by Beth Kassab | Jan 9, 2025 | City Commission, Historic Preservation, News
New fines for historic preservation demos delayed
The commission also decided against a mail-only vote on gas-powered leaf blowers and recognized the Winter Park High volleyball team as state champs
Jan. 9, 2025
By Beth Kassab
The City Commission put off for 60 days a decision on new penalties for historic properties that are demolished without approval after residents spoke out against the new rules and called for more opportunities to give input.
Speakers included Charlie Clayton, who owns a construction company involved in the unauthorized demolition of 965 Lakeview Drive in the historic College Quarter neighborhood, which is bordered by Rollins College and Lake Virginia.
He stepped to the podium and referred to himself as the “scourge who created this” and called for additional workshops about the new rules before they are put into place.
A photo from the Orange County Property Appraiser shows how the home at 965 Lakeview Drive looked in 2023. The above image shows what the home looked like last year after demolition.
Winter Parkers have long tussled over historic preservation rules with some in the camp of preserving the architectural contributions of often smaller homes built 50 or 100 years ago and others looking to maximize square footage on high-priced lakefront lots and other valuable property with more modern builds.
Suzanne Brandon, who lives in College Quarter, said she was in favor of the new rules to preserve the neighborhood, but also asked for more communication with the residents.
“I am in favor of this … we do need the 30% fine to prevent developers from bypassing the historic preservation board,” she said. “We need to make sure what is being built maintains the historic aesthetic.”
Mayor Sheila DeCiccio expressed disappointment that over time the rhetoric turned “nasty” and caused “divisiveness.” She noted that people move to Winter Park because of its charm and the unique historic homes that add value to the city — “that’s what keeps our housing prices so high.”
She supported a 60-day pause on the new rules and fines to allow staff to hold a workshop with historic home owners and other interested residents to provide more feedback on the changes.
No mail-only vote for leaf blower question
After urging the commission to move to a mail-only ballot for upcoming vote on whether the city should keep its ban on gas-powered leaf blowers, City Manager Randy Knight on Wednesday put a halt to that concept.
Turns out, he said, that a mail-only ballot would cost the city an additional $20,000 or so compared to an in-person vote.
As a result, commissioners opted against moving to the mail-only method if the two seats up for grabs on the commission remain unopposed by the Jan. 21 deadline. The election will be held March 11.
Good news for Winter Park Playhouse
The board gave official approval for a contract to by the building occupied by the Winter Park Playhouse. The nonprofit professional musical theater has spent nearly two years trying to secure a home after the building’s owner decided to sell and told the group it would lose its lease.
The deal is made possible through an $8 million grant from county Tourist Development Tax dollars. The Playhouse has pledged to raise $2 million toward the project.
“I hope you are able to hear the applause that erupt at the playhouse every time we announce that we will be able to stay at our location,” playhouse board member Judith Marlowe told the commission.
Volleyball team recognized as state champs
Winter Park High Volleyball is honored Wednesday at the City Commission.
Commissioners took a moment on Wednesday to celebrate the Winter Park High School volleyball team, which won the state title in November, it’s sixth championship in the program’s history.
“We played the toughest schedule we could find,” said Coach Stephanie Gibson, who was recognized last month as Florida Dairy Farmers girls volleyball coach of the year, making her what the Orlando Sentinel called a “36-year legend and the first coach to claim that honor five times.” “I’m so proud of the work we do on the court, probably the more impressive thing is each and every athlete also received” honors related to their academic performance.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 8, 2025 | City Commission, Historic Preservation, News
Todd Weaver tables own request to add his home to city's historic register
A state senator on Wednesday intervened in the matter and called the request by a sitting commissioner ‘a little weird’
Jan. 8, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Commissioner Todd Weaver withdrew his request on Wednesday to add his 1957 home to Winter Park’s historic register after complaints — including from state Sen. Jason Brodeur.
Weaver prefaced his remarks at Wednesday’s City Commission meeting by noting concerns that he called unfounded “by a few dissenters who don’t offer any positive ideas.”
Todd Weaver
Former Commissioner Pete Weldon, who Weaver unseated in a heated 2019 election, sent an email this week to residents accusing Weaver of failing to pull the proper permits when he converted a detached workshop behind the house to a small living space among other issues.
