by Beth Kassab | Jan 12, 2024 | City Commission, Library, News, Uncategorized
Proposals for old library building fail again
The highly visible building off Aloma Avenue will remain vacant indefinitely as the City Commission considers what to do next
Jan. 12, 2024
By Beth Kassab
For the second time in a year, a proposal to transform the old Winter Park Library building on New England and Aloma Avenues has failed because of financial concerns.
City Commissioners voted 3-1 on Thursday against moving forward with the only plan that qualified for public discussion: a concept known as SOAR that billed itself as a space and science museum and learning center. Todd Weaver cast the dissenting vote.
Commissioners expressed concerns over the financial feasibility of the plan, which proposed to rent the building from the city under a long-term lease.
The decision lands the city back at the same position it found itself in a year ago — uncertain about the future of the building left empty when the new Winter Park Library on Morse Boulevard opened at the end of 2021.
Last year commissioners ended an exclusive deal with a developer to transform the old library into co-working space that also featured a café and event space.
A few months later, the commission opted to ask for another round of proposals for the site with a potential focus on workforce housing and providing workspace to local nonprofits. Only two proposals came in after commissioners pondered out loud during summer budget hearings about whether they should just sell the building to raise revenue instead. Ultimately, only the proposal for the museum met the qualifications for public discussion.
Spokeswoman Clarissa Howard said the next steps are likely to be discussed at an upcoming Commission meeting, though a date has not yet been set.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 12, 2024 | City Commission, Election, News, Uncategorized
Wide gaps in campaign fundraising so far for mayor and commission seats
The first financial reports show who is winning the money race so far as the first candidate debates approach
Jan. 12, 2024
By Beth Kassab
The first fundraising reports for the period Oct. 1 through Dec. 31, 2023 are in and show two candidates bringing in cash at a far faster pace than their opponents.
Jason Johnson, an attorney and candidate for Seat 2 on the City Commission, has raised more than $24,000, the most of the five candidates in two races. He loaned about $1,600 of his own money to his campaign.
Stockton Reeves, the executive director at the Center for Public Safety, has raised about $6,300, including $3,000 he loaned his own campaign, and Winter Park High School teacher and coach Craig Russell, who is also running for Seat 2, has raised about $700.
Meanwhile, Mayoral candidate and current Commissioner Sheila DeCiccio raised $15,000, according to the filing. Her opponent, real estate school owner Michael Cameron, reported $310 in contributions, mostly in the form of his own contributions to himself.
With the March 19 election just over two months away, the public candidate forums are quickly approaching. The Winter Park Library will hold the first one for the Seat 2 candidates on Jan. 22. A second for the mayoral candidates will be held Feb. 8. The events are free and open to the public.
The Winter Park Chamber of Commerce will host a forum for all five candidates on Feb. 7, which is also free and open to the public.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 9, 2024 | Uncategorized
City Hall to close and today's meetings canceled ahead of storm
Tornado watch is in place until this evening
Jan. 9, 2024
By Beth Kassab
With a storm and high winds expected in Central Florida this afternoon, Winter Park City Hall will close at 3:30 p.m. and meetings scheduled for today are canceled.
The Planning & Zoning Board scheduled for 6 p.m. today will now be held at 6 p.m. on Jan. 17. The board was set to consider a proposal from Rollins College to build a three-story, 80,000-square-feet project with 48 units of faculty and staff housing.
The project slated for the corner of New England and Virginia Avenues is an attempt by the college to provide workforce housing close to campus. It also includes a coffee shop and a book store.
Today’s Civil Service Board meeting will be rescheduled for a date not yet announced.
The Winter Park Community Center will remain open until 6:30 p.m. for after-school care only.
The city expects normal operations to resume on Wednesday, according to a news release.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
Rollins seeks approval for new 300-bed dorm on campus
The project, which will be up to six stories, will provide more campus housing, potentially reducing the number of students renting in nearby neighborhoods
Jan. 5, 2023
By Beth Kassab
Rollins College will seek approval from the city on two key projects next week — a 300-bed dorm on campus and an off-campus housing complex for faculty and staff.
The new dormitory project, which will replace the 80-bed Holt Hall and a portion of the Tennis Center, will about 140,000-square feet and is intended to provide more opportunity for students to live on campus. Rollins will continue to have the same number of undergraduates.
