Lake County Planning and Zoning Board — December 3, 2025

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (6 of 8 voting members present) Duration: Approximately 54 minutes (9:00 AM – 9:54 AM)

Attendance

• Present: Laura Jones Smith (Chairman), Carroll Jaskulski (Vice Chairman), Judith Fike, Addie Owens, Dan Tatro, Sean Lahey
• Absent: Mollie Cunningham, Mark McManus
• Staff Present: Janie Barron, Planning Manager; Leslie Regan, Senior Planner; Corey DeVogel, Planner I; Eva Lora, Public Hearing Coordinator; Melanie Marsh, County Attorney; Josh Pearson, Deputy Clerk

---

Agenda Items

Tab 1: LDR Amendment — WWAP Landscape

• Type: Text Amendment (LDR Section 16.00.02 / Wellness Way Development Standards)
• Case Number: Ordinance #2025-XX
• Request: Amend Wellness Way LDR landscape and irrigation standards. Incorporate The New Yard Pattern Book as Section 16.00.04. Incorporate Landscape and Irrigation Plan Examples as Section 16.00.05. Integrate Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles. Provide enhanced landscaping standards. Provide references to official websites for approved plant lists. Amend LDR Chapter II to include compost and plant bed definitions.
• Staff Recommendation: Approve
• Action: Approved
• Vote: 6-0 (Lahey/Tatro motion)
• Notable Discussion:
  • Origin: SJRWMD + Central Florida Water Initiative (CFWI) projected groundwater deficit. Clermont began drafting its own landscape/irrigation update in mid-2023, adopted July 2025; the County's WWAP Landscape ordinance is the County-level companion.
  • Consultants: OUTSIDE Collab, Life Soils, SJRWMD.
  • Wellness Way intent of development lists protection of key regional natural and ecological systems as one of five goals.
  • 50–60% of a home's potable water usage is for irrigation; up to 70% if reclaimed.
  • Changes since prior PZB review: drought-tolerant species + water budgets clarified; reduce fertilizer/pesticide intent; encourage Florida native species + Florida Wildlife Corridor framing; landscape and irrigation can be on same plan; eliminated rigid irrigation design specs in favor of Florida Water Star Silver Certification path; water management plan with water budget required; homeowner education requirements; "right plant, right place" principle reference; site-appropriate species to the Lake Wales Ridge; native/friendly percentages by plant count not species; clarified irrigation volume language for plant beds and tree bubblers.
  • Opposition correspondence on file but no in-person speakers.

Tab 2: Butler Property (CUP)

• Type: Conditional Use Permit
• Case Number: Ordinance #2025-XX
• Location: South of Lakeshore Drive, east of Hammock Ridge Road, unincorporated Clermont area; ~2.46 acres on Lake Susan
• Applicant: Represented by attorney Logan Opsahl + project engineer Julian Quintana (Highland Engineering)
• Request: CUP for a fishing resort/small-scale recreational camp in Rural Residential District (R-1). 61 boat slips (state-permitted). 18.30% impervious surface ratio; 81.7% open space. Concept plan: 2,500 sq ft cabin area; 200 sq ft bathhouse; 400 sq ft dock retail; 600 sq ft dock security building.
• Current Zoning: R-1; Future Land Use: Green Swamp Rural
• Staff Recommendation: Approve (consistent with LDR/Comp Plan)
• Action: Approved
• Vote: 5-1 (Tatro/Jaskulski motion to approve; AGAINST: Owens)
• Notable Discussion:
  • Owens raised the Comp Plan's Rural FLUC marina provision: marinas may be approved by BCC as conditional use limited to no more than 20 motorized watercraft slips. Marsh confirmed there are NO specific Comp Plan provisions for marinas in the Green Swamp; the only Comp Plan marina provisions cited are for the Rural FLUC.
  • Owens opined "61 boat slips was not considered small-scale" — formed the basis for her dissent.
  • Marsh noted the Comp Plan's recreational definition for "outdoor sporting and recreational clubs" includes fishing camps — which is the use category staff applied.
  • Plans inconsistency: the staff report's concept plan and the stormwater management report's master land use plan disagreed on cabin count (3 vs 6), entry/exit configuration, and parking. Quintana confirmed the original 6-cabin plan was for an FDEP permit submittal; the current ordinance reflects the 3-cabin concept plan. Opsahl committed to working with staff to reconcile before BCC.
  • Operations: dock and boat slips in the lake outside property boundaries — state-permitted under Lake Susan jurisdiction; County's regulatory authority over slip count is limited.
  • Confirmed: no fueling, no mechanical, no maintenance — passive recreation only.

