HomeMy WebLinkAboutHome Developments-1987/1996 Developer's bid to replaces pasture
with homes denied in Winter Springs
By JOHN HORNER Atter thanking Trencher and hik lomesites,it was not enough to offset
WINTER SPRINGS—The cast of fellow commissioners, all of whom the opposition.
characters and the script were largely signed the proclamation. Torcastb - Afebach spoke of the school issue
same as when they appeared before who lost his bid for re-election Nov, by n ltiog parcels of land
the Planning and Zoning Board—but 3,later announced Dec. 7 as the date has offered the Seminole County.
this time the city commissioners listen- for swearing-in ceremonies for the School Bond mole past that have been
ed to the pros and cons over changing mayor-elect Leanne Grove and re- anted down.He referred to the report
the land-use of 30 acres north of St. elected commissioners, Art Hoffman he just made to the Tuscawilla
Stephen's Church on Tuscawilla Bo. and Bill Jacobs. Homeowners Association last week at
But after they debated for over y He also announced that next Mon- its regular meeting (see related
hour, the request by the Winter days announced workshop on the Otilock stories).He said he wiMcon-
Springs Development Corp.to change Ranchlands paving issue would in- tamscoolofficialsagainsheiseon-
Oa prime piece of stable/pasture land chide the unresolved agenda item of corned about the schools.
to single-family dwelling was denied realigning Wade and Hayes St.,after On the need for parks. Afgebach
by the commissioners,4-1,at the city the city engineer made his presentation `said the developer is constructing the
commission meeting in City Hal, on different ways to do it. City new New Winter Springs Park,which
Monday night. Manager Dick Rozansky made the he says includes a 20-acre lake and is
In a special announcement, Com- suggestion to include it in the larger 90 percent complete. ..
missioner Martin Trencher interrupted paving issue since the street realign- But led by Patricia Dickey's impart
Mayor John Torcaso in the pro- ing involved paving as well. sioned plea to the commissioners to,
ceedings to read the entire text of a But the Tuscawilla land-use change "be courageous..."to vote against.
resolution "expressing appreciation" dominated the frstpart of the meeting. growth,the opposition gained stneelY
for the...10 years of"dedication and This time,however, despite the ar- as Dickey, Keeth Elementary
hard work" to the city.. by the ticulate presentation and rationale by member and parent,-asked: Do yon
mayor, whose "faithful service Jack AfEebach,executive vice presi- wain Tuskawilla Rd. to mm at o
deserves our heartfelt thanks for ajob dent of Winter Spring Development, another Red Bug Rd.?
well done." to develop this area into 90 new
0 //
Winter Springs finds solution .
by Darrell Johnson According to a synopsis offered
It was s single card night The area in question is by City Attorney Frank
Monday, but the.fight was a nestled east of the Ranchlands Kruppenbacher,other specifics in-
and DunmarEstates,residential dude:
The battle between the city areas which are traditionally — Property to be•
doozy. developed
of Winter Springs and Dr.Hubert tic,with large lots and plenty of must be approved by the St.Johns
Earley over 80 acresofundevel- open spaces and wooded areas. Water Management District.
oped land had dragged on for Residents of those develop- — The development can not
years. Monday evening's final ments were very vocal in their exceed 1101ots,buttherewilllikely
round in front ofapeeled house opposition to the agreement.Carl be fewer.
hopefully settled the issue,but Stephens, president of the —As many lots as possible will
not many people were happy Ranchlands Homeowners Asso- have at least 100 feet of frontage.
with the result. ciation, called for a wall to be — A 50 foot buffer zone will
in question has constructed within the 50 foot enclose the area along Fisher Rd.
The
property 9 buffer zone around the new de- and Panama Rd, and no driveway
been under the control of Dr. velopment.Sucha wall hadbeen cuts will be allowed on FisherRd..
Earley for some 13 years. lie proposed,but was rejected out —No roads or trails will be al-
owned it, then sold it but held of hand by the Earley team. lowed through the buffer zone.
the mortgage. When the buyer A wall will either be built to —Dr.Earley or his representa-
ted,Earley regained own-
protect against incompatible de- lives must submit final engineering
ership
ership. velopment or a wall will be built plans for the subdivision within
The conflict centered on the between citizens of Winter one year or lose the benefits of this
for the area and the zoning plan
re- Springs and their representa- agreement.
for the area and the zoning re- tives, he said, urging commis- —The Florida League of Cities,
comp did not agree. The which represented Winter Springs
comp plan called for ad dwelling f in the legal battle,will pickup the
between 1.1 and 3.5 dwwellin ing tab for a penalty of S50,000.
units per acre, and the zoning sinners to put that wall in the right Commissioner John Ferring
standards were set at 1.0.Obvi- place.
