Thank you for the abundant grace and mercy you've shown towards us, that we're allowed to come together. Lord, I pray you help us to come together in the spirit of union. Though we may disagree, you help us not to be disagreeable, to do the work of the city, the city, city, of the city. Continue to watch of our first responders, our police, police, and fire departments, and watch over all our citizens of the armed forces serving a near end abroad. In Jesus name we pray. Amen. Amen. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Commissioner Kennedy's absent. Commissioner Wilson, present. Mayor Johnson. Here. Commissioner Furner. Here. Commissioner Oliver. Here We have a 2024 Arbor Day proclamation, also the 2024 Water Conservation Month presentations and proclamations staff report. I have nothing this evening, ma'am. All right. Under public comments, I got 1, 2, 3, 4. We'll start with Y Lou. Uh, so I believe I have a a point. Okay. Okay. Thank you Dear Mayor Johnson and his team commissioners. Um, I'm the president of a HC and a HC stands for Asian American Heritage Council of Central Florida. And I'm here to request a waiver of the venue renting fee for our upcoming annual Asian Culture Festival. Our A HC is a nonprofit organization and dedicated to celebrating and promoting the rich cultural heritage of Asian Americans in central Florida. And our mission is to foster, understanding, appreciation, and unite among diverse communities through the culture, education, and events. And the upcoming Asian Culture Festival is one of the, our flagship events, attracting thousands of attendees every year and from across the city and beyond. And this festival showcases the vibrant cultures, transitions, arts and cuisines of various Asian countries, providing a very unique opportunity for culture exchange and enrichment. And through the performance workshops, uh, food tasting and interactive exhibits. Our festival offers a colorful and immersive experience for people of all age and backgrounds as we prepare for this year's festival and schedule to take place on May 18th, which we work on everyone here to attend. And we are actually, uh, facing the financial challenges due to the impacts of the economic downturn. So our event budget is close to $6,000, and our resources are limited because we are a non-profit organization and we rely heavily on community support and partnerships to make this event possible. Therefore, we are here. Our bo our board members are here, and we candidate request a waiver of the venue renting fee to ensure the continued success and accessibility of the Asian Culture Festival. And we believe that by granting this waiver, the city will not only support the ah C'S mission of promoting culture, diversity and inclusion, but also contribute to the economic and social vitality of our community. And we appreci it. We appreciate your consideration of our request and look forward to the opportunity to work together in celebrating and embracing the rich nature of Asian American heritage in central Florida. And thank you for your support and commitment to fostering a welcoming and inclusive community for offers. Thank you. Thank you. Very. Alright. Commissioners, Did you say, I'm sorry, did you say May 18th? 'cause May 18th. That's a Saturday. It's a Saturday. Okay. 'cause last year I think he had it on Sunday Last year with a mother day Sunday. And this year we expecting to draw more people. Much more people. Have you already booked the date? Is the date available? Oh, yes, yes, yes. Okay. Yeah, we can confirm this date. Okay. That's all mayor for me. Alright. Anybody else? We need to, how much is it supposed to be for? Or do we just need to, I I may have missed it. Which facility is it for? Lake Shore. You're, are you doing lake? You did it last year? Yes. Yeah. So we are renting the outside in the indoor venue, both, both Inside And outside. So the inside will be performance and outdoor will be the venues, like the vendors, like the non-profits and the food vendors Just need a, is it consensus for everybody to do it? Or I'll make a motion to, uh, waive the fee for the rental of the facility. I'll second mayor. I mean, uh, commissioner Firster made the motion to, uh, waive the fee and seconded by Commissioner Wilson. Anymore comments? If not, let's vote. I look forward to It. Motion carries with Commissioner Kennedy out. And just a brief comment, mayor, um, you do have insurance that you can provide and, uh, to Parks and Rec? Yeah. Yeah. Yes, yes. We buy it and, uh, just like every year, and usually like we will, we would like to invite all the mayor as commissioners and, um, my board members come to the front to take a picture with our banner for our, uh, a HC. Rob, is there anything that they have to provide besides the insurance? Is it, is there police or is there anything that they have to provide? I I, if she's spoken with Mark, I don't know if, uh, has she spoken Mark? Do we know how many, uh, people be in attendance? So, um, Uh, this is like, uh, can we just repeat one more time? Uh, you know how many you'll have in attendance? Um, attendance, like how many last year I think, I believe like about 4,000 people. So in indoor there are only like 200 seats, but usually like, people will go to the outside vendors a lot. There are a lot of like, food, food vendors. So together it's usually every year is like 4,000. Is that many to 5,000? Not inside. Okay. Is it people come in and go out, is that Yes. Yes. They, uh, they come in to watch performance and they also like went, uh, went out to, I Suggest with the parks rec director, um, Mark Johnson, mark, get with the chief and just kind of find out what we're anticipating for that day and make sure that they know about it in case anything, uh, their services are needed because We're waiving the fees for the actual rental, but not, they have to. Yeah, I mean, we, I have very limited information right now, so I understand that and that's why I, I made it clear that, you know, we still have to have the insurance At Police. Yeah, you've spoken with Mark, right? So I'm just telling him to reach out Day All day long. Thank you. Okay. Yes, yes, yes. Next will be, I meant to say it earlier. These, these, uh, things we give three minutes under, under this, uh, part of the commission meeting. Alright, three minutes you'll need to speak at the mic. My name is Jonathan Blot, that's B-L-O-U-N-T. And if you google Jonathan Blo, what I'm about to tell you, I'm the originating and conceptual founder of the world, Black Women. We are celebrating our 54th, uh, uh, anniversary next month. And we now have a 14 million digital global imprint. And we host the largest, um, music and cultural festival via daily attendance in the United States, the Essence Festival in New Orleans, uh, on Memorial Weekend. And this year we're celebrating our 29th year before I became the founder of Essence and led the first black, uh, Americans to Wall Street to raise the first money in the capital markets preceding and leading the way for black entertainment television, black Enterprise Magazine, national Black Radio, et cetera. Uh, I was a freedom fighter in Monroe, North Carolina, population 10,000, including livestock. And in the 1960s, we fought the Ku Klux Klan, and we are the first African Americans to do so at that time and live to tell about it. And that is Chronicle in a book called Negroes with Guns written by my uncle who led the, the campaign. And when