P&Z recommends denial of request to expand Walden’s Pond Cove assisted-living home from 6 to 8 beds

The Seminole County Planning and Zoning Commission on April 2 voted to recommend denial of a special-exception request to increase the licensed capacity of an existing assisted-living home at 2825 Walden's Pond Cove from six residents to eight.

Hillary Peyton, planner with Seminole County Development Services, told the commission the application for Arrow Senior Care would increase resident count in a single-family subdivision and that staff found the request met only two of the 10 approval criteria in the Seminole County Land Development Code. Peyton said staff’s report concluded the increase would change the character of the area, create additional vehicle trips (employees, visitors, medical personnel and ambulance transports) and trigger commercial-facility requirements — such as signage, parking and sprinkler systems — that would be “not compatible with the rural zoning classification” and the comprehensive plan’s intent for the property to act as a buffer between urban and rural uses.

Peyton read elements of the staff report into the record: the structure is a 2,393-square-foot, four-bedroom single-family residence currently operating as an assisted-living home that employs four staff to provide round-the-clock care, and the applicant’s community meeting was held Dec. 21, 2024. Peyton also cited code sections noted in the staff report and referenced Florida statutory language included in the record. Seven letters of opposition from neighbors were forwarded to the commission, Peyton said.

Applicant Carol McIntyre, owner-operator of Arrow Senior Care, told the commission she and her operator staff have run the home for years and that she was seeking two additional beds because the facility has repeatedly been full. McIntyre said the Florida Department of Health issued a letter approving an increase to eight beds and that the home already has required life-safety systems; she told commissioners she would submit visitor logs and other records to document traffic and operations. "We would not be licensed unless those things are in place," she said.

Neighbors who spoke urged denial. Resident Ray Sedat and others said the subdivision has no homeowners association and that additional residents would increase traffic, deliveries and ambulance calls; retired nurse Marva Wade said she had no problem with the existing operation but was concerned that two additional beds would make the home cramped and complicate care. Adjacent property owner Elaine Scott said she has observed ambulance visits and described the house’s operation as disruptive when calls occur. Resident Nabeel (Naveel) Gergis said he and his wife have lived in the subdivision for decades and called the proposal a business use that would change the neighborhood’s character. Several speakers asked the commission to remember the neighborhood’s long-term residential character when making a recommendation.

After public comment the commission member moved to deny the special-exception request and associated development order for an eight-bed assisted-living facility in the A-1 zoning district; the motion was seconded and carried. Commissioners noted the applicant currently has six residents permitted by state law and that this P&Z action is a recommendation — the Board of County Commissioners will make the final determination at a public meeting on May 13.

Record details cited during the hearing: the property is served by Sunshine Water and uses a septic system; staff said the code requires half a parking space per assisted-living bed (four spaces for an eight-bed facility); the applicant stated she employs staff in shifts (two staff on duty per 12-hour shift) and that ambulances are infrequent but unpredictable. The staff report referenced specific Seminole County Land Development Code sections and a Florida statutory provision in support of the code analysis. The commission’s recommended denial will be forwarded to the Board of County Commissioners for final action on May 13, 2025.