We Don’t Want It, Already

Orange County is conducting another community meeting on Monday, August 30, at the Stoneybrook Clubhouse concerning the Parks of Mount Dora.  Mount Dora turned down the request for 375,000 square feet of commercial a few months back, and the developer is now going for what is contained in the 1996 Agreement with the City:  Offices on 441 (estimated up to 66,000 square feet) and residential of 5.5 units per acre (estimated at 280 dwellings) in the rear.

What has to be approved, however, is expansion of the Northwest Growth Center to accommodate the request.  The BCC promised to Tangerine in 2002 and 2003:  that the Growth Center would not be expanded past the Foothills (Stoneybrook).  Mayor Crotty and Commissioners Linda Stewart and Bill Segal all voted for it.  It was extremely disappointing to all of us that they chose to ignore their promises and went for the potential tax revenues instead.

Boo on Linda Stewart, Bill Segal and Richard Crotty for not listening to the people. Now for a few comments from local residents:

The Festival strip mall on old 441. Part of Orange County. When built it was supposed to be filled within 6 months to a year, taking advantage of the close proximity of Mount Dora with shuttle services during the art festivals and what not and be a great place to open a business. 1 1/2 years later Kiku’s and a sign store are all that inhabits this otherwise empty development.

Now flip the page to a huge megaplex next to a already empty strip with a new and shiny Publix (unless you count the nail spa). So if we can not fill 2 orange county developments on a smaller scale, who believes we can fill more? Not to mention the 2nd new Publix at 441 & Donnely with a whole new mall to fill.

Everyone has an agenda and to think otherwise shows naïvety. I am not going to say I know what Tim Bailey’s angle is but I have seen what happened at Lakewood Ranch and I do not want the same here. Fill the other developments first and then we can talk. JC

Thank you, JC, for an intelligent, forward thinking post…finally someone who gets it! Those of you folks who moved to Stoneybrook, etc. knew full well that this area did not offer a ‘village shopping experience’. We moved to the city proper of Mount Dora to ESCAPE all that congestion of shopping centers in Orlando. We LOVE to travel to Winter Garden Village or Park Avenue in Winter Park to shop and dine. If that’s what YOU wanted near you, then you should NOT have moved to ‘the country’. MR

And to the developers of this project… those slick mailers you sent out…did you really think us ‘country bumpkins’ were going to be swayed to support another cookie cutter shopping development by dazzling us with color photos and shiny paper?! It was a total insult and made me dig in deeper to make sure this village doesn’t happen…EVER!

Just like Windermere, you folks and developers used the cache of the name “Mount Dora” to attract people to your idea (don’t deny that some of you residents moved to Stoneybrook because of the Mount Dora name)…you bank on that city name…then you all get all cheesed off when the city wants to protect its brand. So, a big ‘THANK YOU’ to the currently seated Mount Dora City Council for their unanimous “NO” vote [several months ago.]

Face it. There is no real community support for this project. The plaza next door is practically empty and there is so much empty retail space that it’s a crying shame. NM

Why would anyone support Florida Hometown Democracy?

You’ll be hearing a lot about Amendment 4 also known as Florida Hometown Democracy this summer. Why would people vote to stop development besides the usual reasons such as sprawl and so forth? TAXES are why! Did you know that when we allow more development we have to pay for the schools, police, water infrastructure, sewer infrastructure and roads?

Amendment 4 is simply saying: Give citizens a seat at the table – a vote. If we have to pay taxes to extend services to all these new developments that politicians keep approving, we want to vote on it. We want to decide if a new development affordable to our community? We should get to vote before we’re forced to pay.

Because this is a hyper-local site, the local implications should be brought up as well. If the Parks of Mount Dora aka Park Village Shops aka Park Village is approved, someone will have to pay for fire protection, police protection, road infrastructure and so on. That someone is us!

True, Mount Dora will handle the sewer and water services. Certainly this development will tax [intentional pun] their infrastructure. At the last Mount Dora City Council meeting where this project was discussed a Stoneybrook resident spoke on the record saying that Mount Dora was not able meet its obligation to provide reclaimed water as promised.

Hopefully, Mount Dora will continue to see the wisdom in shooting this mega-project down.

Will Mount Dora Bite Bailey’s Poison Apple?