I came to Orlando, I was very outspoken in the early 1990s, and I kept getting attacked by the, by the, by the city of Orlando. And they kept putting me in jail because I would walk around and say, why are there no blacks working in this, uh, institution and so forth and so on. And then they, they, um, uh, uh, I had my doors up on my Lamborghini and they locked me up. I I had a cigar in my ashtray that said it was marijuana, and they locked me up. So I kept getting in jail. And while I was in jail, I, I I, I, I breached the barriers and I embraced the white boys in jail. So in 1990, uh, you know, the, the white boys I played cards with, some of 'em were from oco. And, uh, and, and they used to tell me stories about OCO in the early 1990s, and they said there used to be a sun that said, n***a, don't let the sun down catch you. Here. It was, it was a sun downtown. And they said there was a rope up in the, in the middle of the city that, you know, reminded you that they blacks weren't welcome. And so I was afraid for many, many years to come to oco. And so I, I, I am here today because I wanted to affirm, uh, that, uh, brother Oliver, uh, is still and has still fortunately, succeeded in the same kind of persecutions that we felt in the 1960s. And I just wanted to salute his perseverance. And so, you know, while the sign and I have no authentication, and some of you may know whether or not those stories were true, that that sign was actually there, but it seems as if the sign has now trans into a sign that now says, Negro thou shall not succeed thyself. And fortunately, the brother Oliver, you had the perseverance and the support, and I appreciate you and I affirm that your faith in God gave you the strength and the power to persevere. And I'm here to celebrate that today. God bless you, Laroi. He's gonna have to wait. Okay. Okay. Evening, mayor and Commissioners. I'm a 45 year resident in ocho and I spent the morning listening to last month's commission meeting, and I heard Brad's comment regarding, uh, the Tom Lowry Memorial. Uh, I love Tom, I love Sue, but I also know that there are a number of veterans in Ocoee that need to be honored. My father-in-Law, brought his family here in the sixties. He was a paratrooper over Germany. He is now, he and his wife and daughter are now laying to rest in the Ocoee Cemetery. I think that there should be a different form of memorializing our veterans. I would like to ask, how many on the Daes are veterans? If you could raise your hands, please. How many in the audience? And don't forget Dr. Moyer, I did speak with, uh, Rosemary Commissioner Wilson today and came up with, maybe we could do a brick memorial around the, uh, the garden as opposed to benches. We'd have to use a lot of benches to get everybody's name up there. And I'll be the first in line to buy a brick with my father-in-law's name and dates on it. And I would like to present this and see if this is a possibility to honor everybody in Ocoee and even relatives of people who live in Ocoee by Bri, a brick walkway. And I ask the for the commissions consideration for this. Okay. You wanna say anything? Sure. Um, I know that, and I think what, what Ms. Laroy is referring to is last mo last month that Brad brought up by putting a embl, um, sorry, a plaque. Plaque on the back of one of the benches. And then Ms. Laroy talked to me about her relative, her father-in-Law. And again, as she said, there's not enough benches to do this. So the idea would be, um, in front of the Veterans Memorial, we have bricks and that we could, again, folks could buy the brick We've seen in many locations where people buy bricks for the memory or honoring someone. And you could honor the memory of even a relative that maybe doesn't live in a cowe, but you want to. But we also have a lot of veterans who did live in a cowe in Afghanistan in both, um, world War ii, you have Vietnam where they could buy a brick. So that was her suggestion, thinking that we could do that instead of putting a plaque on the back of a bench. And I think that, I'm sure that Sue would understand that regarding Tom Lori, but again, you could memorialize them. So that's thought she had. So I don't know if that's something the commission wants to pursue and open it up to many folks in the community versus we don't have enough benches. Any Other commissioner have any comments? No, I think we can work on it. We'll, we'll see if we can get somebody to head that, maybe the woman's Club or something. Head up that thing and we can work through that. We can work with Mark. Mark. Yeah. Yeah. I, I have no problem working with Mark and I think Okay, miss Leroy would too. Thank you for consideration. Thank you, ma'am. Steven Lewis. Good evening, mayor. Commissioners. Uh, my name is Steven Lewis and I'm president and CEO of the West Orange Chamber of Commerce. And I'm here this evening to say thank you to each of you, uh, for your support of our signature event. Best Fest Taste of West Orange last week, uh, held here at Bill Breeze Park. The event drew 78 vendors from across West Orange County, including many from right here in Ocoee, and over a thousand attendees from across central Florida and showcased the city's incredible venue and hospitality on an evening that couldn't have been, uh, ordered. Better weather. Uh, city Manager Frank and Assistant city manager, ics, thank you very much for your support and assistance in working through the permitting and logistics process. Uh, parks and Recreation Director Johnson, thank you very much for all that. Your department, as well as the Public Works Department did to help my staff ensure that the event went off without a hitch. The West Orange Chamber of Commerce greatly appreciates and values the longstanding relationship with the city, and looks forward to working with each of you and your staff in the future to advance community collaboration and leadership right here in Ocoee and across West Orange County. Again, thank you for your hospitality and continued support of this great event. Had fun. Enjoyed it. Thank you very much. It was great. Appreciate It. Thank Y'all very much. Turned out great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your support. Yep. Jim Moer. Good evening. My name's Dr. Jim Moyer. I live in Art M Park in District four. So I wanna again, thank uh, Agnes Hart for serving as our commissioner for 10 months, and thank both George Oliver and Nate Robertson for a very competitive race for our district commissioner. And welcome back to the deas, uh, commissioner Oliver, uh, as our District four Commissioner. Congratulations. I'd also like to thank, um, orange County for finally putting up the light at Ingram Road is working now. And I wa I was speaking with the, uh, commissioner Moore County, commissioner Moore, about the possibility of a roundabout at Arden Park, which is very much needed, um, to get across, especially when you try to go from the north to the south side of, um, art and park to get across Clara Coe Speedway. And believe me, it's a speedway. Um, so I encourage the county and the city to work together to possibly put a roundabout there or some other way to prevent some sort of, uh, fatality that could possibly happen. Unfortunately, we often wait until something very tragic occurs until we act and trust me, uh, it's needed. Something is needed at Arden Park, uh, which to my knowledge is the largest neighborhood in Acco with approximately 830 homes. Um, I'd also like