Winter Park City Commission, during its March 23 meeting, heard a revised plan for a proposed residential subdivision at 760 Lakemont Ave.
The original proposal, which was presented at the Jan. 12 meeting, splits 6.4 acres of land currently owned by Winter Park Christian Church into two zoning categories. A total of 1.15 acres is designated for a replacement church building, while 5.25 acres will accommodate a residential development featuring 13 single family homes and 12 townhomes.
The plan required the 5.25 acres proposed for the homes to be rezoned from Institutional to Single-Family Residential. However, the proposal drew concern from commissioners over the density of the residential side, which did not fully comply to lot-size standards for single-family districts.
“The applicant heard what the commission was saying, and went back and made some significant changes to the plan,” said City of Winter Park Principal Planner Jeff Briggs when the revised plan was presented on March 23.
Project developer Michael Halpin, of Creative Neighbors, LLC., was on hand to summarize the changes.
“We did shrink every single one of the townhouses down by at least 200 square-feet,” he said. The resulting 2,600 square-foot per unit footprint allows for 11 additional on-street parking spaces, and a two-way driveway between the townhomes and single-family units.
The smaller townhome footprint also allows the property to comply with the maximum 43% floor area ratio, and the 50% impervious coverage (surfaces that cannot absorb rainfall) as specified for R-1A zoning.
Halpin also pointed out that the single-family lots are each 7,000 square-feet, and the townhome buildings are designed with a single-family appearance in order to achieve a more uniform look throughout the subdivision.
Commissioners voted to approve the plan for the replacement church building, the preliminary concept plan for the subdivision, and the first reading of the ordinance amending the Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map from Institutional to Single Family Residential on the rear 5.25 acres.
The need for an amended stormwater runoff plan was discussed, and will be presented at the next reading. Meeting agendas and recordings are available here.