Brodeur sent an email Wednesday afternoon with the subject line, “Does this look historic to you?” and a photo of a house that does not belong to Weaver. The email from Citizens for Solutions, Brodeur’s political committee, went on to say that adding Weaver’s “lakefront ranch” to the historic register, “two months before his term ends, despite allegations from community members that there was unpermitted construction work to add a rental unit onto the property, raises red flags and serious concerns to me. I urge you to contact the mayor and commissioners if you, too, are concerned about this rushed consideration for Commissioner Weaver’s personal benefit.”
Weaver announced last fall he is not running for re-election and will leave office by April.
Brodeur told the Voice on Wednesday that he included a photo of the wrong home intentionally because he didn’t want to provide an image of a fellow elected official’s house. He said the photo he used is similar to the look of Weaver’s home.
“It’s up to the city,” he said. “I’m just raising the concern … a sitting commissioner doing this two months before he’s out of office looks a little weird.”
Brodeur said concerns were brought to him by constituents in his district, which covers Seminole County and a small piece of north central Orange County that includes Winter Park.
Jason Brodeur
The Republican also involved himself in a city debate last year when he advocated against Winter Park’s ban on gas-powered leaf blowers and threatened to take away the ability of cities statewide to create such bans if Winter Park commissioners did not put a referendum on the matter to voters this year. That question will now appear on the March ballot.
Weaver, a Democrat who was a leading proponent of creating the ban because of the noise and health and environmental impacts of the gas-powered machines, is one of the commission’s most vocal environmentalists.
Longtime planning director Jeff Briggs, who is set to officially retire this month, said owners can voluntarily apply to add their homes to Winter Park’s historic register, which includes some 400 properties. The homes must be at least 50 years old and include distinctive characteristics of a type, period or method of construction or architecture. Structures can also be added if they are associated with historic events or people.
The Historic Preservation Board recommended approval of Weaver’s application last month after a staff report made the case for adding the home and noting that it’s common for those like it, especially on a lake, to be demolished.
“When one sees many other homes of similar mid-century modern architectural styling in a neighborhood, then the misconception is that such is
not worthy of a historic preservation status,” said the report. “This home is of mid-century modern architectural styling. Many of these low-sloped roof, one-story homes from the 1950s are what the City routinely sees for tear-downs and rebuilds. Especially in lakefront locations. What this historic designation will do is to maintain the scale and look of the original homes built in this neighborhood.”
Owners of homes on the historic register are allowed a special perk of renting out garage apartments or, in Weaver’s case, a detached “cottage” for a minimum of 30 days. Such rentals are not otherwise permitted in the city.
Weaver said he rented out the cottage previously until 2018 when he learned it was against city code and before he took public office.
He denied any wrongdoing related to permits for work he did on the unit and said the structure already contained plumbing for a toilet and a sink as well as electric when he used the space as a workshop before his neighborhood was annexed into the city in 2004.
The cottage is used today at no charge by traveling artists who are in town for the opera or other events, he said. Weaver told the Voice he did not plan to rent the unit for money even if the home is added to the historic register. He plans to bring his application forward again later this year when he is no longer in public office.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 6, 2025 | City Commission, Election, Historic Preservation, News, Uncategorized
Winter Park Playhouse, a commissioner's home and gas leaf blower ban top first agenda of 2025
Commissioners are slated to move forward on the purchase of the Playhouse building as Blue Bamboo seeks to move ahead with renovations at the old library. Changes to historic preservation rules as well as a designation of a commissioner’s home on the local register also up for consideration
Jan. 6, 2025
By Beth Kassab
Winter Park commissioners will return to the dais on Wednesday for the first time in the new year with an agenda that also highlights some of the issues that are likely to remain front and center through the first half of 2025.
Let’s dive right in:
The arts scene
After a long period of uncertainty about its future, the Winter Park Playhouse appears on a solid path to expanding in the same place patrons have come to love the community theater.
Commissioners will take a vote on the contract to purchase the building, part of a deal use Orange County tourist tax dollars for the acquisition and renovations that would allow the playhouse to stay put. The nonprofit theater was unable to purchase the building on its own and risked losing its stage if the land was bought and redeveloped by another owner.
The city considered multiple options, with some commissioners even angling to help the theater construct a new building in Seven Oaks Park, but ultimately settled on applying for a Tourist Development Tax grant. The county awarded the city $8 million in the fall to move forward on the project.
