Title:
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St. Alban’s Church Special Exception - Consider a Special Exception to allow the use of a civic assembly and the expansion of a private school to allow grade levels of sixth through twelfth in the A-1 (Agriculture) zoning district on approximately 9.64 acres, located on the north side of SR 426, east of SR 417; (BS2026-01); (Jarrod Stern, Giangrande Engineering & Planning, Applicant); District 1 - Dallari; (Annie Sillaway, Principal Planner)
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Agenda Category:
Public Hearing Items
Department/Division:
division
Development Services
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Authorized By:
Joy Giles -Planning Division Manager
Contact/Phone Number:
Annie Sillaway/407-665-7936
Background:
The subject property is located at 3348 W SR 426 in Oviedo and has a Future Land Use designation of Office and a zoning classification of A-1 (Agriculture). The property, known as St. Alban’s Church, has been operating as a civic assembly use since 1983. In 1994 a site plan was approved to add 1,400 square feet to the existing civic assembly building for educational purposes associated with the house of worship.
The church leases facilities to the Ecclesial School, a private day school currently serving approximately 190 students. The school is seeking to increase its enrollment, subject to a maximum cap of 250 students, as established by a condition of the Development Order.
In 2022, the Ecclesial School added six (6) portable classrooms for kindergarten through fifth grade through site plan approval. The Seminole County Land Development Code (SCLDC) allows kindergarten through fifth grade as a permitted use in the A-1 zoning district; therefore, a Special Exception was not required for the addition of portables.
The current request proposes adding three (3) new portable classrooms for a total of nine (9) portable classrooms on the site, as well as expanding the grade levels to include sixth through twelfth grade. The addition of grades sixth through twelfth necessitates the requirement of a Special Exception approval.
The Ecclesial school operates on weekdays Monday - Friday from 7:45am to 5:00pm, from August 1st - May 31st. The church has adequate parking spaces to accommodate the various uses on the property, as the parking meets the requirements by the Seminole County Land Development Code. The required number of parking spaces for the church at full capacity requires forty-five (45) parking spaces, while the total parking requirement for the school is thirty-six (36) spaces. Because these uses do not operate at the same time, the shared parking analysis identifies a maximum demand of seventy-five (75) parking spaces at any given time. The site will provide seventy-five (75) parking spaces, which meets the required parking under the Shared Parking provision of the SCLDC.
The existing church accommodates up to 180 attendees, which classifies it as a community civic assembly under the current SCLDC. Per the 2024 Land Development Code update, community civic assembly uses require Special Exception approval; therefore, the existing civic assembly use is also incorporated into this Special Exception request. Additional seating capacity for the civic assembly use is not proposed.
STAFF FINDINGS
In reviewing special exception requests, Section 30.3.1.5(a) of the Seminole County Land Development Code, requires that the Planning and Zoning Commission hold a public hearing to consider the proposed special exception and submit written recommendations to approve with conditions or deny the request to the Board of County Commissioners for official action. After review of the special exception request and a public hearing, the Board of County Commissioner may approve the request if it is determined that the use requested:
(1) Is not detrimental to the character of the area or neighborhood or inconsistent with trends of development in the area:
Staff Analysis:
The subject property is approximately 9.64 acres.
The subject property abuts a single-family residence zoned A-1 (Agriculture) to the north and a multi-family subdivision zoned PD (Planned Development) to the west. The surrounding development pattern includes a future land use of office to the east with a maximum floor area ratio 0.35, a self-storage facility limited to 199 units, and a multifamily development (Mystic Cove) with a maximum of 4.2 dwelling units per acre to the west. To the northeast of the subject property there is a single-family residence. The proposed expansion of the school’s grade levels is intended to serve the broader residential population. The site is not located within an existing residential neighborhood that would be affected by increased traffic or noise; instead, it fronts directly onto SR 426. The existing church also serves as a transitional buffer between SR 426, a collector roadway, and the adjacent residential developments. The proposed portable classrooms will meet all applicable building setbacks and comply with landscape buffer requirements, and the existing trees will remain in place.
(2) Does not have an unduly adverse effect on existing traffic patterns, movements and volumes:
Staff Analysis:
The site is currently developed as a church and a school. The existing parking complies with code requirements and includes a queuing circulation pattern that prevents stacking onto SR 426. The applicant prepared a Traffic Statement using actual traffic count data collected at the existing church driveways. The results show that current trip generation is lower than the previously estimated trip generation based on the ITE Trip Generation Manual, 11th Edition. After applying a thirty (31) percent growth factor to account for the proposed increase in student enrollment from 190 and caping the number of students to 250 students, the projected future trip generation remains below the Traffic Impact Study (TIS) guideline threshold of fifty (50) peak-hour trips.
To help alleviate traffic impacts, the Applicant has agreed to include conditions in the Development Order requiring staggered drop off times by 30 minutes and prohibiting students from driving to school.
(3) Is consistent with the County’s Comprehensive Plan:
Staff Analysis:
The subject property has a Future Land Use designation of Office. According to the Seminole County Comprehensive Plan, this designation identifies areas appropriate for various office uses and allows the conversion of existing residential structures to low-intensity residential-professional office uses. Office uses are intended to be located along collector and arterial roadways to minimize impacts on local streets and to provide convenient access to transit facilities. This land use category also serves as an effective transition between higher-intensity nonresidential uses and surrounding High, Medium, and Low-Density residential uses. Appropriate uses under the Office FLU include general office development, elementary, middle, and high schools, and low-intensity professional office uses.
