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Clermont Planning and Zoning Commission
July 2024

7 items on the agendaConvened July 2, 2024
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THE READINGmeeting record

City of Clermont Planning and Zoning Commission -- July 2, 2024

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (4 of 7 commissioners present) Duration: ~2 hours 16 minutes (6:30 PM -- 8:46 PM)

Attendance

  • Present: Vice-Chair Niemiec (presiding), Commissioner Bain, Commissioner Grube, Commissioner Guerrero
  • Absent: Chair Krzyminski, Commissioner Colby, Commissioner Norton
  • Staff Present: Development Services Director Henschel, Planning Manager Kruse, Senior Planner McGruder, City Attorney Brandt, Planning Coordinator Heard

Agenda Items

Item 1: Resolution No. 2024-018R -- Clermont West South Phase 2 CUP

  • Type: CUP
  • Case Number: Resolution 2024-018R
  • Location: Hooks Street, south of Portillo's, between Dick's Sporting Goods and Ford of Clermont
  • Applicant: Clermont West Investors, LLC (Ryan Phelps, Equinox Development; Cory Sider, PE, Kimley-Horn)
  • Request: CUP for two five-story hotels (up to 70,000 sf each, 250 rooms combined), a three-story 115,000 sf self-storage warehouse, and a 12,500 sf daycare facility; six special conditions requested including zero internal landscape buffers, 65-foot building height, and reduced setbacks
  • Current Zoning: C-2 General Commercial
  • Acreage: ~10 acres
  • Staff Recommendation: Denial
  • Action: Denied
  • Vote: 4-0 (Chair Krzyminski, Commissioners Colby and Norton absent)
  • Notable Discussion: Staff opposed due to intensity concerns: six special conditions (waivers) requested, including 65-foot building height (no existing Clermont hotel exceeds 55 feet), zero internal landscape buffers, and reduced setbacks. Parking concerns with 254 standard + 10 ADA spaces for hotels but shared parking across uses. No internal sidewalks shown for pedestrian safety. Second Hooks Street access not granted by Lake County. Former sand mining quarry with significant elevation challenges. All four commissioners cited concerns: Bain and Grube said daycare doesn't belong adjacent to car dealership/hotels/storage; Guerrero cited walkability and safety; all four found the project overintense. Applicant noted positive verbal meeting with Lake County on access, but board was not persuaded. No public speakers.

Item 2: Resolution No. 2024-021R -- US Highway 27 Self-Storage & Car Wash CUP (Tabled)

  • Type: CUP
  • Case Number: Resolution 2024-021R
  • Action: Tabled to August 6, 2024
  • Vote: 4-0

Item 3: Resolution No. 2024-022R -- Potter's Academy CUP

  • Type: CUP
  • Case Number: Resolution 2024-022R
  • Location: 100 Minnehaha Avenue (Brookside Church facility)
  • Applicant: Ashley Plate (Potter's Academy)
  • Request: CUP for a private micro-school for high school students (8th-12th grade) with intellectual and developmental disabilities in existing church classrooms; maximum 15 students, hours 8:15 AM - 3:15 PM
  • Current Zoning: R-2 Medium Density Residential
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: 4-0 (Chair Krzyminski, Commissioners Colby and Norton absent)
  • Notable Discussion: Operates within existing Brookside Church facility (CUP Resolution 242 from 1974). One-to-five teacher/student ratio. Building is ADA compliant. One public speaker (adjacent property owner) concerned about cars on steep driveway incline potentially rolling into her house (had happened previously). Staff noted the driveway has functioned since 2004 without issues. All commissioners expressed strong support for the mission.

Item 4: Resolution No. 2024-023R -- 300 E. Highway 50 Food Trucks CUP

  • Type: CUP
  • Case Number: Resolution 2024-023R
  • Location: 300 E. Highway 50
  • Applicant: Harvey Rosenberg
  • Request: CUP for up to three permanent food trucks within an existing fenced area on the west end of the property
  • Current Zoning: Split -- R-2 Medium Density Residential and C-2 General Commercial
  • Future Land Use: Office
  • Staff Recommendation: Denial (food truck use is retail, conflicts with Office future land use designation)
  • Action: Approved (against staff recommendation)
  • Vote: 4-0 (Chair Krzyminski, Commissioners Colby and Norton absent)
  • Notable Discussion: Applicant already had food trucks operating without a CUP and was cited by Code Enforcement. Staff recommended denial because the Office future land use does not permit retail uses. However, all commissioners supported the food trucks. Commissioner Bain delivered a notable statement that City Council erred in denying the previous food truck CUP (February 2024 -- the Patio Food Truck Park from January's PZC vote), arguing food trucks provide cultural food exposure, diversity, education, economic benefits, and entrepreneurship. He urged City Council to direct staff to create food truck regulations. Majority of business comes via delivery apps (Grubhub, Uber Eats, DoorDash) with minimal walk-up customers. Hours: closed Mon-Wed, open ~9 AM - 10 PM. Plans for Edison bulb lighting, no sound systems. No public speakers.

