MOUNT DORA, Fla. – Mount Dora leaders have voted to move forward with a plan to place a controversial “employment center district” along State Road 46 with hundreds of apartments and acres of office, commercial and warehouse space.
The city council recommended at its meeting Tuesday to approve the final reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 2023-04, a proposal to create a planned unit development (PUD) within the Wolf Branch Innovation District on the south side of SR-46. It’s billed as just the first development proposal for the district, calling for around 36 acres to build office and retail space, a hotel and an adult living facility, a mini warehouse, commercial support, residential resources and an underground parking garage, according to the city.
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Fully realized, the Wolf Branch Innovation District would comprise at least 850 acres of master-planned mixed-use employment and educational facilities, retaining a local workforce in proximity to housing, according to the city.
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Earlier this month, the city council postponed the vote to allow more time for negotiations. Though the original proposal included a 310-foot-high office space as part of the development, the issue went before a Special Magistrate who recommended the city grant developers their application as modified to not exceed 175 feet for interior buildings as measured from SR-46.
Even still, locals have argued that it’s not in line with the size of other buildings in Mount Dora.
“Since the 1800s, Mount Dora has fought hard to preserve its natural and artistic New England atmosphere and charm. People come from all over for a part of that charm, even if it’s just for a little while. There have been many greedy developers through the years attempting to capitalize on that, but Mount Dora has always had the courage to continue to come together to fight for who we are,” Charlie Sands, a retired landscape architect, said at the meeting. “...Wolf Branch is worth this fight. If we throw up our hands like cowards do when faced with threats, we will be giving bits of our personality to these and future bullies in the playground, and we will see the soul of our town slowly slip away.”
Councilmember Doug Bryant said in response to this and similar sentiments that although the Wolf Branch Innovation District was never intended to be consistent with downtown old Mount Dora, it’s rather meant as a complement to it, stressing the land’s value and expressing doubt that any new buildings would even reach 175 feet.
“If the applicant had just come in and complied — and not only with the height, and I’ll call it a limit, it’s a standard — but also the uses, because what the applicant did here, too, is they borrowed all of the retail uses, all of the uses from the gateway district, to put them in the employment district. Now, that issue never seemed to get much traction. I remember discussing that here at council, but the focal issue was the height and that’s where we’ve been really since the start. It went from 200 feet to 350, down to 310, down to 250, then it was 197, now we’re at 175. Is there any magic number here that makes this project viable? No, I don’t think so. This is such valuable land out there,” Bryant said. “Anything would sell, and I guess that’s the way we are moving ahead right now. We’re looking at a height limit of 175 feet. Now, it’s interesting that we hear both sides, we hear, ‘Well, we can’t have 175 feet, that’s way too high.’ The flip side of the coin is, nothing’s going to get built to that height, there’s no market for it out there and frankly, personally, I would be surprised if we ever approached 175 feet. If that project is built within the next 10 years, I doubt we ever get that close.”
Tuesday’s vote to adopt the ordinance passed 5-2, councilmembers John Cataldo and Nate Walker dissenting. The ordinance took effect immediately upon adoption, with the property thereby rezoned to City PUD under the Wolf Branch name, according to the text.
The city has since issued the following statement:
After thoughtful consideration and having received meaningful public comment, the City of Mount Dora made the difficult decision to enter into a Settlement Agreement with MK & AD Land Investments, LLC and AMCO Development, Inc., and adopted a change of zoning ordinance (WIB-E) Planned Unit Development within the Wolf Branch Innovation District. The project must still go through the site planning process and pay all required impact fees prior to any building permits being issued. The City’s capacity to serve the development with utilities will be determined at each phase in the site plan process. While challenges may remain, the parties have agreed to put this matter behind them without incurring additional legal expenses and the uncertainty and inherent risks involved in any litigation. The City will be considering changes to its Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code in the coming weeks.
City of Mount Dora
The city council’s next regular meeting is scheduled to take place Tuesday, July 2, at 6 p.m.
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