Tab 3 (Consent): Rafiki Foundation Portable Classrooms (Rezoning)

• Type: Rezoning
• Case Number: Ordinance #2025-XX
• Action: Approved on Consent Agenda
• Vote: 6-0 (Lahey/Jaskulski motion)
• Notable Discussion: No in-person discussion; passed with consent block.

Tabs 4 & 5: O'Brien Road PUD (FLUM Amendment + Rezoning) — over City of Groveland opposition

• Type: Future Land Use Map Amendment + Rezoning (Agriculture → PUD)
• Case Number: Ordinance #2025-XX (FLUM); Ordinance #2025-XX (Rezoning)
• Location: South of West Libby Road, east of South O'Brien Road, unincorporated Groveland-area; ~68.31 acres
• Applicant: Represented by attorney Jimmy Crawford
• Request: FLUM change Rural → PUD; rezone Agriculture → PUD; 41-unit single-family residential subdivision at 0.6 du/net acre; 25% open space; 30% maximum impervious surface; 50-ft jurisdictional wetland setback. Water/wastewater: applicant proposing SJRWMD-permitted wells + OnSyte distributed wastewater treatment system (DWTS) — recognized as central utility by County.
• Current Zoning: Agriculture; FLU: Rural; inside City of Groveland Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement (ISBA)
• Staff Recommendation: Approve (consistent with LDR/Comp Plan)
• Action: Approved
• Vote: 5-1 (Tatro/Jaskulski motion to approve; AGAINST: Fike)
• Notable Discussion:
  • Crawford on the record: Applicant approached the City of Groveland more than a year prior asking to be annexed; the City would not support annexation at that time. Crawford said the City would not confirm whether they had water/sewer capacity, which is why the applicant developed the wells + OnSyte alternative.
  • City of Groveland opposition cited: FLU amendment, rezoning, density increase, water/wastewater capacity concerns, environmental impacts, transportation infrastructure inadequacy.
  • Crawford response: 1,112 lots had been approved by Groveland adjacent to this property at densities of 2-4 du/ac; this proposal at 0.6 du/ac is the appropriate "step-down buffer" between rural and urban densities (planning principle invocation). All impacted roads at LOS "C" remaining at "C" post-development. Per Florida law, development cannot be denied based on transportation infrastructure inadequacy.
  • Resident Robert Sieffert (26-year neighbor) supported the project but asked that a 2-acre park near his property remain unimproved as a preserve, similar to the adjacent turtle preserve. Crawford agreed to add this condition.
  • Fike (lone NO) — vote signaling concern about the Groveland-County jurisdictional friction or water/wastewater path.
  • Owens framing on the JPA: "It was up to the BCC to honor the JPA, and...this Board should only be looking at the development itself."
  • Marsh on the agreements landscape:
    • There is an ISBA AND a separate Joint Planning Agreement (JPA) between Lake County and the City of Groveland.
    • The JPA was adopted in May 2025.
    • The JPA includes language "that did not prevent either party from moving forward with approvals or reviewing applications in accordance with the County's Comp Plan and LDR."
    • The 2024 ISBA and 2025 JPA do not conflict, per Marsh.
    • Utilities are intentionally NOT discussed in the JPA — kept separate because utilities are the municipality's purview; County does not offer them.
  • Connection design: developer paving across South O'Brien Road to Coralwood Lane (paved). Estates at Cherry Lake residents requested no through-connection; developer accommodated.

Other Business: 2026 Meeting Calendar Approval

• Type: Procedural
• Action: Approved
• Vote: 6-0 (Owens/Jaskulski motion)

Other Business: Ethics Training + New Member Welcome

• Type: Procedural
• Notable Discussion: Barron reminded the Board that the ethics training was due December 31, 2025; welcomed Judith Fike as newest Board member.

