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Good evening everyone,
Many of you may have already received this e-mail from the Garvey?’s, but I want to make sure that everyone on the list has it.
I am asking all of you to please make it a point to be at this meeting on Monday, regardless of prior plans. We must show our resolve on this issue and the more of us, the better. So, I would like to ask all of you who are coming to make it a point to bring a neighbor with you. We have got to be united in our resolve & we need to have a good showing. I would also recommend that everyone bring a sign with the following:
Indian Hills (or English Estates/Woods) Home Owner
We do not want your project in our backyards!
Please clean up your mess & leave us alone!
Or something to that effect, as I doubt we will be given the opportunity to speak. It wouldn?’t hurt if those of you who can go early do so & picket the meeting hall. This will alert people arriving to this issue & may get us on the news or in the paper. I spoke with the Sentinel today and I have invited them to the Maitland meeting and to our Association meeting. They have indicated that they will be there, however time will tell. I have also received several e-mails from our neighbors in English Estates/Woods and they will be attending our meeting as well.
I?’ve attached my letter to our residents at large to this e-mail, would those of you who have the time please print it out and put it on your neighbors?’ doors. I?’m still getting calls & e-mails indicating that the majority of our residents have no clue what is going on, so we need to make sure everyone is aware. Also, could you please make phone calls as well & not only tell them what is happening, but get their reaction to it. I think that a lot of people feel this issue won?’t affect them & this is just the reaction that Maitland wants. Phone numbers are available on our web site. Just follow the link.
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Maitland Council Meeting 7/9/200
This is to remind everyone that there is a Maitland City Council Meeting on
Monday Night 7/9/01 at 7:30. In this meeting Dave Tomek from the City of
Maitland will be giving the Maitland Mayor and Council an update on his
meetings with the Seminole County Residents. The meeting is at Maitland City
Hall at 1776 Independence Lane Maitland, Florida 32751 (behind Edy's Ice
Cream Shop on 17-92 at Horatio Ave)
Our item will be at then end of the meeting in Section VIII - Council
Discussion. We are only allowed to speak though, in Section VI - Public
Period.
Please come out and show your opposition to this project so that Maitland
knows what they are up against.
The agenda is attached below :
MONDAY, July 9, 2001
7:30 p.m. COUNCIL CHAMBERS
MAITLAND CITY HALL
I. Invocation ?– Reverend Mary Kay Scott, First Presbyterian Church
of Maitland
II. Pledge of Allegiance
III. Public Hearing ?– (estimated time 45 minutes)
1. Ordinance ?– Ridgewood QNP
2. Ordinance ?– Boat Docks, Boathouses, Boardwalks, Boat Ramps &
Seawalls
IV. Old Business - City Manager
V. Consent Agenda - (estimated time 5 minutes)
1. Approve Council Minutes ?– 6/11/01
2. Receive Transportation Advisory Board Minutes ?– 5/10/01
3. Receive Senior Citizens Advisory Board Minutes ?– 4/12/01
VI. Public Period
VII. Council Decisions ?– (estimated time 25 minutes )
1. Appointments ?– (a). Board of Zoning Adjustments; (b). Police
Officers & Firefighters Pension Board;
& (c). Finance Committee
2. Addendum ?– GIS Interlocal Agreement with Orange County
3. Bid Award ?– Senior Center
4. Emergency Tree Work Funding
5. 2001 Water Main Upgrades
VIII. Council Discussion - (estimated time 45 minutes)
1. Space Needs ?– Master Plan Workshop
2. Department Workplan Update ?– Dave Tomek
3. City Manager?’s Report
4. Council Reports
IX. Adjournment
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City of Maitland Encroachment, I
Did you know that the City of Maitland intends to build what amounts to an industrial complex in your back yard? If you are not aware, Indian Hills and the neighborhoods surrounding us are in the middle of a battle to save our tranquil life style and property values.
When Indian Hills was built in the late 60?’s & early 70?’s, a wastewater treatment facility was also built to handle the effluent created by this growth. This facility was utilized up until the early 80?’s when our sewer system was hooked into the Iron Bridge system and then this site was abandoned. (For those of you who don?’t know where this property is located, it is across the street from the brand new Kewanee Trails Park and what was referred to for many years as just the ?“Duck Pond?”. This site was eventually bought by the City of Maitland for the paltry sum of ten dollars! For many years, it sat neglected and unused, or so we thought. Apparently over the last 20 years this site has been used as a dumping ground for who knows what and most recently as a vehicle storage depot. None of the old facilities were ever demolished and a mobile home has been erected on the site. We have no clue as to what type of contamination may be on this site, petroleum from equipment storage or something worse from when it was used to treat wastewater, but we are aware of numerous code violations that Seminole County has allowed over the years. Only recently have any of these violations been addressed and only in an effort to clean up the site before the public meeting which was held on-site on the 28th of June.
