On schedule to meet a February 1, 2017, deadline, the final four elements of the Comprehensive Plan update arrived at Planning & Zoning on the evening of Tuesday, November 8. The meeting was, relatively speaking, lightly attended, but a few concerned citizens tore themselves away from the unfolding drama of the national election to plead special cases.
The four Comp Plan elements P&Z approved to be sent to the City Commission were Capital Improvement, Housing, Transportation and Future Land Use. Predictably, the Future Land Use element drew the most attention.
Can Anyone Keep Up?
There has been considerable commentary about the speed with which the Comp Plan revision process is taking place, especially as regards the Land Use element. Pat MacDonald pointed out that there have been 22 meetings between July and October, with nearly half the meetings taking place in October. The all-important Land Use element of the Comp Plan has been whittled from 85 pages down to 31 pages. Few are able to comprehend what, if anything, was lost in those 54 pages. And very few are able to understand or keep track of all the changes to the document as a whole.
“Ambitious, Artificial Deadline”
Private citizens are not the only ones objecting to the pace at which the Comp Plan revision has been conducted. Referring to the work session Pat MacDonald mentioned in the video above, P&Z board member Peter Gottfried wrote October 18 to the mayor and commissioners, “We were just sent the latest proposed changes to the Future Land Use Element to the Comprehensive Plan. This is a major piece of legislation that needs to be thoroughly reviewed by members of the Planning and Zoning Board as well as the citizens of Winter Park prior to our workshop this afternoon. Unfortunately, time does not allow for a review that I think is crucial.”
Transportation Element Rolls in Minutes Before Meeting
“I had the same issue with our review of the Transportation element at a workshop a few weeks ago where we were given the proposed change matrix minutes before our meeting. This, my colleagues, is no way to run a railroad or a City. There is absolutely no way I, as your representative on the Planning and Zoning Board, can provide proper review and insight to this document with this ambitious, artificial, deadline.
Is Breakneck Speed Politically Motivated?
“Please put aside opinions that we need to rush this in order to avoid political implications in the upcoming city election,” continued Gottfried. “The better way to approach this is to slow down in order to give thoughtful and careful evaluation of a document that will set the tone for the development of Winter Park for years to come.”
“Can I have your support to consider changing the implementation schedule so that we have the appropriate amount of time to consider more thoughtfully this comprehensive document.”
Last-Minute Changes Requested
Toward the end of the meeting, attorney Becky Wilson requested changes to the land use map that would benefit one of her clients, and developer Dan Bellows requested changes that would benefit him. Both were requesting expanding the Central Business District (CBD), which would have the effect of increasing density but preserving the pedestrian orientation of development in the Hannibal Square district. And, once again, the issue of haste reared its head.
Why Wait Until the Last Minute?
Why, questioned Peter Gottfried, did Wilson and Bellows wait until these elements were scheduled for adoption to bring their requests for changes? Wilson’s response, that she believed this was the meeting where her requests were meant to be heard, indicates that even an attorney as familiar with the inner workings of City Hall as Wilson is did not fully understand how fast a track this train is on.
P&Z members postponed their decision for six months to provide opportunity to study the effects of the proposed changes.
Music Lovers, mark your calendars. On Sunday, November 13. Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center will host the National Young Composers Challenge (YCC) from 12:30 to 5:00 pm, with a reception to follow.
Admission to the Composium is Free
Doors will be kept open during the event so that you can come to be inspired by your favorite young composer or stay for the entire event. After the performance, everyone is invited to share refreshments and mingle with musicians, judges, the composers and their families.
Most Prestigious U.S. Competition
The brainchild of Winter Park philanthropist Steve Goldman, YCC has been around since 2003. Limited at first to submissions from young Central Florida composers, aged 13 to 18, YCC has grown into the most prestigious competition in the country for young composers of orchestral music. YCC now receives thousands of submissions from around the country from youngsters aged 13 to 18. The 13-year-olds will amaze you. By the time they’re 18, they’re old hands.
What’s a Composium?
