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Board backs special magistrate, approves Windermere Springs 21-unit townhome PSP over staff denial
Summary
After a special magistrate recommended approval of a 21-townhome preliminary subdivision plan for Reams Road, the Orange County commission accepted that recommendation and voted 5–2 to approve the PSP despite resident and commissioner concerns about flooding and Reams Road capacity.
The Orange County Board of County Commissioners voted 5–2 on Tuesday to accept a special magistrate’s recommendation and approve a preliminary subdivision plan (PSP) for a 21-townhome project at 1365 Reams Road in the Windermere Springs planned development.
The PSP, for 21 townhomes, had been denied by the board on Aug. 13 after staff and the Development Review Committee recommended approval. The property owner then sought relief under Florida’s expedited administrative review statute for land-use disputes (Fla. Stat. § 70.51), and a special magistrate held an evidentiary hearing on Oct. 18. The magistrate found that the county’s denial was unreasonable and recommended that the PSP be returned to the board for approval with the prior staff conditions.
Assistant County Attorney Lee Birnbaum summarized the Flo‑DR Act process for commissioners and told the board that under the statute the commission has three options: (1) accept the special magistrate’s recommendation and implement it; (2) modify it (which requires owner consent); or (3) reject it — with the latter options creating significant legal exposure. The applicant’s counsel told the commission the project has no wetland impacts, had gone through 13 submittals and engineering revisions over two-and-a-half years and had cleared school concurrency.
Several commissioners and speakers raised public-safety and infrastructure concerns. Commissioner Nicole Wilson, whose district includes the area, said repeated contract amendments for the Reams Road design had pushed construction timelines out and that Reams Road had chronic flooding, poor shoulders and deteriorating conditions that created safety risks for residents. Transportation staff said Reams Road design is funded and that updated scheduling targeted construction advertising by late 2025 and potential construction start in 2026; a separate county briefing put a conservative estimate on completion in 2028 owing to utility work and wetland bridge design. Residents and speakers including nearby property owners urged postponement until the roadwork and drainage improvements are complete.
The applicant said it had participated in right-of-way conveyances for the planned Reams Road widening and that it had prepared a proportionate share (concurrency) agreement to mitigate traffic impacts. The applicant’s traffic consultant estimated the 21 units would generate roughly 14 peak-hour trips.
Commissioners divided 5–2 in favor of accepting the magistrate’s recommendation and approving PSP 21-12-374 with the staff’s conditions. Commissioners who voted against said they were not convinced the necessary safety and drainage improvements to Reams Road had been secured before approving new housing entitlements.
The board’s action implements the special magistrate’s recommendation and directs the county attorney to issue a written decision describing the approved uses available to the property under the PSP and the statutory findings.
