2016 Finale – Commission Approves Comp Plan
2016 Finale - Commission Approves Comp Plan
Nixes High-Density Provisions
After a marathon meeting that lasted well into Monday night, the Commission voted to accept a revised Comprehensive Plan. They concluded their final meeting of 2016 by voting to send it to Tallahassee for review by the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity.
Commissioners Listened
The revised plan underwent further revision, much of it resulting from citizens’ expression of their opinions and wishes to the Commissioners. In the words of Mayor Steve Leary, “We listen. We may not agree, but we listen.” Clearly, they did.
‘Urban Scale’ Heights Reduced
Two major revisions agreed to by the commissioners were the removal of four-story building height on North Denning and eight-story “urban scale” buildings along Fairbanks west of I-4.
R-4 Zoning Removed
Commissioner Peter Weldon made a motion, which the Commission approved, to remove the high-density residential land use category that allows for an R-4 zoning district.
This concluded the first reading of the ordinance to adopt the new Comp Plan. The second and final reading is set for April 2017.
Judge Validates $30 Million Bond for Library in MLK Park
Judge Validates $30 Million Bond for Library in MLK Park
Other Litigation Still Pending
On Wednesday, the City’s plan to build a new library, event center and associated parking structure moved one step closer to Martin Luther King, Jr., Park. Judge Margaret Schreiber’s ruling validating a $30 million bond issue included MLK Park as the new building’s location.
Path to the Park May Have Some Bumps
At least one obstacle remains in the path to the park, however. A related but separate legal action is still pending. The issue involves a petition that seeks to prevent a library from being built in MLK Park, signed by more than 2,000 residents. The Save Our Library WP PAC submitted the petition to the City in July 2016. The PAC contends the petition is a “citizens’ initiative” under Sec. 5.01 of the City Charter. A citizens’ initiative has no deadline. The City asserts the petition is a “referendum” under Sec. 5.02 of the City Charter, and is therefore legally insufficient because it missed the filing deadline for a referendum.
Referendum or Citizens’ Initiative?
The PAC has asked the court to decide the petition question. Their case is moving ahead in the Orange County Circuit Court. It has been assigned to a panel of three circuit court judges — Jennifer Harris, Thomas W. Turner and John Kest.
At this point, no one knows how or if the judges’ ruling in this case will affect the final chapter of the library story. The only certainty is that the case is now before the judges, and the judges will issue a ruling some time in late 2016 or early 2017.
“Quasi-Judicial Tyranny”
In its filing, the PAC rejected the city’s argument that the action requested in their petition would result in the repeal of the bond ordinance. That position, they said, “thwarts the citizens’ democratic ability to legislate by initiative . . . [The Commission’s] decision is a classic example of an act of quasi-judicial tyranny” and violates the citizens’ right to due process.
After-the-Fact Logrolling
The PAC also asserted the new library and the new location are two separate issues, since the site was not mentioned on the March 15 ballot, which passed by a narrow margin. The PAC cited the legal “single-purpose rule,” which states that any proposition going to voters must address a single purpose. “This rule guards against logrolling, a practice of rolling separate issues into a single proposition . . .to obtain approval of what might be a controversial or unpopular vote.”
Any Reasonable Voter
Judge Schreiber disagreed. “Given the overwhelming information about the location of the Project on the site of the existing civic center in MLK Park,” Schreiber states in her Final Judgment, “a reasonable voter in the City could only have understood the Bond Referendum to mean that the new library and events center and related facilities would be built on the site of the current civic center.”
PAC Awaits Decision on Petition
Michael Poole, president of the Save Our Library WP PAC, said of Judge Schreiber’s decision, “The judge’s ruling surprised us, but we are still focused on making sure the citizens have the ability to vote for the location. We are moving forward with our suit.”
No Scheduled Demo for Rachel Murrah Civic Center
Anticipating construction of the new facility, there had been talk at the Commission level of demolishing the existing Rachel Murrah Civic Center in January 2017. Winter Park Director of Communications Clarissa Howard said, however, that the City is in a wait-and-see posture. She confirmed that, at present, there is no schedule for the demolition of the Murrah Civic Center.
Roger Trindade Death Ruled Homicide
Roger Trindade Death Ruled Homicide
Three Juveniles Arrested
WPPD announced tonight that the final cause of the death of Roger Trindade was “homicide as a result of blunt force trauma.” With this information, the police obtained arrest warrants for three juveniles, all of whom are now in police custody.
The three young men charged in Roger Trindade’s death are Jesse K. Sutherland, age 15; Simeon Hall, age 15; and Jagger Gouda, age 14. None of the three is currently enrolled at Winter Park High School. The arrest affidavits have been sealed by a judge and no further information has been released by the WPPD.
Simeon Hall and Jagger Gouda were arrested in Orange County, FL. Jesse Sutherland was arrested in Virginia. Sutherland and Hall are both charged with manslaughter. Jagger Gouda is charged with tampering with a witness.
According to the statement issued this evening, “The Winter Park Police Department and Joint Homicide Investigation Team are working closely with the State Attorney’s Office and the Medical Examiner’s office during this investigation.”
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