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Apopka CRA debates Eighth Street plat: pocket park proposal divides board, staff to rework options
Summary
The CRA and board members discussed a city-owned Eighth Street parcel proposed for four lots and a pocket park; board members split between increasing lot depth for additional homes and keeping a small park. No formal decision was reached; staff will return with revised options.
City planning staff presented a proposed replat for a city-owned parcel on Eighth Street in the downtown CRA that would subdivide the site into four lots; the plan also included a small park on the parcel, but board members and residents debated whether the site should instead be reconfigured to permit additional homes.
The plat, presented to the City Council on Jan. 15 and returned to the CRA for further discussion, drew concerns that a park at that location could attract criminal activity. Member Nesta said she “still find[s] value in having the park,” noting the neighborhood lacks walkable open space. Member Drago and other board members urged a housing-first approach, arguing deeper lots and template-driven housing could increase property values and put city parcels back onto the tax rolls.
Member Drago said 60-foot lot widths are narrow for building a “decent house” and recommended reconfiguring the site so rear-yard depths would be about 190 to 200 feet without encroaching on a stormwater easement. He also suggested issuing an RFP that would require selected builders to use a limited set of architectural templates to raise housing quality across multiple city-owned parcels.
Staff cautioned that the rear of the parcel contains a stormwater easement and that the easement limits buildable area; as a staff member put it, the easement “can be your backyard, but it's not your backyard.” Board members discussed specific lot dimensions: Lot 1 was identified as roughly 80 feet deep while the other three lots were about 60 feet, and an easement along the east side was noted as roughly 33 feet wide. An attendee and several board members proposed a master planning approach that would consider several vacant city parcels in the CRA together so development could be done at scale.
Member Williams urged safeguards when deeding city land to developers — deed restrictions, milestones in an RFP and a right of first refusal — to prevent conveyances that fail to produce the intended affordable housing or to sit undeveloped years after transfer.
No formal motion or vote occurred at the meeting. Chair remarks toward the end characterized the outcome as “no consensus,” and staff were asked to return with revised options for lot sizes, park location and whether to pursue a master-plan RFP covering multiple city-owned parcels in the CRA.
Background: The parcel had been presented earlier as a plat to the City Council and was tabled due to neighborhood concerns. The discussion included residents’ calls for parks and amenities and board members’ calls for housing that increases property values and tax rolls.
