WINTER GARDEN, Fla. – After extensive debate, a church has received approval to build in the Lake Avalon Rural Settlement (LARS), a decision that comes after strong and often divided community input.
The Orange County Commission voted 5–2 to approve Discovery Church’s request for a special exception to construct a religious facility along McKinney Road in the LARS. While the proposal was approved, commissioners reduced the size from of the square footage from roughly 45,000 square feet 42,000 square feet.
The project has drawn both support and concern from residents who say the rural character of their community is at stake. Art Slow is has been in the community for years says he doesn’t have an issue with the church itself but it’s size, the board members who approved it and what that could mean for protecting rural settlements in the future.
“I lived here for seven years and now I’m a property owner here, and we purchased out here specifically for the character it has and what it brings.” Art Slow went on to say, “to destroy that character when the county committed to preserving it destroys what I bought.”
The Church would go in District 1. That district’s Commissioner Nicole Wilson acknowledged those concerns during the meeting when she voted against the proposal.
“It is still the size of a big box store,” Wilson said. “To see something that could hold as many people who almost live in the rural settlement is hard to swallow. It will be very hard to make that fit work.”
However, District 6 Commissioner Mike Scott said the church made meaningful efforts to address community concerns. Which is why
“I do believe the church made a significant effort and faced financial challenges to change the plan,” Scott said.
The church’s proposal had previously been denied in 2022. Since then, church leaders say they worked with residents and revised their plans, including consolidating the design into one main building and adding green space.
“Preserving a piece of the area around the church, then putting in a big landscaping buffer, making a lot of the property not built at all,” said Rob Garrett, Discovery Church’s director of operations. “The size was always contentious.”
Some community members acknowledged those efforts.
“They heard our concerns and found ways to grow with us, not around us,” one speaker said during the hearing.
Still, traffic and infrastructure remain major sticking points. With some roads in the area unpaved, it’s raising concerns about congestion, particularly during Sunday services.
“You see the roads — many of them are dirt. They are not built for that type of volume, so there will be a lot of challenges,” Wilson said.
However, when it came to traffic, it was said during the meeting of a possible off duty officer helping ease it.
“Their concern about the traffic is in that Sunday morning service time but our turnover is pretty fast in between services,” said Garrett.
Others worry the approval could set a precedent for future development.
“Approving even one mega facility will have far-reaching consequences. It will trigger additional applications,” one resident warned.
Regarding the vote to which District 5 Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad also voted no; she stated:
“This vote wasn’t about a church. It was about whether our rules mean anything. The community said yes to the church, no to the mega size. The developer refused to listen. And the board rewarded that. I represent 7 rural settlements. I know my assignment. These communities do not want mega-sized anything dropped into rural places. The same BCC members denied a smaller version of this same church project before. Now, somehow, bigger is acceptable. We can also talk about Vision 2050 – the new land use plan. This board voted for it. Touted it as our most sustainable, responsible growth plan. Then staff turned around and recommended a variance that blows a hole right through the plan they want us to adopt. Yesterday’s vote was not consistent. It was convenient. We have 22 rural settlements. This decision to put a mega size building in a rural community puts every settlement at risk.”
As for next steps, Garrett says they plan to revisit the community and make further adjustments following the size reduction before submitting permits and beginning construction.