'This is the last bastion': Residents upset about storage facility proposed for rural Oviedo

OVIEDO, Fla. — Residents said they are upset about a storage facility proposed for a rural part of Oviedo.

If approved, the facility would be built at DeLeon Street and Hammock Lane, south of Lake Jesup and west of the Black Hammock Wilderness Area.

Don Peterson, president of the Black Hammock Association, has lived in the area for almost 35 years. He said a storage facility does not fit in with the area's old Florida feel.

"I feel like a storage place facility is not what we need here," he said. "I'd rather see six two-story homes versus something like that, or office buildings, which is what the proposal was before."

Oviedo Mayor Dominic Persampiere said the property is zoned for commercial development and that it was preapproved for several office buildings for a previous applicant.

But the Oviedo City Council must be approve a special exemption, because of a developer seeks to build storage units, he said.

"The land that is out there that is actually in the city of Oviedo -- it's not part of the rural boundary. The rural boundary is not being moved," Persampiere said. "It's on the city of Oviedo side, and it can be used and it will be developed for something at some point in time."

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Peterson said development continues to encroach on the rural area.

"I say we keep it like it is. This is the last bastion," he said. "There are a whole lot of areas in the city. They could be transformed. If a developer is going to spend mitigation money and things like that, then they can tear down stuff and put up new (buildings)."

The city's Local Planning Agency Board will hold a public hearing on the project on Dec. 4. If the plans are approved, the City Council will vote on the proposal in January or February.

Cox Media Group