to mention that, uh, April is Arab American Heritage Month. There's roughly 3.5 million Arab Americans in the United States. The first Arab American, believe it or not, came here in 1527. That's only 35 years after, uh, Columbus discovered United States. And, but most of the Arab Americans came during the 19 hundreds. There were four different waves that came in, and they came from one of any one of the 22 different countries in the Middle East and North Africa that make up the Arab Arab countries. So I'd like you all to just consider, um, celebrating Arab American Month with, with our fellow Arab Arabs here in the United States, and God bless all of you. Thank you, sir. Okay, Eli, How's everybody doing today? All right, I'm Eli. Um, my family lived in District four for the past 30 years. Um, I went to school at Kobe High School. I'm a father of four, a husband entrepreneur going on nine years of business in the city of Ocoee. Um, congratulations Commissioner Oliver. Welcome back. Um, I'm just here because I was playing basketball yesterday with my brothers and a couple of my mentees and I realized at Coventry Park, um, it is on the basketball court, it's holes on the court. I know. We just got that court done and it's actually a liability to some of the kids and my brothers. We getting old, you know, we still trying to stay in shape. Um, I was just trying to see what can we do to fix up that park, maybe give it an upgrade. That's my home park. I grew up there. They did put new basketball courts probably 10 years ago, one. Um, but, and they took down the ba um, the playground, but they put a smaller one just seeing if we could get that upgrade. I know every park, you know, matters in here, but that's my home park. So if we gotta raise funds, if it's, you know, whatever it is, who can I speak to? Um, going forward with that Mark Johnson, mark Recreation department, you know, that's All, that's all I gotta say today. Um, I appreciate y'all. Alright. I had a good time at Best Fest. Um, the EC event was good. We, we was able to bring eight kids from eight ways where I'm the youth director of, you know, so we appreciate what y'all doing. We heading in the right direction. Love y'all. Thank you. Alright. Consent agenda. I'll make a motion to approve A motion made by Commissioner Wilson to approve or hear a second. Well, I need to, I need to pull a item. You have, you have to get a, make a motion and then have a second to do that. I would like, I'd like to make a motion then that we pull item number eight. Um, I do have, uh, something I would like to discuss about that particular item. It's actually minor in nature, but I think it You wanna pull it or do you wanna discuss it? I would like to, well actually I'd like to discuss it. I don't have to pull it. I can just discuss it. Okay. I, yeah, that's why I just wanted you to discuss it. I Was just saying Yeah, I can, I can, I can discuss it No second. So Yeah. I'll, I'll second that. Alright, sorry, go ahead. Well, Um, I know this item is talking about, um, it's talking about Vander Giff Central Park, the playground area, but, um, I do wanna bring to the commission's attention that we have. We also have a, a skate and a bike park there as well. And, um, in my travels I've noticed, uh, and I wanted to bring this before the commission before the day, but, um, there's a sign that that, that introduces the actual park itself has the rules of the park. So, so you're talking about kids on skateboards and bicycles and going up hills and doing stunts and all these different things. So the rules kind of is kinda like a disclaimer and it outlines, um, uh, what you can and cannot do and shouldn't and should not do in this park. However, the only, uh, issue I have, perhaps we need to consider raising the sign because half of the fence is actually, um, blocking most of the sign. So if someone was to go in there and, and have a fall, they can simply say, well, I really didn't see all the rules because they were being blocked. So I simply asked, is there any way that we can have the sign raised just above, I actually do have a picture of it. Is there any way we can kinda raise the, uh, the sign, I'm gonna to the, to the attorney there, um, just above the fence so that way our disclaimer can be seen, uh, as you're going into the park. Yeah. Yeah. That I, I, can I say something? I just have a question is I realize that's an important item, but it doesn't relate to the actual correct actual item that we're reviewing here. I think what we're here is reviewing the, That could have come up during your comments. Yeah, Yeah. Approval to, and I mean, I'm not criticizing please, I'm just saying is that it's, it is a discussion item, but it, I think it better in my opinion goes during our comments because it doesn't, this one has to do with the funds, the piggyback contract on for the, so we don't want, we do not want to deny having the playground there. That's, this is just, this one is just for the funds. Gotcha. Correct. Okay. Well just, just, just, I can bring it back up again or if need be, or we already know it's already, it's already been tabled. We've discussed it. So maybe it's something we can bring back up and figure out if there's something we can do to just raise a sign. Should we bring it up and then ask for by consensus at the end? Is that what, that'd be fine. Is that just a thought? Is That okay? Or do you wanna do consensus now? I think just have, uh, partner it or have them bring it up higher. Just take, have the department put the sign up higher. Alright. Everybody okay with that? Mm-Hmm. Alright. Alright, now we need a motion. We got a motion to, uh, approve. We can go back and do 'em all, I guess now motion to, uh, approve the consent agenda. Even item eight. I'll make that motion. Motion made by Commissioner Wilson. You'll hear a second. I'll second that. Seconded by commissioner first. Any more comments? Not let's vote. Motion carries with Commissioner Kennedy absent. All right. First read of ordinances number 10. First read of ordinance amend in the city of oco, municipal General Employees Retirement trust fund, municipal pension Board Chair, Cowan. You got first read it In ordinance of this, Excuse Me, in ordinance of the city of Ocoee, Florida relating to the city of Ocoee municipal General Employees retirement trust fund adopted by ordinance number 2009 dash 0 2 0 as subsequently amended amending section six, benefit amounts and eligibility amending Section seven, pre-retirement death amending Section nine, optional forms of benefits amending Section 15, minimum distribution of benefits to provide for compliance with the Secure 2.0 ACT amending section 28 purchase of credited service for airtime, providing for severability of provisions, uh, superseding ordinances in conflict here with them providing an effective date. All right, this will be back on, um, two weeks from this evening. April the 16th for the second reading for a public comment. And devote, uh, Craig Chadrick, you need to come up, make a report on the, uh, issue that you wanna do that. Now, before we get into the second readings, it is for an issue that Commissioner Kennedy had brought up and he's not gonna be here tonight. He's in the hospital. Thank you. Mayor and commission. Um, Craig Chadrick, assistant city manager, um, staff have been requested based on discussion, um, to bring back a presentation for direction regarding the use of golf carts and low speed vehicles in