Ocoee approves 50-home project

The Ocoee Lakes property is on the northeast corner of Silver Star Road and Lake Johio Drive.

By Observer Staff
| 12:56 p.m. June 8, 2016

West Orange Times & Observer
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IN OTHER NEWS

• Commissioners postponed a vote to approve the second amendment to the development agreement for Arbours at Crown Point and a vote on Federal Lobbyist service to the next meeting on June 21. Commissioner Joel Keller said he was willing to postpone the vote on lobbyist services to June 21 but would not want to postpone it beyond that date.

• Police officer Bill Richardson received the Officer of the Quarter award from Victoria Laney, of the Citizens Advisory Council for the Ocoee Police Department. Richardson calmed a volatile situation when he responded to stolen car call and found the alleged thief threatening to kill herself with a 10-inch butcher knife. In a situation that might easily have escalated into a shooting, Richardson used his skill and training to convince the woman to give up the knife and surrender.

By Peter M. Gordon

OCOEE More homes are coming to Ocoee.

Commissioners unanimously approved the final subdivision plan for the Ocoee Lakes property on the northeast corner of Silver Star Road and Lake Johio Drive.

Ocoee Principal Planner Antonio Fabre said the development will include 50 single-family residences, two cul-de-sacs, and four commercial lots.

Most of the discussion during the public hearing related to Ocoee’s plan to vacate a right of way on the north side of the property. Developer Chip Bryan worked with city staff on the plan, which will eliminate a short road, add 30 feet to the lots on the north side, and 30 feet to the lots in Ocoee Landings. Fabre said the utility companies will relocate power lines and other services as necessary to accommodate the plans.

Two of the property owners on the north side said they were happy to add additional land to their current lots but expressed concern about the trees on the Ocoee Landings property.

“We don’t want to lose the mature trees,” Jan Manson said.

She asked where the power lines will be relocated and if a brick wall could be built between her property and the new subdivision instead of the planned vinyl fence. Homeowner Brenda Singleton expressed similar concerns for the trees.

“We like trees a lot,” Bryan said. “They make the property more valuable.”

He said it can be difficult to preserve trees when city codes require new power and sewer lines be dug and other safety concerns met. Bryan said the development will preserve as many mature trees as possible and plant new trees where it’s not possible. The plan presented to the commission included what Fabre called “heavy landscaping,” which includes trees.

Bryan and Fabre said brick walls are not usually built to separate residential properties. Bryan said the vinyl fence was more typical of residential fencing. Maintaining a brick wall can sometimes be difficult for home owner associations. The plans call for a brick wall to be built around the commercial lots and along local streets.

Bryan and Fabre addressed other concerns from residents about additional traffic and about maintenance of public land near the development.