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Leesburg Planning Commission
June 2024

7 items on the agendaConvened June 20, 2024
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THE READINGmeeting record

City of Leesburg Planning Commission — June 20, 2024

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (6 of 9 members present) Duration: ~58 minutes (4:30 PM - 5:28 PM)

Attendance

  • Present: Tim Sennett (Chairman), Ted Bowersox, John O'Kelley, Ze'Shieca Carter, Stewart Kaplan, Ken Simeone
  • Absent: Nathaniel Sanders (Vice-Chairman), Frazier Marshall, Darin Akkerman
  • Staff Present: Dan Miller (Planning & Zoning Director), Sabrina Mitchell (Executive Assistant I), Kandi Harper (Deputy Director), Max Van Allen (Planner), Melissa Medders (Planner), Grant Watson (City Attorney)

Agenda Items

Item 1: Silver Springs — Large Scale Comp Plan Amendment (Postponed)

  • Type: Comp Plan Amendment
  • Case Number: LSCP-24-39
  • Location: West of Number Two Road and north of Busby Road
  • Acreage: 337
  • Action: Postponed to July 18, 2024
  • Vote: 6-0
  • Notable Discussion: Applicant requested postponement to make adjustments to site plan based on neighborhood meetings. Staff had asked applicant to hold neighborhood meetings; the last one was held the week prior. Large-scale amendment (337 acres) from Lake County Rural to Estate Residential.

Item 2: Silver Springs — Planned Unit Development (Postponed)

  • Type: PUD
  • Case Number: PUD-24-40
  • Location: West of Number Two Road and north of Busby Road
  • Acreage: 337
  • Action: Postponed to July 18, 2024
  • Vote: 6-0
  • Notable Discussion: Companion case to LSCP-24-39.

Item 3: Shore Acres Landing — Planned Unit Development (Postponed)

  • Type: PUD
  • Case Number: PUD-24-126
  • Location: East and south of Shore Acres Drive, west of Weston Road, and north of Goss Avenue
  • Acreage: 14.16
  • Action: Postponed to July 18, 2024
  • Vote: 6-0
  • Notable Discussion: Postponed at applicant request. Staff required neighborhood meeting due to considerable public response from surrounding property owner notification letters.

Item 4: Penn Street Habitat — Small Scale Comp Plan Amendment

  • Type: Comp Plan Amendment
  • Case Number: SSCP-24-163
  • Location: North of Hill Street and east of Penn Street
  • Applicant: Habitat for Humanity (Danielle Stroud, 906 Avenida Central, The Villages)
  • Request: Change future land use of 2.4 acres from General Commercial to Low Density Residential for 8 single-family homes (resubmitted from May postponement with new SPUD zoning instead of withdrawn R-2 rezoning).
  • Current Zoning: General Commercial (FLU) / C-3 (Highway Commercial)
  • Proposed Zoning: Low Density Residential (FLU)
  • Acreage: 2.4
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: 5-0 (Commissioner Carter abstained — conflict of interest)
  • Notable Discussion: Infill project — development/redevelopment of an area already surrounded by existing development. 8 homes (revised from original 9 — removed one lot for drainage). Lot sizes 5,700 to 7,500 sq ft, 60-ft widths, minimum depth 95 ft. Homes 900-1,300 sq ft, entry-level first-time homebuyers. Sidewalks both sides. Habitat works throughout Lake/Sumter County. Partnership with Leesburg High School students to build homes. Previous Habitat home on 12th Street (in Historic District) "turned out really nice." Public Works does not want to accept the roads — language in PUD addresses this; City Commission decision on road acceptance. One public response received. Solo burn completed; environmental borings clean.

Item 5: Penn Street Habitat — Small Planned Unit Development

  • Type: SPUD
  • Case Number: SPUD-24-175
  • Location: North of Hill Street and east of Penn Street
  • Applicant: Habitat for Humanity
  • Request: Rezone 2.4 acres from C-3 (Highway Commercial) to SPUD for 8 single-family homes.
  • Current Zoning: C-3 (Highway Commercial)
  • Proposed Zoning: City SPUD
  • Acreage: 2.4
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve
  • Action: Approved
  • Vote: 5-0 (Commissioner Carter abstained)
  • Notable Discussion: Companion case to SSCP-24-163. Replaces withdrawn RZ-24-102 from May.

