by Beth Kassab | Aug 10, 2024 | City Commission, News, Zoning and Development
Rollins wins P&Z recommendation for apartments -- with conditions
The board is pushing the City Commission to require the college pay a fee in lieu of taxes because it is exempt as a nonprofit educational institution
Aug. 10, 2024
By Beth Kassab
In what is certain to be a closely-watched case among nonprofit institutions across Central Florida, pressure continues to mount for Rollins College to cover some costs of city services related to its latest development proposal.
The Planning and Zoning board voted unanimously last week to recommend the City Commission approve the 30-unit, 2-and-3 story project on the corner of Welbourne and Virginia avenues, but only with multiple conditions attached including a pilot program that calls for the small private liberal arts college to pay fees in lieu of taxes.
Rollins, which charges about $76,000 a year in tuition, housing and food costs, according to its website, qualifies for a tax exemption on much of its property as a nonprofit educational institution, meaning that it doesn’t pay typical ad valorem taxes on its assessed land values, other fees or sales taxes.
But increasingly vocal residents in Winter Park are crying foul — arguing that Rollins should pay more of its share for basic services like police and fire rescue, flood control, roads and parks.
Dykes Everett, a local business owner, was just one of a handful of people who attended the meeting to encourage the board to push for a special payment program.
“I’m here in support of holding the line on a fee in lieu of taxes,” Everett said. “A private citizen would have to pay for police and fire … The impact is real and it’s just the same as every other citizen would have.”
Rollins attorney Rebecca Wilson argued against such a requirement for a payment.
“At this time, the college is not willing to agree to that,” Wilson said, noting Rollins pays more than $1.1 million in taxes on its unexempt property and partners with the police and fire departments to allow them to run drills in empty buildings on campus. “We believe Rollins has been a great partner to the city.”
The project, which has undergone a series of architectural revisions and is now smaller than originally proposed last year, is intended to provide below market rate housing for faculty and staff in a city with soaring home prices and to help the college recruit new hires.
She also said she isn’t aware that the city has asked any other nonprofits to make such payments.
Among the largest of those would be AdventHealth Winter Park, which operates a growing nonprofit hospital and its one of the city’s largest employers.
A Rollins spokeswoman suggested Rollins may reconsider such an agreement, but did not respond to a follow-up question from the Voice asking for details.
“We are working internally to accommodate the full motion approved by P&Z,” said Jo Marie Hebler, a Rollins spokeswoman. “We expect to have a mutually beneficial plan that will be on the Aug. 28 City Commission agenda.”
City Planning Director Emeritus Jeff Briggs said he was unaware of the details of such a plan.
The City Commission has the option of accepting the P&Z board’s recommendations in total or in part or of rejecting the proposal all together.
The recommendation for approval by Warren Lindsey includes the following conditions:
- The apartments will be built with 60 parking spaces.
- No student housing or classroom instruction space is allowed.
- Rollins agrees to own and operate the faculty and staff housing for 30 years.
- If Rollins wants to amend the agreement it must wait at least five years and the change must go through the P&Z process.
- If Rollins receives a state tax exemption on the property it must enter a pilot program with the city to pay the equivalent of city taxes and stormwater fees.
Members Jason Johnson, Bill Segal, Michael Spencer, Jim Fitch, Alex Stringfellow and David Bornstein all voted in favor.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 9, 2024 | City Commission, Library, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Old library undergoing rezoning for Blue Bamboo
The performing arts center’s director said construction could begin as soon as November
Aug. 9, 2024
By Zoey Thomas
Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts is a step closer to opening in the old Winter Park Public Library building.
Planning and Zoning board members approved changing the property’s classification from residential to PQP, or “public, quasi-public,” at a meeting on Aug. 6. The City Commission already voiced their approval of the change and is scheduled to formally vote on the matter on Wednesday.
“Functionally, it’s kind of a box check,” said Alex Stringfellow, a Planning and Zoning board member, at the meeting.
In order for Blue Bamboo to function as a public property, the board also had to approve changing the definition of a PQP itself to include “performance art venues together with ancillary gallery, educational, rehearsal, recording studios and offices to support the like, within a city- owned building.”
