Winter Park Commission to consider how to fix storm flooding

by Beth Kassab | Nov 22, 2024 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development

Winter Park Commission to consider how to fix storm flooding

The idea of floating new bonds emerged at a work session last month, but an increase in stormwater fees already in motion may do the trick

Nov. 22, 2024

By Beth Kassab

When commissioners meet next month for their final meeting of the year, they are likely to consider one of the city’s most pressing ongoing problem: how to control flooding highlighted by a series of major storms in recent years.

City staff is finishing recommendations for where to start when it comes to a list of as much as $40 million worth of proposed fixes in Winter Park and, in some cases, extending into neighboring Orlando, Orange County and Seminole County.

Those include running new pipes to connect lakes to better manage heavy downpours, replacing culverts and expanding ditches.

Such projects may not make for the most compelling City Commission debates — they are the kind of thing most residents don’t think about until they can’t drive down a street because of flooding or until they can see lake levels rising and threatening homes and businesses.

But it’s that nitty gritty of local government that has proven crucial to hurricane recovery and quality of life, especially in the wake of Hurricane Ian in 2022 and then Milton and Helene this year.

“There is politics and people can disagree on politics,” said Charles Ramdatt, director of Public Works and Transportation at a City Commission work session last month. “But science is science and what we observe is reality. And there’s no disagreement that we’re getting more frequent storm events. We have more frequent major events as well.”

Specific projects and estimated costs were identified in three studies the city paid for to determine ways to improve how stormwater is stored and managed.

They include $4.6 million to add a pump station and expand Lake Mendsen at MLK Park just outside the Library & Events Center. Surrounding neighborhoods have routinely seen flooding after storms. There’s also the idea of running a pipe (estimated at nearly $600,000) to connect Lake Mendsen to Lake Rose, the former Winter Park sinkhole just a few blocks away at the corner of Fairbanks Avenue and Denning Drive, which is known to flood at times.

Also on the list are about $600,000 worth of improvements to Lake Killarney. And there are multiple proposed lake connection such as from Lake Knowles to Lake Maitland (at $2.2 million) and Lake Grace to Lake Forest and Lake Sue (at more than $2 million).

In some cases, neighboring Orlando or the counties could contribute to the cost of the fixes.

Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said at the recent workshop that she wants to make sure the projects truly make a difference in the places where people have experienced storm flooding.

“I’m very concerned because I’m not sure how these fixes are going to fix the flooding on Morse (Boulevard) or Denning …  into streets and homes,” she said. “I don’t know if it’s enough.”

Ramdatt said aging infrastructure is also part of the problem and told commissioners his department will soon have its own diagnostic equipment to help locate leaky underground pipes or other concerns.

“It’s like doing a cardiac cath,” he said, likening the investigations to when a doctor examines heart valves for leaks or blockages and makes fixes to improve the patient’s health and heart efficiency. “So we’re going to do that analysis to understand those and fix those.”

Commissioners also considered how residents will pay for the improvements.

In some cases, the newly expanded Community Redevelopment Agency — which is allowed to hold on to tax dollars that would otherwise go to Orange County — can pay for some projects, particularly on the west side of the city near Fairbanks and Interstate 4 and in the central business corridor.

Some commissioners said they were in favor of also asking voters to approve issuing new bonds to cover the expenses. But there likely wouldn’t be enough time to get the question on the March ballot, when two commission seats are also up for election and voters will decide on whether to keep the ban on gas-powered leaf blowers.

Knight said it’s possible the higher stormwater fees already approved by the commission will be enough to pay for the projects. Residents started paying an extra penny last year and will go up again by a penny next year. Those payments generated $700,000 the first year and an estimated $1.4 million this year.

The fees are calculated on the amount of impervious surface (generally concrete) on a homeowner’s lot at 7 cents per square foot this year.

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City to be new landlord for Michelin-star restaurant and Austin’s Coffee in $4 million deal

by Beth Kassab | Nov 14, 2024 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development

City to be new landlord for Michelin-star restaurant and Austin's Coffee in $4 million deal

The mayor says leases on the property will be honored, but the city needs the land for drainage and road projects

Nov. 14, 2024

By Beth Kassab

City Commissioners voted unanimously to pay $4 million for an acre of land on the corner of Fairbanks Avenue and Denning Drive that is home to Chef Michael Collantes’ Soseki, which earned a Michelin star in 2022, and longtime community spot Austin’s Coffee.

The vote came after owners of the businesses made pleas for the city to allow them to continue to operate or help them relocate.

Mayor Sheila DeCiccio said the seller of the property approached the city and “if we don’t buy it, it will go to someone else.”

City officials have eyed the land for roughly 20 years as a potential piece needed to widen the busy intersection to improve traffic flow, add stormwater drainage and grow neighboring MLK Park, popular for its playing fields.

Chef Michael Collantes

“In addition to the left turn lanes … there will also be an opportunity to expand the park,” DeCiccio said. “So what I want to make clear is when we purchase this, we are not looking to terminate any leases. We are not looking to buy them out. We are looking to honor the leases there.”

But that promise didn’t alleviate trepidation from Collantes who spoke to the commission and noted the more than $1 million investment he has in the intimate modern omakase-style restaurant. He also has other concepts in the building including Bar Kada, home to a large sake collection, and is set to open Perla’s Pizza Cocktails and more next year. He has lease options on the property that run through 2035.

