Residents in the Hamlin area recently voiced their concerns over a rezoning request that would involve converting a 19.11-acre parcel of land from A-1 (Citrus Rural District) to PD (Planned Development District). The proposal includes adding the property to the existing Hamlin West PD and designating the area as Corporate Campus Mixed Use District on the Horizon West Land Use Map.

The rezoning request also involves updating the Adequate Public Facilities table to reflect a transfer of credits from the Silverleaf PD, and converting 67,810 square feet of the approved 689,432 square feet of permitted non-residential development, and 97 of the approved 322 townhome units, to 408 apartment units. If approved, the overall PD development would be 864 multi-family units, 225 townhome units, and 630,763 square feet of non-residential development.

During the public meeting on March 28, residents expressed their concerns over traffic and pedestrian safety, school capacity, and affordability. Many were worried that the rezoning would result in increased traffic, making it more difficult to cross the street, especially for children going to and from school. There were also concerns about the impact that the new development would place a strain on school capacity. Approximately 50 residents were in attendance.

Despite these concerns, one resident expressed support for the rezoning request, stating that they would like to see more apartments in the area so that they could walk and bike to the town center with other young adults.

Scott Boyd, the developer behind the Hamlin project, addressed some of concerns raised by residents. He expressed his commitment to making the area as walkable as possible and investigating solutions such as lower speeds, speed bumps, and more crosswalks. Boyd also stated that his goal has been and continues to be to create a small and approachable town center. Boyd indicated that that the current commercial area in Town Center West is approximately double the size of the current Town Center to the easy of 429, and that he is having constructive conversations with additional big and mid-sized national brands.

Orange County Staff was present for the duration of the meeting and documented it. Staff will now present their recommendations to the Orange County Board of County Commissioners for consideration. No date has been set for the hearing.