Plan underway to bring road up to city standards
By Teresa Sargeant
Reporter
The Apopka Planning Commission voted unanimously this week to recommend approval for a new Golden Gem Road subdivision, following discussion about bringing the road up to city standards and how the proposed development would impact the nearby reclaimed water pond.
The April 8 public hearing for Ordinance 3102 focused on changing the zoning for Golden Gem Estates from County A-1 (Citrus Rural) to Kelly Park Interchange – Mixed-Use (KPI-MU).
The master plan/major development plan outlines a community of 65 single-family detached units on approximately 20 acres located west of Golden Gem Road and south of Nightshade Grove Lane and Sadler Road.
In addition, the plan proposes almost three acres of open space, including a dog park/walking area, a trail around the stormwater pond, and a seating and gathering space, as well as a connection to Nightshade Grove Lane and principal ingress and egress through Golden Gem Road.
The proposed design standards include a 10-foot minimum required setback for the front porch, 15 feet for the side, 20 feet for the rear, and a 1,300 square-feet minimum living area.
The project will encompass a 30% design for Golden Gem Road’s northern portion.
According to Geoffrey Summitt, project applicant and founder of G.L. Summitt Engineering, the Golden Gem Estates development is aiming for infrastructure completion by the end of this year, with sales projections uncertain.
Planning Commission member Robert Ryan asked about the timeline for bringing Golden Gem Road up to city standards. City planner Jean Sanchez replied by saying that the design for the northern portion of Golden Gem Road is underway, but the construction date hasn’t been determined yet.
“We’re still on the design,” Sanchez said. “It’s undergoing design right now, even though we haven’t taken over the jurisdiction yet, so we’re at 30% design. I don’t have the commencement for construction of the actual road yet to bring the northern part to city standards.”
Sanchez further clarified that the design fund for Golden Gem Road comes from a pioneering agreement, but construction funding is not yet available.
Commissioner Ryan also questioned the impact of Golden Gem Estates’ development on the reclaimed 250-million-gallon reclaimed water pond, which the state recently cited for violations.
City engineer Vladimir Simonovski said that the Golden Gem Estates development will not impact the reclaimed water system.
“The wastewater collection will continue as planned. The water distribution will continue as planned. The reclaimed water is still, there’s a piping system that goes all the way to the north, to my knowledge, to Kelly Park Road, actually, and even further,” Simonovski said. “So, even without that facility being in place right now, the reclaimed water can be distributed to the new developments.”
Commissioner Ryan expressed concern to Summitt about how Golden Gem Road is currently not a safe infrastructure for Golden Gem Estates development. Summitt acknowledged that in the seven years he has attended Apopka planning and city council meetings, Golden Gem Road has been brought up as an issue regarding all the projects along that infrastructure.
Summitt said he believes the issue is getting Orange County to work with the city; the county hasn’t been paying attention to Golden Gem Road because the development there lies within the city’s jurisdiction.
In further discussion, Summitt said the city is earning revenue from Golden Gem Road by way of transportation impact fees for developments occurring on that road. Those impact fees go into the city’s capital improvement program to fund the construction projects.
“There’s the catch-22, right? The county has no interest in planning to get the road to the city, and the city’s collecting the money,” Summitt said. “The city wasn’t able to do anything because the road control was all that was out here, and it was ambiguous, and nobody knew what was going to happen. But… now that we know that the city is going to take it, you can actually put a plan in motion to get it resolved, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
The City Council will hold the first reading of Ordinance No. 3102 and master plan/major development plan at its May 7 meeting, which begins at 1:30 p.m. A second reading and adoption of the ordinance will take place May 21. Both City Council meetings will take place at Apopka City Hall, 120 E. Main St., Apopka.
The Apopka Chief is an award-winning weekly newspaper serving the greater Apopka area in Central Florida since 1923.
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