Development creeps farther south on Avalon Road

HORIZON WEST  Orange County staff hosted a preliminary community meeting Dec. 9 at Bridgwater Middle School for a project District 1 Orange County Commissioner S. Scott Boyd called “beyond Horizon West.”

With development moving in Village I — the finish line for Horizon West — Evans Engineering President David Evans is looking even farther south to develop 23.94 gross acres of commercial and residential property, specifically at the southeast corner of Hartzog and Avalon roads.

In a project called Island Reef, Evans is starting with a request to amend the Future Land Use from commercial to a mix of commercial and low-medium-density residential.

Evans said he would plan for up to 220 single-family units in the style of town homes and up to 20,000 square feet of retail space.

One resident who lives across the street from the proposal site, near Lake Gifford, said he was pleased with the lower height of this proposal — a maximum of 35 feet — as opposed to a taller property nearby, which he said could have a direct view into his home.

That resident wondered where the entrances to the property would be, to which Evans replied they would be as far from the intersection as possible.

Multiple residents questioned the need for commercial space at that intersection given so few residents, but county staff alluded to nearby parcels with developments planned to hold hundreds of tenants. Evans said neighborhood shops with regular pedestrian and bicycle access have become a trend to serve small communities.

Boyd also noted development should trigger an expansion of Seidel Road to four lanes soon, perhaps in six months.

Residents said they would like that area to remain less trafficked and as rural as possible, citing a desire to live out in the country. They asked to be shown the need for development to progress that far south and said they would have a better idea of their opinions on the project once drawings emerge.

Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].