Could more houses be constructed in Southwest Orange?

Orange County staff held a brief community meeting Thursday, March 5, in Olympia High School’s auditorium offering information on a rezoning request that would add 51 homes at 1955 S. Apopka-Vineland Road. 

Case planner Adriana Caamaño explained in a presentation the importance of future land use and zoning correlation. Future land use can be general, such as commercial, residential or industrial, Caamaño said, while zoning is more specific in regard to, for instance, lot sizes and where homes can be built. 

“You could have a future land use that’s residential and then have a zoning that’s agricultural,” Caamaño said. “If they don’t match, it requires a rezoning in order to develop, which happens. That’s why we’re here today.”

The applicant for the rezoning request, Harris Civil Engineers, is looking to rezone the 20.98-acre parcel from A-1, which is for Citrus Rural District, and R-CE, which is for Country Estate District to R-1A. 

An R-1A zoning distinction is a Single-Family Dwelling District, which allows for detached-home lots to measure at least 75 feet wide and 7,500 square feet in size. When paired with the parcel’s current future land use, Low Density Residential, the property will be allowed up to four homes constructed every acre. 

Landscape Nursery Inc., a plant nursery, currently owns the land. 

Harris Civil Engineers President Abdul Alkadry, said following a rezoning approval, the construction of the homes might take some time because they all are expected to be custom-built at different times. 

Caamaño closed the presentation reinforcing that this was the first stage of the rezoning request process. No decisions have been made at this time. 

“After (the Orange County Planning Division), (Harris) would have to submit, basically, a preliminary site plan, and that would have to go through a development review committee and it would be reviewed by all divisions,” she said. “That process takes a while and that site plan goes back to the board.”