the city. And, um, commissioner Kennedy's unable to be here. It's item 14, Craig. It is. It's item 14. So, um, at the pleasure of the commission, we could put this off until the next meeting so that, um, he could be part of the discussion. It's pleasure of the commission. Is that okay with everybody? Leave off to the, yeah. Left. Okay. Okay. I want, I I moved you up 'cause I wanted to see if we could move through the things. All right. Thank you. All. Second read of avoidance public hearings. Second, read the avoidance for 4 7 4 South Blueford Avenue Town Homes, small scale comprehensive plan, future land use map amendment from low density residential to medium density residential and rezoning from R one AA to PUD, uh, uh, zoning manager, Whitfield. We'll read those after. Okay. Not working. Good evening, Mr. Mayor. Commissioners. Thank you. Audience members. Good evening. The item this evening is the 4 7 4 Blueford Avenue Town Homes, uh, small scale comprehensive plan, future land use map amendment and corresponding rezoning to PUD. So this is the location of the property is south, um, east side of South Blueford, um, about 235 feet north of Orlando Avenue. It's just under an acre in size. It's currently a wooded site, um, vacant wooded site. This is an area of the property. This is a map showing the surrounding future lines designations of load sea residential. Um, and then this is the surrounding zoning map. This, uh, slide here is just a snippet from the city's, um, zoning inquiry map. And it just, basically the purpose of this slide is just to show that this parcel's within the city's downtown redevelopment area map, which is a broader boundary than the downtown core map. And the subject property is highlighted in yellow. Um, this slide is in here to show to place the street network in context. This is part of the Blueford Street scape project. Um, north is to the right south is to the left. And the property is this yellow highlighted area here, um, with the Bluford Street Scape project. Um, this is a sort of like a median. Um, it's going to have landscaping on the north side and this property once it's developed, if it gets approved this evening, we'll also provide landscaping on the south side. Whatever streetscape hardscape landscape they do will have to be compatible with the city's blue Blueford street scape project. So this slide shows the previous plan that, um, did not get past the planning and zoning commission in sep in, uh, February of last year. Um, what the applicant had originally proposed was still medium density residential and rezoning to PUD. Um, but they had proposed six units instead of what they have now. Um, and the, um, they were wanting a maximum building height of 44 feet and a maximum pur of 60%. Um, parking spaces is the same for all the other conventional residential zoning districts at eight, at two spaces per unit. Um, for residential single family detached homes, guest parking isn't required. Um, it would still have had a, it would have had a, um, limited right in right out driveway access and storm water is on site. Since the, um, last year's hearing with the planning zoning commission, they had worked with staff to adjust their plan. What this slide shows now is five residential units. Um, in the last year's plan, it would have been a multi-family product in the revision for this year's plan is a single family attached townhouse. So the, the building and the lot that it sits on is sellable under fee, simple ownership, and they're decreasing their density from six units to five units. Um, they reduce the maximum height to 33 feet that I circled that there. But it says 33 feet, two stories. The conventional zoning district, all residential zoning districts in the city has a maximum height of 35 feet. Um, in looking at the area within a a half mile of this property, there are homes that are two stories homes that are one story, um, varying sizes and homes, uh, just shy of 35 feet. So what they're proposing would be, um, shorter than some of the homes, single family homes that are in this half mile radius. Um, they also moved the, because of this right in ride out and staff's concern regarding the potential for the, the someone exiting out of here and then making a quick u-turn here, um, causing traffic, uh, potential traffic issues. This transition to moving the driveway to the north side of the allows for full access. So left and left out right and right out Parking's the same two spaces per each town home unit, plus eight spaces for, um, guest parking. This slide essentially shows, um, the extent of what they would have to, to do in order to provide sewer connection. Um, the nearest sewer gravity manhole is all the way, um, on the south side of the property. That is something that will have to be worked out. It's, it's a costly, um, effort, which is why they're trying to seek as many units as they can, um, to help offset that At the DRC. Because this had changed from a multi-family product to a single family product. And, um, a good amount of time had passed. Um, we had, we had the applicants go back through the DRC development review committee. They discussed the project and, um, maintained their position of support and made a recommendation of approval subject to addressing the utilities comments when they come in for a subdivision. If the comp plan amendment and rezoning were to be approved. Um, the item then went to the planning zoning commission for a second hearing and at that com. At that meeting, um, there was a lot of discussion, um, dealing with density, whether or not the area is ready for going from low density to medium density. Um, some comments on traffic. Some questions were raised regarding the plan. This, the city's plan for this corridor from about where city hall is all the way to, um, state Road 50. Um, there was also concerns about the existing residential character of the surrounding neighborhoods, um, and the material and the quality of the, of the design of the structure. So based on all of that discussion, the planning zoning commission did make a recommendation of approval for the small scale comp plan amendment without conditions, but did recommend approval of the rezoning to PUD with two conditions. And those are to satisfy any outstanding staff comments. That's just a carryover that we make sure that all technical details are addressed at subdivision design stage. Um, and that they, uh, the building itself has, um, complimentary quality materials that sort of supports and reflects the surrounding neighborhoods, specifically brick materials or things of that nature. Um, between the PCC hearing and this hearing, the applicant team did work to prepare new renderings. Um, it's hard to see in this, but this now shows the five units. Um, but the first floor on the front, and you'll see it in the next slide in just a second. And then the two bookends of the building will have the white brick treatment on the first floor and then the original plan on the second floor. So the top elevation is what, um, drivers would see as they travel down, up and down Blueford. Um, that's this one here. And then, so you'll see the brick and the little porches and whatnot. The bottom picture is the east elevation. So that is the elevation that no one will see except maybe the residents or whoever drives back there. This is the side that would be facing the garage, the detached garage units. Um, this top view is what you would see as you're