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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

City Commission Work Session on Merrywood Comprehensive Plan Amendment - June 22, 2026

City Commission — Monday, June 22, 2026

BodyWinter Park, Florida

SessionCity Commission

DateMonday, June 22, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 1:31:05

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Commission work session of June 22nd, 2026 to order.

Speaker 2

0:06

I've got to unmute and start.

0:07

Okay.

Speaker 1

0:09

Oh, okay.

Speaker 3

0:21

Recording in progress.

Speaker 1

0:24

Calling the city commission work session of June 22nd, 2026 to order.

0:32

Thank you all for being here.

0:34

The purpose of this workshop is to work through some issues facing us with the proposed lot split on Palmer and with Marywood.

0:44

The lot split is not about saving the house.

0:48

The decision is to approve or deny a comp plan amendment for the lot split.

0:53

The commission has received many emails from both sides.

0:56

The owners of Merrywood and their parents before them chose not to designate the house as historic.

Unassigned speaker

1:04

The

Speaker 1

1:04

owners could have demoed the house earlier and then come to P and Z for a lot split.

1:09

Instead, they have tried to work and to try to find a buyer to designate and preserve the house.

1:17

So now many want to tie the lot split into designated the designating the home historic.

1:24

If the owners do designate it, then they can have the lot split.

1:27

If not, they cannot have the lot split, and we and it will not, they will not amend the comp plan.

1:34

We cannot make people designate their homes.

1:38

We cannot make up new rules and use a designation as a hammer.

1:42

Either they can split the lot or not.

1:45

Instead of punishing the owners for working with us, we should make the decision on the basis of the facts.

2:00

In fact, Mick Knight, the realtor from Southbees, will be calling in to explain some of the work that he has done to try to get that house sold.

2:09

The city has also spent $75,000 for consultant to inventory all of the homes over 50 years in the city.

2:24

This hasn't been done since 2013.

2:28

Additionally, the city and Allison especially has obtained from around the country information as to what other historic cities do, such as Savannah, Charlotte, to try and strengthen our code.

2:42

What really should happen is that a historic land trust should be formed.

2:47

They will have all of the above information that the city has been compiling.

2:58

And then decide what homes they want to save, buy, designate, renovate, or sell, just as was done with Casa Felice or the Cape and House.

3:08

These houses were saved by private funds, not the city.

4:01

So I am not sure if that is the purpose of H of the Historic Preservation Board to decide what houses to buy or not.

4:12

But it definitely is work that they can do and work with a historic land trust if that were to be formed.

4:20

So I'm going to now open it up to some discussion.

4:24

Um, Alison, if you want to, or do you want to, or do we want to start with commissioners at the table?

Speaker 2

4:33

Okay,

Speaker 1

4:33

fingers are pointing towards Allison.

Speaker 2

4:38

So I can kind of give you an overview of where we're at today.

4:43

Um obviously Tara is the applicant is also here and has prepared her presentation.

Unassigned speaker

4:50

But so Tara applied for a comprehensive plan, text amendment, because right now our comp plan says you can't split lakefront lots.

Speaker 2

5:03

So she's the contract purchaser of 1020 Palmer Avenue.

5:08

Asked if she could split it.

5:10

Answer is no, because of our comp plan.

5:12

So she applied to change the comp plan and add the new policy in our code.

Unassigned speaker

5:18

So

Speaker 2

5:18

that went to the planning and zoning board.

5:21

They recommended approval for two of her proposed policy.

5:27

And that's where we're at today.

5:29

It's obviously coming to you for a vote on Wednesday.

5:33

Also during that time, the owners applied for a demolition permit.

Unassigned speaker

5:39

And

Speaker 2

5:39

so 1020 Palmer is not on our individually designated list of properties, but it is on the Florida master site file.

Unassigned speaker

5:49

So

Speaker 2

5:49

the Florida Master Site file is basically a state list of historical properties that owners or other historical minded people can add properties to.

6:17

And so that was applied for uh over 90 days ago, I believe about a month ago is when the 90 days ran out.

6:25

Um during that time, obviously the Tara can speak to this,

Unassigned speaker

6:30

but

Speaker 2

6:31

um they tried to have as many people as possible and get the word out on purchasing the house to find alternatives to demolition, but haven't been successful to date.

6:44

Um staff propose an alternate policy to what uh Tara is proposing in an effort to uh allow lots split but still save the house with the designation.

6:58

Um I think most of you uh were on the commission, except for maybe you, Commissioner Ingram.

7:05

Uh 1290 North Park Avenue uh was another Gamble Rogers house like Marywood.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Land Use and Zoning█████████████████████████████████████████████56%

Historic Preservation███████████████████████████████████43%

Procedural█1%

Summary of Proceedings

City Commission Work Session on Proposed Merrywood (1020 Palmer Ave) Comprehensive Plan Amendment - June 22, 2026

The Winter Park City Commission held a work session on June 22, 2026, to discuss a request from applicant Tara Tedrow to amend the Future Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan. The amendment would permit a lakefront lot split at 1020 Palmer Avenue, known as "Merrywood," a 3.67-acre property with a historic Gamble Rogers home. The meeting explored tensions between historic preservation, property rights, and preventing out-of-scale development.