All members voted in favor of the changes except Bill Segal, who said he voted against it for “technical” reasons — he didn’t appreciate the way the issue came before the board, he said.
The zoning change will come back to city commissioners for final approval and public comment before Blue Bamboo can submit its official drawings for the building and get things “up and running,” said Chris Cortez, the center’s director.
Cortez told the Voice he feels confident the final steps will go “according to plan.” Two commissioners would have to flip their votes to block the zoning change from passing, which he said he doesn’t anticipate.
“No one has expressed to me that we’ve lost any of their support for this project,” he said. “There is a long shot chance that everything could change, and we would all feel like we wasted a lot of time, but it doesn’t seem very likely.”
Rather than losing support, Cortez said the monthslong process of winning the building over Rollins College, hammering out the lease and navigating zoning changes has only drawn more support from the community.
That includes from sponsors who have reached out to Cortez about offering the center money in exchange for advertisements and promotion, he said.
If the zoning vote at the City Commission on Wednesday turns out in Blue Bamboo’s favor, Cortez predicts construction will begin in November at the earliest.
Commissioners were initially hesitant to take away the property’s residential zoning classification for fear of setting a precedent that could upset people living in the area.
One person, Jess Bailes, spoke against the change at the planning and zoning meeting. He said his neighborhood near the library building already faces traffic and parking issues stemming from the Alfond Inn, which will only be made worse once Blue Bamboo, which he called was “almost a bar,” opens.
As the executive vice president of ABC Fine Wine & Spirits, the Florida-based alcohol chain store that originally opened as a bar, Bailes said he understood the problems that could be caused by serving liquor.
“I had a hundred bars at one point, and we have zero now for a reason,” he said.
Cortez said he wants to be a “good neighbor” to residents living near the building. He hopes to look into options to reduce traffic flow, including offering discounts to visitors who use ride share platforms like Lyft or letting Alfond Inn use his parking lot for overflow parking during Blue Bamboo’s off hours, he said.
“I really want to be given an opportunity to be a man of my word,” he said. “I say I’m going to address parking concerns and traffic, I really intend to do that. So I’m going to have to get in there and prove myself to these people.”
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 3, 2024 | City Commission, Historic Preservation, News, Uncategorized
City dedicates Shady Park Pioneer Memorial
The busts honor Black residents central to the history of Winter Park and the Hannibal Square community
Aug. 3, 2024
By Charles Maxwell
Winter Park on Saturday dedicated the Shady Park Pioneer Memorial, which honors central Black figures in the city’s origin and development and underscores the significance of the Hannibal Square community.
The memorial, which is next to Winter Park Community Center on New England Avenue, represents the endurance of Hannibal Square with four busts of key historical figures: Mary Lee Depugh (1878-1949), founder of the Ideal Woman’s Club;, Gustavus Christopher “Gus” Henderson (1862-1917), activist and founder of The Advocate and Frank R. Israel (1848-1925) and Walter B. Simpson (1859-1915) who both served as town aldermen.
The new Pioneer Memorial at Shady Park honors Black residents central to the city’s history. (Photo by Charles Maxwell)
Behind the busts is a pyramid with a small sculpture of elephant tusks, which signify Hannibal Square, said memorial artist George Gadson.
“The elephants represent symbols of strength, wisdom, and longevity,” Gadson said. “Their ability to overcome obstacles perfectly resembles these pioneers.”
Today the black population in Winter Park has shrunk as the city’s west side has largely been redeveloped. But advocates say that makes the history lesson highlighted by the memorial even more relevant.
“It’s crucial for everybody to know their history, where they come from,” said Maria Olivia Bryant, who grew up in the Winter Park and Eatonville area and has long pushed for the memorial. “It’s especially important for children to know and learn about their own culture, and that’s what the memorial is here for … If you know your history, it aligns you with your purpose.”
Founded in 1881, just 14 years after Florida reentered the Union after seceding and co-founding the Confederate States in 1861, Hannibal Square was home to free black families who provided labor and services to wealthy white residents.
