County Commissioners Monday gave the thumbs down to changing the zoning on a 5.8-acre property at the corner of Pleasant Hill Road and Grenada Boulevard.
A handful of Grenada Boulevard residents came out Monday night to speak against the measure, which had been postponed since a Dec. 16 meeting, when the reaction was the same.
The change from Low Density Residential to Medium Density and Intensity would allow uses like a day-care center or other use that residents feared would make an already bad traffic situation at and around that intersection worse.
One resident, who called the street “a neighborhood that’s the envy of the county”, said Grenada is a residential street that doesn’t need anything that would attract more traffic, which is often bad for those trying to turn left on Pleasant Hill to go south.
Commissioner Brandon Arrington, who lives in district 3 off a different Pleasant Hill side road, said he “sided with the residents” when he made a motion to deny the plan. It passed 3-1 with Commissioner Cheryl Grieb against and Fred Hawkins abstaining.
The board did approve a pair of projects near Narcoossee Road and Cyrils Drive that were continued from January. The first is a zoning change from Agricultural Conservation to Low Density Residential on a 12.84-acre tract on the east side of Narcoossee. This originally was for a subdivision, but now is intended for an assisted living facility that wouldn’t have as much of an impact. It’s a plan that Hawkins, whose district 5 includes that area, spoke highly of.
The other, the Southern Oaks planned development east of Narcoossee, north of Cyrils and east of Lake Ajay, was amended to increase from 777 to 882 dwelling units — they won’t all be residential units — and change the buffering, landscaping and open-area facilities to better adhere to the Narcoossee Overlay put in about a decade ago to manage growth along Narcoossee.
A developer for Lennar Homes noted the plan had updated density, increased amenities and landscaping. He couldn’t confirm if a school would be part of the development, but the applicant is working with the School District to make the best decision. There are no impacts to wetlands or conservation easements.
As for traffic, Lennar would build “framework avenues” within the development, improve the intersection including a turn lanes at Narcoossee and Cyrils, and work to get a temporary traffic light there.
Residents in the area asked if developers could partner with Osceola County to four-lane Cyrils Drive before approving any building; Tavistock’s huge Sunbridge development is eventually planned for areas north and east of Southern Oaks, and may use Cyrils as a connector road.
