Seminole approves affordable housing
Some Oviedo residents worry complex will lower property values
Despite more than 50 people in red shirts who showed up in protest, Seminole County commissioners voted on Tuesday night in favor of a proposed affordable apartment complex near Oviedo.
Residents of surrounding neighborhoods attended the meeting to voice their opposition to the proposed Enclave at Alafaya, a three-story, 92-unit apartment complex at the corner of Beasley Road and Alafaya Trail. They think the complex would result in traffic problems, overcrowded schools and lowered property values.
“It is just too small of a parcel of land to accommodate a desirable living space for occupants,” nearby resident Lea Rader said during the meeting.
The 3-2 vote approved a zoning amendment on a 4.5-acre lot to allow for multi-family development, which was previously excluded from the planned development in unincorporated Seminole.
Commissioners said Seminole County would benefit from having an affordable housing complex in an urban corridor with public transportation nearby. Several referred to a recent report that named Orlando as the worst place for affordable housing in the nation.
“We know that there’s this huge workforce housing issue, and so where do you put it? If not here, where?” Commissioner Jay Zembower said.
The commissioners weren’t alone in their thinking. Multiple people spoke in favor of the proposal, including Jeff Fagen, president of the Orlando Regional Realtors Association.
“Unfortunately I think some people look at affordable housing and assume it to mean only poor people, and that’s an incorrect assumption,” Fagen said during the meeting. “The truth of the matter is this isn’t poor people, this is regular people.”
At least 20 percent of the units would be reserved for households that meet certain income requirements.
Residents opposing the development started a petition against it that has garnered more than 1,000 signatures, said resident Mike Bianco. He said the issue isn’t with affordable housing but with the high density of the apartments compared with surrounding single-family homes.
“This is spot zoning, plain and simple,” Bianco said. “Forcing 300 people to live in the space of 30.”
In 2015, commissioners approved a future land use designation that allowed for commercial development of the lot, specifically a three-story, 120-unit assisted living facility. However, with that plan approval the property owners were given the option to develop a number of commercial endeavors such as a grocery store.
Rebecca Wilson spoke on behalf of the contracted developer, Atlantic Housing Partners, and its executive director Scott Culp. Wilson argued the apartment complex would generate far fewer daily trips than a grocery store, and that the current land use designation allows for the same three-story building with access points on both Alafaya and Beasley.
“If it weren’t for this site being already approved at a higher intensity, and being already approved for three stories, we probably wouldn't be here today asking for that,” Wilson said. “But since those approvals have already been determined as compatible by this board, we are simply making a case that by changing the types of uses that can be allowed, we are similarly compatible. We are asking for residential adjacent to residential.”
Wilson said the developer is going a step further by including conditions to prohibit student housing, increase buffers and open space, build a 6-foot fence around the property, prohibit balconies, remove the Beasley Road sidewalk requirement and limit access to the complex from Alafaya only.
“We believe that what we’re offering is more compatible than what was previously approved as commercial,” Wilson said.
Wilson said the single access point would have to be approved by FDOT, or else the entire project will have to be reconsidered.
The presentation also noted direct access to a Lynx public bus route, but residents argued that in order to catch a southbound bus, riders would cross six lanes of traffic instead of walking to the nearest intersection.
According to a Seminole County Public Schools report, the increased number of students generated by the project could be accommodated in the county, but not at the schools closest to the site, as Evans Elementary and Jackson Heights Middle School are already near capacity. However, Hagerty High School has sufficient capacity to support open enrollment, the report states.
Despite these concerns, Commissioners Amy Lockhart, Brenda Carey and Zembower voted to approve the land use amendment, citing a need for affordable rental units in Central Florida.
“Density in these urban areas is going to have to increase, especially for those of us who are so committed to maintaining and protecting our rural areas,” Lockhart said. “These folks are coming and if we’re not willing to commit to increasing density in these areas where it’s designed to go, then we need to seriously reevaluate what our future plans are for this county.”
Residents of the area did not take the decision lightly.
“I’m disappointed in our system and our process,” Bianco said. “I feel like this was already predetermined before it ever even hit me.”