Across from the busts in Shady Park is a history wall with the stories of the pioneers and a timeline of the community’s history. The memorial is set at the former site of Hannibal Square Elementary School, which was the very first public school for African American children in the Winter Park area, founded in 1883.
A crowd gathered Saturday at the memorial dedication at Shady Park.
Saturday’s dedication ceremony was crowded with local leaders and relatives of the pioneers. Mayor Sheila DeCiccio expressed her gratitude to community members who worked to make the memorial a reality.
“This has been a long time coming,” said DeCiccio.
Mary Daniels, a longtime resident and community leader who represented the MLK and Shady Park planning committee, gave remarks as well.
During the ceremony, Bryant led a historic dramatization that told the stories of the pioneers.
She noted how the idea for the memorial started more than 10 years ago, but it wasn’t until 2022 when a plan was really set into motion.
“For the past 20-25 years, there were conversations, promises and denials … through working, and coming together, it was finally brought back up.”
Bryant credits the City Commission in 2022 with pushing the concept forward.
When we brought it back up at that meeting, the commissioners and [former] Mayor [Phil] Anderson heard us,” Bryant said. “Actually, they didn’t just hear us. They felt us, they understood us.”
Anderson, who attended the ceremony Saturday, said he was just a part of the process that started before he was even in office.
“We had the opportunity to allocate certain funds… about half a million dollars to Shady Park as well as the MLK Jr. Park memorial,” said Anderson. “The committee that ran with it has been working on this for a long time. I don’t know if I’ve seen a prouder moment in Winter Park.”
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 3, 2024 | City Commission, News, Orange Avenue Overlay, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Rollins faculty housing proposal returns with big changes
The apartment building and other projects such as a retail and restaurant development along Fairbanks and zoning for the new Blue Bamboo to be considered at upcoming P&Z meeting
Aug. 2, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Rollins College is back with a new version of its plan to build a downtown apartment building designed to give faculty and staff an affordable option in a city where the median home price was nearly $600,000 in June.
The revised proposal, which will be considered at Tuesday’s Planning & Zoning Board meeting, includes a new look as well as additional conditions for the 45,842-square-foot project with 30 units.
Also new: signals of a potentially warmer reception to the concept by some residents of the nearby Douglas Grand Condominium building who previously panned the architecture and, along with some City Commissioners, called the project incompatible with the neighborhood.
“Attendees praised the new appearance,” reads a summary of a meeting this summer between college representatives and Douglas Grand owners.
Though some condo residents continued to offer suggestions such as adding real or etched stone along with the textured stucco on the building’s facade to enhance the Mediterranean architectural theme.
Rollins “already made significant and costly revisions and does not intend to revise the architecture again,” college representatives noted in the same document included in the meeting materials.
The college also addressed calls from the community to opt out of its property tax exemption as a nonprofit educational institution and contribute to city funds to help cover the cost of police, fire and other services.
“It should also be pointed out that Rollins pays approximately $1.2 million annually property taxes,” according to the summary of the meeting with Douglas Grand residents submitted by Rollins. “In addition, for the demographic occupying the units, it is unlikely there will be an excessive or frequent burden on police or fire departments.”
An earlier rendering of the Rollins faculty housing project shows how the design as changed in comparison with the latest rendering shown at the top of the page.
There does appear to be new consensus, however, when it comes to another sticking point: parking.
According to a staff report as well as the summary of the meeting with condo residents, there is support for an option that would require Rollins to provide 58 parking spaces for the 30 units rather than the code-mandated 75 spaces. One of the conditions of the agreement is that Rollins will provide a 5-foot easement along West Welbourne Avenue for the city to create more on-street parking.
“This takes into account the available on-street parking and the additional on-street parking previously discussed,” according to the staff report, noting the option also allows for the creation of a “pocket park” with additional landscaping and tree canopy at the corner of Welborne and Virginia to enhance the appeal of the project for neighbors.
Other conditions include:
- Rollins will prohibit student housing and classroom instruction in the building and commit to using the land for faculty and staff housing for 30 years.
