Summary:
Chad Moorhead, PE, with Madden, Moorhead and Stokes Engineers, Inc., on behalf of the Heatherington Family Trust, has requested to annex 26.15 acres into the City (ANX2018-10009) and to assign zoning of Planned Development (PD), with Wekiva (W) Overlay, with the purpose of developing said property into a 203-unit rear-loaded townhouse community. The property is located on the north side of Shader Rd., between Heatherington Rd. and Eunice Ave. and south of Bay Lake Rd., all west of N. John Young Pkwy. and north of Silver Star Rd. A PD is being specifically requested based on the proposed building setbacks within the development.
The semi-developed property is occupied by four (4) homes and a former auto repair warehouse, all visible from Shader Rd., with the remainder of the site to the north being densely treed and vegetated. There are no wetlands on the property and none of the property is in the 100-year flood zone. The site is within the Wekiva Overlay, so at least 20% of the property is being maintained as open space, with retention of as many specimen trees as possible within the open space areas.
The overall development will consist of thirty-three (33) townhouse buildings (with 203 total units) located on two rectangular 52-ft. wide (R-O-W) public streets, with all units to be rear-loaded and accessed from 26-ft. wide private alleys. Primary access to the site will be from Shader Rd., with a second access from Eunice Ave. on the west. Some of the townhouse units will front onto courtyards, rather than actual streets, per the recent amendments to the City’s townhouse regulations (Ord. #2018-44, LDC2018-10002) as amended on September 4, 2018. The density of the project will be 7.7 dwelling units per acre, less than the maximum 12 dwelling units per acre allowed under the proposed Residential Low future land use designation. Aside from slightly reduced front, side and rear setbacks within the development, the proposed townhouse development complies with all other aspects of the Land Development Code.
In addition to treed open space being provided throughout the development, a 0.35-acre neigh-borhood park is also being provided. A decorative split-rail fence will be located along the front (Shader Rd.) entry; the development will not be gated and no other fences will be placed on the property. The default zoning of the PD will be R-3A/W (Low Intensity Residential Development, with Wekiva Overlay).
The applicant held a neighborhood meeting prior to the September 18, 2018 MPB hearing and was able to answer many questions, mostly about traffic concerns along Shader Rd. To that end, staff is requiring, with Orange County approval, that Shader Rd. be widened to a 3-lane cross section between Eunice Ave. and Heatherington Rd., to allow left turns into existing commercial/warehouse uses on the south side of Shader Rd. and left turns into the proposed townhouse development on the north side of Shader Rd. Approximately 496 parking spaces are being provided within the proposed development, including 90 on-street spaces for guests.
At the September 18, 2018 MPB meeting, there was only one person that spoke in opposition to the proposed townhouse development, based on traffic concerns. The Board unanimously recommended approval of the annexation, future land use assignment of Residential Low Intensity and PD zoning, with Wekiva Overlay, for the proposed 203-unit townhouse development. |