by Beth Kassab | Aug 29, 2024 | Election, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Steve Leary taps political committee for unlimited dollars in race against Kelly Semrad
Universal Orlando, Tavistock, other land developers wrote big checks in support of the former Winter Park mayor who is facing Semrad in the November election
Aug. 29, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Steve Leary, candidate for Orange County Commission District 5, started a political committee earlier this summer that has allowed him to take uncapped donations from deep-pocketed businesses who often have business in front of the commission such as tourism giant Universal Orlando and Tavistock Development Company.
The committee called Neighbors for a Sensible Orange County brought in $48,000 in July and August, according to the most recent financial filings, and has most of the money left to spend ahead of the general election on Nov. 5 when Leary, a Republican and former Winter Park mayor, faces Kelly Semrad, a Democrat and UCF professor who took first place in the primary on Aug. 20. The races are technically non-partisan but the parties are frequently involved in the campaigns.
Universal Orlando is the largest contributor so far at $7,500 followed by $6,000 from companies associated with John Miklos, the former chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District who also operates an environmental consulting business.
Leary’s campaign did not respond to questions from the Voice about the committee’s contributions or expenses or how, if at all, the financial contributions would affect his actions if elected to the county commission.
The Rosen Centre Hotel and the law firm Fishback Dominick, which includes Winter Park City Attorney Kurt Ardaman, each gave the committee $5,000. Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s political committee called Orlando PAC gave $4,000. A company called Windermere Property Holdings, which is managed by Tavistock Development Company’s general counsel and senior vice president, gave $2,500.
Another $2,500 came from a company called CHCG Land Services, which shares an address with Lake Pickett North, an entity behind Sustanee, the 1,800-home project proposed in the rural area between Lake Pickett Road and UCF that was rejected by the County Commission earlier this year. This month Lake Pickett North filed a lawsuit against Orange County seeking to stop a vote in November on ballot questions that ask voters to establish a rural boundary and give the county commission veto power over voluntary annexations into a city.
Some donors such as Universal and Rosen have also contributed directly to Leary’s campaign, which has raised about $200,000 compared to about $60,000 raised by Semrad, who is championing causes that conflict with some business interests of developers and the tourism industry.
Semrad, who is endorsed by environmental groups and is a vocal advocate for protecting the county’s rural boundary and giving the county commission more power over annexations such as those that have come up this year by Tavistock and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which recently applied to move some 50,000 acres of its Deseret Ranch land in southeast Orange into the city of Orlando.
Results from the Aug. 20 primary show a 9 point lead for Kelly Semrad. She is facing Steve Leary in the Nov. 5 runoff.
Semrad, who teaches about tourism economies, is also pushing to use a portion of the county’s Tourist Development Tax on basic services and quality-of-life projects for residents such as mass transit. Today the levy on hotel beds is directed almost entirely to marketing the tourism industry, the Orange County Convention Center and other industry-backed projects.
Political Action Committees are commonplace in Tallahassee and among statewide races, and appear to be gaining ground in local campaigns, too. They are a popular fundraising tool because donors are not limited to the $1,000 maximum that exists on direct campaign contributions and committees have wide latitude in how they can spend their money.
Austin Arthur, a candidate in District 1, and Linda Stewart, a candidate in District 3, also appear to have committees working to promote them or attack their opponents.
Leary opened the committee in late May and named himself as the chairman. The expenses so far include political consulting fees, $500 to the Orange County Republican Executive Committee and $1,476 labeled as text messages to voters, according to the financial reports.
Leary’s campaign did not respond to a question about what kind of text messages were sent. A firm called Victory Research Group was paid for the texts. Victory is managed by Robbie Vogan, according to state corporate records.
Vogan is a colleague of Rachael Kobb, who is helping to run Leary’s campaign, at Central Florida Public Affairs, the lobbying firm founded by Sharon Smoley.
Kobb is a registered Orange County lobbyist and managed the re-election campaign for Dyer, one of the region’s most well-known Democrats who used his own political committee this summer to endorse Leary as the only Republican amid a slate of Democrats in local races. Dyer is also a vocal opponent of the limits the county commission is asking voters to set on voluntary annexations, which would make it harder to grow his city’s boundaries.