- Units will be leased for a minimum of 6-months and only plants and patio furniture are allowed on balconies.
- Rollins and the city will coordinate undergrounding nearby powerlines and there will be some kind of solar power installation on the roof.
New retail and restaurant space on Fairbanks
The P&Z Board on Tuesday will also consider a request to build a 26,210-square-foot building for retail shops and restaurants at the corner of West Fairbanks Avenue and Capen Avenue.
The agreement is significant for multiple properties, owned by companies controlled by the Holler family and once involved in a lawsuit against the city over zoning rules brought by changes to the Orange Avenue Overlay.
Plans call for a one-story development and 106 parking spaces on the lots at 805, 801, 771 W. Fairbanks Ave. and 555 S. Capen Ave.
The development would not only improve those lots, but would provide a new future turn lane at Fairbanks Avenue and Denning Drive, land for a flood control project and allow the city to purchase a residential lot for $250,000 that could be used to build affordable housing.
A rendering shows what the development at Fairbanks Avenue and Denning Drive could look like.
City staff is recommending the board approve the conditions for the development, including that the owners landscape and maintain a 10-foot land donation on the north side of West Fairbanks Avenue until a turn lane can be constructed there to improve traffic flow. In addition, the property owner will donate three vacant lots on Comstock Avenue for stormwater retention and to help with flood control near MLK Park and Lake Midget and sell a vacant residential lot to the city for $250,000.
In exchange, the city will waive transportation impact fees for the owner on some additional properties, including 860 W. Fairbanks, the former Orlando RV dealership.
Blue Bamboo zoning change
The City Commission approved a lease earlier this summer for Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts to take over the old library building as a new performance venue and office space.
In order for the new plans to move forward the city must approve new zoning for the property, which is technically designated for multi-family housing, though the land has long been used as a public library.
City staff is recommending the zoning be changed to a category known as PQP or Public, Quasi-Public District and that the board approve a change to the permitted uses for that category to include “performance art venues together with ancillary gallery, educational, rehearsal, recording studios and offices to support the like, within a city-owned building.”
If approved by the P&Z board the change will go before the City Commission for final approval.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 1, 2024 | City Commission, News
Winter Park will likely ditch plans to make Park Avenue a one-way street
Closing two-way traffic would add more parking. But more spots might not be necessary.
Aug. 1, 2024
By Zoey Thomas
Winter Park city staff recommended scratching an idea to turn Park Avenue into a one-way street to increase parking options after a study revealed the area already has a surplus of spaces.
The change would add 41 parking spaces, converting one side of the street from parallel to diagonal spots.
But parking supply along Park Avenue already exceeds demand by 48 spaces on a typical weekday and 37 on a typical Saturday or Sunday, according to a report from engineering firm Kimley-Horn.
The firm charged the city about $35,000 to update its previous study, conducted in 2013, on downtown parking inventory.
“The one million dollar question … is there a parking problem?” said Hongmyung Lim, the Winter Park Public Works & Transportation engineer who presented the study to commissioners at a July workshop. “Generally, our statement would be no, but it really depends on the perspective.”
Parallel parking spots along Park Avenue can be hard to find during peak hours. (Photo: Zoey Thomas)
Finding a spot becomes more problematic during December, Lim said. During that “peak season” in downtown Winter Park, demand outnumbers available spaces by about 135 spots.
But he emphasized there is never a deficit in parking throughout the total downtown area, which stretches west to Denning Drive, south to Fairbanks, east to Interlachen Avenue and north to Webster. Only spots located right along Park Avenue fill up.
“There’s plenty of opportunities to park and walk to your destination in five to ten minutes,” Lim said. “And during the peak season in December, I’m sure when parents bring their kids over, they would like to walk a little bit further than a typical five to ten minutes to show them around.”
The challenge is to help visitors understand their parking options, said Charles Ramdatt, the Public Works & Transportation director, at the workshop.
Randatt is working with the Winter Park Community Redevelopment Agency to create an app that will direct drivers to available spots. He’s already met with Currus AI, a University of Central Florida-based technology program, about the project.
