Orange County Board of County CommissionersPublic Hearing

August 19, 2014Case # SE-14-01-003

8841 Palm Lake Drive

SPECIAL EXCEPTION FOR RELIGIOUS USEAND

VARIANCE TO ALLOW UNPAVED PARKING

Property Owner/Applicant PresentationBy

Paul H. Chipok, GrayRobinson, P.A.Kendell Keith, PDGJoe Roviaro, LTEC

CASE # SE-14-01-003ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS

OFFERED BY PROPERTY OWNER

1. Limit size of religious facility to 9,000 square feet.

2. Limit access to property to a left turn in only and right turn out only on Palm Lake Drive.

3. For parking, drive aisles will be paved and grass parking may be allowed other than the required handicapped parking spaces which will be paved.

4. No objection to sign in right-of-way east of property stating:

“RESIDENTIAL AREA – NO THROUGH TRAFFIC”

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

1) The use shall be consistent with the Comprehensive Policy Plan.

Must look at Comprehensive Plan as a whole and not pick out selected policies.

Intent is the balance and integrate uses.Many other religious institutions are in the

LDR designation.

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

1) The use shall be consistent with the Comprehensive Policy Plan.

Staff Report makes a finding of consistency with the Comprehensive Plan.Opinions of local government's own staff

constitutes competent substantial evidence. Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners v. Longo, 505 So.2d 470 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1987)

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

2)The use shall be similar and compatible with the surrounding area and shall be consistent with the pattern of surrounding development.Similar in size to other structures in Palm Lake

Drive neighborhood.Surrounded by institutional uses:

North: Church West: Retention Pond South: Right-of-way and vacant East: Power SubstationActs as buffer to residential neighborhoods to east of Power Substation

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

3) The use shall not act as a detrimental intrusion into a surrounding.

Not in middle of residential area.

No residential use between this property and Apopka Vineland Road to west.

Power Substation and existing church act as buffer to closest residential uses.

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

3) The use shall not act as a detrimental intrusion into a surrounding.

Bisnauth May 29, 2013 Case SE-13-05-021.Cited by opposition, Staff Report states:

"The proposed [religious] use would be best located on an arterial or collector road or located at the entry of a residential neighborhood and not internal to a residential subdivision."

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

4) The use shall meet the performance standards of the district in which the use is permitted.9,000 square feet is consistent with other

structures in neighborhood.

Meeting height and setback requirements.

Abutting and surrounded by other institutional uses.

All residential use is to the east of this property.

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

5)The use shall be similar in noise, vibration, dust, odor, glare, heat producing and other characteristics that are associated with the majority of uses currently permitted in the zoning district.Similar in size to other residential uses.

Other religious institutions in the area. All create off peak traffic

No residential use between this property and Apopka Vineland Road to west.

All residential use is to east.Access to be limited by left in, right out

SPECIAL EXCEPTION CRITERIA

6) Landscape buffer yards shall be in accordance with section 24-5 of the Orange County Code. Buffer yard types shall track the district in which the use is permitted.No deviation requested.

Same or more intense uses directly adjacent to this property.

No residential use directly adjacent to this property.

VARIANCE CRITERIA

1)SPECIAL CONDITIONS AND CIRCUMSTANCESMust be peculiar to land,Not applicable to other lands in same zoning

district. 

The Property is adjacent to a power substation to the east

o Property is not feasible for residential useo Property better suited to institutional/religious

use

VARIANCE CRITERIA

2) NOT SELF-CREATEDHardship cannot be self-created, or result from property owner's actions.

Property Owner Gagan purchased from Schoening 2011 Trust in 2012

(OR Book 10327, Page 5978)

Schoening 2011 Trust purchased from Mary Schoening in 2011

(OR Book 10204, Page 2905)

Mary Schoening purchased the Property in 1954

(Deed Book 991, Page 361)

170 foot transmission line easement across the Property granted in 1966

(OR Book 1596, Page 802)

Property still feasible for residential use outside of easement area

VARIANCE CRITERIA

2) NOT SELF-CREATEDHardship cannot be self-created, or result from property owner's actions.

