Orange County denies appeal for Windermere Country Club development

County commissioners have reaffirmed their stance in the battle over development rights for the Windermere Country Club.

At the Board of County Commissioners meeting Tuesday, March 6, commissioners upheld the decisions made in October 2016 and January 2017 to retain the development rights for the 155-acre golf course. 

WCC owner Bryan DeCunha and the county have been at odds in the fight for development rights for nearly two years now. DeCunha purchased the country club in April 2011, but it met its demise due to declining membership and shuttered in April 2016. Since then, he has proposed converting the course into a new subdivision.

The county holds the development rights as per a 1986 developer’s agreement, and under the golf course’s zoning — represented by a 1985 cluster plan — development is prohibited from deviating from the cluster plan.

DeCunha’s attempts to obtain development rights have been denied by the county twice, and his plans for development have been met with opposition from nearby homeowners. His appeals to overturn the previous two board decisions rest in the hands of the circuit court, as do the county’s motions to uphold them. No decision has been made yet on these.

County documents show that in October 2017 he served the county a notice of claim for compensation or other relief under the Bert Harris Act — a process for resolving certain types of land disputes between property owners and government — and requested a written settlement.

According to the notice, DeCunha asserted that the county’s decisions have “inordinately burdened” his property. He included for commissioners’ review an appraiser’s report that estimates its value has dropped by $19 million. 

“The local government has no obligation to compromise their decision. They stood very firm unanimously rejecting Mr. DeCunha’s corporation’s position.” - Kurt Ardaman

“WCC welcomes the opportunity to engage in a meaningful dialogue designed to result in an amicable resolution of this matter without the need of pursuing its remedies for judicial relief under the Harris Act or under applicable provisions of the Constitutions of the State of Florida or the United States,” DeCunha’s attorneys wrote to Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs in WCC’s compensation claim.

Under the Bert Harris Act, the county was required to offer a settlement to resolve the dispute. That offer, approved unanimously by commissioners at the meeting, proposes no changes to the actions taken by the board in October 2016 and January 2017 and includes a written statement of the allowable uses for the property — whether that be a golf course or another use that ensures it “remains as permanent open space,” documents state.

“The county offer was, keep everything the same under the statute,” said Kurt Ardaman, an attorney who represents the Windermere Club homeowners association. “The local government has no obligation to compromise their decision. They stood very firm unanimously rejecting Mr. DeCunha’s corporation’s position.”

If DeCunha rejects the board’s settlement offer and statement of allowable uses, he may then file a claim for compensation in the circuit court, which the county said it would then continue to fight.