Developer looks to squeeze out Maitland orange grove

A local developer is looking to squeeze out Maitland’s last remaining orange grove in favor of a large-scale lakeside retail and residential planned development, and the plans have nearby neighbors juiced up over the potential impact the growth will have on their communities.

Maitland’s Planning and Zoning Commission held its first meeting last week to evaluate redevelopment plans for a development called Maitland Concourse North, which seeks to replace the orange grove off Maitland Boulevard bordering lakes Charity, Hope and Faith with 350 apartments, and 150,000 square feet of retail. John Martin, the civil engineer of the project, said current plans contain a grocer, end-cap restaurants, a 10-acre passive park, and observation deck areas overlooking Lake Hope.

Planning and Zoning Commission members agreed that the project is one of the most complex they’ve ever come across, from its long list of code variance requests to its method of making the most of a contained lakefront space.

“Generally speaking I think these are amazing creative solutions to an amazing complex property,” said Planning and Zoning member Michael Dabby.

“It’s a beautiful project – and I’d like a beautiful project there – but the devil’s in the details,” added board member Barry Kalmanson.

Mayor Dale McDonald said it isn’t the development itself that’s complicated – summarizing it as a glorified strip mall with a apartment complex behind it – but instead it’s the land itself, bordered by lakes on three sides, that makes it unique and the details of the plans so important.

The details include the developer asking many exceptions from typical city code, which city planner Sara Blanchard said is typical with a planned development. Most requests involve lowering the threshold of the number of trees required on the property and how frequently they need to be placed within the development. The developer, Kimley-Horn, also asks for a variance to parking restrictions, proposing installing 1.7 parking spaces per apartment unit instead of the two per dwelling unit that are required in city code.

At the Aug. 6 meeting, residents from surrounding neighborhoods – including Lake Faith Condominiums and Maitland Club – issued concerns about how the developer plans to buffer the impact of the new development on the existing community.

“To be honest with you, we don’t really want to see it, smell it or hear it,” said resident Leona Owens of the development. “…I have no idea how you could buffer this project from destroying our peace.”

Maitland Lakes Advisory Board Chairman Vance Guthrie said improving buffering to the surrounding lakes and communities is key. He said the developer needs to do everything possible to keep lakes Faith, Hope and Charity, which he said are the city’s cleanest lakes, as pristine and unaffected as possible.

“It’s about buffering, buffering, buffering,” he said. “… We need to keep trash out of our lakes.”

John Martin, the civil engineer of the project, said the development is designed with the goal of keeping the lakes clean and preserving green space where applicable, including the 10-acre park, which is documented as the home of a bald eagle. The apartments closest to the lake, he said, are designed to minimize impact by the buildings descending in scale from three to two stories as they approach the lake.

The Lakes Advisory Board is set to evaluate the Maitland Concourse North plans – also known as the Battaglia project – at its next meeting on Wednesday, Aug. 19. On this Thursday, Aug. 13, the Transportation Advisory Board will also overview the plans, and the project is also slated for review by the city’s Parks and Recreation Board at an upcoming meeting.

Mayor McDonald said that by having input from each of the specialized boards, the City Council will be better informed to make a decision on the project when it reaches the dais.

“It’s important, no matter what the development turns out to be, that it’s successful,” he said.

After more than four hours of discussion on Aug. 6, the Planning & Zoning Commission members voted to move the plans forward – along with a list of their concerns – to the city’s Development Review Committee for further input. That meeting has yet to be scheduled. The Maitland Concourse North plans will come back to Planning & Zoning at least one more time before the board is asked to provide a recommendation of approval or denial to the City Council.