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UPDATE May 13 2008: After removing some
duplicate signatures, the petition stands at 682 signatures!!! We
certainly hope the Foundation will take the time to read all of the
comments, which we have not edited or touched in any way, prior to making
its final decision regarding the land. Had it not been for the
petition we truly could not have known the extent to which the forest is
valued by you, the residents of Dr. Phillips. This is not just a
patch of green that looks nice from the road ... this is a place where an
incredible range of animals live, where treasured memories have been made
and where our friends and neighbors want to spend many more happy hours.
The petition will be forwarded to the County Commissioners, the Planning
Department, the Foundation and other parties in light of this week's
meeting (Thursday May 15 at 10am,
201 South Rosalind, Orange County
Administration Building).
The first meeting was held on May 8, with
Jim Hinson, chairperson of the Dr. P. Phillips Foundation, and
Commissioner Teresa Jacobs present. Dozens of local residents
attended to voice their concern and opposition for the proposed change in
the Orange County Land Use Plan from Medium Density Residential to Office.
Mr. Hinson described the good works that the Foundation had performed for
the Dr. Phillips community, most at little or no cost to the County or
community. It is the Foundation's intention to build their
headquarters on this parcel of land.
The residents spoke about their increasing frustration with development,
the resulting loss of green space and increasing impact of traffic, the
blight of vacant buildings, and the fears for the future of this once
tranquil community.
Commissioner Jacobs implored the group to look at the situation from the
perspective of both the County and the notion of property rights -- can
the County government legally tell a property owner what to do with their
properly-zoned property?
Attempting to prevent, through governmental or legal means, the Foundation
from utilizing this property as office space is not the aim of appealing
to the Foundation and the County Government. The goal is to see the
Foundation choose to preserve the forest, as it is completely within their
power to do so. To not tear down the forest, to not build on this
land, to utilize previously constructed and now vacant office space, to
repair and upgrade the park, to lease the land to the County for
recreation - all of these options are within the Foundation's power to
exercise. Mr. Hinson stated that the Foundation leases the land for
the Little League field and the YMCA for $1 each per year, how the tennis
courts and Spring Lake park are free to the community and how the Dr.
Phillips Elementary and Fire Stations were built by the Foundation and
given away to the County - all to the betterment and enrichment of the
community. Surely the Dr. Phillips Forest is just as worthy of the
Foundation's generosity, given the community's obvious attachment to the
green space.
A compromise regarding this land was proposed by the Planning personnel
facilitating the meeting: take one acre of land for planned office space
(the Foundation estimates it needs 10,000 square feet for its 22
employees) and leave the rest as forested land. The Foundation did
not commit to this solution, however, which leaves open the matter of just
how much of the land would be cleared for office space in the years to
follow.
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4.5 acres of once-protected forestland in the heart of Dr. Phillips,
Florida, is now
in danger of being developed. This heavily-wooded patch
of land and the adjacent park is known to local residents as the "Dr. Phillips
Forest." It is owned by the Dr. P. Phillips Foundation. The
Foundation has kept the land (home to owls, turtles, raccoons, foxes,
bullfrogs, rabbits, heron, squirrels and hawks with a river basin that
feeds Spring Lake) safe from development since the
1970s. Now the Foundation is asking Orange County to
rezone the property for office buildings.
If you live in Southwest
Orange County and value the increasingly rare pockets of trees and
wildlife around
you, this is an opportunity to make your thoughts known.
HERE'S HOW:
1.
READ THE NOTICE (click here)
2.
WRITE ORANGE COUNTY COMMISSIONER TERESA JACOBS (click here to visit
Commissioner Jacobs' website); make sure to copy all other County
Commissioners so they are equally informed when meeting to discuss the
project in June.
3.
SIGN THE ONLINE PETITION (click
here) 4.
ATTEND THE NEXT MEETING: MAY 15 AT 10:00 A.M. 201 SOUTH ROSALIND, COUNTY
ADMINISTRATION BUILDING 5.
FORWARD THIS WEBSITE ADDRESS TO YOUR FRIENDS AND NEIGHBORS
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Imagine taking just a few steps away from the traffic on Dr. Phillips
Boulevard and losing yourself in a sanctuary of "real Florida."
That's exactly what happens when you walk into the Dr. Phillips Forest.
The sound of the cars fades away and is replaced by the chirping of birds
and, more strikingly, just plain quiet. 40 years ago the Dr.
P. Phillips Foundation understood the importance of this property and set it
aside as a park while the rest of the neighborhood grew up around it.
Now the park, including the bridges across the scenic central waterway, is
in disrepair and the Foundation wants to rezone the land for its main offices. Fortunately it's not too late to appeal to the Foundation and Orange County's Planning Division.
Please join us in our efforts to save this beautiful stretch of natural
habitat.
What we're seeking is a permanent protection of this land by the Dr. P. Philips Foundation.
If the Foundation decisively
recognizes the value of keeping this land in its natural state and will restore
the park facilities it put in place a generation ago, it accomplishes something of lasting value for
current residents, future
residents and most importantly the animals and trees that call this
property home.
The Dr. P. Phillips Foundation has a rich legacy of
charitable work and sound growth management, as do its officers. This new rezoning
matter, however, seems at odds with their history and the best interests
of the neighborhood. Now is the time to solicit the Foundation's
reconsideration, because once this natural resource is gone, it's gone
forever. |
