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The City Council approved the first reading of a zoning change for the 197-acre Ondich North.<\/p>\nThe City Council approved the first reading of a zoning change for the 197-acre Ondich North.<\/p>\n
Courtesy of city of Apopka<\/p>\n
The Apopka City Council passed 4-1 the first reading of an ordinance to change the zoning of an estimated 197 acres for a development that is part of the growing\u00a0Kelly Park Interchange (KPI) District.\u00a0<\/p>\n
The ordinance\u2019s second reading is scheduled for the Jan. 7 City Council meeting, which follows the first reading that took place Dec. 17.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Ondich North is a planned gated community\u00a0located\u00a0at the northwest corner of Ondich Road and S.R. 429\/S.R. 453. The development would include 50% open space, with 40% as tree preservation areas and 4 miles of trails.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is intended to be a higher-end community,\u201d attorney Elesa Sowell,\u00a0representing\u00a0the Ondich North developer, told the City Council. \u201cIt\u2019s\u00a0a very nice\u00a0transition. You have the KPI right along Ondich Road, which is the boundary of the KPI. This is allowing this\u00a0really nice\u00a0gradual transition into a more rural area.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sowell said the community would have \u201cone-to-one development,\u201d meaning one unit per acre.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
Citing growth concerns as the reason for her vote, Commissioner Nadia Anderson opposed the ordinance, which would change the zoning of 196.83 acres from\u00a0citrus rural\u00a0to planned development.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
She said Ondich North is a \u201cgreat project\u201d but \u201cadding 196 residents right now \u2026 is not a good idea,\u201d citing constituent feedback.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019ve been contacted by a lot of the residents,\u201d she said. \u201cRight now,\u00a0it\u2019s\u00a0important that we\u00a0slow growth\u00a0down.\u00a0If we approved this development, then we will be actually adding to the issues and the problems we have right now.\u00a0I think we\u00a0need to focus more on infrastructure right now, because with the impact that this subdivision would have, I\u00a0don\u2019t\u00a0think right now our system can\u00a0actually handlethis.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
Commissioner Diane Velazquez voted in favor of the ordinance, saying that the development is compatible with the existing rural character.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cIsn\u2019t it that they\u2019re building this area kind of compatible with what\u2019s already out there, which is pretty much rural, so they\u2019re kind of keeping the same character in that area back there and up as I drive, we drive up there,\u201d she said. \u201cSo\u00a0I\u2019m in favor of the projects.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
A 4-1 City Council vote on July 2 annexed the property into the city. A future land use amendment to\u00a0mixed-use-use\u00a0was unanimously adopted on Nov. 5.\u00a0<\/p>\n
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Teresa Sargeant has been with The Apopka Chief for over 10 years.<\/p>\n