Seminole County approves rezone, land-use change for Oviedo Colored Schools Museum

The Seminole County Board of County Commissioners on April 8 unanimously adopted a small-scale future land use map amendment and rezone to plan development (PD) for a 0.12-acre parcel in the Jamestown subdivision so a historic building can be restored and operated as the Historic Oviedo Colored Schools Museum.

The change converts the property's future land use from medium-density residential to plan development and reclassifies the zoning from R-1 (single-family) to PD. The applicant, Judith Dolores Smith, and county planning staff said the move is intended to allow restoration and public use of a roughly 1,100-square-foot structure that documents the history of African American schools in Oviedo from 1913 to 1967.

Planning staff found the site met the county's plan-development criteria despite the property's small size and constrained layout. "Staff finds the plan development feature land use designation and the PD zoning classification to be consistent with the comprehensive plan and the land development code," Development Services Planning Manager Joy Giles told commissioners during the hearing. Giles said the building sits approximately 1 foot from the south property line, was built in 1938, is part of Lot 5 of the Jamestown subdivision and cannot accommodate a standard on-site parking lot.

The development order approved by the board includes defined hours of operation, a parking mitigation plan and buffering requirements. Under a parking agreement presented to the board, six required spaces will be provided off-site at Saint Luke's Evangelical Lutheran Church at 2021 West State Road 426, about a mile north; one ADA space will be provided on site. The agreement designates the museum's operating hours as Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., by appointment only. Because of that arrangement and the site's constraints, Commissioner Deloria proposed, and staff agreed to add, administrative flexibility so modifications to the referenced exhibit B (the remote parking exhibit) can be approved administratively if the new arrangement meets the original intent, "that way, they don't have to come back to the board for another public hearing," Deloria said.

Judith Smith, the applicant and president of the foundation that formed in 2019, described the project as long-running and grant-funded. "This is a dream come true. This has been a journey of a thousand miles," Smith said, noting the foundation received a state grant of $228,000 and a lease from St. James Church for restoration and museum operations.

The Planning and Zoning Commission voted unanimously on March 5, 2025, to recommend approval, and county staff recommended adoption of the development order and master development plan. The Board voted first to adopt the small-scale future land use amendment and then to approve the rezone to PD and associated development order; both votes carried unanimously.

The development order requires that museum operations cease if the off-site parking agreement is terminated until a replacement agreement is provided to the county for review and administrative approval. The applicant and staff said pedestrian connections from the site to the existing sidewalk and a minimum of 25% open space will be provided as shown on the master development plan.

Supporters attending the hearing included Bill Hyde of Oviedo, who said he'd known the building when it had a hole in the roof and urged the board to help move the project forward. The board thanked the applicant and staff and closed the item after the unanimous votes.

The county file includes a community meeting held March 19, 2024; the development order states the applicant complied with Seminole County Land Development Code section 30.49 and related PD review criteria listed in the packet.