(4) Will not adversely affect the public interest:
Staff Analysis:
The request is consistent with the character of the surrounding area. The 9.64 acres property includes an established church with an attendance of approximately 180 people. The school will operate at different hours than the church, and the site has access onto a collector roadway. It is not located within an existing residential neighborhood, and the new portables will be situated away from adjacent multifamily and single-family residential lots. For these reasons, approval of the requested Special Exception will not adversely affect the public interest. As a condition of the Development Order, the school’s hours of operation are limited to 7:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
(5) Meets any special exception criteria described in the following Additional Use Standards;
(1) Protects Residential Neighborhoods. Outdoor use areas, including vehicular use areas, must be located and designed to minimize potential negative impacts on residential zoning districts and residential uses in approved PDs, including but not limited to mitigation of light spill-over, glare, noise (from mechanical equipment, recreational facilities, outdoor classrooms, etc.), and any other negative impacts associated with the type of civic assembly use proposed. Assembly uses in residential zones may not apply for a permanent license to sell alcoholic beverages for on-premise consumption.
Staff Analysis:
The proposed civic assembly minimizes potential negative impacts by meeting all required setbacks and locating the portable classrooms closer to SR 426, a collector roadway, adjacent to an existing office building. The portables will not be placed near any residential lots to the north. Additionally, lighting for the recreational field is prohibited, and the outdoor speaker system will be used only for emergency purposes and is prohibited during daily outdoor recreational or school activities. Together, these measures ensure that no adverse impacts will occur to nearby residential uses.
(2) Traffic. Vehicular ingress, egress, and on-site circulation must be designed and constructed to ensure the least possible impact on neighboring properties and residential streets. Primary ingress and egress must be from the highest service level adjacent street, unless otherwise approved by the Planning and Zoning Commission and Board of County Commissioners. For community and regional assembly facilities, vehicular access to the facility must be from a collector of four lanes or more, or an arterial street. Parking areas must be designed and located to minimize conflict with pedestrian and bike pathways.
Staff Analysis:
The site has an existing access connection to the west between the subject property and Mystic Cove, a multifamily residential development; however, no formal cross-access agreement has been identified. The applicant has provided a vehicular stacking plan for student drop-off and pick-up demonstrating that on-site circulation and queuing will not adversely impact SR 436, and this information has been included in the agenda package. The applicant will be required to provide a formal cross-access agreement at the time of site plan review to demonstrate legal access from Mystic Cove to the subject property.
(3) Noise Abatement. Civic Assembly uses often involve groups of people arriving and departing at one time (as is common with many assembly uses), outdoor gatherings, or sound amplification. Therefore, issues related to noise from gatherings, events, vehicles, and equipment must be addressed through conditions of approval for a special exception permit. Conditions including but not limited to the location of outdoor use areas on the property, limitations on hours or days of operation, and additional noise abatement strategies may be required.
Staff Analysis:
The subject property will be required to comply with the County’s noise ordinance. Additionally, hours of operation for the school are limited to 7:45 a.m. to 5:00p.m., Monday through Friday and outdoor amplification of sound is generally prohibited as a condition in the Development Order. The applicant will be required to obtain a Special Event permit for any event held on the site as a condition in the Development Order to ensure appropriate limits on event hours, as well as proper coordination of event location and traffic flow to mitigate potential impacts to the surrounding area.
(4) Lighting. Lighting of outdoor areas must be cut-off or fully shielded to reduce glare and prevent light overspill into adjacent properties. Lighting for sports fields and outdoor recreation areas, where operational characteristics prevent the use of cut-off or fully shielded lights, must be turned off no later than 10:00 p.m. or be located such that the lights are not visible from a residential zoning district or residential uses in an approved PD.
Staff Analysis:
Fully cut off fixtures are required for all outdoor lighting, per SCLDC Sec. 30.15.1, and a condition has been placed in the Development Order that stadium lighting is prohibited on site.
(6) Meets the following additional requirements if located in the applicable zone:
a. If located in A-10, A-5, A-3, or A-1:
(i) Is consistent with the general zoning category of the rural zoning classifications; and
Staff Analysis:
Not applicable.
(ii) Is not highly intensive in nature; and
Staff Analysis:
The proposed addition of grades sixth through twelfth is not anticipated to result in a highly intensive development pattern. The project’s F.A.R. is approximately 0.072, which is significantly lower than the maximum allowable office F.A.R. of 0.35. As such, the scale and intensity of the development remain consistent with the surrounding office and residential character. If the school or church chooses to expand in the future, they will be required to apply for a new special exception, which must be approved by the Board of County Commissioners.
(iii) Is compatible with the concept of low-density rural land use; and
Staff Analysis:
Not applicable
(iv) Has access to an adequate level of public services such as sewer, water, police, fire, schools and related services.
Staff Analysis:
The existing church and school are currently connected to public utilities. It is anticipated that the proposed addition of three (3) portables with an increase in the student count from 190 students to 250 students will not create an adverse impact on the level of service currently provided.
Community Meeting
In compliance with Seminole County Land Development Code Sec. 30.3.5 - Community meeting procedures, the Applicant conducted a community meeting on May 18, 2026. Details of the community meeting have been provided in the agenda package.
Requested Action:
Staff requests, the Planning and Zoning Commission, recommend the Board of County Commissioners approve the Special Exception and the associated Development Order as per the following motion:
Based on Staff’s findings and the testimony and evidence received at the hearing, the Planning and Zoning Commission finds the request meets the identified portions of the Land Development Code and recommends the Board approve the Special Exception to allow, with the conditions as stated in the Development Order, the use of a civic assembly and the expansion of a private school to allow grades levels of sixth through twelfth in the A-1 (Agriculture) zoning district on approximately 9.64 acres, located on the north side of SR 426, east of SR 417.