed Water:
278
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
There are no reclaimed water lines in place to service the study area with reclaimed water at this
time.
Electric Service:
Electric service is currently provided and will continue to be provided by Duke Energy.
Solid Waste:
The City of Winter Springs currently has a franchise agreement and is serviced by Waste Services
of Florida, Inc., a private solid waste contractor. Upon annexation, Waste Services of Florida, Inc.
will provide service to the subject property.
Stormwater Management:
There does not appear to be any on-site stormwater retention at this time.
Police Protection:
Police service is currently provided and will be provided
by the City of Winter Springs upon annexation.
Fire Protection:
The Annexation Study Area is currently serviced by Seminole County Fire and will continue to do
so.
Conclusion
The property is contiguous and compact and upon annexation would provide a logical extension
of City boundaries. The City of Winter Springs has and can provide the necessary public facilities
and services to serve the property if annexed.
The annexation of the property meets the requirements of Chapter 171 of the Florida Statutes. In
addition, the urban character of the annexation area meets the urban purposes requirements set
As an EPA Superfund Site, the subject property and annexation poses extraordinary issues and
considerations for the City Commission which are not ordinarily presented during the annexation
decision making process. The City Attorney and Staff have generally summarized several of these
issues and considerations in this Report. More information regarding the Superfund Site can be
obtained online by using
Record of Decision, it appears the contamination on the subject property will presumably be
remediated within the next 5 years or so if the remediation project is implemented successfully.
However, the annexation will presumably pose additional environmental liability concerns for the
City if it is annexed so long as the site remains contaminated and
Superfund Site.
279
CITY OF WINTER SPRINGS
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
1126 East State Road 434
Winter Springs, Florida 32708
Staff recommends that the
City Commission should weigh the benefits of the proposed annexation (including the proposed
use as an additional parking facility and ancillary
business located nearby in unincorporated Seminole County) against the additional environmental
liability concerns and the .
Exhibits
Exhibit A Annexation Map
Exhibit B Legal Description
Exhibit C Commission District Map
Exhibit D Existing Future Land Use Map
Exhibit E Proposed Future Land Use Designation
Exhibit F Existing Zoning Map
Exhibit G Proposed Zoning Map
Exhibit H Utility Map
Exhibit I Excerpt of EPA Record of Decision
27:
111 N. Orange Ave., Suite 2000
Garganese, Weiss, D’Agresta &
Orlando, Florida 32801
(407) 425-9566
Salzman, P.A.
Memo
To: City Commission
From: Anthony Garganese
CC: Nick Tafelsky, City Senior Planner
Date: May 10, 2023
Re: EPA Telephone Call - Proposed Annexation of Real Property at 1333 Highway 17-
92 (Florida Auto Auction Properties, LLC)
As requested by the City Commission, the property owner’s attorney, James Willard, arranged a
telephone conference on May 9, 2023 with the EPA’s attorney regarding the status of General Dynamics
Superfund site which is currently under consideration for annexation by the City Commission. The EPA’s
attorney was very helpful and informative. The following are the most relevant points (in no particular
order) worth noting for the City Commission’s consideration:
1. Unbeknownst to the Staff and property owner’s attorney, the property directly to the south of the
subject property (Parcel #28-20-30-501-0000-0130), currently owned by Sprague Electric Company, and
currently within the jurisdictional limits of the City, is also an EPA Superfund site. According to the EPA’s
attorney and website, the Sprague Electric Company site includes the area where the Sprague Electric
Company manufactured film capacitors from 1959 to 1992. During the manufacturing process, operators
cleaned the capacitors with vapor degreasers containing trichloroethylene (TCE) and trichloroethane (TCA).
After its operations closed down, Great American Financial Resources, Inc. (GAFRI), the site’s potentially
responsible party (PRP), purchased the site property and currently leases it to another similar
manufacturing company. Under the oversight of the EPA, the PRP has completed most of the groundwater
cleanup work at OU1 of the Sprague Electric site; however, the site is currently still in the Remedial Action
phase of the groundwater cleanup, and the PRP is continuing to conduct groundwater monitoring to ensure
that the cleanup has been successful to date and will continue to be effective in the future. More
information can be reviewed at https://cumulis.epa.gov/supercpad/cursites/csitinfo.cfm?id=0400530.
According to the EPA’s attorney, the property is getting close to its clean-up numbers on-site, but
the EPA is still monitoring off-site impacts (OU2) including some overlap with the subject property currently
being considered for annexation. The Sprague Electric Company site is hydraulically upgradient (uphill)
from the General Dynamics Longwood site, and according to the EPA, the groundwater from the Sprague
Electric site has comingled with the groundwater of the subject property.
