Commissioners approve rezoning for Triangle Industrial Park storage facility; one commissioner abstains

Lake County commissioners on June 3 approved a rezoning request to change roughly 9.3 acres along Bay Road south of Old 441 in Tavares from rural residential (R-1) to light industrial to allow future development of a storage facility for vehicles, equipment, recreational vehicles and trucks.

Mike Fitzgerald, director of planning and zoning, summarized the request and said the planning and zoning board recommended approval. "The requested action is to rezone approximately 9.3 acres from rural residential R-1 to light industrial to facilitate the future development of a storage facility for vehicles, equipment, recreational vehicles, and trucks," Fitzgerald said at the hearing.

Ted Wicks of Wicks Engineering Services, representing the applicant, told commissioners the rezoning is the first step; any detailed layout, stormwater, buffering and lighting will be reviewed during the subsequent site-plan, environmental and development-review processes. "This is just our first step. We will... go through the development plan approval process with staff and all these issues will be developed," Wicks said.

County staff noted the property lies within the City of Tavares interlocal service boundary area and that city officials had no comment on the rezoning. Water and sewer are not currently available at the site; the applicant indicated existing Triangle Industrial Park facilities will provide management and sanitary services as needed. Lake County Fire Station No. 71 is approximately 0.21 miles from the property.

A commissioner moved to approve the rezoning; the board voted in favor and the motion passed four-zero with Commissioner Smith recorded as abstaining. The county will revoke an earlier conditional use permit for a church that had previously been approved for the parcel and proceed to site-plan review and any environmental assessments required before development.