traveling south on Blueford. The middle picture is what you would see as you're traveling north on Blueford. So it's a, um, you know, it has a nice, uh, pitch roof, but the house is in the front and then the garage is in the back. And then the reverse in the middle picture. And then the four, the five car garage structure. So with that, um, staff is, um, making a recommendation of approval of the small scale comprehensive plan, future land use AME amendment to take the property from low density residential to medium desert density residential without conditions. And then approval of the rezoning from R one, AA two PUD, subject to the conditions of a staff addressing outstanding staff comments as well as the brick, which they've already addressed, um, prior to tonight. And the applicant team is here. Alright, you wanna read those now then? We'll, yes. Uh, I'll start on the comprehensive plan amendment. An ordinance of the city of Ocoee Florida amending the city of Ocoee comprehensive plan is adopted in 1991 as amended amending the future land use map of the OCO e comprehensive plan to change the future land use map designation from low density residential to medium density residential for certain real property containing approximately 0.94 acres. Located at 4 7 4 South Blueford Avenue on the east side of South Blueford Avenue, beginning approximately 235 feet north of East Orlando Avenue, providing for and authorizing the revision of the official city feature land use map prevailing in the event of any inconsistency providing for separability, providing for an effective date. And I'll go ahead and read the rezoning ordinance as well. An ordinance of the city of Ocoee Florida, changing the zoning classification from R one aa, single family dwelling district to PUD plan, unit development district on certain real properties containing approximately 0.94 acres, located 4 7 4 South Blueford Avenue on the east side of South Bluford Avenue, beginning approximately 235 feet north of East Orlando Avenue. Finding such zoning to be consistent with the eco COE comprehensive plan, providing for and authorizing the revision of the official city zoning map prevailing in the event of any inconsistency providing for severability and providing for an effective date. Alright, we're going over the public hearing first. Uh, Judy Black. She's the applicant. You were the property, right? Yes. Represe. Okay. All right. Yeah, right there. We have five minutes. Right. Hi, my name is Judy Black and I'm, I've been a realtor in this area for about, um, actually 40 plus years. And, um, the owner of the property is here tonight and he's owned this property since the early nineties. So I just wanted to start out by saying that we've tried everything for the last couple years to be good friends to the, to the OCO community, and I'm here to address some of the concerns that I've heard, um, that people might have. Um, should I do that now? Sure. Okay. Um, uh, one is that this is, um, a high density, um, multifamily product, but what it actually is, is it's a five unit residential product, in my opinion as a realtor. Um, the, the property owner doesn't have very many options. It's possible that he could take that one acre and build four homes on it, as far as I can tell. But what you would get is a mixture of product and, um, different things that wouldn't be as homogeneous and controlled as we're trying to do with this five unit town. Home. Making it look residential. It is residential and what it does is it creates alternative lifestyle that people are seeking today. Um, so, um, that was one of the objections that it's high density also, that it's a two story residence and it would take away some of the privacy. I've heard that. And, um, it is a two story, but not any taller than a two story home. And actually it provides more privacy because the garage is in the back and then they have a courtyard in the middle and there wouldn't be any views, uh, people looking in people's windows from the second story. Um, I've heard that, um, that there won't be any additional lighting. That was something that I heard. There'd be no swimming pools, there's no basketball courts and the garbage is contained, um, that it would destruct the, um, the tranquil ambiance. And, um, I'm not sure that it would do that except maybe during the construction. I brought some, um, flyers here from town home products that are for sale right now, and they're becoming very well accepted in other areas around here, like Winter Garden, like Windermere College Park Lake, Nona, um, people really seem to like it and they blend pretty well. And these are town homes that are for sale and this is the way they advertise them. Quiet neighborhood, a meticulously, um, crafted home. They all call them homes. Um, expansive green space location provides extra privacy. So the people living in these town homes actually are looking for the same thing that I've heard your objections for. And, um, one, well, who are the buyers of these town homes? Um, and just in my real estate experience, the buyers actually come from the local community. These are people that are already here a lot of times that are looking for alternative lifestyle. Some of them could be grandma that wants to be close to the kids. Um, some of them could be parents that want to downsize. Some of them can be adult children now that grew up here and that wanna buy their first home. So a lot of the people, um, would like a product like this that would relish the opportunity to, um, to be part of or continue being part of the o COI community. So I, I just wanted to answer any questions you might have and just, um, give you a little idea that, um, we're trying to work together to do something nice and I hope you will consider this and know that there aren't it. It would be a very nice product, in my opinion. And there's not very many alternatives that are gonna be any better to develop this parcel of land. So thank you. Thank You. I would, I would say to you that I checked on, you could only get three houses there. If it's septic, which is septic, They will not allow septic. We tried that. You can only get three houses in there, Septic. Well, the problem is they won't allow septic. I don't Oh, okay. So that They won't allow septic, They won't allow the utilities department, sir. Huh? Our utilities department because of the soils that is on, I Know there's no sewer there. Correct. That's why this, they have to, uh, they would have to extend the cost of that sewer connection all the way to the south. From where, From the property line to south of Columbus? Yeah. Quite a Ways. Yes, they quite a ways. Okay. So that makes it, that makes it very difficult to do homes there because they won't not allow septic and to, to bring the sewer line all the way up there is extremely expensive. So that's cost prohibitive. Okay. Alright. The, um, it is open to public hearing. So I have a, I have a, um, Dan, I couldn't read you reading there on the last one. I'm sorry. Pronounce your last name when you get up here. Force, will you? I will do that. Dan Bright. Sorry, I don't, it look like's there. Jones Rhetoric. I don't know Dan Bright. I'm at 6 0 1 South Lakewood Avenue. Uh, thank you mayor and commissioners for the opportunity and your time to share my thoughts. Uh, my wife and I have made a coie our home for 10 years. And over that period, like everyone in this room, we've witnessed a staggering amount of change and development here and throughout the entire central Florida region. The pace and scope of change is breathtaking and often heartbreaking. Ever since moving into our home, we've cherished the little sanctuary that is provided by the few acres of which 4 74 is a part while simultaneously lamenting the day when development would or might start eating it up. It looks like that day may be around the corner. Uh, I've done some research on key aspects of medium density residential hou uh, zoning. And I was actually comforted and encouraged by what I read about the benefits that medium density zoning and residential zoning, uh, when done responsibly can provide to a community that seeks to improve its livability opportunity and diversity. And thank you for your comments as well. Very, very helpful. I'm very aware and appreciate the concern, disappointment, optimism, and caution that my friends and neighbors have regarding this potential change. I am hopeful that the commissioners and others involved in the zoning planning and proposed development of these parcels. 