The following is a brief history of Winter Park single family residential zoning resulting from my research of the zoning code and discussions with city staff.
- Residential zoning in Winter Park started in the 1930’s (before that you could build anything).
- From 1930 to 1985 criteria limiting the size of a home was primarily a 35% footprint, meaning a two story home could have as much as 70% floor area. In today’s terms (Floor Area Ratio) a typical 13,000 square foot lot could have a house with as much as 9,100 square feet. As a practical matter there was no limitation.
- In 1985 residential zoning was revised, introducing the concept of Floor Area Ratio. and limiting it to about 35% of lot area, varying with the size of the lot (more for smaller lots, less for larger lots).
- In 2010 residential zoning was refined to require increasing side setbacks as a function of both lot width and whether the intended home was one or two stories. Other adjustments were made in an effort to reduce the impact of larger homes in neighborhoods with a number of smaller homes, for example, increasing side setbacks and requiring side wall articulation to lessen the impact of a new two story home next to an older and smaller one story home. Today, a typical 13,000 square foot lot could have a house with maximum Floor Area of about 4,550 square feet as has been the case since 1985.
The 2010 changes addressed the concerns of citizens not wanting imposing homes in their neighborhood while minimizing negative impacts on property values from more stringent requirements.
Our zoning history is important context to understand those who desire to allow a majority of neighbors to impose “historic preservation” as a means to limit change, not to preserve history.
Regards, Pete Weldon