Oakland signs agreements with Winter Garden, Oakland Park

The Oakland Town Commission on Aug. 14 approved two agreements that will have a big impact on the Oakland Park development’s commencement of construction in the town limits of Oakland.

Oakland Park lies within the jurisdictions of Oakland and Winter Garden, and the homes currently built in the neighborhood are all within the Winter Garden limits.

The first agreement is an amended interlocal with the city of Winter Garden. The original agreement was approved in 2006.

The amendment includes provisions for sewer and reuse water services to come to the Oakland portion of Oakland Park. The city is providing the services, and the town will handle the billing.

The developer, Crescent Communities, design, permit and construct the master sanitary sewer system to support the development of the Oakland property to the standards and requirements of the city and its Code of Ordinances.

It also outlines details concerning the development of Motomassek Road. Winter Garden will contribute $250,000 toward the construction of the road, which is the southerly extension of Winters Landing Drive from West Oakland Avenue to West Colonial Drive. Winter Garden officials saw a need for another north-south corridor to be developed from Oakland Avenue to Colonial so have agreed to contribute toward its construction.

The amendment to the development agreement between the town of Oakland and Crescent Communities includes the Motomassek agreement plus stipulations on upgrades for Starr Street.

Per the agreement, Crescent will design, permit and construct a “rural” pavement section on Starr, from Vandermeer Avenue to Oakland Avenue. This work will be limited to regrading the existing surface and swales and overlaying with one inch of asphalt.

These improvements must be completed by Dec. 31, 2023, or by the 175th certificate of occupancy issued in Oakland Park, whichever comes first.

ANNEXATION

A first reading and public hearing was held for the proposed annexation of 11.6 acres of property, located at 17920 and 17812 W. Colonial Drive, on the Lake-Orange county border and owned by Gary M. and Dana D. English. The parcel is being annexed from unincorporated Orange County into the town of Oakland, and the applicant, LIV Development LLC, plans to build a housing development.

Mayor Kathy Stark said the request comes in under the current gateway-corridor development moratorium — declared in February and recently extended until December — and is subject to the new overlay rules.

Residents who live near the property questioned the zoning and also asked about guidelines for access to Johns Lake from the southernmost piece of land, which fronts the lake.

Stark emphasized that this is merely an annexation and not a rezoning. In Orange County, the property was zoned rural.

IN OTHER NEWS

• The commission voted on the official name for the town’s future art center: The Arts and Heritage Center at the Town of Oakland. Mayor Kathy Stark said the Winter Garden Heritage Foundation is starting a capital campaign and will include Oakland’s new center in the fundraising. The WGHF also has agreed to store the historic items and help the town with its exhibits. The groundbreaking is expected to take place in a few weeks.

• The commission approved the first reading of an ordinance that presents a new Code of Ordinances for the town. Officials have been working with MuniCode for several years to update and amend the codes. Residents can view the final product online at municode.org.

• The town extended the two-year contract for building permitting and inspection services with PDCS Inc.