Planning board recommends Seahawk Cove extension final engineering, final plat and waivers; staff conditions include tree mitigation payment and ecological‑site

The Winter Springs Planning and Zoning Board on June 5 recommended that the City Commission approve the final engineering plans, final plat, two roadway/lot‑size waivers, removal of three specimen trees and related development agreements for the Seahawk Cove extension project, with conditions as read by staff.

Senior city planner John Rabin introduced the Seahawk Cove item and described the proposal as an extension of Seahawk Cove Road northeast of the intersection of State Road 434 and Michael Blake Boulevard on approximately 8.11 acres. The application package included a final engineering site plan, a final plat, two waiver requests (right‑of‑way width and certain lot‑size requirements), a tree‑removal application for three specimen trees, and development agreements.

Staff presented a set of recommended conditions that the board read into the record before the motion. Those conditions, as stated by staff, included executing the development agreement; mitigation for tree removal including payment of a tree‑mitigation amount; filing a subdivision performance bond acceptable to the city attorney; a prohibition on retail sales or manufacturing of products derived from the hemp or cannabis plant (including CBD) on the site; landscaping requirements (staff specified Bahia grass and prohibited St. Augustine and other low drought‑tolerance grass types); submission of an updated environmental/ecological report prior to issuance of site‑work permits; addressing city surveyor comments on the final plat prior to the City Commission public hearing; and preservation of a specimen tree at the intersection of Michael Blake and State Road 434.

Board members discussed two items at length: whether the environmental/ecological report should be updated given historical bald‑eagle nest records and whether the staff’s tree‑mitigation figure was accurate. Frank Porter, the project engineer (NV5), clarified that an ecological report in the record was referencing an eagle nest that was removed through an earlier permit for a nearby project. “The 370‑foot distance you’re seeing to the eagle’s nest is referring to the eagle’s nest that was being removed,” Porter said, noting other nests are farther away.

Staff explained drainage for the extension ties into previously designed stubs and an existing regional pond built as part of prior nearby projects; the applicant said the stormwater system meets the relevant master permits and will connect to existing infrastructure.

On the tree‑mitigation amount, staff repeatedly stated the aggregate mitigation payment for removal of three specimen trees; at one point staff read a larger, unclear figure aloud and then clarified the intended mitigation total as two hundred twenty‑seven thousand four hundred dollars ($227,400). The board added an explicit condition that a specimen tree at the corner of Michael Blake and State Road 434 be preserved and noted that city surveyor comments must be addressed before the commission hearing.

After public comment in support of the town‑center development and a brief response from the applicant, the board voted unanimously to recommend approval of the Seahawk Cove extension final engineering and associated items to the City Commission, including the staff conditions as read into the record.

What happens next: The applicant must meet the staff conditions (bond, mitigation payment, surveyor revisions, and other items) before the City Commission considers the final plat and related approvals.