441 Construction Sends Water Into Lake Ola

 A few weeks ago large amounts of contaminated water was observed running directly into Lake Ola. The water was not restricted or filtered and was direct runoff from the construction on 441 (the northern hill approaching Lake Ola Drive on the north side, travelling down into the lake at the eastern edge.)

An Orange County Environmental Protection Division Supervisor, Lakes Management Division, inspected the project and determined that the contractor was in violation of the requirements and halted work until the problem was corrected. If not for the keen eyes of a knowledgeable resident who contacted the appropriate authorities water from the site would continue to pour into the lake every time it rained.

There are other concerns regarding threats to the health of Lake Ola that must be addressed. Lakefront landowners are urged to attend the Lake Ola Lakefront Homeowners Association meetin on November 11, 2014 at 7 pm at the Tangerine Improvement Society building.

The Tangerine Schoolhouse

The Tangerine Schoolhouse appears ready to open. They have a Facebook page that gives occasional updates. It’s located on the corner of Lake and Earlwood in Tangerine, Fl. I don’t know what address they will use. If they use a PO box it will be listed as Tangerine. If they have mail delivery to the street it will be listed as Mount Dora.

Wekiva Parkway Public Meeting April 29th

Wekiva Parkway – Public Meeting Scheduled to View Latest Plans for Sections 5 & 6

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) is holding a public information meeting about the Wekiva Parkway Sections 5 & 6 in Lake County and a small portion of Seminole County. The public meeting is being held to review the latest preliminary design plans.

The project is funded for construction in 2017. The Section 5 project is to design the non-tolled relocation of County Road (CR) 46A out of the Seminole State Forest, thereby improving habitat connectivity and reducing the risk of conflicts between vehicles and wildlife. CR 46A would be realigned 2.5 miles from north of Arundel Way to connect to State Road (SR) 429 east of Camp Challenge Road.

The Section 6 project is to design 5.5 miles of limited access toll road largely along the existing SR 46 corridor from west of Old MacDonald Road to east of Wekiva Park Road. The project will include designing a non-tolled, service road for local travel and a new bridge over the Wekiva River. This section also will feature several wildlife bridges to allow animals to pass safely between the Seminole State Forest and Rock Springs Run State Reserve, as well as a multi-use path.

The meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, April 29, 2014, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Camp Challenge, 31600 Camp Challenge Road, Sorrento, FL 32776. The meeting is an informal open house where plans are available for review and project staff is available to address questions.

Public participation is solicited without regard to race, color, national origin, age, sex, religion, disability or family status.  Persons who require special accommodations under the Americans with Disabilities Act or persons who require translation services, free of charge, should contact: Ms. Mary Brooks, Quest Corporation of America, by writing to her at 2431 Aloma Avenue, Suite 124, Winter Park, FL 32792, or by calling (407) 694-5505 or via e-mail at info@wekivaparkway.com.

McDonalds is Coming to Stoneybrook Hills

McDonalds is opening a company store in the Stoneybrook Hills Publix Plaza. It’s currently under construction.  For updated information, see their website.

The Early Bird Gets The… Tree

Free trees will be distributed on a first come basis to Orange County residents with proof of residency such as a driver’s license, utility bill or photo ID. There is a two tree per household limit. Master gardeners will be on hand to give advice on tree care. The give-a-way will start at 8 am at Barnett Park in Orlando. The physical address is 4801 W. Colonial Drive, Orlando, Florida.

Community Meeting Regarding Daycare?

Link to permit application and site photos on Tangerine Facebook page You do not need to have a Facebook account to view the photos and screenshots.

Apparently although permit applications were filed in the case of the Daycare proposed for the corner of Earlwood Avenue and Lake Street, no actual permits were pulled. Certainly none are posted.

Orange County was contacted and will issue a stop order since the work started without a permit and will decide if a community meeting is in order. As a rural settlement, [thank you wise people of Tangerine for getting us this designation several years ago] development in the area is supposed to serve the people residing in the settlement, not people who live elsewhere.

We hardly look like the place to build a daycare. The median [half higher and half lower] age of Floridians is 41.6 years. The median age of people in Tangerine is 42.6. With a 50/50 split of males and females, it doesn’t look as if Tangerine can sustain a daycare center with our own population. Perhaps the builders are thinking of a convenient stop for working parents on their way to Orlando? A community meeting will be able to address these concerns.

