Mayor Jacobs and Commissioners,

On 2/25/2014 I attended a community meeting hosted by the planning department and District 4 regarding a rezoning on the corner of Woodbury and Hwy 50 from commercial to apartments.

Why should I care about a rezoning from commercial to 200+ apartments seeing I don’t live close by the property or travel the roads immediately around them? I care because of the trend that has formed over many years in East Orange County. Developments are allowed to be built without regard for the overall traffic issues in the area and the developer is only required to pay for their impact to the roads even if the road has already failed. I understand that there are other factors that come into play such as the 2011 law but I also know there are ways to develop responsibly and we must find a way to break this ever repeating trend.

We were actually told at the meeting by the developer in a very forward way that if Orange County tried to stop this development from going in based on traffic, there would be lawsuits against the county due to state bill 360 that was passed in 2011. When I expressed concern over traffic in the entire area, I was brought back in line and told that this was about this property and not the entire area. I had to state that this was a community meeting and we, the residents, were there to express our feelings and traffic in the entire area is our concern and this development will impact the overall traffic and add to the problem. Yes, the community meeting was about this property but it will affect everyone in the area who drives on Hwy 50 and only add to an already exasperated situation.

I understand that this property in all likelihood will be approved but this one single property is not the main issue. The issue is what has happened to East Orange County and what will happen as more and more of this occurs. If the roads were adequate and not failing, I wouldn’t care if this property was rezoned but it is the situation we have that makes it important.

I also know that the two properties on Lake Pickett are much different than this property. Traffic issues can prevent these properties from being developed because they require a change to the Comprehensive Plan and FLUM. We as residents are at a major disadvantage because we are not versed in all of the zoning laws and do not understand and are not educated on all this. We all work and have jobs that prevent us from really getting involved so we have to rely on you, our elected officials, to protect us. We knew there was some significance to the Comprehensive Plan but now know how ultra-important that it remain preserved. It is the only shield we have against more development which translate to more traffic. Personally, I want you to know that I am not against the developers. I like their plans and what they are proposing to do with these properties and feel I have a good relationship with both parties but we cannot rely on their money only because the traffic problem in East Orange County is far beyond their means to fix. In fact it is far beyond the county’s means to fix. This has become a regional and state problem now. If Orange County accepts the road plans proposed by the developers, the trend continues and will get worse.

The main bottleneck in East Orange County is Hwy 50 at the 408 which is Expressway Authority and a state road. The bottleneck is one mile to the east and west of the Hwy 50/408 intersection. There are eight lights in a two mile distance on Hwy 50 that slows and halts traffic so now people are choosing alternative routes to get to their destination. No matter how much money developers throw at the county roads, they cannot fix this problem. It will take the state, Expressway Authority, MetroPlan, Orange County, Seminole County, Research Park, UCF, the residents and the developers to fix this. We all have to be on the same train heading the same way. Developers can only do so much and it is simply not enough. These other organizations must also be part of the solution.

At this time, we, the residents of East Orange County, cannot allow our shield, the Comprehensive Plan and FLUM, to be changed until the traffic issues are addressed which means a fully funded traffic plan. It is our only defense against increased traffic problems and must be kept intact. I urge you to form a regional task force to focus on the traffic issues in East Orange County and come up with a regional plan to fix it long into the foreseeable future.

Please know that I and many people who live out here want to be involved and help. Please call on us to do what you need us to do to help solve this problem.

RJ Mueller

Today I met with Commissioner Edwards and had a good discussion about the traffic situation.  The purpose of the meeting was to ask him how to get some attention on the traffic problem in East Orange County and what could be done to move our projects up on the list.  I mentioned in a previous post that no roads in East Orange County were on the project list two years ago.  Things are changing.  Commissioner Edwards is working hard on the road issue and gave me some information that shows roads are starting to get some attention even though we have a long road ahead of us.

Renzo Nastasi, Manager of Transportation Planning Division

I also wanted to know more about how the roads were funded.  Renzo Nastasi was also in the meeting and Commissioner Edwards deferred to him for answers to this question.  If you read an earlier post, you will know that I met with Jon Weiss and Renzo Nastasi last week and was given information about this subject.  But I did learn a couple of new tidbits.  Mr. Nastasi explained how funds trickle down from the US Government to fund state roads.  The US Government allocates funds based on population and hands out transportation money to the states.  The states then shovel it off to 27 TPOs (Transportation Planning Organizations) in the state.  Ours is called MetroPlan and covers 3 counties, Orange, Seminole and Osceola.  So MetroPlan decides the priority of how money is spent.  I wonder if we have any representation from East Orange County on MetroPlan.  I do know there are a boatload of committee members on the board so perhaps we do.

