Siplin: Council-approved land trust ‘disheartening’
Orlando City Council candidate Gary Siplin reiterated opposition Tuesday to a council-approved affordable housing project, a week before voters will decide between him and Bakari Burns in a runoff election for the District 6 seat.
Washington Shores homeowners association President Stella Lewis retained an attorney in a longshot attempt to overturn a community land trust approved for Orange Center Boulevard. The council approved the land sale in May with a 5-2 vote.
“I know there’s a housing crisis in America, there’s a housing crisis in Florida and there’s a housing crisis in my district,” said Siplin, a former state senator, who appeared with about five residents at a news conference.
“It’s disheartening they want to sell us a house without having owned the land.”
Andrew Lannon, a Bogin, Munns & Munns attorney, said if the council fails to reverse its decision he will file a lawsuit on behalf of Lewis. He wouldn’t specify the grounds for such a suit but said he would seek an injunction or declaratory judgment in an effort to block the project.
“I have a client and she hasn’t given me the authorization to speak to you about that,” Lannon told reporters. “It’s not that there isn’t a viable complaint.”
Burns and Siplin were the two leading vote-getters in the Nov. 5 general election, with Burns leading with 46% of the vote while Siplin received 39%. Community activist Lawanna Gelzer, also at the press conference, trailed the field with 15%.
Burns, the CEO of Orange Blossom Family Health, said residents should focus on holding the land trust accountable and trying to get a seat on board.
“I don’t even believe there’s an avenue to really derail what the City Council has already passed,” said Burns, who supports land trusts as a tool but has criticized the rollout of this one. “To me, it just seems like a ploy or a stunt to spark fear in the community.”
The proposal met fierce opposition from some residents and City Commissioner Sam Ings, who took issue with homeowners not being able to own the land rather just the individual building they live in. The project will operate similarly to a condominium and a system meant to ensure units are affordable in the long term.
Ultimately, the land trust was approved over opposition from Ings and City Commissioner Jim Gray.
“The redevelopment of these sites will assist in fostering
a news helicopter.
Burford said she called the news outlet and asked it to please leave because the chopper was stressing the animals.
The foundation is with bear care.
In 2013, the CARE Foundation provided a temporary home in 2013 for a female bear and two cubs captured after the mama bear mauled a woman walking two small dogs in Longwood.
Burford said the foundation also cared for Quinn, a 425-pound bear rescued from a roadside exhibit, and now cares for Lola, a bear that had been trained to performed on TV. familiar its community development in the Orange Center Boulevard area of the city by transforming blighted housing into a vibrant new community that residents will be proud to call home,” city spokeswoman Karyn Barber said.
Siplin and Lewis said they’ll petition the council to overturn the sale at its next meeting — which comes after the election — and if not, Lannon said a lawsuit will be filed.
“Mayor [Buddy] Dyer and the other city commissioners can correct this, and we want to give them one last chance to do that,” Siplin said.