Kelly Cohen, a lobbyist with high-profile clients who has been closely aligned with Dyer since his first mayoral campaign more than 20 years ago, told the Voice she is supporting Leary but does not not have a paid role on the campaign. Cohen represents Tavistock, Walt Disney Parks & Resorts, Orlando Regional Realtor Association and more as a lobbyist in front of the County Commission, according to the county lobbying directory.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 26, 2024 | Election, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Steve Leary, with Buddy Dyer's endorsement, heads to run-off from second place
The Orlando mayor and Democrat lent his political sway to the Republican former Winter Park mayor who is running in a heavily blue Orange County Commission district. But Kelly Semrad, a UCF professor and Democrat, emerged from the primary in first place
Aug. 26, 2024
By Beth Kassab
Steve Leary, the former Winter Park mayor and Republican who outraised his opponents in the District 5 Orange County Commission race by more than 3 to 1 and touted the endorsement of one of the region’s most powerful Democrats in Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, is now heading into the Nov. 5 run-off from a distant second place.
Leary finished the Aug. 20 primary with 32% of the vote, 2,800 votes and 9 percentage points behind Kelly Semrad (41%), a Democrat and UCF professor who centered her campaign on how to protect rural lands from development and calls to spend the lucrative Tourist Development Tax on services and quality-of-life projects for residents vs. expenses backed by the tourism industry.
The gulf between Leary’s fundraising haul — nearly $200,000 — and Semrad’s $60,000 is stark. And political action committees such as Dyer’s Orlando PAC and the Realtor’s spent even more on Leary’s behalf.
A campaign ad paid for by Orlando PAC shows Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer’s endorsements.
A mailer just before the primary from Dyer’s PAC showcased Leary amid a slate of Democrats endorsed by the popular Orlando mayor who was first elected more than 20 years ago. The card also named U.S. Rep. Maxwell Frost, Public defender candidate Melissa Vickers, Tax Collector Scott Randolph, Supervisor of Elections candidate Karen Castor Dentel and School Board candidate Stephanie Vanos.
A separate mass text message to voters from Dyer said the people on his list “lead with integrity and are committed to fighting for Orange County residents’ quality of life.”
Leary, who received campaign contributions from a number of development and tourism interests, was the only candidate on that line-up also touted by the local Republican Party and the only one who did not emerge in first place after last week’s election (except for Castor Dentel after the supervisor’s contest was pushed to November because of a court challenge).
Semrad won 35 of the 50 precincts in the district that runs from downtown Orlando through Winter Park and Maitland to Bithlo and Christmas at the eastern edges of the county’s border. One precinct showed an exact tie.
Of the 14 precincts won by Leary, which were centered in Maitland and Winter Park, he won seven by 10 or fewer votes.
The district has more than 145,000 voters with about 55,000 Democrats, 45,000 Republicans and 45,000 people who are registered without a party affiliation or major party.
Joy Goff-Marcil (who won 16% of the vote), also a Democrat, and Joel Antonio Montilla (who won 12%), also a Republican, were eliminated from the contest to fill the seat left open by Commissioner Emily Bonilla, who has reached term limits.
“We knocked on 17,134 doors,” Semrad, 47, said. “Our goal was the Top 2. We were surprised to finish so far out front as we were out funded on the books and we were way out funded in PAC [Political Action Committee] contributions.”
Samuel Vilchez Santiago, the chairman of Orange County Democratic Executive Committee, said his group sent out texts and mailers alerting voters that Leary is a Republican, not a Democrat. He said the messages were not in response to Dyer’s endorsement, but to educate voters.
“The election last Tuesday showed that money cannot buy people’s votes,” Santiago said, pointing also to the District 1 Commission race, where Nicole Wilson, a Democrat, was far outraised by Republican Austin Arthur. They are also heading into a runoff after primary results showed she led by just two votes.
Leary, 57, whose campaign said he was unavailable to be interviewed for this story, announced Dyer’s endorsement in a June news release.
“I have had the pleasure of collaborating with Steve Leary for over 10 years during his tenure as Winter Park Mayor and Commissioner,” Dyer said in the release. “He is bright, thoughtful, and an effective leader. His experience, vision, and collaborative approach will greatly benefit all residents of District 5. I proudly endorse and fully support him.”
The endorsement also comes at a critical time for Orlando’s growth plans.
On Monday, the Orlando Sentinel reported that the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is attempting to annex into Orlando more than 52,000 acres of mostly untouched land in southeast Orange County, where development and environmental regulations are considered more restrictive on developers.
Earlier this year, Orlando annexed some 12,000 acres of unincorporated southeast Orange County designated for a new housing development known as Sunbridge and owned by Tavistock. The real estate and investment company is known for its billionaire founder Joe Lewis and is the same company that developed Lake Nona, owns Isleworth Golf and Country Club in Windermere and other high-profile investments across the globe.
Tavistock and companies affiliated with the church that operate its vast Deseret Ranch land have worked together to advocate for a controversial road through Split Oak Forest. The road would serve as a connector between the new developments and Osceola County.
The annexations have triggered a power struggle between Orlando and Orange County over the future of giant swaths of land and environmentalists have cried foul over what they see as the negative consequences of sprawl.
