Orange County — Board of Zoning Adjustment

SE-20-03-013 — Orlando Torah Center

Request: Special Exception and Variance requests in the R-1A zoning district as follows: 1) Special Exception to allow a 2,676 gross sq. ft. religious institution. (Approved w/Condition) 2) Variance to allow grass parking in lieu of improved parking. (Approved w/Condition) 3) Variance to allow pervious geomat drive aisles in lieu of improved drive aisles. (Withdrawn) Note: This is the result of Code Enforcement action.

Decision: Approved

Hearing: "SYNOPSIS: Staff presented the history of the project and described how it meets the criteria for the special exception and variance requests. It was noted that the applicant withdrew variance request #3 prior to the hearing and that the drive aisles would be improved in accordance with Orange County Code. Staff presented two (2) amendments to the conditions, specifically condition of approval number six (6) and number (12) to include language that prohibits on-street parking. The Board noted that they had received the public commentaries prior to the hearing, of which forty-seven (47) were in favor and nine (9) were in opposition to the request. The Code Enforcement Officer handling this case gave an overview of the violations, the Code Enforcement Board decision, the outstanding fines and what was accruing daily, the lawsuit, and the current status. The applicant gave a PowerPoint presentation and requested that condition of approval number five (5) be amended to not limit the hours of operation on Mondays through Fridays from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 a.m. and 15 minutes before sundown to one hour after sundown. They requested that it be changed to Mondays through Fridays from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. to allow for other activities throughout the day. They also requested that condition of approval number six (6) and number twelve (12) be amended to remove the prohibition on the use of outdoor amplified sound and music. The Board discussed the change in the hours of operation and were agreeable to that revision; however, they noted that the prohibition on the use of outdoor sound and music is a standard condition of approval recommended for these types of uses. The consensus was to leave the standard condition unchanged. The traffic engineer for the project was present and provided testimony on the dates and times that the site was observed for traffic. They explained that the analysis was conducted in December of 2019, prior to the COVID-19 shutdown. They found