Another tidbit passed on from Mr. Nastasi is when we discussed the state of roads in Orange County.  I asked if there were any areas. not roads, areas, in the same condition our area is in anywhere in the county.  Mr. Nastasi explained that there are roads that are over-capacity but when it comes to an entire area, this is the only place.  So more reason to focus on East Orange County.

Commissioner Edwards has been working on accelerating the six-laning of Hwy 50 and has moved it up on the schedule.  The bridge across the Econ was not funded but now is and the section from the bridge to 520 has been broken into two projects with one going as far as 419 and the other from 419 to 520.  The funding of the section from the Econ bridge to 419 will hopefully move up on the priority list.

There is also emphasis on the 408 expressway and extending it to 520.  The money for the study is now funded and underway.  This study will take 1-2 years to complete.

The discussion turned to money and paying for the roads.  I am starting to realize that there is just not enough money coming into Orange County to fund all the roads that need to be built.   So I asked about taxes.  There is a reluctance by politicians to suggest taxes as it seems to be a four letter word.  Both politicians as well as residents don’t like taxes.  There have been attempts to add additional taxes and for the most part they have been voted down.  I think this is why the County looks to developers to pay their share and help with the infrastructure.  If the county can have developers contribute to the infrastructure repairs then maybe the problem can be addressed.

But the analogy I gave to Commissioner Edwards went like this.  Imagine you have a puzzle in pieces on a table and you need to put it together.  But there are pieces missing from the puzzle.  The puzzle will never be finished.  The developer money is just one piece of the puzzle and without the other pieces, it really can’t help finish the puzzle.  The pieces in our puzzle are the state, Expressway Authority, MetroPlan, the county, the developers and of course the residents.   all of them are needed to finish our puzzle.

Below is a video of Commissioner Edwards talking about the traffic issues in Eat Orange County.  This video is at the 6/24/2014 BCC meeting which you can view at this link.  If you have a few minutes to watch the whole video, Discussion Regarding Local Government Infrastructure Sales Tax (scroll down to item 7 on the right), you will see that the Commissioners and Mayor are very aware of the infrastructure issues.  Commissioner Brummer who has since termed out wanted to add a Local Infrastructure Tax to the November ballot.  As we all know, taxes are a dirty word and no one wants them but I think because Commissioner Brummer was on his way out, he proposed the tax.  What I am learning about the traffic issue boils down to money and that means more of it.  This may be our only option out of this situation.

If you listen to the whole discussion which is 38 minutes long but well worth the time, you will see that the Mayor was against the proposal but not because it isn’t needed but because it has to be presented to the residents in the right way or it will most definitely be defeated.  No one wants more taxes.  This idea must be explored in more detail.  Here is the video showing how Commissioner Edwards thinks about this issue.

Commissioner Edwards speaking at the 6/24/2014 BCC meeting

Yesterday I had the pleasure of meeting with Commissioner Thompson in her office and we talked about the traffic situation in East Orange County.

The reason I went to see Commissioner Thompson is because she is the commissioner for District 4 that is just to the south of District 5.  The border between District 4 and District 5 is Hwy 50.  The map on the right clearly shows the Districts and if you click on the map you will see the official District map.

Even though I went through my maps and what has happened over the years she is fully aware of the issues in this area.  Her suggestion was to start talking to MetroPlan.  MetroPlan Orlando is the metropolitan planning organization for Orange, Osceola, and Seminole Counties.  The website states, “Our organization provides the forum for local elected officials, their staff, and industry experts to work together to improve transportation options for Central Florida.”

Several commissioners are part of MetroPlan and this organization has a strategic business plan that runs from 2014-2018.  I have not had a chance to thoroughly read this document but when I do I will post a synopsis.  I believe this organization must be part of fixing our problems in East Orange County.

Thank you, Commissioner Thompson, for the meeting.  Perhaps I will see you out on one of the half or full marathons sometime.  Happy running!