Winter Springs commissioners will consider a resolution Monday, Nov. 16, that would authorize the city to take a 10.2-acre tract next to its West Water Reclamation Facility through eminent domain if the owner will not sell.
The land, known in city documents as Parcel 100, sits at 900 W. State Road 434 beside the former Winter Springs Golf Course. It is owned by Los Lagos Winter Springs, LLC, which bought it from Bank of America in 2006, according to the staff report. The tract carries a conservation easement dating to December 1984.
Why the city wants it
A 2022 condition study found both of the city's sewage treatment plants need full replacement. The east plant went first and is under construction, with a guaranteed maximum price of about $65.8 million. The west plant at 1000 W. State Road 434 is next.
Carollo Engineers compared three ways to rebuild it in a technical memo dated Nov. 3:
| Option | Land needed | Est. construction cost | Schedule | |---|---|---|---| | Rebuild on the current site | none | about $72.8 million | roughly 43 to 47 months | | Small expansion | about 3 acres | about $72.8 million ($73.1 million with wetland costs) | about 35 months | | Build on the neighboring tract | about 10 acres | about $65.8 million ($66.6 million with wetland costs) | about 29 months |
Building mostly on the adjacent land would let the old plant keep running during construction, the memo says, cutting temporary treatment work and phasing. Staff recommend that option.
The trade-off is environmental. The 10-acre plan would disturb about 6.2 acres of wetlands and remove about 5.4 acres of trees, with mitigation credits estimated at $754,000. Staff wrote that those impacts can be handled through permitting and are outweighed by lower cost and risk. The cost estimates do not include buying the land or any litigation.
