Oct 2, 2002 Q&A
See bottom for concept drawings
(1) Is it true that, under the Kerina/Casto proposal, "
Response: This,
of course, is not correct. The points of connection to
(2) Will the community have input into the design of the proposed
Response: Members of the community may not be fully aware of the Planned Development (PD) process which we have all agreed to employ with this land-use request. Under this process, the community will have the ability to review and provide comments on site plans, etc., that are necessary before anything can be built under this land use/zoning category. Under other land use/zoning classifications, this site plan review process is conducted by County staff without any community input. We proposed going this direction to specifically address the type of concerns the community has set forth.
(3) Isn't it true that a new elementary school south of Diamond Cove
will result in increased vandalism at the
Response: The school itself will be an elementary school, kindergarten to fifth grade. This type of school facility, as opposed to a high school, is less likely to attract the sort of trouble suggested.
(4) Wouldn't it be better to re-locate the new elementary school to
a location on the current alignment of
Response:
The school site was already designated when people bought their houses in
Diamond Cove and
Almost all new and planned OCPS elementary schools, of which we are aware, are situated or planned to be constructed in locations very similar to that being proposed by OCPS for this location, i.e., off of main streets in the midst of residential neighborhoods. By example, Thornbrooke Elementary and Windy Ridge Elementary are two such schools.
We do not speak for OCPS, but we know they have indicated their reasons for locating in neighborhoods are safety and convenience driven. On the safety side, one only needs to look up the road at Bay Meadows to understand how dangerous it can be to locate an elementary school along an arterial highway.
From a convenience perspective, OCPS will not bus children within two miles of any school, so they are trying to encourage students to walk or ride their bikes as opposed to being driven to school. OCPS feels that the mid-neighborhood locations enhance proximate access to their school sites in an environment conducive to safety.
As you are aware, the actual location of the school site is flexible and up for discussion, we would welcome and encourage other residents to join those of you who are already committing their time and effort to make this school site work for the community.
(5) Doesn't the Casto/Kerina plan throw-out the
Response:
Our property is not part of
Some
members of the Community have told us they want to establish a point of
differentiation along
(6) Weren't the land planner, Mr. Sellen's comments about
"establishing a sense of community" misleading?
Response.
We do not think Mr. Sellen’s comment were misleading.
In land use planning concepts, a village center (such as the one we are
proposing) is often becomes the focal point of neighborhoods.
Village centers provide venues and opportunities for the neighboring
residents to gather and socially interact with each other.
Parkside is being designed to foster a sense of community in the
residents who will live there and to be visually integrated into the
neighborhood. The “Community”,
as used by land planners, is synonymous with the phrase “sense of place.”
Obviously, developers do not establish the intangible aspects of
“community”; we can only create pleasing physical environments which enhance
this intangible quality.
(7) Would Kerina/Casto build another strip shopping center?
Isn't the promise of a "
Response:
No. The
two shopping centers recently completed along
Based
upon the input to date from the community, we understand that another strip
commercial center is not what the community wants. And that is not what we
want.
I
have attached to this email a concept drawing which is consistent with the land
use plans submitted demonstrating what type of life-style center could be
developed on the property. Note that it does employ a
(8) The County approved of an I-4 flyover, that would connect
Response:
No. Our land-use request reflects the community's request, as we
understand it to date, to relocate
The
community's suggestions of employing the wishbone pair and traffic circles as
calming devices would go a long way towards ensuring that this road is not
used as a tourist cut-through. This is a concept proposed by the
community--in order to force the County to look further south for a
connection to Horizons West and Disney. Our land-use submission is
consistent with, and in response to, this request.
(9) Isn't there a glut of available commercial retail space at the
Dr. Phillips Marketplace demonstrating that there is no market for the
commercial development sought by Casto/Kerina? What about the empty
Gooding's, the empty former Eckerd's, and the restaurant Stallone's that
recently closed at the Fountains?
Response:
The two large empty boxes at Dr. Phillips Marketplace will likely be
absorbed in the near future by an L.A. Fitness in the Goodings space and a
potential relocation of Chamberlains (they are also our tenant at
(10) Isn't it true that Casto/Kerina wants to build one
gigantic, 410,000 square foot commercial/office complex?
Response:
No. The erroneous vision has been painted that we are proposing to build
one large 410,000 square foot commercial project. This is a
misconception that has been arrived at by extrapolation (and not review of the
submitted plan) from the total of available commercial and office square
footage we have requested in the land use submission. This is not the
plan, and we understand that this is not what the community wants.
The
proposed
There
are a total of four different parcels over which we proposed the total
410,000 SF of commercial and office land on a total property of 509 acres. The
largest of these parcels sits in the middle of the wishbone road alignment
proposed by the community.
The
next largest parcel is an 11 acre predominantly office site located at the
southeast corner of the 509 acre property, next to the Hannah Smith and Marbella
properties. Its sole point of access is from
The
next largest parcels is a little over 7 acres, and is situated between the south
boundary of our property on Apopka-Vineland Road and the south fork of the
community proposed road. We requested this property be commercial in use
as it is across from the village center, has limited depth and is located at the
southerly intersection of the two roads.
The
last parcel is on the west side of Apopka Vineland road. It is north
of the future Jewish Community Center, south of existing power
sub-station at Fenton, and across from the proposed village center. This
parcel is proposed for mixed use office and commercial. We anticipate
this site developing out with medical office, insurance, and similar types of
uses.
(11) Isn't it true that Kerina/Casto disregarded neighborhood
demands to lower residential densities?
Response:
We have, in fact, substantially lowered our residential densities at the
community’s request from existing land use densities of 2,300 to about 1,200.
(12) Would Kerina/Casto complete the
Response:
The discussion of whether or not to complete the
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