ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. – A plan to add affordable housing for teachers next to Catalina Elementary is drawing strong opposition from some neighbors in the Isle of Catalina community.
OCPS has already signed a lease for 100 new apartments on a nearby 8.5-acre lot, an area currently zoned for single-family homes. The project may be allowed under a state law known as the Live Local Act, which can override some local zoning rules for certain affordable housing developments.
On Thursday, the Isle of Catalina Homeowners Association held a meeting to discuss the proposal. The HOA said both the school board and the developer Warwick Commons were invited but did not attend.
“Did OCPS and Warwick Commons say why they were unable to come?” Ashley Garrett asked. “They did not,” an HOA representative responded.
A major concern residents brought up was traffic, especially with the complex proposed near already-busy Gulf Stream Road.
Some residents also questioned the financial arrangement behind the deal.
“How does the school board benefit? They’re offering up land and paying the developer?” one resident asked during the meeting.
Residents were told the project is intended to help teachers find more affordable places to live, but that explanation drew immediate pushback from others in the crowd.
OCPS says a public meeting is now scheduled to give people living in the area a chance to be heard and to further explain the plan.
That meeting is set for July 23 at 5:30 p.m. at Catalina Elementary, in the media center.