Developer Tim Bailey* is continuing his efforts to get his commercial project “Park Village” aka “The Parks of Mount Dora” approved by both Orange County and Mount Dora before voters have a chance to squash his dreams if Amendment 4 passes in November. Amendment 4 would require voters to approve large changes to county land use plans.

Unfortunately for Tangerine, our own county is supporting this commercial monstrosity due to the potential tax revenues. Bailey’s political connections don’t hurt either. He’s been working on Mount Dora painting a vision of tax revenues for them too. A workshop between Orange County, Mount Dora and Tim Bailey is scheduled for July 23, 2010. There will be another meeting with Orange County Planning and Zoning on September 16, 2010. It will go back to the Board of County Commissioners in October.

*.The proposed site of his new commercial development is adjacent to Stoneybrook Hills. The Publix plaza next door is full of never-leased retail/business space. We need this commercial project like we need, as my father would say, a hole in our heads. {See comments below}

Parks of Mount Dora 2nd Transmittal Approved

The Parks of Mount Dora transmittal hearing was a success for the developer and not for us. Despite citizen comments that showed Mayor Crotty’s flip-flop on development issue, the vote was unanimous in support of Tim Bailey’s project. The audio recording is public record.  Select the June 29th meeting. Next select the 5th hour and listen.

Important Hearing at BCC

Stop the Parks of Mount Dora aka Park Village

The second part of transmittal hearing for the Parks of Mount Dora aka Park Village will be held at 201 South Rosalind Avenue, Orlando, FL on June 29, 2010. The hearing is scheduled to start at 2 pm. Click the link for a map to the location.

The applicant is to respond to the State Dept of Community Affairs objections to his plan. Wear Orange and support our “NO to Park Village or The Parks of Mount Dora.”

In case you need a little background to this issue:

Background Information

Current View of Proposed Site

As part of the 2003 Agreement with Orange County , the developers (including Mr. Bailey) and the people of Tangerine, the boundaries of the Foothills’ (aka Stoneybrook, also Mr. Bailey’s project) ” Growth Center ” were never to be expanded past their current point.  In order for this property to be developed at a greater intensity than allowed under an agricultural designation (1 unit per 10 acres), the original Agreement would have to be amended to expand the growth center and include his property. If this goes forward and the request is approved, the new zoning would then set the precedent for the remainder of Hwy 441 to apply for growth center inclusion and then develop in the same way.

No discussion of this project is complete without discussing jobs. The jobs generated will be either short-term, low wage or a combination of both. The usual path of development is to have the people in place followed by the commercial development. Approving this project solely for job creation [which we do need] is a mistake.  There are significant problems in the development next door related to foreclosures and some of the current residents, I’m told, can’t pay their HOA dues let alone patronize upscale stores and restaurants.

It is true that Mr. Bailey has spent a lot of money speculating on this project but again, approving it solely for that reason is a mistake. He is a speculator and as such, took a risk. Melissa DeMarco, Mayor of Mount Dora pointed this out the last time this issue was discussed by the Mount Dora City Council.  Note that the proposed site is located in Orange County but Mount Dora has a say due to a water and sewage agreement along the Lake/Orange County line of the Growth Center.

As a final note, it should also be pointed out that the property was purchased by the current owner after the final agreement in 2003 was reached and that he actively participated in the hearings limiting the growth center.  Maybe he thought we would all go away once the dust settled and that no one would be there in 2009 to oppose his plans.  He was wrong.

Mount Dora Shoots Down Commercial Development

Site of Proposed Project by Tangerine Blog

Story by Jeff Titelius of the Mount Dora Examiner

Plans for the Parks of Mount Dora commercial development were shot down last week by the Mount Dora city council members in a unanimous decision – 7 to 0. The 60 plus acre development was proposed for a site in Orange County just over the border of Mount Dora in Lake County and was to include 350,000 square feet of retail space with a movie theatre, book retailer, specialty shops and restaurants; 10,000 square feet of office space; and 60 residential units – along Route 441 adjacent to the Stoneybrook Hills development just north of Tangerine.

Why does Mount Dora in Lake County have the final say in this proposed complex planned for Orange County? The proposed Parks of Mount Dora development, located in a joint-planning district between Mount Dora and Orange County, would have had to rely on the city of Mount Dora for water and sewer services. Upon investigating the impact to the infrastructure, it was decided that the development would have put too huge a strain on the city’s resources and therefore Mount Dora rejected the development plans altogether.

