Orange County government officials and Orange County Public Schools (OCPS) representatives will do a ceremonial signing of the passing of the updated school siting ordinance, which establishes standards for OCPS for building new schools and renovating existing sites.
OCPS Board Chairman Bill Sublette, Superintendent Barbara Jenkins and OCPS Board will join Orange County Mayor Teresa Jacobs, county commissioners, and county government staff for a Wednesday, April 26 press conference at 10 a.m. that will be held at the Orange County Government Administration Center in Orlando.
Orange County government originally adopted the school siting ordinance in 1996, and these regulations were limited to traditional public schools.
Orange County government and OCPS have jointly developed a revised version of the ordinance. OCPS held a work session on the ordinance on February 23, 2017. The final version was passed at the Orange County Board of County Commissioners meeting on Tuesday, April 25.
What the updated ordinance says
The updated ordinance lays out the requirements for building and repairing schools, from setting site acreage standards to school sign regulations.
Charter schools will be covered by the new siting ordinance, including acreage minimums, height and locational criteria.
According to a fact sheet from OCPS, the updated ordinance says that high schools will be prohibited in rural settlements; and OCPS will, when practical, provide connectivity to existing pedestrian access from residential neighborhoods.
The ordinance also requires traffic studies, and that OCPS protects and preserves mature trees to the extent possible.
Landscaping requirements, which are already in OCPS design guidelines, have been incorporated in the revised ordinance.
The ordinance reflects changes to site acreage standards:
*Elementary schools: 7 to 11 acres (previously 15 acres)
- Seven acres for 550 capacity
- Nine acres for 650 capacity
- 10 acres for 830 capacity
- 11 acres in the rural settlement area
*Middle/K-8 schools — 12 to 16 acres (previously 25 acres)
*High schools — 40 to 50 acres (previously 65 acres)