Concerns were raised after rezoning letters were sent to St. Cloud residents along Lakeshore Boulevard and nearby state streets in October.
City planners are proposing to change the zoning of current singlefamily residences in certain locations to allow for limited commercial and multifamily zoning.
Areas affected include most of Lakeshore Boulevard in the city limits and a section of Florida Avenue from 10th Street to Lakeshore.
Property owners on the corners of 5th Street and Vermont Avenue and 5th Street and Michigan Avenue said they’ve received notification of similar proposed zoning changes. however, those changes have been dropped from the City’s plans.
In response to residents’ concerns, city planning staff conducted two “Community Open House” meetings last week to further explain the staff’s intentions, and the legal requirement to periodically update municipal planning documents. The open house format meetings were intended to enable groups of residents to view planning displays and then engage with members of the planning staff present for individual questions. A comprehensive information packet was provided to each attendee upon registration, and public comment forms were provided and available throughout the meeting area.
At the Tuesday Dec. 3 meeting at City Hall, over 100 residents assembled within the first 15 minutes of the twohour open house. Numerous residents appeared to quickly become frustrated with the meeting format. The space was too small for the number of people in attendance, while fixed seating and planters within the space were obstacles in viewing the display materials and engaging with city planners.
Several vocal residents stated they wished for the group as a whole to be able to listen to other questions being raised and to be able to consider other information being relayed. The background noise level from so many people in a confined space prevented individuals even in close proximity to discussions with city planners from being able to clearly hear the conversations.
Eventually, discussions among attendees turned to questioning the need to make any changes and implications for residents in the affected areas. This then led to general concerns related to the rapid growth of housing developments in the city and surrounding Osceola County, resulting daily traffic congestion, concern about emergency services response time, and crime rates.
According to city planners, the Comprehensive Plan has a 20-year scope and must be updated every seven years for submission to the State of Florida. The proposed rezoning actions are part of a revision to the Land Development Code, which feeds into the Comprehensive Plan.
Proposed commercial uses on Lakeshore Boulevard and Florida Avenue would be limited to small professional offices and boutique shops and be subject to Conditional Use restrictions requiring City Council approval. If enacted, there would be a two-year moratorium before property owners could submit permit applications for the new uses.
The proposed zoning changes will be presented to the city’s Planning Commission on Jan. 21, 2025, and subsequently to the City Council on Feb. 20, 2025. City planners will have a presence at the St. Cloud Monthly Market during the process. For more information on the current planning process see https://bit.ly/49ww0Eu.