Plus the demand is not yet there. A number of planned developments within the city have been approved but not yet built – a case of ‘If you build it, they will come’ does not necessary apply given the state of the economy, the depressed real estate market and the overall lack of consumer spending with discretionary spending on hold for the time being.

Tangerine Blog : The Parks of Mount Dora is also known as Park Village. Tim Bailey is a managing partner for this development.

Growth Management Fears

Bull in the Proposed Site of Park Village aka "Parks of Mount Dora"

Growth management activists fear that legislators will eliminate or drastically reduce the Department of Community Affairs. The department is the state land planning agency and makes recommendations for community planning. Check out their website for interesting links for neighborhood leaders. There are also press releases on growth management topics including conferences on growth management.

The Department of Community Affairs recommended that the Parks Village project aka Parks of Mount Dora be denied by the Mount Dora City Council. The site of the proposed shopping center is shown in the photo above.

Parks of Mount Dora Rejected by Mount Dora

The Parks of Mount Dora project, aka “Park Village” was soundly rejected by the Mount Dora City Council last week.

“It may be time to consider [commercial] development on [U.S.] 441, but certainly this is an inappropriate location,” Mayor Melissa DeMarco said. “It’s too much in the wrong place.” Orlando Sentinel

Almost from the beginning, representatives for Parks of Mount Dora LLC knew they faced an uphill battle in persuading the small Lake County city to approve the complex.

Attorney Mark Thomson, who represented the developer, called it a “very challenging situation” seeking approval from Orange and Mount Dora.

Since December, the group has undergone a massive public-relations effort similar to a political campaign. It launched a Facebook page that had 229 fans as of Thursday. They mailed colorful slick brochures to hundreds of area residents. Parks of Mount Dora representatives also met with residents asking them what kind of shops, restaurants and amenities should be included in the development. In turn, residents who supported the project flooded Mount Dora council members with hundreds of e-mails. At the city meeting, the developer passed out green T-shirts to pump up support.

“We’ve been talking to the people in the community, and I would say that 95 percent of those we’ve spoken with are hugely in favor of this,” said Beth Hughes, a spokeswoman for Bailey.

Let the truth be told. If Tim Bailey is hearing a 95% approval rating of this project, he’s not talking to the local residents. He bought the property he wants to develop as a gamble after participating in meetings where he was made fully aware of resident’s opinions. If he’s so sure about resident opinions, let him bring this up after Hometown Democracy is approved by voters. Tangerine Blog doesn’t  think he’ll get very far.

Tangerine Dodged a Bullet Last Night

Due to the efforts of the entire Mount Dora and Tangerine communities, we dodged a bullet in the form of Park Village aka The Parks of Mount Dora. Not all communities are as lucky as we are. According to Dan Lobeck, Sarasota attorney and President of Control Growth Now, a project known as the Villages of Lakewood Ranch South, will result in urban sprawl and won’t deliver on the neotraditional development promised before it was approved.  This project is similar to the Park Village project in that it was supposed to offer smarter development and an environmentally friendly design.

The development was approved despite a 5-to-3 denial by the Planning Commission. Some of the most scathing comments came from planning commissioners who usually support developers. Jody Hudgins commented that the plan clearly failed to fulfill fiscal neutrality requirements and called it a “dangerous” plan which “puts the county at too much of a risk.” John Fellin called it “smoke and mirrors” and said, “I feel like I’m being scammed.”

The development was also opposed by the Council of Neighborhood Associations, Sierra Club, Audubon Society, Control Growth Now and others. So much for the public interest against a politically powerful developer.

The entire story of this mess,  “Approval of Villages Shows the Emperor has no Clothes” can be read at this link.  After you read it take a moment to count your blessings. Tangerine is not perfect but a lot better than it would have been with the Park Village project. And stay in the loop. We’re not heard the last of Tim Bailey and his band of merry real estate salespeople. So send a thank you to the Mount Dora City Council members and congratulate them for their courage and wisdom.

Mount Dora Says No!

The Mount Dora City Council voted NO to Tim Bailey’s mega shopping center project Park Village aka The Parks of Mount Dora  7-0 at the May 18th meeting. Thank you Mount Dora City Council!