Protests Fail To Halt Rezoning For Apartments

October 13, 1988|By David White of The Sentinel Staff

KISSIMMEE — About 20 angry people who live in the Oak Run subdivision predicted their property values would drop and crime rates would rise if a new subdivision is built east of their homes.

They also said traffic would worsen on Mill Slough Road and Woodcrest Boulevard if Palm State Development in Lakeland goes through with its plans to build about 180 houses and 200 apartments over three to five years.

The city commission Tuesday night gave a big boost to those plans, voting 3 to 2 to annex the developer's 98 acres and approve zoning that could allow houses, stores and apartments on the land, which hugs Florida's Turnpike to the west.

Oak Run residents blasted the decision.

''I think we just went through the motions,'' said George Selah of 2409 Fulton Road.

''They had their minds made up all the time,'' agreed Virginia Cook, 2413 Fulton Road. ''I'm worried about seeing some little kid get run over out there because of increased traffic.''

Cook said she also worried about Palm State Development's plans to build 200 apartments south of Mill Slough Road.

No other apartments have been allowed near Oak Run, Mill Run and some other subdivisions in northeast Kissimmee, and Cook and others worried that apartments built within a few hundred yards would hurt the value of their homes.

''I think it definitely would be damaging to real estate values,'' said Marty Kaiser, of 2423 Franklin Drive.

''Our houses are our investments. We don't want our investments to go down the drain,'' said Quinton Herrin, of 2401 Benjamin Drive.

Commissioners Ken Maher and Bill Hart opposed the annexation and zoning.

''This whole area is a single-family quadrant,'' said Maher. ''Why do we want to include this (apartments)?''

Builder Bob Adams of Lakeland said no apartments would be built within 600 feet of an existing house, and that only houses in Quail Hollow would border the Oak Run subdivision and the proposed Mill Slough Road extension.

He said Palm State reduced its planned number of apartments from 280 to 200 to increase the distance between them and the houses.

''I think single-family homes in Oak Run are adequately buffered and protected,'' said Mayor Bruce Van Meter, who joined Bill McMullan and Richard Herring in supporting the annexation and zoning.

Once the county builds Osceola Boulevard, a 2.8-mile road expected to run just west of the turnpike between Boggy Creek Road and Dart Boulevard, more apartments should spring up along the boulevard, Van Meter said.

Adams said Palm State hopes to start building apartments in about two years, and he asked commissioners not to annex the 98 acres if they wouldn't later approve plans for multifamily housing on the land.

But McMullan said he doesn't think the commission has promised Palm State Development that it could build apartments no matter what their construction plans looked like. ''It's not a done deal,'' he said. ''They need to continue working with the homeowners.''

Palm State also wants to build stores on 9.2 acres south of the proposed Mill Slough Road extension, next to the proposed boulevard. Adams said the shops won't open until the road does, which could take five years or more. Adams said a traffic study sponsored by his company showed that the extra houses and apartments in Quail Hollow wouldn't worsen traffic too much on Mill Slough Road.

But nearby residents didn't buy that.

''I'd say traffic is unacceptable at its current state, and it can do nothing but get worse,'' said Kaiser.