Letter to the Editor

Writing a Letter

 

I am writing to request a correction for a statement made in the Southwest Orlando Bulletin in the Nov. 19 ­— Dec. 2, 2015, edition. Pages 36 and 37 include the article West Orange Country Club Gets Fresh Start by Debra Wood. Under the “Call for Members” section of this article, Debra Wood states: “Windermere Golf and Country Club is slated to close in April 2016, with the property to be converted into single-family residential housing.” The golf course owner has stated that he will be closing the course in April 2016; however, it is not correct to state “with the property to be converted into single-family residential housing.” The golf course owner has submitted a rezoning request to convert this land to single-family residential. The community is opposed to this action, and it definitely has not yet been approved by Orange County. Please go to our Web page at www.savewcc.com for more information. This is not developmental land. It is dedicated green space. The recorded plat states that the development rights for this property are dedicated to Orange County, Florida. Windermere Country Club is an R-CE cluster and the original developer’s agreement provided for more flexibility of lot size. In this case half-acre vs. acre lots were allowed in exchange for the creation of permanent open space. This developer just purchased the right to operate a golf course. He cannot develop the property unless Orange County relinquishes its development rights. We are actively working in opposition to Orange County’s approval of this request. It is very damaging to our cause for a newspaper to print, as a fact, that this property is to be converted into single-family residential housing. This sends a false message out to the community that the rezoning request has already been approved, when it definitely has not. I am requesting that your next issue retract this statement and report the correct information. This is a topic of interest to many of your readers in Southwest Orlando. It is very important that any news written about this issue be accurate.

Thank you,
Louise Hawthorne
Windermere

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