Local Planning Agency recommends approval of Ordinance 17-66 to allow limited RTS student housing

The Oviedo Local Planning Agency on May 19 voted to recommend approval of Ordinance 17-66, a zoning map amendment that would add limited student-housing uses to portions of the Kingsbridge Planned Unit Development for the Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS).

Stuart Nielsen, a contractor and architect representing RTS, told the board the change is conceptual and limited in scope. "All we know is that it won't be more than 40 beds," Nielsen said, describing the proposed bunkhouse on Tract F as short-term lodging for students who come for classes that cannot be held online. Nielsen said the overall amendment includes a 163-bed cap across two tracts but that there are no current plans to build beyond the single dormitory now under consideration.

The amendment, Nielsen said, is intended to reduce potential intensity compared with earlier master-plan assumptions. He told the board RTS hired a traffic engineer to reanalyze the site and said the amendment would not increase traffic beyond the PUD's original impacts: "We're actually limiting ourselves," Nielsen said, noting the original PUD language contemplated a substantially larger student population.

At the public hearing residents raised specific concerns about land-use protections. William Ryan, who identified himself as a homeowner at 458 Lake Park Trail adjacent to Track J, asked the agency to add a textual clarification to the ordinance packet to ensure that architectural guidelines for Track J remain unchanged. "Written ordinances outweigh verbal assurances of intent," Ryan said, asking the board to stipulate that the architectural guidelines for Track J and J1 "shall not be modified or diminished by this amendment" and to require repair or removal of a collapsed fence as a condition of approval.

Randy Greenwald, a resident and former instructor, offered a contrasting view, describing students who would use the bunkhouse as "mature men and women, who have families at home" and saying the dormitory "is an asset to the community and not a detriment." Greenwald argued short stays would reduce local street traffic.

Agency members asked whether the amendment would open other lots to future development and whether the proposal amounted to UCF-style semester housing. Staff and the applicant said the change applies only to Tracts F and H and that the bunkhouse is intended for short-term stays rather than semester-long residence. "If they decide to make changes other than what's approved here, they would have to come back through the same process," a staff member said.

Committee member (S4) moved to recommend approval of Ordinance 17-66; the motion was seconded and, after discussion about scope and the reduction in potential beds compared with prior entitlements, the board voted in favor and the recommendation passed. The item will move to City Council on the dates provided by staff.

The agency record shows the proposal remains conceptual and that specific development details, including fencing, landscaping, and stormwater responsibilities, will be addressed in subsequent reviews. Residents seeking textual guarantees for Track J's protections may request ordinance language changes when the item proceeds to the City Council.