Page 1
281
Interestingly, after further research of City records, it appears that the Sprague Electric site was
annexed by the City Commission on September 28, 1992 (Ordinance No. 530) after the site was
contaminated. Further, at the time of annexation, the minutes reveal that the City Commission was aware
of the contamination but annexed the property anyway. The property currently has an Industrial future
land use designation and C-2 commercial zoning designation. The property is currently being provided City
water, but neither Winter Springs nor Longwood are providing sewer.
Therefore, there is another Superfund site within the City that seemingly has not been much
concern for the City.
2. With respect to the subject property under consideration for annexation, EPA considers General
Dynamics/Raytheon the responsible party for the clean-up. Now that EPA has selected a remedy, the EPA
is in the process of finalizing remedial action with General Dynamics/Raytheon. The EPA desires to get
voluntary compliance through the form of a negotiated consent decree agreement with General
Dynamics/Raytheon that would be filed in Federal court for purposes of invoking the court’s enforcement
authority. If voluntary compliance is not reached, EPA has administrative enforcement remedies that can
be pursued against General Dynamics/Raytheon to unilaterally order the responsible parties to remediate.
Further, since the subject property is on the national priorities list, EPA has committed to the clean-up of
the subject property and could, if it chooses, conduct the clean-up itself.
Therefore, it appears that one way or another, the remedial remedy for the clean-up will be
implemented through either voluntary compliance, administrative order, or by the EPA if necessary.
3. If the City annexes the property, the City can reach out to the EPA’s Community Involvement
Coordinator who will directly communicate with the City to keep the City abreast of the EPA’s future
progress regarding the clean-up. This way the City can be more assured of receiving more timely
information regarding the status of the clean-up.
4. The EPA confirmed that the institutional controls to be placed on the subject property will be
limited to restrictive covenants recorded against the land. The EPA will not be relying upon City zoning and
building regulations as institutional controls. The City will not be responsible for supervising the clean-up.
5. The EPA believes that the proposed use by the property owner (expansion of auto auction business
including parking and ancillary building) will not interfere with implementing the selected remedy. The EPA
does not support residential use of the subject property while the remedy is being implemented. The EPA
expects the property will remain industrial if annexed into the City. The EPA supports the productive reuse
of the property.
6. The EPA confirmed that the previous ground water wells located on the property were closed to
prevent the use, touching or drinking of contaminated groundwater on the site. As such, the EPA supports
the City extending potable water service to the property.
Additionally, after the last Commission meeting, the property owner’s attorney and Staff learned
that the subject property was previously connected to City of Winter Springs potable water service. An old
City water meter is located at the subject property. The meter has been inactive for many years, but
recently registered activity at the beginning of this year. Upon investigation by the City, it was determined
that the meter was likely tampered with by suspected homeless people residing on the subject property
Page 2
282
who were seeking a source of potable water. In addition, a recent review of the City records after the
tampering incident revealed that the connection may have been established in 1994, which would have
been around the time of contamination and the annexation of the Sprague property.
The current property owner seeks to reestablish the water connection regardless of whether the
City Commission approves the annexation. The existing City Comprehensive plan establishes the City’s
potable water service territory as property located within the jurisdictional limits of the City, and water
connections for properties outside of the City’s service territory require City Commission approval by
written agreement.
7. In summary, the proposed annexation has precedence because in 1992, the City Commission
previously annexed the contaminated Sprague Electric Superfund site directly south of the subject
property. Since then, similar remediation of the groundwater contamination has been successfully
occurring on that site apparently without incident in the jurisdictional limits of the City. Based on my call
with EPA, the proposed annexation and use of the subject property does not cause any concerns with EPA.
Additionally, the groundwater contamination will eventually be remedied by General Dynamic/Raytheon
either voluntarily by consent order, by EPA administrative enforcement order, or by the EPA itself. Further,
since the subject property has an existing City water meter, reestablishing City water to the subject
property should be relatively straight forward, and is supported by EPA because of the groundwater
contamination.
Although the City Commission had legitimate reasons to pause the annexation of the subject
property in order to obtain more information, it appears the proposed annexation and use of the subject
property is not a significant concern for the EPA. The Sprague property should be a good comparable that
provides valuable insight that can be applied by the City Commission to make an informed decision
regarding the proposed annexation of the subject property.
Page 3
283