Article Courtesy of The
Apopka Voice
By Reggie Commell
Published March 11, 2022
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Apopka Mayor Bryan Nelson announced during the Mayor's Report section of the
March 2nd City Council meeting a prospective land swap between the Homeowners
Association of Rock Springs Ridge, and the Golf Group (owners of the defunct RSR
Golf Course). According to Nelson, the HOA will trade a 51-acre parcel of land
on Kelly Park Road known as the gopher tortoise conservation area to the Golf
Group, in exchange for the RSR golf course lands.
There is currently a
conservation easement on the Kelly Park property by the
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to protect
the gopher tortoises.
"We had a meeting with the Golf Group and with the HOA, and
I think they've come to somewhat of an agreement," Nelson
said. "That's obviously always subject to change. I just
wanted to let everybody know."
Nelson went on to describe more details of the prospective
land swap.
"The Golf Group will pay the HOA $1.2 million. It'll fix
their clubhouse roof, their irrigation system at the
clubhouse and repave the clubhouse parking lot. They [the
Golf Group] will develop the 51 acres that they're going to
transfer. They will have a 200-foot buffer from Sand Wedge
Loop. Obviously... the City of Apopka will help facilitate
cleaning up the plan development documents so that we've got
just the... what we built on the 51 acres will close down
the PUD inside Rock Springs, the current Rock Springs Ridge
development." |
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Despite some false starts over the past year by RSR and the Golf Group,
Nelson had guarded optimism about the proposed trade.
"Now that, I think, is good news," he said. "The challenges still remain...
the gopher tortoise relocation and how that is handled, is still to be
determined. And I think probably the bigger... the more problematic area
will be whether they can move the conservation easement from that 51 acres
to somewhere else. So I don't say it's a done deal. I wouldn't even say it's
probable but possibly somewhere between possible and probable. But I think
the conservation easement is going to be the real stumbling block because
the governor, who has shown his environmental creds, is going to take a hard
look at this. He has to approve this. So if we can get the conservation
easement moved, get the gopher tortoises moved, I think the rest of that
should fall into place. So that's the update on the Rock Springs Ridge."
Commissioner Kyle Becker wondered why the City was going down this trail
again.
"Can I interject for a second? Becker asked. "Why do we keep on saying
'clean up the PUD'? Because it's not our responsibility to do that. And any
change to the PUD would have to be applied for by the applicants or the
landowners within that PUD boundary. Correct?
"Correct," said Nelson "What we've got to do is give them the ability to
build on the 51 acres... and we want to close down the ability to build any
more houses on what's already currently there."
City Attorney Michael Rodriguez clarified the City's involvement in the RSR/Golf
Group proposed land swap.
"It's going to depend on what is submitted but it's not going to be a
city-initiated amendment," he said. "However, one of the things that the
City can take into consideration is whether it's going to be a changing of
the land uses in order... I mean, it's up to the HOA group, and the Golf
Group if they intend to submit to change the land use of the golf course
property to therefore convert it from its current residential land use to
conservation or recreational land use. But all of this is all in speculation
because it's all going to depend on what is submitted for staff to review
and then staff to present to the Council for the vote."
"I just don't want to repeat what happened almost a year ago," said Becker.
"We're making comments that the City has some sort of involvement in this
and we don't at this stage."
Becker is referring to an April 2021 meeting at the Apopka Amphitheater
attended by hundreds of RSR residents in which Nelson proposed a three-way
swap between the City of Apopka, the RSR HOA, and the Golf Group. That deal
never advanced beyond the proposal stage, but lingered for months until
Rodriguez ended speculation at a November workshop.
But at this meeting, Rodriguez was again calling for Council to tap the
brakes.
"It depends on determined involvement," said Rodriguez. "The City's
involvement is in the final approval."
"The City's involvement is to react to an application made to the City,"
said Becker.
"Right, whatever is presented to the City... that's involvement," said
Rodriguez. "Involvement in the actual real estate transaction? No, this is a
private real estate transaction between two private parties."
"That's the point that I am making," said Becker.
"The end result of the transaction is still going to result in needing an
application to be submitted to the City, in order to be processed, to be
examined, to be voted upon, just like any other property owner within the
city limits."
"Correct," said Becker. "I just want to be very final because people are
watching this. Because we see it on a mayoral update implies that there's
some sort of City-led thing going on. But as a city, we have no
responsibility in this other than to accept an application for a potential
change to that piece of land. Otherwise, we're not touching it."
"Correct," said Rodriguez. "The city's lone role in the matter now is
receipt, review, and consideration of an application for a land-use
amendment, an application for an amendment to the development agreement,
site plan, master development approvals, similar to any other applicants...
that's all the City is done in this manner. There's what was just earlier
discussed. That's a private land transaction of which the City is not a
party to."
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