In 1999, the City of Maitland submitted a development plan for the construction of an 8,400 s.f. public works structure with 32 parking spaces. Since a ''Public Utility and Service Structure'' is a non-permitted use due to zoning, the City of Maitland requested a Public Hearing before the Seminole County Board of Adjustment for a special exception to the current zoning. The request was granted and a public hearing was held on December 20, 1999. At the hearing, Seminole County staff recommended against the project and the Board of Adjustment denied the request for a special exception. The Board told the City to resubmit a plan to the Board that had the approval of the surrounding landowners, and was compatible with the residential character of the neighborhood. At that hearing, representatives from the City of Maitland pledged before the Board of Adjustment to work with the neighbors to develop and resubmit a revised plan. Rather than appealing the Board's decision, or meeting with surrounding property owners to address their concerns, the City met with Seminole County staff, and argued that the proposed development should not require a Special Exception and would be allowable within the current A-1 zoning thus avoiding another public hearing on the project. County staff made an administrative decision that the City of Maitland's intended use did not fall under the definition of a ''Public Utility and Service Structure'' and was therefore compatible with A-1 Zoning. Satisfied that they would not need to seek the approval of the Board of Adjustment through a public hearing process, the City of Maitland prepared new development plans almost doubling the size of the building. The revised plan now calls for a 15,000 s.f. structure on the site. Parking was also increased from 32 spaces in the old plan to 42 parking spaces for 45 employees on the site.
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City of Maitland Encroachment II
After much public outcry and adverse publicity, the Mayor of Maitland and the City Council at a January 22, 2001 Council meeting reviewed this issue and ordered that this site be phased out and we were all assured that Maitland would not develop this site. On January 24th we received copies of a letter from Anthony Leffin, to the Seminole County Development Review Committee, formally withdrawing their application for this Public Works development.
However, on June 17th, an article ran in the Sentinel, which indicated that Maitland was again moving forward with their plan to redevelop this site. Again, after much outcry, a public meeting was scheduled for June 28th at the proposed site. Of course it was scheduled for 5:30PM when most people are still at work, on their way home, or at the day care picking-up their children. Maitland?’s excuse for the renewed interest in the site was that they couldn?’t come to terms with Seminole County to buy the site and that it would be too expensive to buy and build elsewhere. What they failed to tell anyone was that they were asking $250,000.00 for the land and that who ever bought it bought it ?“As Is?” and would have to pay at least an additional $350-750K to clean up the contamination and demolish the existing infrastructure (Remember, they bought this land for $10!). This meeting was supposedly to listen to what ?“WE?” wanted, instead it was a ruse, used not to hear that ?“WE?” do not want this development, but rather to determine what we would accept. No matter how many times or how many different ways we said ?“NO?” and ?“GO AWAY?”, they refused to listen. We were told it would take two weeks to write a one page report with two letters on it that spell the word ?“NO?” and another week before we could have another meeting on the issue. It is obvious that this will be used as a stall tactic to get additional bids and permitting in place, as well as a chance for tempers to cool and hopefully for people to forget.
I am asking all of you not to forget; in fact I am asking all of you to take action! Everyone needs to get involved like we did when the Bedding Store tried bulling Casselberry and Indian Hills into granting them a cut-through to our front entrance. We need to begin calling, e-mailing, and going to see not only our elected officials at Seminole County and in Maitland, but we also need to go door-to-door within our community and alert everyone to this issue. We need to present them with petitions to be placed into public record and we need to be present at both the Seminole County and Maitland Council meetings. If they won?’t allow us to speak, we need to come with signs & banners to silently display our contempt. Finally, we need to look at starting a legal fund and we need to seriously consider hiring legal council, unless one of our neighbors is willing to volunteer their time and talent to help. I realize that these efforts will require sacrifices and time away from work and family, but if we don?’t act now, we could very well loose everything we have worked so hard to attain.
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