Orange County Mayor Jerry Demings’ commission this summer added two questions to the November ballot that, if approved by voters, would protect Orange’s rural boundary as well as give the county veto power over such annexations.
Dyer and other local mayors signed a letter to Demings opposing the annexation question, saying it violates “home rule” for cities. Winter Park Mayor Sheila DeCiccio did not sign the letter.
Dyer’s spokeswoman said she would need to speak to him directly about why he endorsed Leary and whether the decision is related to the annexation issue. She did not respond to a follow-up question.
Semrad is one of the most vocal advocates for strengthening the county’s control over annexations and the rural boundary, even initiating the ballot questions last year — though the Legislature intervened and only the County Commission had authority to put the questions on the ballot for approval.
Leary has stated he supports the question about the rural boundary.
But Semrad said the rural boundary question itself doesn’t have any teeth. The second question on the annexation veto power is what would give the county the power to ensure environmental and development regulations are followed.
“Annexing into the city has been a loophole to make quick cash, contribute to sprawl and pay less for environmental devastation,” she said.
Leary’s campaign website touts endorsements from Republicans such as former Congressman John Mica and former Florida House Speaker Dean Cannon as well as Edgewood Mayor and campaign consultant John Dowless. Other Democrats have also lent their support, such as Craig Russell, elected earlier this year as the first Black commissioner in Winter Park in more than 100 years, and Gary and Victoria Siplin, who served in the state Senate and Orange County Commission, respectively.
Semrad boasts endorsements from Frost, Randolph, Bonilla, state Rep. Anna Eskamani and incoming state Sen. Carlos Guillermo Smith among others.
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by Beth Kassab | Aug 23, 2024 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development
Rollins proposes payment equivalent to some taxes on faculty apartments
The liberal arts college is often exempt from property taxes as a nonprofit educational institution. The agreement now before the City Commission would be a first for the city.
Aug. 23, 2024
By Beth Kassab
In a first-of-a-kind deal for Winter Park, Rollins College is proposing it pay a fee equal to a portion of the city property taxes it would owe on a faculty housing project up for City Commission approval next week.
The potential agreement comes after months of back-and-forth with city officials and residents over the liberal arts college first unveiled plans to build 48 apartments on land it already owns at Welbourne and Virginia avenues.
College administrators say the apartments, which would be rented to faculty and staff below market rate, will serve as a recruiting tool for early-career professors who would otherwise likely live much farther from campus as a result of the high cost of rent in Winter Park, where homes routinely sell for more than $1 million.
But criticism over the architecture of the project, lack of commercial space on a portion that once fronted New England Avenue, parking concerns and the college’s typical exemption from property taxes contributed to major revisions of the plans.
The project now contains 30 units vs. 48, a pocket park, additional parking and no longer includes a building fronting New England Avenue.
In what appears to be an effort to satisfy calls from the Planning & Zoning Board to contribute to funds for city services, the college says it will enter into a Payment in Lieu of Taxes or PILOT agreement with Winter Park if the typical exemption for nonprofit educational institutions is granted on the land.
The payment would equal about 50% of the taxes owed to the city or about 2 mills. Rollins estimated the payment at between $18,000 to $20,000 a year, though an exact figure won’t be available until it is built and assessessed by the Orange County Property Appraiser.
“The PILOT payment is intended to offset the costs of emergency services for the multi-unit residential project,” the college said in the language it submitted to the city.
“Currently, we have 14 units on the site, and we pay no taxes,” said college spokeswoman Jo Marie Hebeler. “So this is a significant commitment and contribution from Rollins.”
Rollins uses an older building on the site for graduate student housing, but that would be torn down as part of the new project.
The private college, known for its lakefront Spanish-Mediterranean campus and tuition and fees totaling more than $76,000 a year, had resisted such an agreement in previous meeting, citing what it said was already significant contributions toward city services such as allowing the police and fire departments to use old buildings for training and argued such a deal would set a bad precedent.
Much of Rollins’ property holdings in the city are exempt from the tax rolls and some residents have voiced concerns that the college is growing too far outside of its main campus and should contribute more toward the cost of development.
The college does pay taxes on some of its land that doesn’t qualify as exempt such as on The Alfond Inn, a luxury hotel it runs as a for-profit business. The college owes $767,000 in taxes this year on the inn, which is assessed at nearly $50 million, according to property appraiser records.
Jeff Briggs, the city’s longtime planning director, said this is the first time a nonprofit group has reached a PILOT agreement with the city. The deal will likely be closely watched by other nonprofits across the region including hospitals such as AdventHealth and Orlando Health and other colleges and universities.
The City Commission will take up the project at its meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 28.
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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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