The performance you will see on November 13 is like a concert, plus a master class, plus a competition. It’s informative, dramatic, and entirely entertaining. Hear the winning compositions by America’s top young composers discussed, rehearsed, and conducted by Maestro Christopher Wilkins and performed by the symphony orchestra in the Disney Theater at the Dr. Phillips Performing Arts Center.
The performance of each composition begins with an audio excerpt from the young composer’s computer-generated score. Next, the composition is rehearsed by the orchestra, giving the composer an opportunity to interact with the conductor, the orchestra musicians, and the judges. Each session ends with the final performance of the composition.
Come As You Are and Bring the Kids
Dress casually, bring the kids, and prepare to have your mind expanded. You are unlikely ever to listen to an orchestra performance in quite the same way again.
Location
Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts
Walt Disney Theater
445 S. Magnolia Avenue
Orlando, FL 32801
The Library/Event Center/Parking Structure issue is still making its way through the tangled maze of the Florida judicial system. On October 20, the hearing regarding validation of up to $30 million in general obligation bonds for the purpose of building the library-event center came before Judge Margaret Schreiber of the Ninth Judicial Circuit.
Despite the array of arguments and the number of lawyers present to make them, at the end of the day, it comes down to one question. What language will the Judge put in her final order?
Bonds Will Be Validated
Since no one opposed validating the bonds, the Judge asked the city’s bond attorney, whose area of expertise this is, to come back to her by November 15 with drafts of two final orders for her signature. Both orders will validate the bonds.
Validation Order May? Or May Not? Include Location
One order will include the language of the location in Martin Luther King, Jr. (MLK) Park. The other will validate the bonds, but will include no language about the location. After she receives the two draft orders November 15, the Judge will decide which order to sign. Either way, the bonds will be validated.
Separate Suit on Petitions Also Pending
Meanwhile, a separate suit, this one filed in the Appellate Division of the Ninth Circuit, seeks to determine whether the petitions submitted to the City by the Save Our Library WP PAC constitute a Referendum or a Citizens’ Initiative.
Are the Petitions a Referendum?
If the appellate judge finds that the petitions are a Referendum, under Sec. 5.02 of the City Charter, then the petitions are not valid and the effort to block the location of the library in MLK Park fails.
Or a Citzens Initiative?
If the judge finds the petitions are a Citizens’ Initiative, under Sec. 5.01 of the City Charter, the petitioners will bring before the Commission an ordinance stating that no library may be built in MLK Park. The Commission must vote on that ordinance. If they pass it, it becomes law that no library may be built in MLK Park.
Final Decision May Be Up to the Voters
If the Commission does not pass the ordinance, then the ordinance will go on a ballot and it will be up to the registered voters in Winter Park to decide whether the ordinance passes or fails. In both cases, only a simple majority is required.
At this point, it is unclear how the outcome of one lawsuit will affect the outcome of the other.
This was the scene about 4:15 pm on Fairbanks Avenue across the street from Linda’s Diner. A water main beneath the roadway burst, and the resulting hole swallowed a large chunk of Fairbanks Avenue. Winter Park Police Officer Greg Easterbrook, who was at the scene, said the east-bound lanes of Fairbanks between I-4 and Harold St. would be closed “for at least six to eight hours, perhaps more.”
Officer Easterbrook said he had received a call that the road was flooded. He said he responded, “and sure enough, a large hole had opened. Fortunately,” said Easterbrook, “this happened on a Sunday instead of during Monday rush hour.”
Crews will remain on the scene until the roadway repair is complete.
At the October 24 Commission Meeting, Winter Park learned (if it didn’t know already) that Martha Bryant Hall is a force to be reckoned with. Since early summer, Mrs. Hall has sought to have the home she shared with her late husband, the Reverend Jerry Hall, placed on the Winter Park Register of Historic Places.
First, City Staff Recommends in Favor
A Staff Report prepared by City Planning Manager Jeff Briggs for the July 13 meeting of the Historic Preservation Board (HPB) recommended in favor of listing the Hall house at 331 Lyman Avenue. Mrs. Hall’s application was based on the age of the home – 58 years – and the significant contributions to the community of Reverend Jerry Hall.
