Drawing the apartment complex, affordable living space in the protected rural Florida opposition

A proposal for an apartment complex with 300 units on 12 hectares of land in the ecologically sensitive Wekiva protection area is opposed to a difficult conflict between two worthy goals: protection of the environment and the provision of affordable apartments.

Development plans that were checked by the district's employees this week show that the complex on the forest country in front of the corner of State Road 46 and Orange Boulevard is located in the Northwest Seminole County.

According to the Live Local Act, it becomes proposed and a state law of 2023, which promotes a quick building of an affordable living space by reducing the government's approval process. In this case, the developer is not obliged to hold community meetings and apply for changes to the district bodies, as is necessary from most other development applications. The proposal and the process have angered environmentalists, residents and semino commissioners.

The opponents of the project say that they understand that the region is exposed to a bad need for affordable living space and are not necessarily against the law itself.

But they say that the protective area of ​​rural Wekiva is not the right place for a high -density complex with five four -story buildings. The place of residence itself is located on the edge of the protected area, at a point that is already limited by a large highway, but that has not reduced the concerns.

“In my opinion, this thing is terrifying,” said Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine about the proposed apartment complex. Konstantine has been a supporter of the protection of the Wekiva River in almost two decades in almost two decades and sponsored the Wekiva Parkway and Protection Act from 2004.

“The live local action should never destroy the environment by incorporating into environmentally sensitive areas and building large apartment complexes,” said Constantine.

Michelle Jamesson, a member of the Friends of the Wekiva Environmental Group, who lives nearby, said that the complex was too close for the area.

“We are not against affordable apartments at all,” said Jamesson. “We are a lot for it. But it is in an inappropriate place. “

Corey Canfield from Middleburg Development LLC from Maitland, which submitted the development application on February 11, said that he would rather “not comment”.

Gray Wilson, a friend of the Wekiva board member, said that he was not against no development on the site. In fact, the country is currently for commercial development in zones and Wilson said that he would not have any objections to a small shop or office building there.

But Wilson and other opponents say that a greater development would open the door for similar residential projects to the protection area.

“This would be absolutely a precedent,” he said. “Local living space belongs in areas where you have mass traffic and other services. This is on the edge of the county. … it replaces the protective measures that have been introduced for this endangered area. “

Wilson's group is considering a legal challenge.

The Republican Senator Jason Brodeur from Sanford, who campaigned in his election campaign as a protector of the environment – and the MP of the GOP state Rachel Plakon from Lake Mary – owner of a real estate investment company – did not answer on telephone and e -mail requests whether the Live Local Law should be changed to offer more environmental protection.

The live local law was signed by governor Ron Desantis in March 2023. It loosens the requirements for the zoning and requires the approval of local governments without public hearings, multi -family development projects in areas that are commercial, industrial or mixed use if at least 40% of the units for residents are affordable up to 120% of the median income of the area.

In 2022, the middle household income in the seminole was almost $ 42,000 for one person and just under 80,000 US dollars for a household, according to the US Census Bureau and Data USA.

The law is an attempt to promote more affordable apartments and to stop the two-digit rental spikes Florida and in particular the region of Central Floridas-in in recent years an impact on families with low and medium-sized incomes. Followers say that its limits for public entries should support the construction of projects that are otherwise routinely delayed at public meetings with residents that issue the objections of “Not-In-My-Backyard”.

Last year, Seminole County refused from another incentives of the law to increase affordable residential buildings – tax benefits for developers.

The Wekiva protection area, which covers most of the northwestern seminols, was founded in 1988 by the legislator to protect the rural and environmentally friendly characteristics of the area. The wildlife corridor is a high -level area for the Floridan Aquifer and is intended to protect the endangered Wekiva river – which the congress signed a wild and landscape flow in 2000.

In January 2024, the state completed the Wekiva Parkway of 1.6 billion US dollars, an increased superhighway that is designed to protect the wildlife and to limit the spread of subdivisions in residential areas. Within a stone throw from the place of residence there is on the Parkway Wildlife underpass and bridges that float over the Wekiva river without hinder the natural current of the spring water.

According to the application, the apartment complex includes a clubhouse, a fitness center, a yoga room, a pool and a dog park. The apartments range between a bedroom and three bedrooms and at least 120 must be considered affordable by 2055.

After meeting the employees on Wednesday, the developer must now present a location plan for checking before the construction can begin. There is no date to start building.

If the application had not been submitted after the live local act, the developer community meeting had to stop to discuss the project and to answer questions from the public. Then the developer would need zoning and land use changes that had to be negotiated from the zoning board of the district and finally by the commission all in public sessions.

George Sellery, who lives near the location of the proposed development, said that he was angry that he cannot pronounce his objections in public hearings.

“It is the worst place for this development,” said Sellery. “The traffic will be a nightmare. And I think that sets a terrible precedent. “