ously,zoning restrictions could Other citizens pointed out that urged the panel to reject the pro-
notbe implemented under those every time Tuskawiilahas an issue posal, saying that taking their
circum commissioners jump on it. They chances before a judge could result
A desances.decision by a city the demanded equal respect for their in avicto ry At worst,he said,they
ployee,who has been out of the needs. would probably not be worse off
picture for years, started the Earley's property includes 114 than if they accepted the terms of
brouhaha.She changed the com- acres of land east of Fisher Rd, the settlement.
prehensive map for reasons no south of Panama Rd and west of the His fellow commissioners dis-
one easement.In the agreement agreed,however,voting 4-1 in fa-
Based
s has been able figures,figure out- power vor of the proposal.
opment was app approved,then rl- 34 vi ions for retention po d s with n P°a
opnt was n the que then re- provisions for retention ponds but. Following the vote, shouts of
scinded when the questionable no development. Unused acreage "Shame on you" and"The dollar .
changes were uncovered. will be considered greenbelt areas. wins"couldbe heard from citizens
Dr.Earley sued the city,and The remaining 80 acres will be throughout the chamber.
for the past three years various rezonedtoa modifiedRlAA,allow- In other business...
ing for minimum lots of 15,000 — City Attorney Frank
presented and rejected. The g
presented and rejected. The square feet and homes no smaller Kruppenbacher proposed a resolu-
settlement approved Monday is than 2,000 square feet, not count- tionbarring any commission mem-
the result of extensive negotia- ing a mandatory enclosed garage. be r,city employee or the City Man-
both sides. ager from discussing the Oviedo
tions by Crossing/Duda Connector with
anyone under any circumstances.
Continued on Page 12
9 1/ 0 /,
Winter
Springs
Commission
Continued om Page 3
The move would be legal under
laws governing freedom of infor-
mation if there was a perceived
threat of litigation,he said.Since
Oviedo and Wiener Springs will
probably go to war over the issue,
that would apply in this case.
—Commission members and
city staff commended Commis-
sioner John Torcaso on his many
years of service to Winter Springs
as a member of various boards,as
a former mayor,and as amemberof
the governing board.This was his
last meeting before being replaced
by Larry Conniff.Conniff will be
swominat 1:00 pan.Monday,Dec.
5.
—The city's pay classification
study was approved, setting em-
ployees' pay standards and rais-
ing salaries.The increases are in
place of regularly scheduled raises
during 1995,and are retroactive to
Oct. 1, 1994. The increases and
back pay will be on paychecks in
mid-December.
—The 1995 holiday schedule
for city employees was approved,
remaining essentially the same as
the 1994 calendar.
—A committee was formed to
consider applicants for the job of
City Clerk The panel will meet with
the top applicants sometime in De-
cember and pass its recommenda-
tions on to the commission.
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Development must not 1 t .' !,�` A ,
outpace roads, service
is like a rerun of a dream, with considerable resident in-
A developer, seeking the put.
best return possible from The upshot was that, yes,the
his land, wants to build four GreeneWay will make a differ-
homes per acre in an area ence in development patterns;
where the county planning and, yes, now that Winter
staff, influenced by a over- Springs offers water and sewer
loaded, two-lane road, recom- service there, that general area
mends only one per acre. should change to urban. But
Such a conflict was common not just yet.
in Seminole County's boom The problem is that the only
growth days — and all too of- road serving the project is
ten the requests got approval. State Road 434. While the state
In recent times, such troves- plans to widen the road in
ties have been fewer; pens 1997, banking on that schedule
ence has taught what happens is like budgeting one's lottery
when too many houses are winnings before the numbers
served by too little roadway.
are drawn.
Deciding this request ought County planners identify 54
to be easy when it comes be- acres as usable in the 300-acre
fore county commissioners on tract of mostly swamp; that
Tuesday. They ought to stick translates to some 48 homes.
with the staff recommends- .The developer sees 60 usable
lions. One puny road is not acres on the site, and wants
enough for what the developer 175 homes, plus 35,000 square
proposes. feet of commercial space.
The project is called Battle That's a whopping difference
Ridge, a site on the north side pp g
of marshy Lake Jesup, north of of opinion.
State Road 434 and just east of Tuesday's decision will set a
the GreeneWay. If the name tone for a large area sweeping
sounds familiar,it should. around the south side of Lake
In January, the commission, Jesup — the Black Hammock
in a controversial decision, ap- region. It's mostly a mucky
proved 220 housing units on 60 land inhabited by a hardy, in-
acres on this site, bucking its dependent and mostly environ-
own staff recommendations. mentally keen people who
But that ran into objections would just as soon see no new
from the Florida Department development. Not lost on them
of Community Affairs, which as they watch the final votes
said the development would be will be that this commission
too dense. State laws require has two brand new faces. How
roads and utilities to be ade- will they lean?
quote before building homes.
