Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

SE-04-04-117 — Montessori School of East Orlando, Inc.

Request: Special Exception in R-1 (single family-7,500 sq. ft. lots) zone to convert existing residence into private school for up to 20 students and Variance to allow unpaved parking in lieu of paved. (NOTE: Proposed hours of operation are Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.)

Decision: Approved

Hearing: The Staff Report and Recommendation is located on Pages--- The applicant wants to convert an existing single-family residence into a Montessori school for up to 20 students and proposing unpaved parking in lieu of paved. The existing development trend of the area is single family residential. There are platted subdivisions to the immediate north, west, and east. Though the subject site is large enough to accommodate the proposed use, staff voiced concerns to the Board with respect to the location and whether this use would be more suitable in a commercial location then in a developed residential area. Twelve (12) commentaries were received in opposition of this request. All concerns focused on traffic. A traffic engineer spoke on behalf of the applicant offering a comparison of single-family residential development based on the density of the land or if the school use was established. Approximately 70-90 trips would be generated with single-family residential development and 50 for the school based on the number of students and staff. The applicant submitted 18 letters in support of this request including the adjacent property owners to the north and west. There was no opposition present at the public hearing.