A dental practice that already practices inside the Town Center wants to build its own office on a half-acre lot on the northeast side of State Road 434 and Michael Blake Boulevard, and the plan needs four exceptions to the Town Center code.
The City Commission holds the public hearing at its 6:30 p.m. meeting Monday, Oct. 26, at City Hall, 1126 E. State Road 434.
The applicant is Bella Dental, P.A., doing business as Winter Springs Dentistry, according to the staff report in the agenda packet. The parcel, known as Lot 1B in Blake Commons, belongs to MR 434 Holdings, LLC. Townhomes in Seminole Crossing lie to the north, a 7Brew site to the east and a vacant lot to the west.
Built in two phases
The first phase is a 4,648-square-foot office. The site plan holds space for a 3,240-square-foot addition, and one proposed condition would require vertical work on that addition to substantially begin no more than two years after the first building receives its certificate of occupancy.
The building would rise about 22 feet, 5 inches. Staff describe it as two stories with a fake second story: faux upper windows and a faux door would give the side along SR 434 the look of a front. The plan shows 23 parking spaces, which the applicant's parking study says covers both phases; the Town Center has no minimum parking rule.
Office hours are listed as 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. on weekdays.
The four waivers
- Setback: 15 feet back from the state road's right-of-way, where the code asks for at least 25 feet. Staff say the 10 feet are needed for drive aisles, fire access, parking and the future addition.
- Orientation: the main entrance would face the parking lot rather than SR 434 because of the lot's size and shape. Staff point to a similar waiver granted for The Learning Experience nearby.
- Streetscape: along SR 434, a planted strip 3 feet wide, then a sidewalk 6 feet wide, then 18 feet of landscaping and trees next to the building, a different width and order than the code sets, in line with neighboring parcels.
- Shades: four fixed solar shades hung with 8 feet, 2 inches of clearance, below the 10 feet the awning rule calls for, so they stay over the windows they are meant to shade.
Staff recommend approving the site and engineering plans, the aesthetic review, the waivers and a development agreement, on three conditions: the agreement must be signed before construction, the property may be planted only with drought-tolerant Bahia grass (no St. Augustine), and the two-year deadline for the addition. The report says the applicant was still drafting the development agreement with the city attorney.
The Planning & Zoning Board held its hearing on the project Oct. 1. A July 22 community workshop drew no objections, according to the report.
The applicant's economic analysis estimates $34,805 a year in tax revenue, and a traffic study found a slight added delay for drivers on the side street at SR 434 and Michael Blake Boulevard that stays within the city's adopted level of service.
Sources
winterspringsfl.granicus.com
d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net
