A proposal for a 300-unit apartment complex on 12 acres of land in the ecologically-sensitive Wekiva Protection Area is confronting Seminole County with a difficult conflict between two worthy goals: protecting the environment and providing affordable housing.

Development plans reviewed this week by county staff show the complex sitting on wooded land off the corner of State Road 46 and Orange Boulevard in northwest Seminole County.

It’s proposed under the Live Local Act — a 2023 state law designed to encourage speedy construction of affordable multi-family housing by shortening the government approval process. In this case, the developer is not required to hold community meetings and request zoning changes before county boards as required by most other development applications. The proposal and the process have irked environmentalists, residents and a Seminole commissioner.

Opponents of the project say they understand the region faces a dire need for affordable housing and are not necessarily opposed to the law itself.

But they say the rural Wekiva Protection Area is not the right place for a high-density complex with five four-story buildings. The apartment site itself is on the very edge of the protection area, in a spot already bordered by a major highway, but that hasn’t lessened the concerns.

“This thing, in my opinion, is terrifying,” Seminole Commissioner Lee Constantine said about the proposed apartment complex. Previously a state legislator for nearly two decades, Constantine has long been a supporter of protecting the Wekiva River and sponsored the state’s 2004 Wekiva Parkway and Protection Act.

“The Live Local Act was never intended to destroy the environment by going into environmentally-sensitive areas and building large apartment complexes,” Constantine said.

Michelle Jamesson, a member of Friends of the Wekiva environmental group who lives nearby, said the complex is too dense for the area.

“We’re not at all against affordable housing,” Jamesson said. “We’re very much in favor of that. But it’s in an inappropriate place.”

Corey Canfield of Middleburg Development LLC of Maitland, which filed the development application Feb. 11, said he “would rather not comment.”

Grey Wilson, a Friends of the Wekiva board member, said he’s not opposed to nay development on the site. In fact, the land is currently zoned for commercial development and Wilson said he would not object to a small store or office building there.

But Wilson and other opponents say a larger development would open the door for similar housing projects farther into the protected area.

“This absolutely would set a precedent,” he said. “Affordable housing belongs in areas where you have mass transportation and other services. This is in the outskirts of the county. … It supersedes the protections that were put in place for this imperiled area.”

Wilson’s group is considering a legal challenge.

!function(){“use strict”;window.addEventListener(“message”,(function(a){if(void 0!==a.data[“datawrapper-height”]){var e=document.querySelectorAll(“iframe”);for(var t in a.data[“datawrapper-height”])for(var r=0;r<e.length;r++)if(e[r].contentWindow===a.source){var i=a.data["datawrapper-height"][t]+"px";e[r].style.height=i}}}))}();

Republican state Sen. Jason Brodeur of Sanford — who championed himself as a protector of the environment in his election campaign — and GOP state Rep. Rachel Plakon of Lake Mary — owner of a real estate investment firm — did not respond to phone and email requests for comment on whether the Live Local Act should be modified to offer more environmental protections.

The Live Local Act was signed by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2023. It loosens zoning requirements and requires local governments approve, without public hearings, multifamily development projects in areas zoned commercial, industrial or mixed-use if at least 40% of units are affordable for residents making up to 120% of the area median income.

In 2022, the median household income in Seminole was nearly $42,000 for an individual and just below $80,000 for a household, according to the U.S. Census Bureau and Data USA.

The law is an effort to encourage more affordable housing and halt the double-digit rent spikes Florida — and especially the Central Florida region — has seen in recent years affecting low- and moderate-income families. Supporters say its limits on public input are intended to support the construction of projects that otherwise are routinely delayed at public meetings with residents voicing “not-in-my-backyard” objections.

Last year Seminole County opted out of another of the law’s incentives to increase affordable housing — tax breaks to developers.

The Wekiva Protection Area — which covers most of northwestern Seminole — was established in 1988 by the Legislature to protect the area’s rural and environmentally-sensitive characteristics. The wildlife corridor is a high recharge area for the Floridan Aquifer and is meant to protect the imperiled Wekiva River — which Congress designated a Wild and Scenic River in 2000.

In January 2024, the state completed the $1.6 billion Wekiva Parkway, an elevated superhighway designed to protect wildlife and limit the sprawl of residential subdivisions. Within a stone’s throw of the apartment site, the parkway features wildlife underpasses and bridges that soar over the Wekiva River without impeding its natural current of spring water.

The apartment complex will include a clubhouse, fitness center, yoga room, pool and dog park, according to the application. Apartments range between one-bedroom and three-bedroom and at least 120 must be deemed as affordable through 2055.

After meeting with county staff Wednesday, the developer now must submit a site plan for review before construction can start. There is no date to begin construction.

If the application had not been submitted under the Live Local Act, the developer would’ve had to hold community meetings to discuss the project and answer questions from the public. Then the developer would need zoning and land-use changes heard by the county’s zoning board and finally approval by the commission — all in public meetings.

George Sellery, who lives near the site of the proposed development, said he’s angry he won’t be able to voice his objections in public hearings.

“It’s the worst possible place for this development,” Sellery said. “Traffic is going to be a nightmare. And I think this sets a horrible precedent.”