Editor

The Osceola County Commission Monday rejected a proposed comprehensive plan change that would have allowed 84 single-family homes to be developed on 28 acres within the Great Oaks rural enclave along Boggy Creek Road.

Applicant Omar Garban wanted the commission to designate the property, located on the west side of Boggy Creek Road south of Will Hughey Road, from rural enclave to low density residential on the county future land use map.

Rural enclaves are typically areas with homes on lots of at least 5 acres, while a low density residential designation would allow up to three homes per acre. Buracos Property Investment, of Orlando, owns the site; Garban, also of Orlando, is a managing member of the company.

The proposed development would be within a larger 60-acre tract, most of which cannot be developed because three lakes – former dirt borrow pits – are on it.

Commissioners before their 4-0 vote (Commissioner Ken Smith was absent) said the development was not compatible with the surrounding area, the project would add population to the county but no new jobs and it would put a strain on county services, especially fire protection.

“The applicant has not shown this to be compatible with the rural enclave,” County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr. said. “I also have heard from our fire chief who said serving the Boggy Creek area is a concern.”

Commissioner John Quiñ-ones pushed the jobs issue, saying the additional residents would only decrease the ratio of jobs to population in the county.

Commissioner Michael Harford said the county in the future “would have difficulty” preserving its rural enclaves” but that “today is not that day.”

Jim Hall, representing the developer, said compromises were made to accommodate nearby residents.

The proposed development, Hall said, would be within the county’s urban growth boundary – the area close to services and infrastructure where the county wants to foster development – and it would fit into the concept of “urban in-fill,” which refers to small pockets that can be developed between already built-up areas. He also said his development would provide homes for employees at the medical and research facilities going into the Lake Nona area.

The development’s 84 homes and 200 residents, Hall said, would not adversely impact the character of the area, since the new homes would be buffered from existing homes by dense native vegetation, which includes oak trees more than 100 years old.

Thirty-five-year Great Oaks resident Les Krapf said Boggy Creek Road in its current state could not handle the additional traffic, there is a glut of homes now in the county and that the county fire rescue service would have trouble serving the area.

“Osceola County has thousands of homes in foreclosure, for rent or for sale; we don’t need any more homes,” Krapf said.

Roger Sievers, another Great Oaks resident, said the development would “invade the heart of a rural enclave” and that the requested density would be “greater than anything around it.”

The Osceola County Planning Commission also unanimously rejected the proposed change, also calling the proposed development incompatible with the existing rural enclave.

Meeting change

Also at Monday’s meeting, commissioners voted to change their meeting schedule to have four regular meetings each month plus one retreat on the fifth Monday, if needed and when there is such a day.

The change, to go into effect in May, means that there will not be staff presentation meetings – what had been called workshops – twice a month in advance of regular meetings. The workshops were intended to give county staff an opportunity to give commissioners advance information and to answer questions about items coming up for consideration.

On the third Monday of the month, the commission meeting will start at 5:30 p.m., as it does now, to give working residents an opportunity to comment on county business. On the first, second and fourth Mondays, regular meetings will start at 1:30 p.m., as they do now.

Paintball facility OK’d

• On Monday, commissioners approved a conditional use permit for BAT JAC Industries as applicant and Mary Nguyen as owner to allow a paintball facility in the former Jungleland tourist attraction.

The site is on approximately 6.8 acres in an area zoned for agricultural development and conservation. The property is  on the west side of West U.S. Highway 192, south of Four Winds Boulevard and north of Oren Brown Road.

Economic stimulus program

The commission Monday also approved a new economic development tool called “Cash Economic Stimulus Incentive,” with $3,532,688 currently available for the program.

Through the program, the county would offer cash to qualified targeted businesses that create 10 or more new permanent full-time jobs with an average wage of 200 percent of the county’s average wage of $60,080.

The cash incentives would be from $1,500 to $3,000 per new full-time job created, depending on the kind of industry. An additional $1,000 would be provided per new full-time job created if a company is within the county’s enterprise zone.

As always, if the jobs were not generated as promised, then the money would have to be repaid.

Other news

• Commissioners Monday also approved a contract for Acting County Manager Don Fisher following the dismissal April 5 of County Manager Michael Freilinger. Commissioners also approved a contract up to six months for Kim Bogart as Interim Director of Corrections.

• The commission April 5 approved a transportation program management agreement with Reynolds, Smith, and Hills Inc. for construction project management support through Oct. 5 up to $180,232.

An engineer from the firm will use county office space to help with road projects on an as-needed basis.

The amount authorized — which comes to about $30,000 per month — covers both salary and benefits for the employee.

• County staff at the April 5 commission meeting announced that the deadline for using federal stimulus money for county road projects had been extended to June 30. Repaving jobs funded with federal money that have not been completed include work on Buenaventura Boulevard and Neptune Road.

The project to repave a portion of John Young Parkway has been completed while work on Buenaventura Boulevard is nearly complete.

• County commissioners on April 12 briefly discussed the proposal for the city of Kissimmee Community Redevelopment Agency to lease a portion of the Beaumont property for three years as a community garden.

County staff will look at the pros and cons of such a use of county property. Gardeners would be advised through the University of Florida Extension.

• County staff requested the Federal Emergency Management Agency revise its flood plain map and the result is that mandatory flood insurance fees for 408 property owners in the county no longer have to be paid, saving residents a total of $173,400, staff announced Monday.

• The commission amended the county’s State Housing Initiative Partnership agreement with the state to allow nonprofits or other social service agencies working with the Department of Children and Families to apply for funding of up to $10,000 per unit to rehabilitate or construct housing for young people aging out of the state foster care system.

The assistance would be provided as a one-time award within a three-year period and preference would be given to an organization that provides support services and case management related to self-sufficiency to residents.

The only current nonprofit in the county providing this kind of service is Grace Landing, which recently opened a home for youth on county-owned property on Boggy Creek Road.

The financial assistance from the housing program would be in the form of a 15-year deferred payment loan at no interest. The loan would be forgiven after 15 years.