ORLANDO, Fla. – Commissioners in Orange County agreed Tuesday to send a plan for an affordable housing project that would be built by Walt Disney World onto the next step.
Commissioners heard public input on the project from a divided community of supporters who want more affordable housing and critics who worry about the existing conditions in the growing Horizon West area where the development would be built.
In the end, they voted 4-2 to transmit the housing plan to the state for review.
Disney wants to build a 1,400-unit “attainable housing” development off Hartzog Road in west Orange County, not far from Flamingo Crossings. Over 1,000 of the units are supposed to meet the county’s definition of affordable housing. Disney is allocating 80 acres of its land for the project.
A Walt Disney World Resort spokesperson released a statement on Tuesday evening that read:
“We are responding to Orange County leadership’s call to bring more positive change to our community and have a plan that will make a meaningful impact. We are pleased with tonight’s vote and look forward to continuing our efforts to bring affordable housing to Central Florida.”
Walt Disney World Resort
The project has the support of several groups, including the Orlando Regional Realtor Association, which said in a statement Monday that the project will increase the area’s housing supply and diversify it.
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However, residents in the Horizon West area have piled into community meetings in the last few months to voice their displeasure with the project, which they said will add to traffic woes and clog already-crowded streets.
Viewers from the area have also written in to WKMG to complain about the project.
“Horizon West traffic is a nightmare, yesterday people were stuck on Avalon Road for hours and Disney wants to add 1,400 apartments to this mess,” one person wrote to News 6 on March 8.
The Board of Zoning Adjustment agreed to recommend the project, despite the complaints, on a 4-3 vote earlier this month.
The Florida Department of Commerce and other agencies in Tallahassee will review the plan, which could take several months.
The Orange County Commission will then need to vote on a final approval at a later date.
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