Council continues D.R. Horton townhome plan after residents raise traffic, safety and drainage concerns

The City Council voted to continue consideration of a proposed townhome subdivision near the new Turnpike interchange — moving the item to the Oct. 9 council meeting — after residents from nearby Tika Village and the developer presented competing accounts of traffic, access and drainage. Resident Aaron Foster told the council he and neighbors already have difficulty entering and exiting Old Canoe Creek Road and worried a proposed development adjacent to the planned interchange would make the situation more hazardous. “There's a proposal for a community even closer to that intersection…and I wonder if there's a study been done to address that traffic issue because it would just increase the scariness of getting in and out of Old Canoe Creek Road. It's scary now,” Foster said. Cathy Neal, president of the Tika Village homeowners association, told the council the subdivision’s proximity to the interchange, existing collisions near the entry wall and local drainage issues raised safety and infrastructure concerns for the 55-plus community. Neal asked the city to require a ten-foot concrete wall rather than the chain-link buffer proposed by the developer. The applicant, represented by Matt Strolls of D.R. Horton, said the team had submitted permits for the off-site improvements and that a traffic-impact analysis had been filed and was under county and city review. Engineer Xavier Grecotio (Boyd Civil Engineering) confirmed the traffic impact analysis was under review by both Osceola County and the city. After hearing public comment and noting multiple traffic-safety concerns raised by council members, Councilmember Fletcher moved to continue the preliminary subdivision plan to the Oct. 9 council meeting so staff could review and present the traffic analysis and other technical materials. Deputy Mayor Gilbert seconded the motion; it carried on a 5-0 roll call vote. Because the traffic impact analysis remained under review, the council chose not to make a final decision at the meeting. Staff said the developer has permit submissions with the county and FDOT for the proposed access and that the planned off-site work and any right-of-way adjustments would be reviewed as part of the technical permitting process.