Power Substation, 8827 Palm Lake Drive, purchased and created in 1970

(OR Book 1932, Page 118) Adjacent Power Substation use was inflicted upon the property

Not a result of Mary Schoening's actions Adjacency to Power Substation is the hardship

A hardship peculiar to the Property and the right to a variance possessed by the original owner is not lost simply because the succeeding owner bought with knowledge of the hardship.

City of Coral Gables v. Geary, 383 So.2d 1127 (Fla. 3rd DCA 1980)

VARIANCE CRITERIA

3) NO SPECIAL PRIVILEDGE CONFERRED

Variance request is for grass parking.

Numerous examples of other religious institutions being granted ability to have grass parking.

OCC Section 38-1479(a), off street parking requirements, requires all weather surface EXCEPT residential conversions to churches may be exempt by approval of the zoning manager or when approved by BOCC.

Here, if residential structure was built on Property first and then converted to a religious use, grass parking could be approved administratively without need to prove hardship.

VARIANCE CRITERIA

4) DEPRIVATION OF RIGHTSLiteral interpretation would deprive applicant of rights commonly enjoyed by other properties. Here, the hardship is adjacency to the Power Substation

Property not feasible for residential use. Religious use requires parking for congregants. Transmission line easement limits usable area of Property for

vertical construction and paved parking.

The transmission line easement, when granted, did not deprive the right to use the Property for residential use.

However, the subsequent construction of the adjacent Power Substation does limit the feasibility of residential use.

To deny the grass parking will deprive the Property of the viable religious institution use and renders the Property unusable.

VARIANCE CRITERIA

5) MINIMUM POSSIBLE VARIANCE

Other than the request for relief from paved parking, all other County Code standards will be met.

Property owner has offered to place the additional condition of paving drive aisles and only have grass parking spaces.

VARIANCE CRITERIA

6) PURPOSE AND INTENT

Approval of this variance to allow grass parking will be in harmony with the purpose and intent of the County Code and will not be injurious to the neighborhood or otherwise detrimental to the public welfare.

Consistency with Comprehensive PlanLocated in the Urban Service AreaLow Density Residential (LDR) Future Land

Use Per OCC Section 38-77, Religious Institutions

are allowed as a Special Exception in R-CE and all other residential zoning districts.

Not a commercial useSite not suitable for residential use.

Traffic ConsiderationsMosque services during the A.M. peak hour (6:00-

7:00 A.M.) occur one hour before the traditional morning peak period (7:00-to 9:00 A.M.)

Mosque services during the P.M. peak hour (7:30-8:30 P.M.) occur one hour and a half after the traditional evening peak period (4:00-to 6:00 P.M.)

The Friday Mosque services occur in the middle of the day and end one hour and a half before the traditional evening peak period (4:00-to 6:00 P.M.)

The segment of Palm Lake Drive that will be impacted by the Mosque generated traffic will not exceed the current LOS C Condition at Build-out.

Orange County Board of County CommissionersPublic Hearing

August 19, 2014Case # SE-14-01-003

8841 Palm Lake Drive

ACTION REQUESTED:Approval of:

SPECIAL EXCEPTION FOR RELIGIOUS USEand

VARIANCE TO ALLOW UNPAVED PARKING

CASE # SE-14-01-003ADDITIONAL CONDITIONS

OFFERED BY PROPERTY OWNER

1. Limit size of religious facility to 9,000 square feet.

2. Limit access to property to a left turn in only and right turn out only on Palm Lake Drive.

3. For parking, drive aisles will be paved and grass parking may be allowed other than the required handicapped parking spaces which will be paved.

4. No objection to sign in right-of-way east of property stating:

“RESIDENTIAL AREA – NO THROUGH TRAFFIC”