Sydonie Mansion could shut down tours

The historic Sydonie Mansion near Zellwood might have to end public tours permanently if owners do not convince county and fire department leaders for leeway in fees and the number of people that can be in the 116-year-old building, according to a report in GrowthSpotter.

Owner Amy Colyer-Frogley says the problem started shortly after she took ownership of the property in 2014 and rezoned it from residential to commercial.

With that rezoning came new requirements related to capacity, fire codes and inspections.

“I thought they’d say, ‘Thank you for rescuing this building and we want to work with you,’” said Colyer-Frogley, who estimates she has already poured more than $1 million into the site. “That’s not at all what I got.”

Instead, she has faced stop-work orders, impact fee bills of more than $91,000 and occupancy limits that she says would severely hamstring her ability to operate tours.

A spokesman for Orange County Commissioner Christine Moore, whose district includes Sydonie, said the rezoning led to the impact fees.

Colyer-Frogley has appealed the transportation impact fees and county officials expect to reassess the building to see how much of the site should be included in the calculation.

“The staff that works impact fees will see if there is any flexibility to reassess or lower the fees,” the spokesman said. “She believes that because she is being assessed impact fees that her capacity should be bigger but impact fees are not related to capacity.”

Colyer-Frogley said she has been told that the building needs fire alarm hardware and other installations that would cost her more than $600,000.

The committee on Wednesday denied a request to waive impact fees in a voluntary agreement with Colyer-Frogley that she says should get her in front of county officials within eight weeks.