ORLANDO, Fla. — Orange County school leaders are trying to develop an affordable housing project for district workers on property they own in Orlando, but many neighbors are taking a stand against it.

Natasha Solis de Ovando is going door to door in the Isle of Catalina.

She’s trying to reach every homeowner to let them know she opposes a plan for affordable housing apartments in their neighborhood.

“A lot of people don’t get out, so I have to go door to door so they know what’s going on,” Ovando said.

She said that her “No Apartments in the Isle of Catalina” petition drive has more than 200 signatures so far. The group wants to prevent a rezoning from residential to multifamily to clear the way for the apartments.

“Know that it’s not a good fit for our community. For traffic, for crime, for pollution, for everything,” Ovando said.

Edward Kulik moved to the area less than two months ago, looking for a quiet place to live.

“We’re just worried that it could be introducing a little bit of chaos to what we call home,” Kulik said.

The Orange County School District owns the 8.5 acre site next to Catalina Elementary School. The district wants to hire Wendover Housing Partners to build and operate 100 affordable housing apartments with below-market rents for district teachers and workers.

Engineers say Warwick Place would include five buildings and a clubhouse.

Dr. Bridget Williams, deputy superintendent with Orange County Public Schools, has been working for several years to find more affordable housing for employees, many of whom drive an hour to and from work.

“Most of our employees would love to live where they work or work where they live, and what we’re trying to do here is to do away with the burden of the high cost of living close to where you work,” Williams said.

Adriene Anderson is the principal at Catalina Elementary. She is thinking about her staff members.

“I think they would definitely take advantage of this opportunity to be able to be right next to where they work and it be affordable for them,” Anderson said.

District leaders say this project could help recruit and retain teachers with affordable rents. They say 700 OCPS employees work within several miles of the site.

The Orlando Municipal Planning Board will discuss the rezoning request for this proposed project at its next meeting on July 21 at 9 a.m.