Deadline approaches for Maitland development

After nearly 20 hours of discussion stretched out over five hearings, the Maitland City Council is bumping up against a deadline to decide whether they will allow the proposed Maitland Concourse North development to become a reality.

The Council has until the end of its Feb. 22 meeting to make a decision on whether or not it will approve the project, which plans to replace the city’s last orange grove located along the banks of lakes Hope, Faith and Charity and bordering Maitland Boulevard with a retention pond, 10-acre passive park, 350 multi-family luxury residential units, 150,000 square feet of retail space, and as much as 30,000 square feet of office space.

City Attorney Cliff Shepard told the Council on Monday that it has until the end of its next meeting to make a decision on the project before a 90-day application period expires. If no action is taken at that meeting, he said, the project would automatically be declined.

So far public hearing discussions regarding the project have stretched over five different meetings and four months. The first public hearing began on Nov. 23, spilling over to Dec. 14 and Jan. 11, and the second hearing has stretched over from Jan. 25 to Feb. 4 and will continue again for a final time on Feb. 22.

“It's time to take some kind of action,” urged project representative Mickey Grindstaff at the Feb. 8 meeting.

The project’s proposed retention pond has been the point of most contention throughout the discussions. Since the project’s first hearing, where residents flooded the council chamber to condemn the developer for proposing filling in 3 acres of wetlands to create the pond, the developers have proposed six new layouts for the pond with varying degrees of wetland impact. Some of them impact up to 2 acres, while others spare the wetlands completely.

Public comment from nearly 30 residents was split on Monday between those in favor of the project as it stands now with revised pond options, and those against the development altogether.

Resident Alan Helman described the project as “outstanding, high-quality and upscale,” adding that it will, “significantly add to the quality of life for all of Maitland.”

Two former mayors — Doug Kinson and Howard Schieferdecker — also added their support to the project.

Former City Councilman Jeff Flowers said he’s in favor of the pond option that encroaches into 2 acres of the wetlands, but provides added stormwater protections.

“Wetlands are nice,” he said. “But I’d rather have eight filet mignons than 10 ham sandwiches.”

But other residents argued that the city should vote the project down because it violates Maitland’s comprehensive development plan, and doesn’t fit in with the area’s residential scale and character.

“We can't approve this project as it stands,” said resident Jessica Guthrie. “We need to approve the right project.”

“Our city codes are the backbone of what are city was built on,” said resident Kevin Berry, adding that he feared approving this project would set precedent for other developers to disregard city codes.

As discussions this week stretched from Monday night into early Tuesday morning, the City Council decided to prolong the final vote for one more meeting.

“We have an obligation to make a decision the best we can,” said Councilman Ivan Valdes.

Final discussions will resume at 6:30 p.m. in the City Council Chambers on Feb. 22.