By Rod Olsen
Editor's Note: Rod Olsen is a former HOA President of Rock Springs Ridge and an Apopka resident who often contributes his opinions at the Apopka City Council meetings during the public comments section and in frequent op/eds to The Apopka Voice. Olsen sent this open letter to the Apopka City Council members, the City Administrator, the Orange County School Board member Melissa Byrd, and OCPS Chair Teresa Jacobs. It was published in The Apopka Voice with his permission.
"Due to prior commitments, I will not be able to attend this January 13, 2025, Paulucci Acres proposed community development meeting. But before moving forward with this development, you and the community should consider the following.
I continue to encourage you to put a hold on new development until we have the infrastructure, current environmental impact studies, roads, sidewalks, water, sewer, adequate REAL school classrooms (portable classrooms do not provide the safety that brick-and-mortar schools do, are more costly to operate and maintain), and other amenities to support our current >/=60,000 Residents, much less yet another 3,000-plus residents that this development will generate.
OCPS calculates that these 1,150 single-family homes will add an additional 472 students to our Apopka schools. This does not take into consideration the unspecified number of Paulucci Acres multi-unit family units that will generate even more students.
As you may recall, the students at Wolf Lake Elementary and Middle Schools have "enjoyed" over 16 years of overcrowding in the forty-six portable classrooms before the Kelly Park K-8 school opened. In 2024, 40 of these portable classrooms were removed from the Wolf Lake Campus. The sad news is that the portable classrooms can, and most likely will, be reinstalled. In 2019, OCPS reported that installing a SINGLE portable classroom costs approximately $60,000.
It makes one wonder what that $60,000/portable now equates to. You do the math.
The portion of this proposed development North of Ponkan Road and West of Pittman Road I understood was set aside for the expansion of the Northwest Recreational Complex. If this is not correct, then this tract should be set aside for expansion of the Northwest Recreational Complex ("NWRC"). This tract is immediately adjacent to NWRC and would support the ever-increasing demand for the park as well as provide green space for all the developments you have already approved.
We must preserve and protect the Wekiva River Basin, our green space, and provide the woods and fields for our wildlife. The planned NWRC improvements are still short of the current needs of our current >/= 60,000 Residents, much less the continued approval of new developments.
We also cannot discuss this without addressing our wildlife in the area, as the proposed development will impact the 6.5 ponds south of Ponkan Road. Is this proposed development the best for our environment, wildlife, and future growth?
When my family wants to entertain visiting Family and Friends from elsewhere, we must take them to Mt. Dora, Winter Park, and Sanford to enjoy a variety of shops, restaurants, and events. What are "we" doing to make Apopka a destination as opposed to a community that lacks the infrastructure necessary to support its unmetered growth, necessitating Residents to go elsewhere to enjoy dining, shopping, arts, and cultural experiences in proper locations in the City of Apopka?
We MUST IMMEDIATELY start to grow smartly.
Thank you for listening. It is time for you to act."
