Editor

The Northeast District Conceptual Master Plan – which sets out how a large area south of Lake Nona will be developed – received unanimous County Commission support Monday after the document was revised to deal with state criticism that it promoted urban sprawl and would fragment a sensitive environmental area.

The plan, which the Florida Department of Community Affairs reviewed and sent back to the county in late June for revisions, covers 17,150 acres west of the Econlockhatchee River Swamp. The Church of Jesus Christ of the latter-Day Saints (Mormons) owns the property that comprises the district. The land is part of the 290,000-acre Deseret Ranches operation, which extends into Orange, Osceola and Brevard counties.

The plan now will be resubmitted to the state, which will then — within 45 days — either accept it or declare it out of compliance. The county could appeal a non-compliance determination. If the state OKs the plan, then the county would advertise it for 21 days so that anyone opposing its adoption could appeal.

County officials have touted the large mixed-use development proposed within the plan area as a  “job rich design” and an economic development engine, with 44,130 jobs, 29,320 housing units, 8.5 million square feet of commercial space, 1 million square feet of institutional space and 5,000 hotel rooms projected at build-out. The district includes lakes Preston, Myrtle, Joel and Bullock, with a portion of it bordering the northwest side of Lake Center as well. The district is approximately six miles from developing medical and research complex in Orange County referred to as “Medical City” in the Lake Nona area.

County Commission Chairman Fred Hawkins Jr., whose district 5 includes the proposed development, said the state gave the plan close scrutiny due to its proximity to large mixed-use development in Orange County.

“I understand why the state took a longer look when it came to the expansion of the UGB (urban growth boundary),” Hawkins said, referring to the county’s inclusion of more land where development would be promoted. “It took so long to initially get the original approved. To come back and ask for additional space raised red flags.”

Hawkins said Osceola County does not have the investment that other entities put into the medical city but that the county stands to capitalize on it in terms of higher paying jobs. He also said improvements to Narcoossee Road would help bring those jobs to the county.

“The idea and planning has been well thought out and the Mormon Church is one of the best stewards of land I have ever dealt with. They are not like other developers that will leave the area once approved ... they are here for the duration,” Hawkins said.

During county public hearings on the plan this spring, residents from the area said they were worried about the traffic and the potential friction between urban and rural lifestyles the “mega-development” would bring. Environmentalists said they were worried about the fracturing of a “pristine” ecosystem inhabited by gopher tortoises and other animals, perhaps even the Florida panther.

The Northeast District would contain what essentially would be a new city, complete with a transportation system, schools, parks and government offices. One main thoroughfare projected to lead into the area would be the extension of Osceola Parkway, though its route has not been set. No major roadways go into the district now.

State objections and country revisions

Among the state’s objections and recommended remedies were:

• The plan would expand the urban growth boundary by 12,130 acres into extremely environmentally sensitive lands associated with the Econlockhatchee Swamp and it would cause significant habitat fragmentation and degradation of wildlife habitats and corridors. The department’s recommendation was for the county to not expand the boundary or to revise the expansion so it would not encroach upon ecologically sensitive areas.

The revised plan includes provisions that development would not encroach on the wetlands, that a 250-foot wide upland buffer would be required along six miles of the wetland area and an additional 725 acres of uplands associated with the swamp would be preserved. County officials said about 5,000 acres out of the district would be developed.

• The development patterns and transportation networks proposed in the development, state officials said, would allow the “encroachment of long, linear and isolated ribbons of sprawling development on the upland strands that are surrounded by wetlands and floodplains.” In addition, state officials said the plan would allow development of substantial areas in excess of what is needed.

In the revisions, the county stated that the plan calls for a denser development than what would be allowed, that the mixed use would reduce the number of trips residents had to make outside the community, that the district would be pedestrian-oriented and that roadways would be interconnected.

• In regard to multi-modal transportation features (streets, paths, bicycle/pedestrian paths and mass transit), state officials said the county did not offer details on how a transportation system would be paid for and also didn’t clearly show how transportation would be integrated in later phases of the development.

In response, the county added a financial strategy for paying for roads and added new policies for the timing of construction.

State officials also objected to the extension of Osceola Parkway because it would go into the swamp as well as promote urban sprawl. They recommended the roadway not be extended. County officials, however, did not mention any revisions on this issue.

The revised plan also includes a letter from the Toho Water Authority that it could service the district with both water and sanitary sewer. In addition, a policy was added requiring Deseret Ranches to develop an economic plan that would include operating a jobs training center and a business incubator in the district.

County Commissioner Michael Harford, who previously said he was concerned about the urban boundary expansion, said the state’s critical comments were normal for large planning areas.

“FDCA’s review for these large-scale amendments should be seen as a series of questions they would like answers to, not what they think about the overall plan or what their final position is on the plan,” Harford said.

“The expansion of the UGB is not being done piecemeal … the expansion will be used to create a complete mixed-use community with a healthy balance of jobs and housing, that is walkable and transit-oriented.”

The only comments against approval of the plan came from the attorney representing the Kenneth Kirchman Foundation, which owns more than 10,000 acres on the south side of the district. Those comments involved the foundation’s efforts to preserve the pristine aspects of this part of the county and that development in the district would thwart that effort.

Erik Jacobsen, Deseret Ranches general manager, said ranch officials are “ready to move the project forward” and that they have a “long-term commitment” to the area.

Commissioners Monday also approved the mixed-use South Lake Toho and the East Lake Toho conceptual master plans with only slight revisions.

The South Lake Toho plan covers 16,350 acres on the south side of Lake Tohopekaliga and includes the Green Island development of regional impact, or DRI, and the smaller Tranquility development of county impact, or DCI. The planning area extends west to the Disney Preserve, east to Canoe Creek Road and south to the end of the urban growth boundary.

At build-out, this development would provide 41,310 jobs and have about 40,000 housing units.

The East of Lake Toho plan covers 11,250 acres bordered by the Florida’s Turnpike, Friars Cove Road, Neptune Road and Lake Tohopekaliga. This area includes the Toho Preserve, Tohoqua, Edgewater and Friars Cove DRIs and the Bella Tara DCI.

This area, at build-out, would have 33,500 housing units and provide 24,700 jobs.