News: Top Stories

City residents are getting their first look at plans for a new park in downtown Winter Garden, and the reviews have been positive.

“We’ve had overwhelming support throughout the city,” City Manager Michael Bollhoefer said. “People want to know, ‘how soon can it start?’”

Renderings were unveiled at last Thursday’s City Commission meeting for what will be the downtown district’s first city park. A 4,000-square-foot pavilion with public restrooms will be the centerpiece of the space and is designed to house the Winter Garden Farmer’s Market on Saturday mornings and accommodate other gatherings such as the city’s Uncle Don’s Chili Cook-off.

The park will sit a block east of City Hall, between Lakeview and Highland avenues off Plant Street. The southwest corner of Plant and Lakeview will serve as an entrance to the park and feature an interactive fountain that promises to be a favorite for children. Illustrations depict a brick-paved gallery lined with trees and benches as children dance and play amid columns of water spouting from out of the ground.

Tremaine Street, which becomes a brick-paved pedestrian path, cuts across the park from east to west and separates the fountain from the pavilion area, which sits near the center of the property. Extending past the pavilion to the south and west borders of the park will be a large, open grass space surrounded by large oak trees.

“This will give downtown Winter Garden what it does not have now — a great open space,” Bollhoefer said.

The unnamed park was approved by the City Commission in September as part of the 2009-10 budget at a cost of $500,000. Bollhoefer said last Thursday, though, the price will swell to $800,000. A start date for the park’s construction has not yet been set, but city leaders expect to host a grand opening in December 2010.

In another matter, the commission approved the first reading and public hearing of a proposed ordinance to lower the city’s road impact fees. While construction and related costs have decreased in recent years, Bollhoefer explained, the city’s road impact fees have inflated each year, in addition to a 30-percent hike passed by the commission in 2006.

“We know the some developers have gone elsewhere because our impact fees are too high,” Bollhoefer said.

The proposed ordinance, if passed at a Jan. 14 public hearing, would lower road impact fees by 33 to 43 percent depending on property zoning. The reduction would bring Winter Garden’s rates in line with Orange County, Ocoee and Apopka.

“This change is just one way the city can assist in reducing some of the costs for new construction projects,” Bollhoefer said. “We are also evaluating other incentives for new, non-residential development to provide new jobs to our community.”

A historic downtown district overlay ordinance was also tentatively approved at last Thursday’s meeting. The ordinance would establish an overlay zone for residential and commercial properties within a 116-acre region for the purpose of protecting and preserving historical structures and implementing architectural standards for both new and existing buildings.

The ordinance, according to Community Development Director Tim Wilson, is the culmination of a year’s work.

“We think this strikes a pretty good balance between not being too strict and still having some teeth,” Wilson told the commission.

Existing property owners will be grandfathered in, Wilson said, and modifications not large enough to require a permit will also be exempt. A review process will be created for both new construction and substantial changes to existing buildings. The city Architectural Review and Historic Preservation Board, established last year, will review applications and make recommendations to the city staff.

The ordinance could be passed at a second public hearing during the Jan. 14 commission meeting.

In other business, the elected officials: