Planners split on Voytek lot; board votes to recommend denial of land‑use change

The Lake County Planning and Zoning Board voted to recommend denial of a future land‑use amendment and planned‑unit‑development rezoning for a 4.45‑acre parcel identified as the Voytek property in the Wekiva River Protection Area. Planner Megan Braccielli told the board the parcel sits in the WRPA sending area and is not a recognized zoning lot; staff found the proposed amendment inconsistent with the sending‑area constraints without the transfer of density.

Neighbors argued the change would undermine the WRPA protections. Lee Musselman said in public comment that areas close to Blackwater Creek are limited to one unit per 40 acres and that similar proposals nearby had been denied. Cindy Newton, identifying herself as District 4, told the board she did not oppose a homeowner building a single residence but opposed using a PUD/future‑land‑use amendment to achieve it and urged denial.

Attorney Jay Bloater, speaking for Mark and Jill Voytek, said the Voyteks purchased the parcel believing it was buildable based on marketing and tax records and called the situation a misrepresentation by prior actors. "They were marketed to them as a buildable lot," Bloater said, arguing environmental reports show no hydrologic connection to wetlands and noting many surrounding lots are residential.

Board members discussed precedent and remedies; several expressed reluctance to alter WRPA protections for a single lot and noted that family‑density exceptions had been revoked in the past (staff clarified the revocation occurred in 2006). After deliberation a motion to approve the amendment failed on a 2–4 vote; the chair said the board will forward a recommendation of denial to the Board of County Commissioners for final consideration.