'cause this is just gonna be the first of many I'm sure that are gonna be coming. That regardless of the zoning change decisions that you make tonight, perhaps that you are still transparent. You abide by best practices are empathetic to current residents as much as you are to courting developers and our future neighbors. My four top concerns and desires when considering this proposed zoning change and how it would inevitably impact our neighborhood are, number one, please, please, please find creative significant and environmentally responsible ways to restore tree canopies and green spaces elsewhere within the downtown and adjacent areas to offset what is lost due to development. While palm line streets and sidewalks are a nice touch, they do not come close to replacing a flourishing tree canopy when it comes to aesthetic appeal, sound mitigation, air quality needed, shade, birds, and all the critters. Number two, add sidewalks and pathways that lead to and from our schools, businesses and parks. Looking at Tiger Miner, making a more pedestrian friendly. Number three, develop a sensible traffic plan to accommodate the increased traffic moving throughout our community, including bluford, especially in regards to the shortcuts. Folks take along the lakefront often at alarming speeds. Number four, insist on a design plan. And you did make you, you were addressing all of these and you did make a comment about this and I appreciate that. Insist on a design plan that compliments the existing two story homes along Blueford already and favors the Florida vernacular field, the community supported for downtown during the CR Roundtable discussions a few years ago. So finally, I'd like to say I am hopefully optimistic that as you consider the impact of this potential zoning change, which again, will be the first in the entire bluford corridor, that your dedication to the community and that you continue to see the big picture with clearly stated and defined goals that we can all feel a COI is the center of, if not perfect, pretty good living. So thank you very much. Thank, thanks Very much. Thank You. Alright, that's all the, uh, uh, speaker reservation forms that's been filled out. So not anymore. I'm gonna close it and bring it back up to the dust. Alright, questions, commissioners before we vote. Um, have all of the conditions that the staff indicated been met? Yes, Sir. They have been. Okay. Okay. You, I have, that's, it's in my district. Um, the concern I have is the impact that it will have. There's adjacent properties that I see that in the future that may get developed and the impact it will have on the community. I, right now I'm not in favor of, and I'll say it right out. I'm not in favor of this five units being placed there. You done? Done? Yes. Anybody else? Thank you. Um, I just have a question regarding, um, we talked about, uh, septic versus sewage. So it seems to be that that is a problem, that that problem still exists as far as, um, the ordinance does not allow for septic, so they have to tap into the sewage at Columbus. Yes, sir. So The properties here, based on our conversation, we had a meeting with the utilities department, the, the soil type and the different ways that the water runs this property according to our utilities. Um, deputy director says that it cannot be on septic. Um, there is a 16 inch main here along Bluford, but it's one of the city's arterial, um, mains water force mains. Um, and the utilities department is also not letting them tap into the sewer line that's right in front of the property, um, because it doesn't have the volume and the treatment capacity to actually handle that much flow without the construction of another, um, system. Um, the city here on the north 30 feet of the, um, vacated Washington Avenue right of way, that is a city utility easement that is going to stay in perpetuity. It connects bluford to Lakewood. Um, and the utilities department plans on extending, um, something in this location in the future, which is one of the reasons why they are essentially, uh, limited to the northern portion of the property. So, um, development of the town homes and then connecting to the sewer. And you'll see in, in this plan, the outstanding condition from PCC was that, um, I'm sorry, from DRC, was that, um, this note originally had that the city would own and maintain that sewer line, that two inch sewer line, um, but the utilities department's rejection was that it needed to be owned and maintained by the developer. So they would be assuming the cost and the cost burden of not only installing that two inch line, but also maintaining it or repairing it should there be a need. So that leads me with, with two questions then. Uh, one, the, the residents that's around that area, are they on on septic? Some of them are, yes. Mm-Hmm. Alright. So is this the only property, uh, within, uh, I'd say maybe a two block radius that has the same soil conditions? Or is there any other properties that could possibly be, uh, developed that would meet the same criteria? As I understand it, I don't know exactly where the line is, but it's more on the east side of Blueford. Like the, um, Delaware comp plan amendment that we brought to the commission last month. Um, they're outside of that area, so they're able to, um, develop with septic in this property. They could not develop with septic. So it leads me to my, my last question then is a developer, uh, willing, uh, to absorb the costs to move, uh, a line, a two inch line all the way down to Columbus? He would have to, that would be the only way that they could Have they, have they agreed to do that? Um, yes. The property owner is there in the back. Nodding. Okay. That answers my question. Alright, any more comments? The motion, we'll do, we'll close the public hearing and bring it back. Um, the Motion, Mr. Mayor? Uh, just one little thing. Um, I did do some research on the property. Um, this property as it exists now, is 0.94 acres. A couple years back, the, the developer, the owner, had sold a tiny little sliver to the city for, uh, I think it's a storm, um, line that that property at that time would've been 0.99 acres. So very, very close to the four where they could have gotten the four units if they had not sold the city at that little piece. Good. Okay. Well, all right. Close public here and bring it back up here. I need a motion for, uh, the first one is