Yes, the GreeneWay does
At that rejection, county make a difference in land use,
commissioners wisely decided where land is suitable for
to take another look, ordering building. But before roads in g 11 i !/
a special study of the area to the area are far more certain g 1
determine what the extent of than now, common sense
urban development ought to would dictate that county plan-
be. The study included several ners are on the right track.
public hearings in the area One unit per acre is enough.
New home development starts
rise dramatically in quarter
Bit BARBARA Mnatm, MEDIA News Snevrea
New housing starts for single- "Patio production homes are also "Many people moving to the area
family production in Oviedo,Winter very popular in the upscale market for work in the high-tech industries.They
Springs,and Cassselberty is up by al- the 'mingles market' or the empty aremobile,upper middle-income fand-
most one-third over the same second nesters,"said D'Aniefio."Once chit- lies in corporations that move them
quarter period a year ago according dren have grown and moved on,many every so many years,"said D'Amdlt.
to Janice Lilly,Associate with Charles homeowners want to get away from "This area is the university corridor.
Wayne Consulting. The new devil- the large house,large lots and all the There's Seminole CommunityColege
opment starts rose from 205 for the maintenance that goes along with it. on the north side of Winter Springs,
second quarter in 1995 to 294 in 1996. While some choose condo or apart- valencia Community College's east
Starts for single-family custom home ment living, others still want the campus is on the south side and on
developers is also up slightly with 23 single-family home atmosphere."Ac- the east side in the University of Cea-
starts from last year's 21. The con- cording to D'Aniello,some builders tral Florida,just over the Seminole
suiting company tracks all new haus- am offering very affordable yard main- County border.SCC is building a new
ing developments within the tri- tenance along with the annual campus in Oviedo and there is also
county area of Orange,Seminole and homeowners association dues. new$22 million graduate school Un-
Osceola counties and counts Oviedo, "In this way, homeowners can der construction on Long hale off
Winter Springs, and Casselberry as afford the luxury of a yard for privacy Mitchell Hammock Road. could
one of three sub-categories in Semi- and comfort but without the yard literally go from entering
nole County work,"said D'Aniello,who with his ten to getting a Ph.D.and have
One not-so-rmnexpected surprise wife Judy, also a Realtor, has been to travel more than 15 nmmtea"
in the repot is that of the 57 single- sating homes for more than 20 yeah. Ptah D'Anielos are involved in
family production developments prices for the upscale patio produc- Oviedo's Citizens ActionCommittee
within this area'25,or almost am tion market begins about the mid- which has been succeeriWinhelping
for"patio production"or homes built s12o,000s to establish new businesses in the
on small lots ranging from 40 to 65 With all the upscale production area including a one million sgmae
feet In these developmerc nts, homes and custom homes being built it's foot mall and a wellness aafee Mrs.
am built within five feet of the lot line easy to see why new home prices in D'Aniello Is co-chair ofthe•-anit-
leaving 10 feet between each house. Oviedo and Winter Springs have risen tun.
"Patio production homes are free' an average of S14,000 in just one year As for the home resale market,
standing homes for people who want from$126,400 to$140,000.lathe tri- JohnD'Aniello said fun Unthaws
single-family home ownership man county area, new home prices have can find homes In some etas starting
affordable price,'P said Oviedo nisi- risen an average of$6,300 during the in the$60,000-plus range.The bilk ci
dent and Realtor John D'Aniello of sane tume from$l21,600to 5127,900. the resale market,however,kilns et
Prudential Florida Realty. For first- According to D'Aniello, tradi- $70,000 and goes as high as the inil-
time home buyers,that usu2lbt nans tonal single family homes begin with lion dollar range for those who enjoy
in the$80,000 price range.Small la 75-fool lots and larger with prices
size mean lower lot cost and less street liviuuWn le John areas.n Judy to pay for as far as road can- ranging from the low$100,000s to WvelaJdplyndJndOD'doara,
straction. - SS00Sev is lice vedReltors the list Several reasons account for the as licensed Realtors they Wtand sell
dramatic increase in home production. properties in both Orange and Said-
the opening of the GreeneWay,mak- note counties. They are relocation
ing it convenient to commute to al- specialists for Prudential Florida Re-
most anywhere in Central Florida;the shy in Casselbeny and among other
// area's proximity to metropolitan services,provide a previewtaviata
C Y /0 03 Orlando at the surrounding job mar- newcomers to educate that about
kris;the excellent achooldistrict,and both counties. Their daughter,
lastly,more public awareness of the Maryann,hesfollowed abetment
area. Oviedo has been the fasten footsteps having joined than 18
growing city in Seminole Canty(and months ago after having a ameetlld
sometimes the state)for the past five retail management=e a
years with Winter Springs close be-
hind