In letters, faxes and phone calls to commissioners, Lakemont Heights property owners allege Time Warner is expanding its commercial presence in the neighborhood illegally--without applying for a variance from the county's zoning board.
Residents have been fighting Time Warner for the past seven years. They say a commercial venture such as the leased cell tower doesn't belong in a quiet residential area. Time Warner maintenance vehicles enter and leave the gated company compound 24 hours a day, residents have told commissioners.
Time Warner officials maintain, through a company representative, they need to grow their operations to accommodate an increased base of customers and provide sufficient work area for its staff at the cell tower site. The company contends it has not violated county zoning regulations in expanding the original 1,200-sf building to 5,000 sf.
But residents argue the cable company last year expanded the building and constructed a three-acre retention pond without county approval. Time Warner halted the work after the county sent the company a formal stop-work order.
Adding to the growing controversy is the April 5 annexation of Lakemont Heights to the city of Winter Park, one of the most affluent communities in Central Florida with a strict code enforcement board.
"It will be interesting to see how the city of Winter Park and Orange County handle this one," Dean Fritchen, senior associate, Arvida Realty Services Commercial Division, Winter Park, FL, tells GlobeSt.com.
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