Item 6: 606 S. 9th Street Private School — Conditional Use Permit

  • Type: CUP
  • Case Number: CUP-24-166
  • Location: South of West Dixie Avenue and east of South 9th Street
  • Applicant: Step Up Academy (private school for children on the autism spectrum)
  • Request: CUP for a private school in R-2 zoning on 1.16 acres.
  • Current Zoning: R-2 (Medium Density Residential)
  • Acreage: 1.16
  • Staff Recommendation: Approve
  • Action: Approved (with amendment to expand CUP to whole parcel)
  • Vote: 5-1 (Bowersox voted no on both the amendment and the final approval)
  • Conditions: Amendment changed scope from single building (606 S. 9th Street) to entire parcel (611 West Dixie Avenue) to allow potential future expansion of school use.
  • Notable Discussion: Small private school serving children on the autism spectrum. Does not take taxpayer dollars. State-regulated student capacity based on building size. 1:1 teacher-to-student ratio. Up to 50 children, ~20 teachers. Cooking school component. First Step Therapy also on site. Three buildings on parcel — school initially in center building only. Extensive Commission debate about whether to limit CUP to one building (606 S. 9th) or expand to entire parcel (611 W. Dixie). Commissioner Bowersox opposed expanding to entire property, concerned about increased traffic at busy intersection. Commissioner Carter argued school generates less traffic than previous medical use and expansion prevents applicant from needing to return. City Attorney Watson noted Commission can impose conditions on CUP scope. Max Van Allen clarified the postal addresses (606 = specific building, 611 = entire parcel). Final motion amended to cover whole parcel. Commissioner Carter moved both the amendment and final approval; Kaplan seconded both.

Item 7: First Academy Athletic Fields — PUD Minor Modification (Postponed)

  • Type: PUD Minor Modification
  • Case Number: PUD-24-123
  • Location: East of US Highway 27 and south of Windsong Oak Drive
  • Acreage: 39.59
  • Action: Postponed to July 18, 2024
  • Vote: 6-0
  • Notable Discussion: Applicant requested postponement.

Public Hearings Summary

  • Number of speakers: 1 (on Penn Street Habitat)
  • General sentiment: Supportive of Habitat project
  • Key concerns:
    • Road acceptance by Public Works (Penn Street Habitat)
    • Traffic at Dixie/9th Street intersection (private school — Commissioner Bowersox's concern)
    • One public response received on Penn Street Habitat

Key Signals

  • Habitat for Humanity gaining footing in Leesburg — affordable infill model approved. Penn Street Habitat (8 homes, 900-1,300 sq ft, entry-level) unanimously approved (with one abstention for conflict). Habitat's partnership with Leesburg High School students and previous success on 12th Street built credibility. The conversion of C-3 commercial land to affordable housing is notable — staff characterized infill development meeting "a very significant need" in the City. This is the most affordable product approved by the Commission in the 2024 series.
  • Four of seven cases postponed — neighborhood meetings becoming standard prerequisite. Silver Springs (337 acres), Shore Acres Landing (14 acres), and First Academy all postponed. Staff is now routinely requiring applicant-led neighborhood meetings before major cases reach the Commission. The Shore Acres case generated "considerable public response" from notification letters alone. This pattern — postpone, meet neighbors, revise, return — is becoming institutionalized after the Denham Village denial and Caras Cove revision.
  • Private school for autism spectrum children expands Commission's CUP toolkit. Step Up Academy approved 5-1 with expansion to full parcel. Commissioner Bowersox's lone dissent was traffic-based, not use-based. The Commission majority's willingness to expand the CUP beyond the requested building — proactively enabling future growth — shows comfort with educational/social service uses in residential zones.
  • Commissioner Carter's influence growing on social service cases. Carter moved both the Penn Street Habitat and Step Up Academy motions, successfully argued for parcel-wide CUP expansion on the school, and her walkability/alternative transportation perspective from the February Lee School discussion is recurring. She abstained from Habitat due to conflict of interest, suggesting a personal connection to affordable housing work.
  • Silver Springs (337 acres) is the next major test. Postponed to July, this Lake County Rural-to-Estate Residential conversion is the largest single-case acreage in the 2024 series. Neighborhood meetings have been held. The site plan is being adjusted based on feedback. How the Commission handles this 337-acre project will signal whether the post-Denham Village caution extends to all large-scale development or was specific to South Leesburg traffic.

Raw Notes

  • May 23, 2024 minutes approved 4-0.
  • Dan Miller announced 4 of 7 cases postponed at the start of the meeting, noting scheduling conflicts and required neighborhood meetings.
  • Commissioner Sanders relayed Juneteenth festival announcement for Saturday, June 22 at Leesburg Resource Center on CR 468.
  • Commissioner Carter abstained from Penn Street Habitat cases due to conflict of interest (City Attorney Watson announced at start of discussion).
  • Public Works not wanting to accept Penn Street Habitat roads — PUD language addresses this; ultimately a City Commission decision.