Brian Garrett and William MacDonald, developers with Harrison Custom Homebuilders, want to build an 11-unit condominium complex on a lot with an existing home and accessory dwelling unit at 359 Lions Gate Drive in Winter Park. Winter Park Town Council rejected their major site plan application at its Feb. 6 regular meeting.

The Winter Park Planning Commission recommended the denial of the application and said it would negatively affect the character of the surrounding neighborhood. The commission decided the developers inadequately shielded one of the parking lots from the neighbor’s building.

Additionally, the developers created a hardship for their neighbors by choosing to keep the existing home on the property, according to the Planning Commission.

The developers did not meet the town code requirement for a 10-foot buffer between the parking lot and a neighboring structure, according to Winter Park Community Development Director James Shockey. It was also determined that the developer’s plan to plant deciduous trees and shrubs in between the lot and the neighboring structure was insufficient.

MacDonald began his presentation to the council by saying, “Since I was 12 years old, I’ve been on a path to create community.” He said the project would create small inexpensive attainable units for members of the workforce.

Garrett said they first presented to the Planning Commission in 2020.

In December 2023, town staff told the developers they needed to dedicate a 15-foot section of the property to the town for improvements to Lions Gate Drive, including a sidewalk, bike path and drainage improvements.

Shockey said town staff worked with the developers to acquire the additional 15 feet of property before the Feb. 6 meeting.

“We were wondering why that it took this long and why we came this far in the process to get this information,” Garrett said.

Shockey said the town received 15 public comments as of Feb. 2. All of which are in opposition to the application.

Many came from nearby property owners in the Braidwood Condominium complex and expressed concern over the development’s effect on the neighborhood’s character.

During the public comment period at the meeting, Mike Ziehler who runs a small development company with his wife, said one of the major reasons there is not more affordable housing in Grand County is because local governments make the approval process for development projects too long and difficult.

Winter Park Mayor Nick Kutrumbos said he was “taken aback” by the comments.

“Winter Park certainly has been the frontrunner in providing dwelling units that are deed-restricted,” Kutrumbos said.

Winter Park Town Council member Rebecca Kaufman chimed in.

“You really can’t just say workforce housing,” Kaufman said.

Kaufman added that whether a development is workforce housing is not up to the judgment of the developers, instead it’s determined by percentages of area median incomes in the town code.

Kutrumbos said it was the first time he heard the project branded as workforce housing. He said that if the project really is for the workforce, those conversations need to happen earlier on in the approval process.

Council member Art Ferrari made the motion, which the council unanimously passed, to deny the major site plan, but Ferrari encouraged the developers to continue with the project.