---

Public Hearings Summary

• Number of speakers: 1 (Tab 4/5 — neighbor in support with conditions; opposition correspondence on file but no in-person opposition speakers)
• General sentiment: O'Brien Road support with conditions; opposition documented in writing
• Key concerns: Wildlife and tree removal during development; preservation of natural areas; opposition correspondence from City of Groveland questioning capacity, density, environmental, transportation

---

Key Signals

• The County approved O'Brien Road PUD over the City of Groveland's documented opposition — the JPA is a coordination instrument, not a veto: This is the single most consequential signal in the December meeting and arguably the most important County-level signal in the corpus to date. Lake County and Groveland have BOTH an ISBA (Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement, 2024) and a JPA (Joint Planning Agreement, May 2025). Marsh confirmed on the record that the JPA includes language explicitly preserving each party's right to approve applications under their own Comp Plan and LDR. Translation: the City and County coordinate on planning, but neither has veto power over the other's land-use decisions inside the ISBA boundary. Groveland told an applicant in 2024 it wouldn't annex and wouldn't confirm utility capacity; the applicant routed through the County with a private utility (OnSyte DWTS); the County PZB approved over Groveland's documented opposition. The City lost this round, and the JPA mechanism is now stress-tested. Watch for Groveland's response at the BCC hearing in January 2026.
• OnSyte distributed wastewater treatment is now an approved County utility — the unincorporated growth path no longer requires city water/sewer: Marsh confirmed DWTS is recognized as a central utility under County Comp Plan rules. This is structurally significant. Cities have used "no utility capacity" as a soft veto on annexation and on projects right outside their boundaries; a County-recognized DWTS path neutralizes that veto. Combined with the SJRWMD-permitted private well alternative, the unincorporated growth pattern can now be entirely independent of municipal utility extension. The implications for the South Lake corridor's development pattern — particularly for parcels on the rural side of city ISBAs — are large.
• Wellness Way Landscape LDR amendment passes unanimously — water-conservation discipline now coded at the County level: The 6-0 approval imports Clermont's July 2025 landscape/irrigation update structure into the WWAP envelope. SJRWMD + CFWI water-deficit projections are the upstream causal driver; 50-70% of residential water consumption being irrigation is the policy lever. This positions Wellness Way as a designed-in water-conservation showcase, distinct from the rest of unincorporated Lake County, and aligned with Clermont's posture. The pattern: Wellness Way operates as a regulated zone with its own LDR overlay layered on top of the county baseline — this is the second WWAP-specific overlay in the corpus (the first being the target-industries list at Comp Plan Policy 1-8.1.1).
• Butler Property's 61 boat slips test the Green Swamp marina regulation gap: Owens dissented because the Rural FLUC limits marinas to 20 slips, and 61 slips is not "small-scale." But the Green Swamp FLUC has no marina provisions, and the use category applied was "outdoor sporting and recreational clubs / fishing camps" — which has no slip limit. The 5-1 approval reveals an exploitable definitional path: classify as a fishing/recreational camp rather than a marina, accept the Green Swamp's regulatory silence on slip counts, and the County's regulatory authority over slips ends at the property boundary (state-permitted on the lake). This is calibration data for any future commercial-recreation application on Lake County's lake frontage.
• The plans-inconsistency moment in Butler Property is a process-quality data point: Two County-submitted plan documents disagreed on cabin count (3 vs 6), entry/exit configuration, and parking — and the Board approved with the applicant committing to "work with staff" before BCC. That a CUP advanced from staff to PZB with internal plan inconsistencies suggests staff review velocity may be exceeding plan review depth in some files. The County's response: lean on the BCC second-look. Worth tracking how often this pattern recurs.
• Judith Fike voted NO on O'Brien Road — the lone dissent on a 5-1 PUD signals where future board breaks will fall: Fike is the newest Board member. Her dissent on a project that staff approved as Comp Plan / LDR consistent is meaningful — she's establishing a voting position that suggests greater willingness to weight municipal opposition or environmental factors than the staff-recommendation default. Track Fike's vote pattern over the next 3-6 months.

---

Raw Notes

• Source: Approved minutes PDF, 12 pages.
• Recommendations transmitted to BCC for January 6, 2026 hearing.
• Applicant attorney roster: Logan Opsahl (Butler), Jimmy Crawford (O'Brien Road).
• Project engineer: Julian Quintana (Highland Engineering — Butler).
• Robert Sieffert: 26-year resident; the institutional-memory voice that surfaces in unincorporated rural rezonings.
• The JPA / ISBA distinction (separate documents, different purposes) is a critical regulatory architecture detail that should be reflected in the Decoder Index entity dossiers for these documents.
• Estates at Cherry Lake residents secured a no-cut-through condition through earlier developer engagement — this is a worked example of HOA-protected internal road preservation negotiating with adjacent rural rezonings.
• Sunshine Water Services (per January 2026 minutes) and OnSyte DWTS (here) are the two private-utility paths visible in the unincorporated corpus.