OCALA, FL (352today.com) – A blue wave flooded into the auditorium at the McPherson Governmental Campus on Monday, April 22, for a 9 a.m. public hearing before the Marion County Board of County Commissioners.
The sea of solidarity were all residents of the On Top of the World (OTOW) retirement community who wanted to voice concerns about a developer’s application for a zoning change to nearly 23 acres of vacant land at 8441 SW 99th Street Rd. which is adjacent to their age-restricted neighborhood.
Tillman and Associates Engineering, LLC, presented the request to rezone the property from commercial to Planned Unit Development (PUD) to build a 312-unit apartment complex.
OTOW residents express concerns about traffic, safety and noise
“I’m concerned about how it’s going to look and how invasive the renters could be to our property. We already have more traffic than we know what to do with,” said OTOW resident Ellen Weir. “The traffic is horrendous.”
“We’re all concerned about the safety of the neighborhood. The traffic considerations out at 99th and 200 are horrendous,” echoed Larry Black who also lives in OTOW. “In my short time of observing that intersection, I’ve seen many accidents and many, many, many near accidents that are just razor thin from being very, very bad accidents. Pedestrians that have been hit. It’s not anywhere near a good situation for any more traffic in that area.”
“Out of all the retirement communities along 200, I chose On Top of the World because it was just quiet and secure, tree-lined streets. The people are lovely,” explained OTOW resident Robyn Cyr. “With apartments coming it’s all going to change. I came from South Florida to avoid all of the mess. But when apartments come in, it’s unfortunate but the crime increases, and we don’t have the secure boundaries that we need. We’re hoping buffers will be built but there’s no guarantees.”
If development was inevitable, many residents hoped it would become restaurants and businesses including medical services.
https://youtu.be/9xqdja3efgI
The plan for the apartment complex
Attorneys came before the commission to discuss specifics for the complex to be called Authentix and developed by Continental Properties.
Early on in the meeting, county staff established the land owner’s rights have been vested since 1973 and was legally allowed to build up to 3,282 single-family dwelling units, 3,600 multiple-family dwelling units and 1.936 million square feet of commercial development.
At the meeting, representatives for the developer presented a conceptual plan for the complex which showed:
- 13 two-story multifamily/townhouse buildings
- pool
- pet playground with agility equipment
- pet spa and car care facility
- clubhouse with multipurpose room
- 24/7 fitness center
- three detached garage structures and storage lockers
- grilling areas
Concessions versus court
Commissioners took detailed notes as wave after wave of homeowners voiced their objections.
The county anticipated the outcry, moving the hearing to the morning instead of the usual afternoon time slot to allow ample time for public input, brought in food trucks and provided a QR code for the overflow crowd to watch a live stream of the hearing on their phone outside the auditorium.
|TRENDING: What to expect when you join Ocala Mayor Ben Marciano for a community workout
The county attorney advised the commissioners that if they decided to decline the zoning change, they would be setting the county up for a lawsuit which they would likely lose.
“We just got out or getting out of a major lawsuit – $20 million lawsuit – on another property. This one is lined up to be another one,” said District 1 Commissioner Craig Curry. “If you look at the vesting rights, that they have whether I like it or not, they are there. If they sue us, they are going to win and we’re going to spend a lot of these people’s tax money defending it.”
Curry argued a residential property would be better than a big box development. “I’ve got a question down here, ‘If not this, then what?’ I’ve heard of Costco. I’ve heard of other box stores going in,” said Curry. “I think a Costco would be a nightmare jammed up next to these people.”
District 3 Commissioner Carl Zalak, III, acknowledged the frustration of the residents but based his position on the rule of law. “We have given those vested rights to On Top of the World – not us, four generations ago it was done in the ’70s by the state and by the community. They have those rights. If you were in the same position and you came to us and you had rights then this board should honor those rights and if we have some details we’ve got to work out, we should work them out,” said Zalak.
Commission Chairwoman Michelle Stone who also represents District 5 said, “If this is going to happen and we can’t stop that train from going down the track, I would much rather it go through this process where we have some controls on some of the things which number one for me is that buffer because I know that if I lived within that community and I had a piece of property being developed behind me I would want a good buffer.”
|READ: College of Central Florida to host a 20th anniversary celebration of its equine program
David Tillman, an engineer on the development team tried to assuage residents’ fears saying, “We’re building it right next to our sales center. That should say something.”
The commission negotiated with the developer for changes and improvements they believed would address the most critical issues for the OTOW residents.
Concessions included:
- Building a 2-foot berm with a 6-foot opaque fence the full length of the property line
- Adding fast-growing landscape material like bamboo as a natural, vegetative buffer
- Moving some of the amenities (dog park and car care center) to the front of property for greater separation from neighboring properties
- Adding a second full access road
- Providing security cameras at access points
- Making traffic safety improvements, including turn lanes
The commission also clarified that the developer not the OTOW property owners’ association would be responsible for the costs of the changes.
“I’d rather do this than come back with a project that doesn’t have the safety valves. The turn lane is huge and it’s needed. Otherwise, we don’t have the mechanism to get that. Without this project going through this process, this doesn’t happen. We don’t get it. And, they can sue us probably for millions and millions of dollars,” said Curry.
In the end, the commissioners voted 4-1 in favor of the developer’s request with chairwoman Stone dissenting.
The developer agreed to bring the master plan back before the board to ensure everything is done per the conditions discussed and stated construction would begin immediately once the site plan process was complete.
The meeting adjourned at 3:24 p.m.