HPB Tables the Request
Reverend Jerry Hall Residence
The minutes of the HPB meeting show that Mrs. Hall’s application was “continued,” however, and would not be heard at the July 13 meeting.
What the Ordinance Said At the Time
At the time of Ms. Hall’s application, the Historic Preservation Ordinance, No. 3024-15, stated, “The eligibility of any potential historic landmark, resource or district shall be supported by meeting applicable (sic) criteria based upon the National Register of Historic Places guidelines criteria (sic) for evaluation at the local, state or national level.”
(1) A quality of significance in American history, architecture, archeology, engineering, and culture is present in districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects that possess integrity of location, design, setting, materials, workmanship, feeling, and associations; and
(2) At least one of the following:
i. That are associated with events that have made a significant contribution to the broad patterns of our history, or
ii. That are associated with the lives of persons significant in our past, or . . . .
Five additional criteria follow which are not applicable in this case.
Then City Staff Recommends Against
Mrs. Hall’s request came to the HPB again on August 24, with a staff recommendation that the home at 331 Lyman Ave. not be placed on the Winter Park Register of Historic Places. The report, prepared by City Planning Director Dori Stone, stated the home had no architectural significance and that Reverend Hall had not been dead long enough.
“While Reverend Hall was an important figure to the community, he passed away in 2008,” Stone wrote in the report. “It is still too early to know how his legacy and contributions to the city, especially in the Hannibal Square area, will be determined.”
When Hannibal Square resident Mary Daniels rose to ask HPB members whether they knew of any document that stated a person had to be dead a certain length of time to be considered significant, she was told they did not.
Ordinance Was Under Review
The Historic Preservation ordinance was undergoing review at the time of the August meeting. It had been the widest plank in the campaign platform of Commissioner Peter Weldon, who had vowed to revise the ordinance if he were elected, which he was.
The minutes of the August 24 HPB meeting show that Ms. Stone stated: “. . .the initial staff report that Mrs. Hall received was a draft that did not properly cite the new historic preservation ordinance, and the final staff report was rewritten to cite the criteria of the new historic preservation ordinance.”
The HPB unanimously denied Mrs. Hall’s request for historic designation.
Perseverance Pays
On October 24, Mrs. Hall requested the City Commission reconsider her case and overturn HPB’s denial of her request for historic designation. Mrs. Hall and those who spoke on her behalf elicited a range of responses from the Mayor and Commissioners.
Sprinkel: “It’s the Merits of the Man, Not the House.”
Cooper: “It’s a Great Day for Winter Park.”
Weldon: “This Sets a Precedent that Will Be Difficult for Us.”
Seidel: “I Just Want to Apologize That You’re Even Here.”
Leary: “I Have Trouble Supporting This because of the Experts’ Opinions.”
The Commission voted 3 to 2 to approve Mrs. Hall’s request to place the home at 331 W. Lyman Ave. on the Winter Park Register of Historic Places.
A tribute to Winter Park High School student Roger Trindade, who died October 18, will take place at the Central Park main stage tomorrow, October 26, at 6:00 p.m.
The tribute is part of Winter Park High School’s Homecoming celebration, which will include a parade down Park Avenue from Webster to Lyman from 5:00 to 6:00 pm. Side streets to Park Avenue will be closed during that hour for the passing of the parade.
Police Investigation Ongoing
The Winter Park Police Department investigation into Roger Trindade’s death continues. Police Chief Michael Deal told the Voice, “The Winter Park Police Department is committed to doing a thorough, unbiased investigation regarding the tragic death of Roger Trindade.
“Since day one, we have treated Roger’s death as a criminal investigation. As such, we have dedicated the significant amount of resources necessary to present a prosecutable case. As in all cases of criminal investigation, especially those involving juveniles, our investigation must proceed with care and discretion – and this may take some time.
“We are maintaining contact with Roger’s family and will continue to make the privacy and interests of the family a priority. We are aware and understand the safety concerns of our citizens to include parents and students, and we are committed to ensuring Park Avenue and all of our schools remain safe places.”
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