Locatedsouth ofState Road 200 onSouthwest 106th Place sitsa large sign and a scenic water fountain that welcomesPalm Cay residents to their795-home gated retirement community.
But tucked behind that fountain, and before residents get to the Palm Cay gate about 1,200 feet south of SR200, there are 37.38 acres of undeveloped land that'spoised to become home to354 multifamily units.
Though those acres have been dotted with hundreds of trees for many decades now, property ownerTodd Rudnianyn cleared the first hurdle before the Marion County planning and zoning board last week to launch his plans.
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The volunteer planning and zoning board voted 5-2 to recommendthat theplanned unit development beapproved. The Marion County Commission will have the final say at anupcoming planning and zoning hearing.
The volunteer board meeting lasted until after midnight on Feb. 21. The seven-member boardheard many plans. Dozensof Palm Cay residentswaited until late in the evening to speak in hopes ofconvincingthe seven-member board to recommend denial of the complex.
"It's going to be an infill (project) in the area and it's going to diversify the residential land in that area," Kathleen Brugnoli, a Marion County growth services planner. "There's not a multifamily-type use nearby."
Brugnoli said thatarea of SR 200, located about amileeast of the County Road 484 intersection, is at 61% capacity. A 2020 traffic count study shows that there are 36,700 vehicle daily trips near there on SR 200; that portion of the roadhas a capacity of59,900.
"The proposed PUD (planned unit development), in its entirety, would be adding 2,636 trips, which would be well within that range for the road,"Brugboli said.
The entrance to Palm Cay is on Southwest 106th Place, just south and behindthe Royal Palms Plaza and Neighborhood Storage and just west of theDivine Providence Ministries Thrift Store.
The 228 apartments are planned to be ineightthree-story buildings on the northeast side of Southwest 106th Place closest to the thrift store. On the southwest side, 128 townhomes are planned behind Royal Palms Plaza, according to county documents.
Palm Cay residents say that the multifamily plan is not consistent with their age-restricted community
Joanne Pond, a Palm Cay resident, told the planning and zoning board that the "non-compatible" zoning would take away from the retirement community lifestyle, noting that residents only have one way in and out of Palm Cay. That would be on Southwest 106th Place, which goes through the planned multifamily complex.
Pond also noted that "the last traffic study (traffic count) was done in November 2020 during the height of the (COVID-19) pandemic when people were still sheltering at home."
Another resident, MaryPhillips, said the board would be "hard-pressed to find another 55 and older gated community that has one entrance."
"Palm Cay wouldn't be built today by our zoning measures (today) because we have one entrance," she said. Phillips also noted that the Palm Cay pays forrepairs of its roads, including Southwest 106th Place, through a Municipal Services Taxing Unit.
Edwin Orton also spoke, stating that a portion of the property should remain commercial and not be allowed to be rezoned to residential.
"The proposed buildings are located too close to the property line," Orton said. He noted that townhomes will be builtwithin100 feet of his home.
Rudnianyn says there may be a way to add a second access to Palm Cay, specifically toSW 103rd Street Road
Rudnianyn shared with the board that he contacted a property owner on Southwest 103rd Street Road. Rudnianyn saidtheowner would be willing to discuss connecting Southwest 80th Avenue in Palm Cay forthe500 feet to Southwest 103rd Street Road.
Currently, the southern end of Southwest 80th Avenue dead-ends at Southwest 103rd Street Road. Rudnianyn's team also noted that ifcommercial was planned instead of residential, there would have been 44,856 added trips and put SR 200 over capacity.
Joe London, the engineer for the project, said though it was originally going tobe called Palm Cay Apartments & Townhomes, the name will be changed.
"We will change the name," London noted. "Secondly, there will be a sidewalk that goes along Southwest 106th Place all the way to SR 200."
P&Zboard ChairmanGregLord said thatSR200 was vastly different 30 years ago when Palm Cay was launched. In fact, SR 200 was a two-lane highway west of Interstate 75. It is now a six-lane divided highway.
"It is inevitable that every piece of land on SR 200 is going to be developed," Lord told the audience. "So what we try to do is smart growth and our staff is amazing."
Lord also noted that the business zoning would have had much more impact than the 354 multifamily units. In the end, the board voted to recommend approval of the plan. It is tentatively slated to go before the Marion County Commission on March 15.
Joe Callahan can be reached at (352) 817-1750 or at joe.callahan@starbanner.com. Follow him on Twitter @JoeOcalaNews.