the, um, small scale comprehensive plan, future land use, low density residential to medium density residential. And then we'll do the rezoning on the second one. I need a motion for that. I'll make a motion to approve that. I'll second it. Motion made by Commissioner Firster and seconded by Commissioner Oliver. Any more comments? None. Let's vote. Motion is tied. No. And yes. Commissioner Firster? Yes. Commissioner Oliver? Yes. Mayor Pro. Tim Wilson? No. And Mayor Johnson? No. All right. So that means it'll be still, we bring it back at the next meeting on that first one. How you gonna do that? Well, it fails. It's really failed. That one. You wanna do the second one on The Zoning? Well, well, well, you cannot say that it would be consistent with the comprehensive plan. So I, I don't see the point of doing the, the motion for the zoning. Uh, I mean, I don't think you could find a consistency, uh, with, with the, with the comp plan. So it Fails. It fails. It fails. Thank you. Alright. Alright. Item number 12. Second read of ordinances for Gardenia Point. Rezoning from unclassified district in R one, a single family dwell to PUD, land Unit Development District project number RZ 23 dash oh 2 0 2. And, uh, zoning manager. I thought I was meeting Continue. We're continue or we gonna do it? Yes, because I, The next two items are continued. We're going Continue it, right? Yes, sir. We're going to continue that one to the, uh, April 16th. All right. Item number 13. Second read of ordinance implementing live local act. Now I think we, we've, this has been postponed also. Yeah. Mayor, if I could address that. Yeah. Uh, at the end of February, the Florida legislature voted to amend the live local act. This is the act that is supposed to provide for affordable housing. It, um, preempts, uh, zoning and height, uh, restrictions, uh, that, uh, counties and municipalities may have. Uh, the amendment, um, adds the preemptions to what's called floor area ratio, uh, mandates some parking reductions in certain circumstances. It omits industrial zoning as a place where, um, uh, affordable housing, uh, must be approved administratively and also makes some adjustments to heights. So we're now in limbo. It's been approved by the legislature. It has not been signed by the governor yet. And so, um, I've been with, uh, have gotten with, uh, planning staff and, uh, we are, uh, adjusting our ordinance, uh, the proposed ordinance, uh, to address the issues, uh, that have now have arisen with the amendments that's been, that have been approved by the legislature. And then we're just waiting for the governor to sign it. The indications are that the governor will sign it. So I think we need to bring this back once, once it reaches that stage. So that's what we said. Okay. Alright. No more public hearing, none regular agenda for discussion. And we brought that up and went ahead, went through that. So we're down to com. Comments from commissioner, commissioner, uh, Oliver? Uh, yes. I have just a couple of comments. Five Minutes. Hold on. Yep. Just a couple comments. Uh, one, again, once again, I wanna thank everyone, uh, for the election. It was a, um, it's a very, um, uh, challenging election. It was, uh, exciting at the same time. So I wanna thank everyone that came out and, um, and supported, uh, my campaign, uh, for reelection. Um, thank you all from the bottom of my heart. Also, um, before I get into my regular business here, is, uh, just wanna let you know that we will have a, another ceremony that we're going to have at the Blue Cafe. Um, my wife telling me, no, don't say that. Don't say that. So I, I gotta, I gotta start watching her from now on to say, tell me what, what, what I should be doing. But again, um, I'll, I'll, I'll handle that after this. But nonetheless, uh, once again, thank you so much for, um, for your support. I appreciate that. Um, one of the words that, that kept coming to me in the past couple of days was, um, persona grata. That word kept coming to me, and I don't know why, but, uh, and when I looked up the, the word, it's a Latin origin, and it, um, it means to be cast out, cast aside, or not accepted. And, and the more I thought about that, I said, you know, I'm not gonna accept that. I'm not gonna accept that at all. Because what I wanna say is that, um, as an elected official for District four, I'm gonna work hard to work with the other elected officials here to make sure we continue to move our city forward. So I'm going to listen with a, uh, open ear. Um, be very optimistic about the things that's being said, whether I agree or disagree. So I wanna say that also, um, that doesn't mean I'm gonna always agree with everything that's being said, but I, I promise to be, not, not disagreeable, but I will make sure that, uh, I'm always open to other ideas and other opinions in the interest of moving our city forward. So that, that is a promise that I make, not only to the District four, but to the city and to the other commissioners as well. And now, uh, to the regular business that I have is, um, during, uh, my time on the campaign trail, I ran, I think I got at least three, maybe four, uh, comments from different, um, uh, voters out there. And they were making comments asking, well, what is there to do in OCO for adults, um, uh, with the kids, we have lots of programs for kids, lots of sports programs, uh, for the kids. Uh, the, you have the Jim Beach Rec Center programs. We have, uh, volleyball, basketball, baseball programs for the kids. And, um, so I had to dig out, dig in and figure out what do we have for young adults, young professionals that's out there, uh, uh, out, out there running and jogging and walking and, and riding their bikes. So I did go out to our website, uh, the city's website, and I found, uh, some programs for, for you for, so if you're listening, here's some things that I found through parks and recreations. We have a men's, uh, men's league, uh, 30 and over, uh, youth, uh, basketball league. We also have a, um, a, um, adult basketball league as well. Adult Flag Football league. We also have coed, uh, sports as well. We have a coed, uh, kickball league. There's also adult, um, uh, outdoor soccer league. And, um, we have adult volleyball. Uh, we also give tennis lessons as well. So, um, if you are interested in these things in the city, uh, you can contact Parks and Rec. Uh, you can call them at, uh, (407) 905-3180. So we do have plenty of things to do for those, uh, young adults that are still, uh, uh, healthy enough to get out and run and walk and bike and do all those things. Uh, I just, I'm just trying to work my way to that myself. 