The liberal arts college is “not growing,” Vice President of Communications Sam Stark told the Voice last month as the Planning & Zoning Board approved the project. Undergraduate enrollment will remain at about 2,200 with about 230 faculty and 500 staff.
The City Commission will consider the new residence hall on Wednesday with one recommended condition from staff: architectural improvements and landscaping to help camouflage a maintenance building visible from Fairbanks Avenue.
The project will also be taller than many buildings in Winter Park, though city staff is arguing that the slope of the land lessens that impact.
“The site slopes downward from Fairbanks Avenue to Lake Virginia,” reads a staff report. “The buildings closest to the street are 4-stories in height and, as the land slopes downward, that allows added floors to be added to the 5-6 story sections. The building height complies with the 55-foot height as measured from the wall height for the tallest 6-story portion of the two buildings on
the southern portion of the complex. The roof pitch desired adds 10 feet in height. The building could stay within the height limit if it was a flat roof, but they desire to maintain the same roof pitch and Mediterranean roof styling that is characteristic of the campus.”
On Tuesday, the day before the City Commission meeting, the Planning & Zoning Board will consider a second Rollins project: a three-story, 80,000-square-feet project with 48 units of faculty and staff housing.
The proposal for the corner of New England and Virginia Avenues is an attempt by the college to provide workforce housing close to campus. The project would also include a coffee shop and a book store.
Under provisions laid out in city documents, Rollins would agree to keep the units as “affordable/attainable” housing for faculty and staff for 30 years; be prohibited from using the units as student housing and would keep the property on the tax rolls.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 5, 2024 | City Commission, News, Orange Avenue Overlay, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Winter Park tries to protect against abuse of state's Live Local Act
The city is taking a page from Tampa as it attempts to ensure projects provide affordable housing under state-mandated rules that are less stringent for developers
Jan. 4, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Last summer a new law took effect in Florida that appears designed to lure more developers to offer affordably-priced units as part of new projects.
But city and county leaders across the state are wary of the new rules known as the Live Local Act that take away local control over the projects — meaning the city would be forced to allow taller buildings or higher density than might typically be allowed under local regulations.
The Act overrides local zoning regulations for any housing project for which the developer declares a minimum of 40% of the units to be affordable, according to city documents.
Winter Park is just the latest local government to consider a set of provisions to try to guard against abuse of the act by attempting to ensure developers are truly providing affordable units.
The ordinance, which is based on one passed by the city of Tampa, will be considered for its second and final approval at Wednesday’s City Commission meeting.
In addition to clarifying some terms in the act, the proposed ordinance lays out an application and certification process to assure the developer continues to provide affordable units throughout the operation of the development.
“Otherwise, under the Act, one can declare that they are providing affordable housing but never demonstrate how they are doing such at any time during the initial approval process, during construction or operation for the 30 years required,” according to a memorandum from city staff. “There also are no penalties within the Act for non-compliance.”
Projects within the Orange Avenue Overlay District must also meet the applicable architectural requirements of the district and will be subject to review by Orange Avenue Overlay Appearance Review Advisory Board, according to the ordinance.
“The City may deny a project that receives a recommendation of denial or fails to meet the conditions of a recommendation for approval from the Orange Avenue Overlay Appearance Review Advisory Board,” according to the proposed rules.
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by Beth Kassab | Jan 5, 2024 | Uncategorized
As ban on gas-powered leaf blowers nears, city to offer rebate on electric blowers
The ban aimed at reducing noise and pollution was initially set to go into effect in 2020, but was delayed until July 2024
Jan. 4, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Residents looking to purchase an electric leaf blower to comply with a new ban on the loud, gas-powered variety will be eligible for a $50 rebate in the form a utility credit under a new program to be considered by the City Commission on Wednesday.
The ban, which will take effect in July, comes with fines ranging from $60 to $300 for violations.
“Remind your landscape company,” reads a city notice, “All internal combustion engine or motor leaf blowers will be prohibited within the city limits.”
The one-time rebate will show up as a credit on residents’ utility bills, according to the program rules. The rebate is only available to residents.
The Washington Post reported recently that cities across the country have put similar bans on gas leaf blowers into place such as Washington, D.C, Miami Beach and Evanston, Ill. California is set to begin enforcing a statewide ban on the sale of new gas-powered lawn equipment.
Electric equipment is healthier for humans and the environment because there are fewer toxic emissions and comes without the jarring buzzsaw-like grind of a gas engine.
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