Seminole County commissioners on Tuesday will decide whether a Land Rover dealership can replace the former Rogers Corvette Center on U.S. 17-92, a site the county says operated for more than 60 years before it closed in 2025.
The request covers about 7.51 acres on the east side of the highway, about 420 feet south of O'Brien Road, in Seminole County, within the City of Casselberry's utility service area. It asks the board to change the land-use designation from Mixed Use Development to Industrial and the zoning from general commercial (C-2) to heavy commercial and very light industrial (C-3).
The plan is a 38,000-square-foot new-car showroom with repair and service bays.
The county Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on Sept. 2 to recommend approval, and county staff also recommends it. Staff wrote that the stretch of 17-92 is already lined with commercial and industrial uses, and that Lake of the Woods, behind the property, separates the site from the single-family homes on the far shore.
The item is one of the public hearings on the board's afternoon agenda, which resumes at 1:30 p.m.
What neighbors asked for
At a May community meeting, representatives of developer Lithia Motors and its design firm said the project would cut the site's paved area and add a stormwater pond so runoff is treated before it reaches the lake. Lakefront residents noted the lake sits at the head of a chain that drains toward Lake Maitland.
They also asked that rear lighting be aimed away from their homes and put on timers, and that plantings soften the long concrete wall facing the water. The developer's team said lighting along the lake side would be low bollards pointed into the site, the inventory lot would be fenced, and sales and service would take place mainly indoors.
A representative of a neighboring residential treatment center raised concerns about noise and noted the project would remove a boat ramp the center uses to reach the water.