Many old time Tangerine residents have a bad taste in our mouths when it comes to development dating back to the days when our departing county commissioner [I must confess I’ve forgotten who the commissioner was before Sindler] sold us out by creating a growth center behind our backs with no community notice. That set us up for a multi-year battle against growth. We don’t want to repeat that  so small problems such as this one need to be addressed now before they become bigger problems.

Let’s move forward and let Orange County know how we feel about the need for a community meeting by contacting them:

Orange County Planning Division
Comprehensive Planning Section
201 South Rosalind Avenue, 2nd Floor
Orlando, FL. 32801

Phone: 407-836-5600
Email: planning@ocfl.net
Fax: 407-836-5862

Bryan Nelson is expected to run for Commissioner Fred Brummer’s seat in 2014. He is currently serving in the Florida House of Represenatives. Contact him:

Capitol Office
303 House Office Building
402 South Monroe Street
Tallahassee, FL 32399-1300
Phone: (850) 717-5031

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District Office
409 South Park Avenue
Apopka, FL 32703-5261
Phone: (407) 884-2023

OR

301 West Ward Avenue
Eustis, FL 32726-4033
Phone: (352) 742-6275

  

Daycare Center to be Built by Post Office

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A daycare center followed by “later construction” is planned for the lot on the corner of Lake Street and Earlwood Avenue. This will generate traffic in the neighborhood as parents drop off and pick up children. No permits have been posted on the lot as of this time.

For those who are wondering, no hearing was necessary as this lot is zoned commercial and has been since Dr. Snyder, a naturopath, had a treatment facility there years ago.

Time will tell what kind of reception this type of facility will receive. No word on the number of children it will care for nor on what is “later construction.” Sources with access to information say that that 2 houses are planned on the large lot.

*Happy Thought: cars on streets should deter burglaries*

Do We Need New Houses in Tangerine?

Tangerine was mentioned in an Orlando Sentinal article about builders getting construction money to build new homes.

OAKLAND — Wearing a T-shirt and jeans, Baybrook Homes owner Braxton Green leans over his desk and complains that small home builders are being shut out of the market as it recovers because they still can’t get financing to buy land and build.

He recounts the reaction he got from a community bank when he recently tried to borrow construction money to build homes in the low $200,000s on half-acre lots in the northwest Orange County community of Tangerine.

“You would have thought I wanted to build the Taj Mahal in Chuluota,” said the longtime home builder, who weathered the housing slump and Great Recession by renovating and flipping foreclosed homes with his son.

Read the article and decide for yourself. Do we really need more subdivisions in Tangerine? The article isn’t asking that question but it’s one we should be asking ourselves.

HWY 441 and SR 46 Flyover

This is coming…

As of March 5, 2013, the Hwy 441 and SR Flyover is proceeding. Not everyone is happy.

via WekivaParkway.com

The Wekiva Parkway (SR 429) would connect to SR 417, completing the beltway around northwest metropolitan Orlando. This estimated $1.7 billion project includes $500 million of non-toll road improvements including:

• Building seven (7) miles of four- and six-laning of SR 46 in Lake and Seminole Counties

• Rebuilding the US 441/SR 46 interchange in Mount Dora

• Relocating the CR 46A connection to SR 46 to provide improved wildlife connectivity and additional local road system benefits

• The 25-mile tolled expressway will provide an alternative to Interstate 4, and relieve US 441, SR 46 and other area roads of traffic congestion resulting from growth and travel between Orange, Lake and Seminole Counties.

  Authorized in 2004 by the Wekiva Parkway and Protection Act (Chapter 369, Part III, F.S.), this expressway has been heralded as a shining example for transportation planning through an environmentally sensitive area. Development of the Wekiva Parkway has included setting aside more than 3,400 acres of land for conservation. The parkway also will include numerous wildlife bridges, and will be largely elevated to reduce accidents between vehicles and wildlife.

Challenges Ahead in 2013 for Tangerine

Most of you have passed the small airport on 441. The Orlando North Airpark is privately owned by Loomis & Long & Scott according to FAA records and has plans to expand and could eventually end up as a jetport.

Of course, those of us who live in Tangerine are joining with nearly Lake Gem to oppose this threat to our country way of life. We expect a series of public hearings on this matter.

Please support the Tangerine Improvement Society development committee in their efforts to protect our community.

If you are not a member of TIS, a 501 ( c )( 3 ) organization, you can support this effort by joining. Call 352-385-4348 for more information.

***TangerineFlorida.com isn’t associated with TIS in any capacity***