The city will purchase the building at 711 N. Orange Ave. for $3.8 million following a 60-day inspection period if the contract is approved. The remainder of the grant along with $2 million to be raised by the playhouse will go toward expanding seating capacity by 50% and other upgrades.
According to a staff memorandum posted with the City Commission agenda, the purchase would not impose any immediate costs to the city because it intends to enter a lease with the Playhouse that says the theater is financially responsible for all upkeep. But with the city as the owner of the land, it’s likely that the property will become exempt from taxes that fund city and county services such as roads, parks and schools — an estimated loss of about $15,000 each year to the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency.
At the same time, Blue Bamboo Center for the Arts is moving forward on its plans to renovate the old library, which it’s leasing from the city.
A rendering shows the proposed entrance for the new Blue Bamboo, which plans to repurpose the old library. (Courtesy of Blue Bamboo)
Executive Director Chris Cortez said the project is in the second round of permitting revisions and he hopes to start construction work soon. He is targeting opening the first floor of the building as a venue space during the first quarter of this year. Aside from adding stages and seating and making the bathrooms accessible to people who use wheelchairs, his team is looking at other changes such as converting the former book store into a space for records and retail similar to the Blue Bamboo’s old lobby.
“We love the original design,” Cortez said. “We aren’t proposing very many changes to the building structure at all.”
Historic Preservation
It’s unusual for city commissioners to bring business before their own board, but that will happen Wednesday when Todd Weaver asks fellow commissioners to add his home on Lake Bell to the city’s Register of Historic Places.
Weaver said he’s been contemplating historic designation for the mid-century modern home west of U.S. 17-92 for some time and decided to take action before longtime Planning Director Jeff Briggs retires this month.
Critics have asserted that Weaver has flouted city rules by adding on to the home without proper permits. But Weaver disputes those claims, noting that his neighborhood wasn’t annexed by the city until 2004 and the work he did was permitted by Orange County.
The home includes a 515-square-foot detached space that Weaver calls a “cottage.” He said it started out as a shed and was used as his shop for a time before he made changes to convert it into a living space.
Before he knew it was against city code, he rented out the cottage. But Weaver said he hasn’t done so since 2018 when he learned short-term rentals were not permitted by Winter Park.
He said he now offers the space for free to artists who are coming through town to perform with the opera or philharmonic.
A historic designation would allow Weaver to rent out the cottage for a minimum of 30 days at a time. Owners of historic homes are granted that perk to add value to properties that they have agreed not to demolish and rebuild at a larger footprint.
But Weaver says he doesn’t intend to take advantage of that provision.
“I don’t have any plans of renting it out now,” he said, but will allow the arts community to continue to use the space.
The Historic Preservation Board recommended last month that the home be added to the register.
“Many of these low-sloped roof, one-story homes from the 1950s are what the city routinely sees for tear-downs and rebuilds,” read the staff report. “Especially in lakefront locations. What this historic designation will do is to maintain the scale and look of the original homes built in this neighborhood.”
Commissioners will also consider new procedures and penalties when it comes to unauthorized construction or demolitions of historic properties. The changes are in response to recent violations in historic neighborhoods.
Under the proposed new rules, the ordinance would add a review process of construction plans after the initial approval. The code will also clarify that any authorized alterations or demolitions must be replaced by architectural styling from the era represented in the neighborhood, often from the 1920s to the 1940s.
In addition, if a structure is demolished without authorization, the city can revoke setback variances previously granted on the property in exchange for preservation. The new code also says property owners can propose financial compensation to the city as a way of retaining setback variances.
March elections
So far, the two City Commission seats up for grabs this year, have attracted just one candidate each. Without opposition, those candidates will be automatically elected and there will be no need for poll workers, ballot counting or any of the other related Election Day infrastructure.
As a result, commissioners will vote on Wednesday whether to convert the referendum on gas-powered leaf blowers to a mail-only ballot. The question before voters — if the city should keep and begin enforcing its ban on the lawn tools that generate frequent noise complaints — is the only other item on the March 11 ballot aside from the commission seats.
Commissioners gave initial approval in December to a mail ballot if no other candidates qualify to run for commissioner by the deadline at noon on Jan. 21.
So far Kris Cruzada, the incumbent, has filed to run again for Seat 3. Warren Lindsey, a criminal defense attorney, filed to run for Seat 4 after incumbent Todd Weaver opted not to run again.