Item 5: Ordinance No. 2024-028 -- Bongard Estates SSCPA

  • Type: Comp-plan-amendment
  • Case Number: Ordinance 2024-028
  • Location: Hartwood Marsh Road, east of Hancock Road (adjacent to Regency Hills Subdivision)
  • Applicant: Sloan Engineering Group, Inc. (Steve Sloan)
  • Request: SSCPA from Lake County Urban Low Density (4 du/acre) to City Low Density Residential (3 du/acre) for 19.68 acres for a 51-lot single-family subdivision
  • Current Future Land Use: Lake County Urban Low Density
  • Proposed Future Land Use: City Low Density Residential
  • Acreage: 19.68 acres
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: 4-0 (Chair Krzyminski, Commissioners Colby and Norton absent)
  • Notable Discussion: Heard together with Item 6. Traffic study recommends 210-foot westbound left turn lane at site access. School impact de minimis (16 student seats from 51 homes). Four public speakers from adjacent neighborhoods concerned about R-2 zoning allowing duplexes/multifamily, traffic on Hartwood Marsh Road, gopher tortoise relocation, and lack of eastern buffer adjacent to Linwood subdivision. Applicant stated R-2 is needed for lot width requirements (75 feet) but has no multifamily intentions. City Attorney noted board can add single-family-only condition, though the 3 du/acre cap makes it largely moot.

Item 6: Ordinance No. 2024-029 -- Bongard Estates Rezoning

  • Type: Rezoning
  • Case Number: Ordinance 2024-029
  • Location: Hartwood Marsh Road, east of Hancock Road
  • Applicant: Sloan Engineering Group, Inc.
  • Request: Rezoning from Lake County Agriculture to City R-2 Medium Density Residential for 51 single-family lots (minimum 75-foot width, 7,500 sf minimum lot size)
  • Current Zoning: Lake County Agriculture
  • Proposed Zoning: R-2 Medium Density Residential
  • Acreage: 19.68 acres
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: 4-0 (Chair Krzyminski, Commissioners Colby and Norton absent)
  • Notable Discussion: Lake County will require an eastbound right-turn lane. Commissioner Bain strongly encouraged adding the turn lane. Gopher tortoises will be relocated per state law. Annexation reduces density from 4 du/acre (county) to 3 du/acre (city).

Item 7: Resolution No. 2024-013R -- The River Church CUP (Withdrawn)

  • Type: CUP
  • Case Number: Resolution 2024-013R
  • Action: Withdrawn by applicant
  • Notable Discussion: After being tabled at May, June, and originally tabled from an earlier meeting, the applicant withdrew the application.

Public Hearings Summary

  • Number of speakers: 5 (1 for Potter's Academy, 4 for Bongard Estates, 0 for food trucks, 0 for Clermont West)
  • General sentiment: Strong support for Potter's Academy; cautious concern about Bongard Estates density; unanimous opposition to Clermont West intensity
  • Key concerns:
    • Clermont West Phase 2: building height exceeding city standards, no pedestrian infrastructure, daycare incompatible with car dealership/hotel/storage context
    • Bongard Estates: R-2 zoning allowing potential duplexes, Hartwood Marsh Road traffic, gopher tortoise habitat, buffer adequacy
    • Potter's Academy: driveway safety on steep incline

Key Signals

  • Clermont West Phase 2 denial signals hard limit on commercial intensity at Hooks Street corridor: Unanimous denial of a project requesting six code waivers (65-foot hotels, zero internal buffers, reduced setbacks) indicates the PZC will not compromise core development standards regardless of project scale. The daycare-adjacent-to-car-dealership critique signals the board expects coherent use programming, not just parcel-filling.

  • Food truck momentum building -- PZC approves against staff again: Second food truck CUP approved against staff recommendation in 2024 (after January's Patio Food Truck Park). Commissioner Bain's call for City Council to create formal food truck regulations signals this use type is outpacing the code. The delivery-app-driven business model (Grubhub/Uber Eats/DoorDash) means food trucks generate less traffic than traditional restaurants, undermining traditional trip-generation objections.

  • Hartwood Marsh Road development continues despite community resistance: Bongard Estates (51 homes) gains approval on the same road where the First Baptist Church ALF was just denied in June. The difference: lower density (3 du/acre vs. 12 du/acre requested), single-family vs. institutional, and annexation actually reduces density from county's 4 du/acre. Hartwood Marsh Road traffic remains the dominant concern for any development along this corridor.

  • Potter's Academy approval reflects Clermont's growing special-needs education infrastructure: A micro-school for 15 students with intellectual/developmental disabilities, operating within an existing church facility with minimal impact, received unanimous enthusiastic support. Combined with The Dream Academy (approved August), this signals a niche educational market emerging in Clermont.

  • River Church CUP withdrawn after four consecutive tablings: The prolonged deferral-then-withdrawal pattern suggests the applicant could not resolve issues that made the project unviable or politically infeasible. This frees up future agenda capacity.