Oakland postpones apartment vote until May 7

Most of the residents attending the packed April 23 Town of Oakland meeting were there to weigh in on an apartment complex being proposed off of West Colonial Drive west of Florida’s Turnpike. They never got the chance to voice their opinion, however, because the public hearing and vote had to be postponed.

Town Attorney Becky Vos explained to the audience and the commission there was a discrepancy in property identification numbers distributed by the Orange County Property Appraiser’s office so the public hearing had to be readvertised with the correct ID numbers.

Town Manager Steve Koontz said the original annexation application included two properties — one about four acres, and the other about 12 acres. The town approved the annexation of the four acres and about seven of the 12-acre parcel.

The property appraiser’s office assigned a new parcel number to the seven-acre piece but didn’t notify the town so the advertisement included the original ID number that was assigned to the property not annexed, Koontz said.

“To keep everything straight and not have anything challenged, we wanted to readvertise correctly,” Koontz said.

The public hearing was advertised last week.

Oakland’s Planning & Zoning Board will meet at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, May 7, and the Town Commission will meet at 7, both at the Oakland Meeting Hall, 221 N. Arrington St. The public hearings will be to the change the town’s official zoning map designation and change the Future Land-Use Plan map designation.

More information on both meetings can be found on the town of Oakland website under the Agenda Center starting Friday, May 3.

The May 7 Town Commission meeting will take the place of the regularly scheduled May 14 Town Commission meeting.

The property in question lies on 11.3 acres on Johns Lake, at 17812 W. Colonial Drive. The property, owned by Gary M. and Dana D. English, was annexed into the town in August. The applicant for the rezoning request is LIV Development Inc., which proposes to build a 242-unit apartment complex.

IN OTHER NEWS:

• The Town Commission passed the first reading of an ordinance that updates the town’s Utility Code. Two sections, sprinkler systems and telecommunications systems, were moved to a more appropriate area of the Town Code, and the process for connecting new and existing customers to the wastewater system was determined.

• Elected officials approved an ordinance that authorizes the town to apply to the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity for a Community Development Block Grant. This grant would provide funding to help bring the sewer project into the southwest portion of the town, including West Hull and West Oakland avenues; as well as South Pollard, South Nixon and South Walker streets.