| In the latest news in an attempt to rewrite the Orange Avenue Overlay, the Winter Park City Commission agreed amongst themselves, without public input, to hold a series of commission work sessions regarding the Orange Avenue Overlay to be held on the 2nd and 4th Thursdays of each month. The work sessions are at 1 p.m. in the middle of the day, in the middle of the work week, in the middle of summer, in the middle of a pandemic when very few people are able to listen in. Those that have most to win or lose are business owners on Orange Avenue who are not yet retired (unlike the majority of our city commissioners). These people have companies to run, patients to see and patrons to serve at that hour. They cannot break away from teaching a yoga class or during their restaurant’s lunch rush. Was the timing of these meetings strategic on their part? The commission says it wants public participation, but the new process doesn’t lend itself to that. In addition to the timing of the meetings, the format is such that no public comment is allowed. The business owners on Orange Avenue were invited to have a five minute platform to speak, but again the time of day that these workshops is inconvenient. It’s like extending the courtesy invite to a wedding knowing that the guest cannot attend, but the invitation is sent anyway. During the original OAO 1.0 which was passed and then rescinded, work sessions were held in the evenings from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. and all of the public was allowed to weigh in. Many businesses have received calls from Winter Park City Commissioners in support of a new narrative concerning what they are now calling “OAO 2.0,” in regards to traffic. In particular, two commissioners were cited as calling two different businesses on Orange Avenue telling them that traffic was going to become worse under the OAO 1.0. This is in fact inaccurate and recklessly misleading. Four traffic studies were completed during the OAO process (which taxpayers paid for) and all showed just the opposite. Traffic studies revealed that trips would not increase, but instead offload and replace cut-through traffic with localized traffic citing “if the corridor takes on a more walkable design with mixed uses and quality place making features, the travel will absorb and prioritize local travel.” The approved OAO 1.0 received its sufficiency at the state level and the Florida Department of Transportation determined “the proposed amendment reorganizes the development within the City to foster a more multimodal urban fabric” and “is not anticipated to result in significant adverse impacts to the State Highway System and/or the Strategic Intermodal System.” Why then has the new commission voted to spend more taxpayer dollars ($140,000) for a FIFTH traffic study? Perhaps so that they get a different report more in line with no growth and to validate the moratorium that they passed on July 22nd stopping development within the Orange Avenue Overlay. In case you missed it, the P & Z board the night before, on July 21st, unanimously opposed the moratorium 7 to 0. These commission work sessions will be held for the next 3-5 months. If you want to have input on the Orange Ave. Overlay, email mayorandcommissioners@cityofwinterpark.org. Let’s bring the process back to the public, with a time and format for discussions that allows everyone to participate. |
2020-08-04