Oviedo’s Land Development Code gets major update

Following nearly 100 total hours of work by Oviedo’s city staff, consultants and council members, the city’s Land Development Code (LDC) has been updated with significant changes coming for future development.

City Council unanimously approved the repealing of the previous LDC and replacing it with the updated version at its Nov. 18 meeting, leading to a standing ovation for the city’s Land Development Code Committee, Local Planning Agency and staff members who worked to complete the comprehensive 552-page document.

“You guys did not know what you were signing up for,” Mayor Megan Sladek said. “Thank you for sticking with it.”

Included in the updates are:

• Structured parking: A 50% density bonus will be available to developers if at least 25% of the total parking added to residential projects is available for short-term public use. If the 25% is not reached in residential or mixed-use residential development, the density bonus will be reduced.

• Permanent signs: Only one projecting sign that does not extend above the roof line is allowed per building side. It cannot exceed the maximum building sign area square footage, which is calculated as 2-and-a-half square feet per linear foot of the building facade, up to 200 square feet. It can project 3 feet from the wall.

• Tree preservation: Tree preservation has been an option to mitigate permit deviations. The updated LDC changes the amount of preservation from 25% to 35% of trees with caliper larger than 30 inches in diameter, not including those in wetlands or conservation areas.

• Public outreach: This new section lays out requirements for a developer to notify and educate property owners located within 500 feet of “a subject property proposed for a future land use map amendment, zoning map amendment, special exception use order, and preliminary subdivision plan within 30 days after the application has been submitted to the City,” according to the LDC. These include mail notices and optional community meetings.

• Accessory dwelling units (ADUs): A new section that provides standards for ADUs, such as needing to be built at the same time or after the main dwelling unit, restricting them to one per lot and to be the lesser of a maximum square footage of 1,000 square feet or 50% of the square footage of the main structure.

• Bicycle lanes: They should be provided on new and reconstructed streets with a posted speed limit of 25 miles per hour or less.

• Dead-end streets: These are not allowed in the Downtown Core and Downtown Transition Future Land Use designations.

• Stand-alone bars: They are permissible in all zoning related to the target areas that “have been designated for urbanization and redevelopment opportunities,” of the Downtown neighborhood, Downtown Core, Central Avenue, Mitchell Hammock Corridor, Marketplace and Gateway West.

Coming and going

Councilmember Keith Britton was sworn in after running unopposed in the Nov. 5 election. He has served on City Council since he was first elected in 2006.

“I just want to thank the citizens for trusting me to represent you,” Britton said. “It’s really an honor to be up here.

“This is my 10th term, and I’ll just say that I do the best I can,” he said. “I’m not perfect, and none of us are, but we do work hard up here and we do the very best we can for what we’re facing.”

While Britton was celebrating another term, council member Bob Pollack was saying goodbye after eight years on council. He announced earlier this year he would not seek another term, and Alan Ott won his vacant seat.

At Monday's Council Meeting, we said goodbye to Bob Pollack who decided not to run this year. Mr. Pollack served 8 terms for the residents. We want to thank Mr. Pollack for his time on the Council & let him know he will be missed at our meetings. We wish you all the best! pic.twitter.com/5fbiQvbqAF

— City of Oviedo (@OviedoCityGov) November 19, 2024

“I just wanted to thank staff for all the hard work in the eight years that I’ve served here, and putting up with me and all my crazy ideas at times,” Pollack said. “It’s kind of bittersweet, but it is time for me to kind of move on and do other things.”