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Mount Dora City Council postpones vote on controversial Wolf Branch project

Florida city wants more time to negotiate

MOUNT DORA, Fla. – The Mount Dora City Council on Tuesday postponed a vote whether to move forward with a controversial development in the Wolf Branch Innovation District.

Originally, developers were proposing a 310-foot-high office space as part of the development. Since then, they’ve made changes to the plans and are now proposing a maximum building height of 175 feet measurable from State Road 46.

After hours of debate Tuesday night, city leaders voted to table the issue for two weeks to give them more time to negotiate.

“I think the general spirit that you can sense in the town right now about this project, specifically, if it could be summed up in one word, it’s betrayal,” Mount Dora resident Ephraim McCormick said.

People who live in Mount Dora, like McCormick, are not happy about the changes to the proposed development in the Wolf Branch Innovation District. McCormick said he feels the messaging surrounding the new proposed building height is deceptive.

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“When they say that it’s 175 feet from State Route 46, what they’re talking about is the viewpoint that will be from State Road 46, which is a metric that has not been used in any other project, as far as I’m aware, in the city of Mount Dora with regards to height restrictions,” McCormick said.

The issue went before a Special Magistrate. They recommended the city grant developers their application as modified to not be more than exceed 175 feet for interior buildings as measured from State Road 46.

The magistrate also recommended the developers should not change the PUD application unless extraordinary circumstances warrant it and if no adverse impacts to the surrounding land use would occur from such a change.

News 6 also spoke to Lisa Winslow who not only owns a small business in downtown Mount Dora, but also lives right across the street from the planned Wolf Branch Innovation District development.

“It’s a concern because we don’t know what it’s going to be,” Winslow said. “The cows are gone and the green is gone, I love the green.”

While Winslow is worried about the outcome of the development, she is placing her trust in the city should the council vote to move forward at Tuesday’s meeting.

“But Mount Dora does things nice,” Winslow said. “A woman I was speaking to yesterday says Mount Dora does things well and I have to hope that she’s right and that we do, do things well and that it is good for the growth of our community.”


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