- March 1, 2016
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OCOEE -- The Ocoee City Commission ultimately decided at its Sept. 15 meeting to delay a decision on a church's request for a special exception to have six classrooms for a capacity of 75 students.
Iglesia Cristiana Sendero de Luz officials have been looking to host a school on the church's property at 325 Ocoee-Apopka Road to provide somewhere for the children of the congregation to attend, from elementary to high school.
The plan would be to use six detached classrooms for the school. The Ocoee Development Review Committee and Planning & Zoning Commission unanimously recommended approval.
District 2 Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen and Mayor John Grogan had concerns with the request, especially that this would be an amendment to a July 1, 2014 special exception for three portables on the property for added class space.
Wilsen said she would be gun-shy about future church portables, based on this church's intentions to use theirs to create a school, which only recently came to light. She also had safety concerns with traffic near the intersection of Silver Star and Ocoee-Apopka roads, especially with children walking in the area with minimal sidewalks.
Church officials said the added traffic would not be a problem, much less than the traffic for the church's Sunday services. They said they would not build a school if they did not think the place was safe.
They also said they were considering entering a contract with an outside company to run the school, which became Grogan's primary concern of the church leasing its school to collect revenue.
Based on Wilsen's recommendation, the commission voted 3-1 to delay a decision until its next meeting, Oct. 6, with District 3 Commissioner Rusty Johnson opposed.
The commission unanimously approved subdivision plans for Westyn Bay Commercial and Crown Pointe Cove, as well as an amendment to the Ocoee Crown Point Planned Unit Development Subdivision Plan.
Westyn Bay Commercial plans involve a four-lot commercial subdivision on 6.6 acres at the southwest corner of Ocoee Crown Point Parkway and Ocoee-Apopka Road. Crown Pointe Cove plans show 44 single-family residential lots in a gated community with one private entrance and one public entrance. The density would be four units per acre on the 14.26-acre lot.
The amendment to the Ocoee Crown Point Planned Unit Development Subdivision Plan includes changing Tract 3 land use from park to residential; increasing maximum single-family dwelling units from 264 to 333; making the internal roads private and gated; limiting public trail access to the conservation tract adjacent to Lake Apopka; reducing rear setbacks on 120-foot-long lots from 25 feet to 20 feet; and including 45-foot, 55-foot and 65-foot lots.
A long-awaited alteration to Ocoee City Code regarding code enforcement liens and fines unanimously passed the commission. This change allows the city manager to negotiate settlements for such fines and liens, with applications reviewed by the Code Enforcement Board.
District 4 Commissioner Joel Keller said the idea behind the change has been to enhance motivations for property owners in the city to comply with regulations by offering a reduced financial penalty.
Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].
