County approves new Horizon West subdivision

Orange County commissioners have cleared the way for a new subdivision in Horizon West.

The commission on Nov. 10 voted unanimously to approve a request to subdivide property in Village I, allowing for 368 single-family residences and associated subdivision infrastructure. 

The preliminary subdivision plan discussed is part of the Withers PD on 155.92 gross acres north of Hartzog Road and east of Avalon Road. Three parcels are involved — two with village-district designations and one with a townhome-district designation. 

“The applicant has also requested three waivers from Orange County code, which are related to lot-frontage orientation, block breaks and building separation,” said Eric Raasch, with the Orange County planning department.

Raasch pointed out Old Hartzog Road south of the PD, adding that it ultimately will be a cul-de-sac road in its final configuration.

“You can see the realigned Hartzog Road on the north side of the site, which is currently under construction, and that will ultimately provide a connection from Avalon Road all the way over to Flamingo Crossings (Boulevard),” Raasch said.

According to county documents, Parcel 11 will host 50 single-family homes and Parcel 13 will have 138. These are the village-home districts. Parcel 17 is considered a townhome district, and plans call for 29 single-family homes and 151 townhouses. 

Of the nearly 156 gross acres, 52.21 are considered developable area. The rest includes 58.43 acres of preserved wetland, 5.37 acres for a public park, and 15 acres for a future elementary school on the east side of the site.

The property is bordered on the west by Lake Gifford and to the north by the new Hartzog Road realignment. According to county documents, Toll Brothers is the proposed homebuilder, and the subdivision will be constructed in three phases.

In addition to the approval of the preliminary subdivision plan, Tim Hull — Environmental Programs Administrator at Orange County Environmental Protection Division — presented the applicant’s associated request for a conservation-impact area permit.

The applicant, Withers LLC, requested to impact 0.05 acres of direct Class 1 surface water in order to construct the development with parking and associated infrastructure. There also is an additional 1.3 acres of Class III wetland/surface impacts.

“Their mitigation plan includes preservation via conservation easement of over 15.38 acres of wetlands at the Spring Grove Mitigation Tract, which is located just off Avalon Road just north of the project,” Hull said. “The environmental assessment for this project that the applicant submitted included a survey for imperiled species. Gopher tortoises and sandhill cranes were observed on site. There was also suitable sand skink habitat on site. However, they did a sand skink survey in 2018, and neither direct or indirect evidence of the sand skink was observed.

“But they did have the gopher tortoises and sandhill cranes, and so the applicant will be required to demonstrate coordination with the applicable state and federal wildlife agencies prior to approval of their land-clearing permit,” Hull said.

Although not included in this preliminary subdivision plan application or approval, there also are plans for a related subdivision just north of the Hartzog Road realignment. According to county documents, that subdivision will host a 23.62-acre piece of land for a future middle school, as well as 446 residences.

“We would like to thank Environmental Protection Division staff for their input and guidance on this process,” said Stephen Butler, project manager at Bio-Tech Consulting.