Maryland Fried Chicken in Winter Garden to be torn down

Winter Garden will be saying goodbye to the old Maryland Fried Chicken building.

The Winter Garden City Commission unanimously approved Thursday, May 14, a site plan for 13675 W. Colonial Drive that would allow for the demolition of the existing building, which is Maryland Fried Chicken.

The demolition of the building will allow for the construction of a one-story commercial building totaling 3,184 square feet on the property, which is about .42 acres. The plan also includes enhanced landscaping and new parking. 

Kelly Carson, the city’s planning director, said the new parking will eliminate the “dangerous situation where you back out onto (State Road) 50 directly.”

Commissioners reminisced over Maryland Fried Chicken, which closed in April 2023 after being a staple in the Winter Garden community for 57 years. 

“I remember as a child my grandma getting the chicken boxes; they were iconic,” Commissioner Lisa Bennett said. 

Proposed ordinances for West Colonial Drive property

The Winter Garden City Commission unanimously approved the first reading of three ordinances pertaining to about .44 acres located on West Colonial Drive.

The property is located at West Colonial Drive, west of Ewell Road, east of Ninth Street, south of West Colonial Drive and north of Magnolia Street. 

The applicant would like to annex the property into the city of Winter Garden, have the property assigned a commercial future land use designation and rezone the property from Wholesale Commercial to Arterial Commercial after annexation. 

The rezoning of the property will allow for the construction of digital billboards on the property in exchange for the removal of billboards at 1101 E. Plant St. and 14899 Colonial Drive. 

The request would require a special exception permit that will go before the commission at a later date. 

The proposed ordinances also would require the billboard agreement meet the standards, and the commission would need to approve the agreement at a later date. 

Ordinance to address special exceptions

Commissioners unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance that focuses on updating the list of special exceptions and prohibited uses within the light industrial and warehousing and general industrial districts. This would provide for additional uses determined to be similar in type and intensity and compatible with permitted uses as well as clarify prohibited uses. 

“The intent of this ordinance is to provide some greater flexibility for the Planning and Zoning Board to consider a broader range of uses that are compatible with the existing industrial development,” Carson said. “Maintaining a very, very narrow list of special exception uses can create unnecessary rigidity and limit economic development opportunities. At the same time, the ordinance also clarifies prohibited uses to ensure that uses with the potential to negatively impact the health, safety and welfare of the community are not unintentionally allowed.”

Proposal to vacate drainage, utility easements

The City Commission unanimously approved the second reading of an ordinance to vacate certain drainage and utility easements existing over .68 acres of undeveloped property located at 841 Tilden Oaks Trail and 15411 E. Oakland Ave.

The applicant requested to vacate certain drainage and utility easements recorded with the final plat of the Oakland Park Unit 5 subdivision.

The commission also unanimously approved a binding lot combination agreement for these properties in Oakland Park. 

The approval of the requests will allow the applicant to combine the lots and build a 8,732-square-foot mixed-use building that will be part of the McKinnon Square Planned Community Development.