City of Tavares Planning and Zoning Advisory Board — March 19, 2026

Meeting Overview

Type: Regular Meeting Quorum: Yes (7 of 7 members present) Duration: 3:00 PM – 3:26 PM (26 minutes) Location: Tavares City Hall Council Chambers, 201 E. Main Street

Attendance

• Present: Gary Santoro (Chairman), Deborah Murphy (Vice-Chairperson), Bruce Peterman, Jay Cunningham, Brooke Matthews (arrived 3:01 PM), Dara Treadwell, James Sweezea — full board
• Absent: None
• Staff Present: Antonio Fabre (Community Development Director), James Frye (City Planner), Anarquis Frias (Planning Manager), Amanda Boggus (City Attorney), Michelle Winegard (Deputy City Clerk)

Prior minutes: February 19, 2026 minutes approved without correction (moved Sweezea, seconded Treadwell), 7-0.

Note: This is the last Tavares P&Z meeting held before a four-month gap — April, May, and June 2026 were all canceled, and the Board did not reconvene until July 16, 2026.

Agenda Items

Item 1: Approval of the February 19, 2026, Planning and Zoning Board Meeting Minutes

• Type: Other (administrative)
• Request: Approve the February 19, 2026 minutes
• Action: Approved
• Vote: 7-0 (moved Sweezea, seconded Treadwell)
• Notable Discussion: No corrections offered.

Item 2: Resolution 2026-08 — Special Use Permit for a Laundromat at 1248 Wells Avenue

• Type: Special Use Permit
• Case Number: Resolution 2026-08
• Location: 1248 Wells Avenue — west side of Wells Avenue at the north corner of the intersection with South Duncan Drive. Contiguous to the C-1 zoned Dora Canal Plaza to the north; surrounded by a mix of Planned Development (PD) commercial uses and Residential Multi-Family (RMF-3) zoning.
• Applicant: Represented by Robert G. Owens Jr., AIA, project architect, RGO Design Group, Inc.
• Request: Approve a Special Use Permit allowing operation of a laundromat in a building most recently occupied by a convenience store with gas and fuel sales. A laundromat is permitted in the Mixed Use district only upon City Council approval of a Special Use Permit.
• Current Zoning: Mixed Use (MU)
• Proposed Zoning: No change — Special Use Permit within MU
• Acreage: [not available]
• Staff Recommendation: Approve — staff found the laundromat "a compatible and appropriate use for the property" based on surrounding land uses and zoning patterns
• Action: Recommended for approval
• Vote: 7-0 (moved Peterman, seconded Matthews)
• Conditions: The applicant submitted a Special Use Site Plan carrying a list of conditions of approval for construction. The resolution requires all development to be consistent with the City of Tavares Land Development Regulations and Comprehensive Plan. The existing gas tanks and canopy are scheduled to be removed.
• Notable Discussion:
  • Peterman asked about removal of the existing underground gas tanks and whether soil testing would be conducted. Frye said the applicant and property owner were coordinating removal in compliance with the Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) and all applicable statutory requirements, and that any permits obtained would be provided to the City for the record.
  • Cunningham asked about the remediation process if contamination were discovered. Frye said remediation would be determined based on environmental review and FDEP recommendations. Matthews noted her soil-testing question had been addressed.
  • Peterman asked whether ingress and egress would remain the same; Frye said the Civil Engineer intended to improve the layout and reduce the size of the access area. Peterman asked about the damaged existing sign; Frye said it would likely be replaced but noted signage is not specifically addressed in the approval criteria.
  • Cunningham asked whether the proposed laundromat would replace the existing laundromat behind the property or operate alongside it. Frye confirmed it would operate alongside it, as the properties are under separate ownership.
  • Sweezea expressed concern about the proximity of two laundromats and the use of a large parcel for a single purpose, and asked whether additional uses were anticipated. Frye stated approval of the Special Use Permit would allow the property to be used for a laundromat.
  • Murphy expressed concern about the large ingress and egress access and the potential for cut-through traffic creating safety issues. Frye said site design would help limit traffic, suggested additional input from engineering or public works might be appropriate, and that signage could be considered to enhance safety.
  • Peterman asked about landscaping; Frye confirmed it was included in the site plan. Santoro asked whether site lighting would comply with City standards and avoid impacts to adjacent properties; Fabre confirmed compliance.
  • Owens addressed the ingress/egress concerns, stating the design had been evaluated during planning and that the owner was willing to modify curbing to meet City standards.