'cause right now, I'm, I'm so outta shape, but I'm trying to get there. So I, maybe I take advantage of some of these, uh, activities that we have here in the city. Other than that, uh, that's all I have. Again, thank you guys so much for your warm welcome. And, um, I will see you guys out in the community as is time to get back to work. Thank you, Commissioner Firster. Couple of short notes. Um, as you know, the Music Fest is coming next weekend, uh, April 12th and 13th. Um, also the fire department is holding its annual open house on April 27th, which is a Saturday. It'll start at 10:00 AM and that'll be down at the main fire station on Bluford Avenue. And, uh, finally, I'd just like to make mention that Autism Awareness Month is April. And doing a little research and looking into it, I found that, uh, a lot of parents of autistic children get very anxious as they grow older and as they approach young adulthood, the parents are concerned about what's gonna happen to their child as they grow, when, when the parents leave them. And, uh, they don't have the answers. I came across this wonderful organization in the Orlando area. It's called Jonathan's Landing, and they provide a residential program and a work program for young autistic adults. And they teach them and support them and give them the resources to become functional men and women in the community alongside all of us. So if you know of anyone or if you're in that situation where you have an autistic child and they're getting older and you're wondering about it, contact them. Jonathan's Landing, and you can, uh, look at their website, it's jonathans landing.org and get the information from, uh, from them and, and they would be more than happy to help you with that. Thank you. Commissioner Wills, I'll get this very fast in five minutes. This Saturday we're having the shred event at the police department from 9 39, I'm sorry, 9:00 AM to 1130. Bring your documents to be shredded. It is a joint effort between the co police department, the Koi Women's Club, and the Koi Lions Club. Um, the first box is complimentary. After that, they do ask for a donation. If you'd like to do that. At $5 a box, it is shredded on site and you can watch your items be shredded. Um, kudos to the Koi Recreation Department. The egg extravaganza was a lot of fun. Um, from the morning they had breakfast and to all the egg children collecting eggs. It was great. This is one thing I would like to move forward to ask the commission for consensus to uh, ask our city manager, our assistant city manager to pursue this. It's been over 10 years since we had really, uh, any comments from the postal service regarding our zip code this past week or two. I've been reading some of the material that we've had that we sent letters to the different, um, legislators and to the post office and they said they would review it again in 10 years. So I feel it's time that we go ahead and pursue that campaign. Again, many of you don't know that we have five zip codes in the city of Ocoee. We have Goa, we have Winter Garden, we have Windermere, we have Acoe, and we have Orlando, which is 3 2 8 1 9. And the folks in, that's in my area. But the folks in that zip code, um, have seen higher insurance rates because of that. I can use an example. My insurance rate is close to $4,000 for homeowners and someone told me in that neighborhood they have comparable house to mine. Over $7,000 is their homeowner's insurance. And we, 10 years ago, 15, well 12 years ago, we asked the post office to review that situation and they told us that the zip code did not determine their insurance rates or your household, the value of your property, and they were not interested in changing that postal zip code. That's Rose Hill two and three, which we annexed. So at this point, I think it's time reviewing the material that it's been 10 years. I'm asking the commission to support that, that we pursue that again to, um, unify the zip code. Our, you know, our, our zip codes, even though they don't determine a lot of things, they do term determine our community. And having five zip codes in this area, um, does not actually to me create a community. So I'm interested, I would like us to pursue that again. We did have a lobbyist at one time for many years and that didn't seem to get us any further than having it in a bill that was tied into a bill and never went anywhere. So again, I'm asking the commission Mayor, I'm asking if we could again ask our city manager, assistant city manager to start the letter writing campaign to um, Scott Rubio and um, Webster Without lawyers. Just, just researching through that. Researching and see what we can do to have it reviewed again. 'cause they said they would, the postal service said they would review it in 10 years and they, I think we need to, should I say initiate that? So I'm asking the commission support in that. Everybody consensus on that. I concur. What was, what was the roadblock that we ran into, um, last time we addressed this issue? I know there was some, some roadblocks. There were some things with, with unions and um, again, we got into the federal government and it was, it got really kind of entangled and we really couldn't really understand, uh, why something so simple. Well, at least in our eye, in our mind, so simple turned out to be something so complicated. Um, and if, if we're still running into those same barriers, what is the plan to get around it or to to, to untangle it as we move forward? Well, yes, we did run into some issues. The postal service did not want to change. From my understanding. It was 3, 2, 8, 1 9 was our very first, um, occurrence. We were not aware that we would be having roadblocks put in front of us when we annexed those two subdivisions. Um, or one subdivision, but two sections. And it was, it was, we, we got the, we did get them into bills, but the bills never flew. It never went anywhere. 'cause there's about five other communities that had that same issue. If I remember, if we remember correctly from where the bill, it was put into bills. And it's never, it never, as I say it never passed. So again, I think we need to go ahead and initiate this with both, with Webster, Rubio and Scott to see about getting this back into a bill and moving forward. Um, but the post office, the postal service did say that we could review it in 10 years. Um, I'm hoping that population change has had an influence on that. I don't know. Our population has changed. Um, but I, I don't, I don't, aside from that, am I kind of from other commissioners who were there at The problem at The time, Get passed, go through a lot of money with, They gave us And they, Um, said no we won't. In the, we have the, so I Seems to be a big thing now. Pickle, ball, pickle with two 3%. I go through, you know, three more. I'm joined. I'm hoping my grand, we didn't have any hate here. Your heart set up here, say something too so you don't look them up and sit up. I mean, you do like me, 63% of the city did like me. Even in the other districts. I won all the districts. That's because they know what I do. So you can think, 'cause I'm not the color or whatever, that ain't how it works. You know, I, I love, I love all the people and I love to see people do stuff. If you give elected this job, more power to you. 'cause it takes a lot of different things to get through with the people. But I will say that it's been a peaceful, peaceful time. We tried to do, it was brought up through the chamber or through the city with the lawyer about the charter. And that's what we went on. And when it was over, it was over. So I'm telling you, this place has done a lot of good stuff, this city. And I know the gentleman mentioned something. I heard him say that once before, one time when he was here about the signs. I've been here since that 1955. I have never ever seen that sign. Never. And I don't lie. Never did I see that sign. And I've been in all this town since 1955. My wife was here since 1949 and she didn't see it. So, I mean, we keep hearing that stuff. Rumors or rumors and people say things. So to the facts of it, I'm telling you that sign was never seen. So you, if you seen it, I hope somebody's got a picture. So show me the picture and then I'll believe it. So we'll be back on April the 16th and see you then.