Maitland officials

are wondering if apartment construction downtown has gone too far.

MAITLAND — City officials are wondering if apartment construction downtown has gone too far.

Residents have long complained about various apartment projects on a 1.5-mile stretch of U.S. Highway 17-92, which the city has sought to develop into a vibrant, urban downtown. Officials are now considering removing so-called “bonuses” from the city’s building code that have allowed some projects to exceed Maitland’s height and density restrictions in exchange for other downtown improvements.

Under city rules, buildings downtown are restricted to five stories and up to 55 residential units per acre. However, the code allows wiggle room for Maitland to let a developer build as high as eight stories, or increase the number of apartments by up to 25 percent as long as the projects include amenities such as public parking garages or underground utilities.

After a lengthy discussion, council members asked city manager Sharon Anselmo to prepare an ordinance to remove or alter bonuses from the city’s code.

Mayor Dale McDonald spoke in favor of removing them at the March 27 council meeting, which came more than two months after he suggested the city explore a moratorium on new apartment complexes.

“It would do nothing more in my view than take our foot off the gas,” he said at the meeting. “We don’t necessarily have to be on the brake, but just take our foot off the gas for a change.”

The mayor declined to be interviewed for this story.

The incentives were first put in place when new development downtown only trickled in. Now, as growth has picked up, some council members are wondering if perhaps they’ve gone too far.

“I’m hearing it everywhere I go,” vice mayor Bev Reponen said. “People are approaching me and just saying they don’t like it and don’t want to see any more apartments.”

More than 800 apartment units are slated for a 1.5-mile stretch of the U.S. Highway 17-92 corridor between Packwood Avenue and Maitland Boulevard.

They are divided among three projects — Maitland City Centre, Maitland Station and Metro Square — which are all under construction.

Of the three complexes, McDonald said the Maitland City Centre received a 25 percent bonus for providing an “open space” downtown.

Officials with the city and the Allen Morris Co., which is developing the project, couldn’t be reached for exact details of the agreement.

Any change to the code would be brought first to the Planning and Zoning board for review, Anselmo said.

“We don’t want to put up the ‘closed for business sign’ we want to keep attracting quality developments,” councilman Mike Thomas said. “There’s a fine line from creating the critical mass that will support the things everybody enjoys … versus going too far.”