Item 3: Community Development Director Report

• Type: Other (staff report)
• Applicant: City of Tavares Community Development
• Action: No action
• Notable Discussion:
  • Fabre had no items; Planning Manager Frias reported that the Cresswind development is preparing to begin Phases II and III, with permits expected to be issued soon, and that the City is nearing issuance of a Certificate of Occupancy for the Waterman facility, which the Building Official said was being constructed to a high standard of quality.
  • Santoro raised the volume of signage along State Road 19, naming multiple signs at intersections from Dead River Road to Slim Haywood Avenue, and asked whether the City could regulate the number. Fabre stated off-site signage is not permitted and Code Enforcement would review, but jurisdiction may be affected because portions of SR 19 fall under state control. Cunningham noted similar concerns at Main Street and SR 19.
  • Boggus explained that requirements depend on whether signs are in the right-of-way or on private property, with jurisdiction falling to the City, County, or State accordingly, and that temporary signage on private property is permitted. She noted that with the upcoming campaign season additional signage may be expected, and that enforcement is typically initiated by complaint, with documentation necessary to establish applicable timelines.
  • Murphy asked the status of the property formerly known as Palm Gardens. Frias stated no updates had been received. Santoro expressed concern about the property's condition and suggested staff review the site, noting reports of debris accumulation near the canal.
  • Sweezea asked about the parcel across from Dollar General on SR 19. Frias stated there has been no recent activity; Code Enforcement previously reviewed the site and determined the removed trees were already down or dead, and the clearing was consistent with routine maintenance. Peterman asked about long-standing "For Sale" signage there; Frias said staff would review it for compliance.
  • Cunningham requested an update on the traffic signal at SR 19 and CR 561. Fabre stated there was no new activity; the project is expected to be completed around June 2026.
  • Sweezea asked about the Mansfield Street property with two mobile trailers. Frye stated the property owner is working with Code Enforcement, has submitted a plan to remove one unit, and intends to bring the remaining unit into compliance as a permitted residence.

Public Hearings Summary

• Number of speakers: 1 — Robert G. Owens Jr., AIA, of RGO Design Group, Inc., representing the applicant. Attorney Boggus administered the oath to all individuals providing testimony; no ex parte communications were disclosed.
• General sentiment: No opposition. No members of the public spoke on the item or under Audience to be Heard.
• Key concerns: None from the public. Board concerns were environmental (underground tank removal and soil contamination), traffic (oversized access and cut-through risk), and market (two laundromats operating side by side on separate ownership).

Key Signals

• A former gas station at 1248 Wells Avenue is converting to a laundromat, and the underground tanks come out under FDEP oversight. Three board members pressed on soil testing and contamination remediation before voting yes. The record's answer is procedural, not substantive: removal will comply with FDEP and applicable statutes, permits will be provided to the City for the record, and remediation — if any — will be determined by environmental review. There is no contamination finding on this record either way. Anyone with an interest in the parcel or its neighbors at South Duncan Drive should follow the FDEP permit file, not the City's.

• The Board approved a second laundromat directly in front of an existing one, on separate ownership, 7-0. Frye confirmed the two will operate alongside each other. Sweezea named the concern — proximity and single-purpose use of a large parcel — and the answer was that the permit allows the use. Special Use Permits in Tavares are compatibility tests against surrounding zoning, not market-saturation tests.

• The SR 19 / CR 561 traffic signal has now slipped roughly eight months. The April 2025 Horizon Team briefing had construction starting October 2025 and finishing January 2026. July 2025: early 2026. March 2026: no new activity, expected around June 2026. The signal is the single most-tracked infrastructure item in this record, it is a state project, and the City reports on it from the outside.

• Palm Gardens is entitled, inert, and accumulating debris near the canal. Seven months after Council granted the mixed-use zoning this Board voted against, staff have received no updates, no pre-application meeting has occurred, and the chair is asking Code Enforcement to look at the site. The parcel sits at US 441 and the Dead River with a boat dock and a former restaurant still on it. The entitlement moved; nothing else has.

• The City Attorney told the Board that sign enforcement is complaint-driven and that campaign season is coming. Boggus's framing is the operative rule for SR 19 corridor signage: jurisdiction splits between City, County, and State depending on right-of-way versus private property; temporary signage on private property is permitted; enforcement starts with a complaint and requires documentation to establish timelines. Off-site signage is prohibited but effectively unpoliced absent a complainant.

• Cresswind is entering Phases II and III, and Waterman is nearly occupiable. The two largest active projects in the record both cleared milestones in the same report — Cresswind permits expected imminently, AdventHealth's Waterman facility approaching Certificate of Occupancy after exterior completion was certified in October 2025. These are the demand-side facts behind the SR 19 and Woodlea Road capacity discussions.

Raw Notes

• Source: March 19, 2026 minutes PDF, CivicClerk file ID 2908, published on event 491 (agendaId 406). Agenda is file ID 2799; web agenda packet is file ID 2811. This minutes file extracts cleanly as native text — unlike the July 2025 through February 2026 minutes, which are scans. An identical copy appears as the Tab 1 attachment in the July 16, 2026 agenda packet (file ID 2897, PDF pages 4–9).
• Board Member Matthews joined the meeting at 3:01 PM, after the minutes-approval vote; the 7-0 tallies are recorded as unanimous for both motions.
• Three planning staff attended — Fabre (Director), Frias (Planning Manager), and Frye (City Planner) — the fullest planning bench in the coverage period, following the October 2025 vacancy and January 2026 hire.
• After this meeting the Board did not convene again until July 16, 2026. Public notices canceled April 16, May 21, and June 18, 2026 (CivicClerk file IDs 2834, 2857, 2874 on events 492, 510, 542). The August 20, 2026 meeting was also canceled by notice (file ID 2915, event 544), naming September 17, 2026 as the next scheduled date.
• The March 19, 2026 minutes had not been approved as of the July 16, 2026 agenda, where they appear as Tab 1 — a four-month approval lag created by the cancellations.
• Minutes attested by Michelle Winegard, Deputy City Clerk. Page count: 6.