“We put in quite a big amount of money in infrastructure,” he told commissioners. “I would hate to pick up and move this amazing restaurant and move outside of the city of Winter Park.”

Jackie Moore, co-owner of Austin’s, said her lease is set to expire next year and questioned whether adding left turn lanes would make a noticeable difference for motorists.

“If a turn lane is put in, it would take seconds off, not minutes off,” she said, referencing a conversation she had with officials at the state Department of Transportation. “You would be displacing businesses that have been there for decades.”

She added that the city should compensate the business owners if they are forced to move.

The 1-acre property at 929 W. Fairbanks Avenue is owned by a company managed by Andrew Dubill, a principal in Avanti Properties Group based on nearby Pennsylvania Avenue.

The seller was not at the meeting but City Manager Randy Knight stepped out at one point to phone the property company’s representative after commissioners asked for 75 days rather than 60 days for due diligence before finalizing the deal. The seller agreed to the change.

Commissioners discussed whether they might lower the price they are willing to pay if the due diligence turns up code violations or environmental damage from former businesses that will require costly work.

“We would either have them fix it or reduce the purchase price accordingly and go in and fix it ourselves,” DeCiccio said.

Knight said it could take years before the turn lanes are added or the other projects take place such as the beautification of Lake Rose — now the name of the famous 1981 sinkhole that swallowed a home and at least five Porches at a repair shop.

At least some of the businesses could still operate even if that work is underway, perhaps with a reorienting of the building entrances toward the park. The six leases, which expire between 2025 and 2035, bring in about $180,000 in rent each year.

The city will use $1 million from the parks acquisition fund and $3 million from the newly-expanded Community Redevelopment District to cover the purchase price.

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Developers could catch a break on parking rules if changes approved

by Beth Kassab | Sep 3, 2024 | City Commission, News, Uncategorized, Zoning and Development

Developers could catch a break on parking rules if changes approved

The P&Z board will tonight hold the first hearing on changes designed to avoid large, mostly empty lots

Sept. 3, 2024

By Beth Kassab

Developers could soon face less strict parking requirements in Winter Park if recommended changes are approved to reduce the number of spaces required for shops, offices and apartments.

The Planning & Zoning Board will hear the proposal for the first time on Tuesday night at 6 p.m.

Last year the Winter Park Chamber of Commerce brought in the author of “Paved Paradise: How Parking Explains the World” to advocate for loosening the number of required spaces for new development.

Henry Grabar argues that all over America, cities are underhoused and overparked. Valuable real estate is taken up by too many unused parking spaces. And that, he says, drives up the cost of construction and pushes sprawl.

Onerous parking codes also offer a way for residents to oppose new affordable or denser housing projects.

“Badmouthing the poor was a little unseemly,” he wrote. “But complaining about parking was morally unimpeachable.”

In fact, parking became a focus in the recent debate over Rollins’ proposal to build 30 units that it plans to rent below market rate to its faculty and staff. The City Commission approved the project last week, ultimately, with a compromised parking arrangement and a pledge from Rollins to give over some land for more on-street parking.

The parking standards used in that project are aligned with the proposed changes from city staff.

Among the proposed changes outlined in the memorandum:

• Unify the parking code requirement for non-medical office and retail city-wide to one space per 333 square feet versus the current rule of one space per 250 square feet. According to the staff report, the standard is already one space for 333 square feet in the Central Business District, the Hannibal Square neighborhood and the Orange Avenue Overlay. This is a 25% decrease in parking required for retail or non-medical office.
•  Reduce parking at large office buildings, which have the largest parking surpluses, according to the report. Combined with the change above this would further reduce the parking requirements to one space per 400 square feet for any building larger than 15,000 square feet. “For example, a 30,000 square foot office building now needs 120 parking spaces,” the staff report explained. “With the two changes together (1 per 333 for the first 15,000 square feet and 1 per 400 for next 15,000 square feet), the parking required is 83 spaces. This is a 30% reduction in required parking.”
• For apartments of three or more units, the standards would be 1.25 spaces for a one-bedroom unit; 2 spaces for a two-bedroom unit and 2.5 spaces for a three-bedroom unit. This is the same standard that exists now for properties within the Orange Avenue Overlay. For townhouse and condo projects with larger units, the current rule would remain of 2.5 spaces if the unit is larger than 2,000 square feet.
• The maximum parking provision could be no more than 150% of the code requirement.

During the discussion about the Rollins faculty apartments, some commissioners indicated they may not be on board with the changes.

Commissioner Todd Weaver, who voted against the project, said he would “never vote for decreasing parking in our downtown because there’s no mass transit.”

That has been a key criticism of Grabar’s philosophy — that not every city has the local buses, shuttles or other options in place to wean residents off of their dependence on cars.

Winter Park boasts one of the most successful SunRail stops on the commuter rail’s line, but rail system along with the Lynx bus system lack a regional dedicated funding source to keep up with demand.

The city staff report, however, argues there are reasons unrelated to the transportation debate to reduce parking requirements, especially among office buildings.

“Office floor plans have evolved over the years with larger offices, fewer open-air cubicles and more amenity space,” the report said. “Additionally, the nature of most office businesses has changed so that fewer clients need to visit with the use of email and electronic communication. It also is prudent to have a unified city-wide parking rate for office and retail versus different geographic parking rates, thus the proposal for one per 333 square feet city-wide.”

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