Winter Park commissioners to curb Orange Avenue plan
Real estate firm challenges city in court
Winter Park commissioners approved a moratorium on development along its crucial corridor of Orange Avenue while a lawsuit plays out in court challenging the commission’s decision to reverse a controversial zoning ordinance plan.
The plan, known as the Orange Avenue Overlay District, aimed to redevelop 75 acres of land and was scrapped in March shortly after the election of two new commissioners. Demetree Global, one of two major property owners in the district that would have gained entitlements, is asking an Orange County judge to declare the repeal ordinance void.
The moratorium imposed Wednesday isn’t meant to stop any projects in the works under the city’s current zoning rules. Instead it will prevent new building projects based on the regulations of the revoked zoning plan if the city loses the lawsuit.
Vice Mayor Carolyn Cooper said she supported the moratorium because the city is currently working on a new version of the overlay plan and there may not be time to approve it if Demetree wins in court.
“We, as a commission, are confident in our attorney’s positions,” she said.
“But with any lawsuit, there is always a risk.”
Mayor Steve Leary unsuccessfully tried to squash the vote, saying the decision “sends out a bad signal” amid an economy hit hard by the coronavirus.
Development is a “great opportunity” to providing jobs, security and some additional commercial tax revenue into the city, he said.
City staff worked on the overlay project for years. The process included 19 public meetings, two work sessions by the planning and zoning board, 12 work sessions by city commissioners and “hundreds of hours” for individual meetings with anyone who wanted to provide input.
Critics of the plan have expressed concerns over drainage, green space, building heights and limited parking and traffic.
Michelle Heatherly, Demetree’s director of operations, criticized the Wednesday decision as a political move that hurts property owners.
“This moratorium ordinance is pulling the rug out from underneath all of the property owners large and small who worked for such a long time with the city staff and steering committee to produce a great work product,” Heatherly said. “This seems to be a legal maneuver more than a planning maneuver.”