The board is required to vote on the change a second time and will also consider revised wording intended to clarify the ballot question.
Up for discussion
Commissioners are also set to approve their own meeting schedule for the first quarter, including a series of discussion-only workshops through March. The topics of those meetings help illustrate the board’s upcoming priorities:
Jan. 23: The concepts for a Park Avenue refresh project
Feb. 13: A debate about the process and criteria, if any, the city should consider when awarding grants to local nonprofits
Feb. 27: Changes to the city’s election code
March 13: The group’s first discussion about the 2026 budget
March 27: The city’s street sweeping policy
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by Beth Kassab | Dec 5, 2024 | City Commission, Historic Preservation, Library, News, Uncategorized
New Public Art Collection map reveals hidden treasures
The project catalogs Winter Park’s vast collection, which includes every “Best of Show” piece from the annual Sidewalk Art Festival
Dec. 5, 2024
By Beth Kassab
For the first time, the city’s collection of more than 90 pieces of art is searchable through a detailed catalog that provides photos, descriptions and an interactive map.
The new database, which is the handiwork of the Public Art Advisory Board and the city’s communications staff, provides the most comprehensive and publicly accessible ways of finding and viewing — in-person or online — Clyde Butcher’s photography, Albin Polasek’s sculptures and dozens more artists who create everything from jewelry and tapestry to watercolors and woodwork.
This photograph called “Ochopee” by Clyde Butcher taken in the Florida Everglades is part of the city’s public collection.
“The advisory board has been working on this for about a year,” said Craig O’Neil, the board’s liaison and assistant director of communications.
O’Neil said he couldn’t venture a guess as to the dollar value of the city’s collection, but that it would be an interesting figure to track down.
A number of pieces are undoubtedly valuable. For example, the public collection includes five sculptures by Polasek, whose former Lake Osceola home is now a museum, and whose work has sold at auction for tens of thousands of dollars.
A little less than a decade ago, city leaders decided to dub Winter Park the “City of Arts & Culture” and lean in to its identity as the place recognized for sidewalk art festivals, at least six museums, historic homes and a liberal arts college known for its music and theater programs.
“Mother Crying Over the World” is a sculpture by Albin Polasek in the city’s collection.
That effort also includes the formation of the Arts & Culture Alliance, which aims to market Winter Park as an arts destination.
O’Neil said the hope is that more people will utilize the map and catalog to take more notice of the art in public spaces such as local parks, City Hall (where the current “Best in Show” winner is displayed) and the library and events center. Most of the former “Best in Show” winners dating back to 1969 are housed in the library.
The city is actively accepting donations to its collection. And there are more public acquisitions in the works.
Leaders are planning to put out a call to artists for works to be installed at Seven Oaks Park, which is under construction. The Public Art Advisory Board would lead that process.
Last year the City Commission unanimously approved a plan to dedicate 10% of any increase in the Unassigned General Fund each year to the board, it’s first-ever dedicated funding source. That’s the same formula the city uses to devote money to the acquisition of park land, a plan that has raised about $1 million since it went into place in 2003 at an average of more than $50,000 a year, according to city estimates at the time of the approval.
You can search the collection catalog and map here.
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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 | Jun 27, 2024 | City Commission, Historic Preservation, News
Historic archways approved for Park Avenue
The signs are a legacy project spearheaded by longtime Planning Director Jeff Briggs
June 27, 2024
By Beth Kassab
A $400,000 installation of archway signs on both ends of Park Avenue is underway with the City Commission’s approval on Wednesday of a vendor for the job.
Don Bell Signs of Port Orange was selected to create the archways with $200,000 in public dollars from the city’s Community Redevelopment Agency and the other half covered by private donations.
Jeff Briggs, who is retiring after 47 years in the city’s planning department, recruited the private dollars himself for the project he sees as a legacy for historic preservation.
He noticed other cities had highly-visible signage to showcase their history but Winter Park had none.
“These will be landmark signs,” he said, noting others are now already in place at Dinky Dock, the Winter Park Women’s Club and other locations.
The private donors, who contributed $25,000 each are: Mike and Gail Winn; Larry and Joy Williams; Allan Keen; Rick Baldwin; Jim Barnes; the Joe & Sarah Galloway Foundation; the Edyth Bush Charitable Foundation and the Morse/Genius Foundations.
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