Ocoee OKs site plans for business park on Maguire

OCOEE – City leaders approved the first reading of two final site plans pertaining to Phase 2 of a future business park on Maguire Road during its April 3 commission meeting.

The 13-acre site, which is currently undeveloped, is zoned Light industrial (I-1) and is located west of Maguire Road and south of Franklin Street.

In Phase 2, the property owner intends to develop the site with a 105,663-square-foot building and a 144,000-square-foot building for light industrial/flex office use.

Two entrance points to the site via Maguire Road are planned as well, coupled with a future access road made via an extension of Ocoee Crown Point Parkway, two stormwater retention ponds and a parking lot with 242 spaces.

HOUSE PARTY POLICE RESPONSE
During the public forum, two residents expressed dissatisfaction with the Ocoee Police Department’s response to a call about a neighbors’ house party on Friday, March 23.

Residents Steven Sandvik and Charles Hooper explained that the house party took place around 11 p.m., and disturbed the neighbors with loud music and a large number of people.

“I called the police because they were throwing a party across the street," Sandvik said. “Conservatively, there were 400 people there. … They had a guy with a wand frisking and collecting cover charges, so I called the police and they sent an officer out who pulls up in front, walks out of the car and talks to them. The music goes down, but when he gets back in his car and leaves, then the music goes up twice as loud as it was before.”

According to Sandvik, he sat outside watching the party until around 1:30 a.m. with a neighbor and was later informed by two Ocoee police officers that the department didn’t have the resources to disperse the party. Sandvik added that the partygoers would walk past the officers smoking marijuana.

“The one officer tells me he wrote them a ticket for the noise, not for the marijuana,” Sandvik continued. “We have a right to assume that the police is going to take care of a problem like this, and if they didn’t have more than seven officers – as they told us while they were on duty that Friday night – then they should have called Orange County (Sheriff’s office) for backup.”

Sandvik added, the same incident happened in June, and during that occurrence, he and his neighbors heard gunshots and found 12 bullet casings outside the home the following morning.

“This is the second time within eight months … if our police department can’t disperse something like this, we’ve got a problem,” he said.

In response to his Sandvik’s complaint, Ocoee Police Chief Charles Brown said a civil citation was issued in June as well as during the more recent occurrence in March. Ocoee Police Deputy Chief Steve McCosker added the department is unable to comment further on the matter as the incident is under investigation.

IN OTHER NEWS

• The Ocoee City Commission postponed discussion of an unsolicited offer from Beazer Homes, which wishes to purchase 8.5 acres of city-owned property near the intersection of AD Mims Road and Clarke Road for $960,000. The city aims to conduct a property appraisal of the land, which was part of a 12-acre land purchase from 2006. The site was to be developed with a new police department headquarters had the city not instead decided to relocate the department to its current location.
• Ocoee city leaders approved the subdivision plat for three lots totaling 6.96 acres located at the eastern end of Westrun Road, which the property owner wishes to develop into a commercial subdivision with three leasable lots. 
•  Ocoee commissioners also approved staff-recommended adjustments to the city’s 2017 budget due to a city program that exceeded its budgeted amount by $10,576. According to the agenda, the higher-than-anticipated expense was from paid time-off buyouts.
• According to the city charter, a new Mayor Pro Tem is elected following the swearing-in ceremony of new candidates by way of a rotating seniority list. District 3 Commissioner John Grogan was elected as the new Mayor Pro Tem – a role previously held by District 2 Commissioner Rosemary Wilsen.