- March 28, 2024
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GOTHA After several community meetings at a higher density led Gotha developer Bob Holston back to the drawing board, he reintroduced Fire Creek at Gotha at an Orange County community meeting April 11 at Gotha Middle School. The parcel still has borders at Seventh Avenue to the west, roughly Eighth Street to the north, Moore Road to the south and generally Gotha Park to the east.
Opinions of this project remained mixed, but proponents of the lone remaining roundabout in the plan – at Park Ridge Gotha and Moore roads – and a density decreased to about 1 1/3 units per acre applauded what they deemed a reasonable compromise multiple times. The new plan calls for 43 units on 32.2 acres among increased park space, including what Holston called a user-friendly retention pond, under a rezoning of Rural County Estate-Cluster Plan.
The equestrian architecture styles would have the same rural feel Holston always had sought, he said, with many renderings holding over from the prior proposal. Despite the exclusion of the roundabout at Hempel Avenue and Sixth Street this time, Holston said a park entryway would still be in order, because he doubted county funds would go toward that intersection. District 1 County Commissioner S. Scott Boyd said turn lanes there at Hempel Avenue would not be part of plans.
Holston volunteered to accept a condition of lots being no less than 2,500 square feet. He also said most of the healthy oaks on the property would stay, with some diseased trees removed.
Disagreements of whether a roundabout would help the beleaguered Park Ridge Gotha and Moore roads intersection persisted. Some cited Windermere as proof they would work instead of stop signs backing up traffic for a half-hour. Others said peak-hour traffic would only worsen like Windermere traffic backing up to South Apopka-Vineland Road from Main Street.
The price range would be beyond $500,000 per lot, Holston said, with lot size increasing the deeper into Gotha parcels would get. This still fits in his view that had led to clashes with residents on whether homeowners are looking for spacious lots or, as Holston sees it, smaller lots that are easier to manage with a common park space.
Old Army Road would be vacated in part, which should decrease Eighth Street cutthrough traffic while forming a separate cul-de-sac, Holston said. Only about seven Fire Creek houses would be on Moore Road, he said.
“Economic conditions really define what's going on,” Holston said. “I could develop it and build all the houses if I wanted to. I could develop it and sell lots to the custom builders … It's just economically driven, so I can't really say what that's going to look like, but whatever it is, it's going to a beautifully well done, well thought out addition to Gotha.”
A resident of Windermere Downs summed his view of the project as a compromise featuring responsible development as long as Holston is held to the proper conditions.
Contact Zak Kerr at [email protected].