“The additional demand can be covered by overall parking in the general area — we just need to show people where those spaces are,” he said. “The younger generation, especially, is very accustomed to using apps like these.”
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio pointed out the study, which used the same geographic zones as the original 2013 analysis, didn’t account for new demand from the recent $36 million expansion of the Alfond Inn. The expansion, completed in late 2023, included adding new meeting, boardroom and event spaces to the hotel’s New England Avenue space.
“I go to a lot of luncheons there — there’s over 200 people,” she said. “So, I don’t know where they’re going to park all those people.”
The study area also did not include the old Winter Park Library building, where Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts recently signed a lease to open a multicultural live music venue and education hub. Alfond Inn is currently parking cars in the unused library building lot. Once it can no longer do so, valets will have to park elsewhere, the mayor said.
“I think just watching them for two days after they cannot park and stack cars in the old library site is going to tell you a lot where the valet puts all those cars,” DeCiccio said. “I think that is going to cause a huge deficit.”
Alfond Inn spillover parking shouldn’t be problematic as long as valets use garages like the high-vacancy Truist Parking Garage on Comstock Avenue, rather than parking along the street on Lyman Avenue or Comstock Avenue, said City Manager Randy Knight.
Knight also pointed out the city can’t plan its parking around the one month out of the year when spaces become limited.
“The Church doesn’t build parking for Easter Sunday,” he said. “I think that’s what the study’s saying — on a normal day, there’s ample parking.”
After receiving the updated parking report, which found weekend parking demand wasn’t as high as expected, Knight said he no longer recommended going through with a plan he previously supported: closing Park Avenue to two-way traffic.
Although doing so would add 41 parking spots, it would also create a potential safety hazard. The road would only be about 11 to 13 feet wide, which would make it difficult for emergency vehicles to access the area during an accident.
Typically, a one-way street is 16 to 18 feet, and said city engineer Lim.
“After seeing this, and I understand their report, I was much less excited about the one-way option than initially,” Knight said. “It’s not a staff recommendation that we move forward with the one-way …. I think the safety issues outweigh the benefit.”
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by Beth Kassab | Jul 24, 2024 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized
Winter Park lifts prohibition on Sunday morning alcohol sales
For years, the city has restricted the sale of alcohol on Sunday mornings until after 11 a.m.
July 24, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park grocery stores and restaurants offering a boozy brunch can soon get an earlier start on Sunday mornings.
The City Commission voted 4-1 to allow alcohol sales as early as 7 a.m. rather than 11 a.m., making the time consistent with the other six days of the week. Commissioner Craig Russell was the only dissenting vote.
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said the change was prompted by grocery managers who complained about routinely confused and disappointed customers who stopped in early on Sundays to stock up for a day at the beach or a football party only to learn they had to come back later for beer and wine.
Planning & Zoning Director Allison McGillis said Maitland, Orange County and Seminole County all allow sales as early as 7 a.m. Orlando is an outlier with a 9 a.m. start time. A few years back, Winter Park prohibited liquor sales until noon, but the city changed the restriction to 11 a.m. to accommodate the mimosa and Bloody Mary crowd at local brunch spots.
A grocery store manager, who declined to say where he worked, spoke at the meeting in favor of the new earlier time.
“I have personally witnessed friends planning for beach outings, football or Mother’s Day and they can’t do the shopping,” he said. “Many employees and customers have asked why and I haven’t been able to give a good reason.”
Russell, in casting a vote against moving sales up to 7 a.m., said he saw no need for the change.
“I have a belief that Sunday is a day of rest. I say leave it alone,” he said. “… I wouldn’t’ look to compromise my principles on agreeing to something like this.”
Winter Park to keep property tax rate the same
Commissioners voted Wednesday to hold the same property tax rate for the 17th year in a row.
That means the millage rate will remain steady at 4.0923 mills, though tax revenue will increase because of rising property values. The proposed $214.6 million budget includes a 3% or $6 million increase over the current year as property taxes remain the key driver of growth in the city’s general fund.
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