Winter Park City Commission debates narrow lot-split request for Marywood property at 1020 Palmer Ave.

The Winter Park City Commission discussed a proposal on June 22 to amend the comprehensive plan so the 3.67-acre Marywood property at 1020 Palmer Avenue could be split into two lakefront lots, with constraints on lot width, floor-area ratio and house size.

The applicant, Tara Tedrow, who identified herself as the contract purchaser, told commissioners the parcel is unique in the city and that the amendment was narrowly drafted to apply only to this property. "It is the single largest privately owned lakefront lot in the city of Winter Park," Tedrow said, adding the request includes limits on building scale to avoid an outsized by-right development.

Why it matters: Commissioners said the question raises competing priorities — protecting Winter Park’s neighborhood character and historic assets while respecting property rights and avoiding an outcome that could cost the city tax revenue. Several members said they were sympathetic to preserving Marywood but recognized the owner has declined local historic designation and that the property’s condition and market dynamics complicate preservation.

Staff overview and marketing history: Allison, a city planning staff member, summarized the application and said Planning & Zoning recommended approval 4–2. She and the applicant described months of outreach and a 90-day demolition-review pause after the property, which is listed on the Florida Master Site File but not locally designated, drew interest. Broker Mick McKnight, who called in, said his office and other top local builders and agents showed the property to more than 100 people but could not find a buyer willing to preserve the house. "We've shown the property to a 100 plus, people in general," McKnight said, adding structural problems and functional obsolescence made rehabilitation effectively equivalent to new construction.

Legal and precedent concerns: Commissioners probed whether approving a single-property amendment would set a precedent and invited staff to provide a list of similarly sized lots. Allison said there are roughly 21 chain-of-lake upland parcels of two acres or more, but most cannot meet the amendment’s proposed minimum 100-foot street and lake frontage; that width requirement, she said, is a key limiter. The city attorney advised that a legislative body may tailor policy to a specific parcel and that a Bert Harris claim (a takings/investor-rights statute referenced in the discussion) appeared unlikely in this case because the amendment would relax, not increase, regulatory restrictions.

Commissioners’ positions and concerns: Several commissioners said they were weighing scale and neighborhood fit. One commissioner said an appropriate build on a split lot could be "15,000 square feet," while another said the commission could not force a private owner to designate the house historic. Others urged the city to use the episode to accelerate a broader inventory and preservation strategy — staff is using a recently funded inventory of homes older than 50 years to guide future policy.

Next steps: Staff agreed to provide commissioners with the requested parcel list and comparative data ahead of a public hearing scheduled for Wednesday. No formal vote or action was taken at the workshop.

The work session adjourned without a commission decision; the comprehensive-plan amendment will return for a public hearing and final vote at a subsequent meeting.