Presentations & Testimony

Applicant Tara Tedrow: Argued the lot split is necessary to prevent an out-of-scale home exceeding 55,000 square feet, which would be allowed by-right. She proposed splitting the lot into two parcels of at least 1.5 acres each with 100 feet of lake frontage and strict FAR limits. She stated the property was extensively marketed but generated no viable offers from preservation-minded buyers.
Sotheby’s Realtor Mick Night: Testified the property was shown to over 100 prospective buyers with 15-20 serious prospects, none of whom pursued a preservation or purchase path. He cited severe structural and functional obsolescence, stating the cost of renovation exceeds new construction. He characterized the value as entirely in the land and argued a single mega-mansion would negatively impact the town.
Public Comment: No members of the public provided oral testimony during the work session, though Mayor DeCiccio noted the commission received extensive emails from residents on both sides of the issue.

Discussion Items

Background & Context: Mayor Sheila DeCiccio provided history, noting the owners obtained a demolition permit and do not wish to designate the home as historic. She announced the city is spending $75,000 on a historic inventory of homes over 50 years old to strengthen preservation codes and explore a historic land trust. The Planning and Zoning Board previously recommended approval of the proposed policy by a 4-2 vote.
Scale and Character: Commissioners debated the impact of a by-right 55,000+ sq ft mansion versus two restricted estate lots. Commissioner Russell questioned whether demolishing the home would damage the city's story. Commissioner Cruzada acknowledged the lot is an anomaly and viewed the split as a compromise that preserves some neighborhood scale.
Precedent and Uniformity: Commissioner Lindsey expressed strong concern that a single-property policy creates a special exemption and an unfair "slippery slope" for other large lakefront lot owners. He requested data on the 21 other lakefront lots over two acres to consider a uniform policy. City Attorney Dan Langley confirmed the Comp Plan amendment is legal and can apply to an individual property, clarifying the Bert Harris Act does not apply as the policy is voluntarily sought. Mayor DeCiccio argued the commission regularly evaluates lot splits case-by-case and this request cannot be compared to future hypothetical applications.
Historic Preservation Constraints: Commissioner Ingram expressed deep disappointment the home is slated for demolition. She questioned if a path existed to tie the lot split to preservation, but acknowledged the legal constraints and owners’ unwillingness to designate. Mayor DeCiccio argued against using historic designation as a punitive measure against an owner who proactively engaged the city in the process.

Key Outcomes

Next Steps: No formal action or vote was taken, as this was a work session. The item is scheduled for a formal public hearing and final vote on June 24, 2026.
Directives: Commissioner Lindsey requested that city planning staff compile and distribute an analysis of similarly situated lakefront lots (2+ acres) to evaluate the potential for a broader, uniform policy.
Legal Clarification: The City Attorney confirmed the commission has full discretion to approve or deny the amendment, and a denial would not expose the city to a viable Bert Harris claim.

Meeting Transcript

Commission work session of June 22nd, 2026 to order. I've got to unmute and start. Okay. Oh, okay. Recording in progress. Calling the city commission work session of June 22nd, 2026 to order. Thank you all for being here. The purpose of this workshop is to work through some issues facing us with the proposed lot split on Palmer and with Marywood. The lot split is not about saving the house. The decision is to approve or deny a comp plan amendment for the lot split. The commission has received many emails from both sides. The owners of Merrywood and their parents before them chose not to designate the house as historic. The owners could have demoed the house earlier and then come to P and Z for a lot split. Instead, they have tried to work and to try to find a buyer to designate and preserve the house. So now many want to tie the lot split into designated the designating the home historic. If the owners do designate it, then they can have the lot split. If not, they cannot have the lot split, and we and it will not, they will not amend the comp plan. We cannot make people designate their homes. We cannot make up new rules and use a designation as a hammer. Either they can split the lot or not. Instead of punishing the owners for working with us, we should make the decision on the basis of the facts. In fact, Mick Knight, the realtor from Southbees, will be calling in to explain some of the work that he has done to try to get that house sold. The city has also spent $75,000 for consultant to inventory all of the homes over 50 years in the city. This hasn't been done since 2013. Additionally, the city and Allison especially has obtained from around the country information as to what other historic cities do, such as Savannah, Charlotte, to try and strengthen our code. What really should happen is that a historic land trust should be formed. They will have all of the above information that the city has been compiling. And then decide what homes they want to save, buy, designate, renovate, or sell, just as was done with Casa Felice or the Cape and House. These houses were saved by private funds, not the city. So I am not sure if that is the purpose of H of the Historic Preservation Board to decide what houses to buy or not. But it definitely is work that they can do and work with a historic land trust if that were to be formed. So I'm going to now open it up to some discussion. Um, Alison, if you want to, or do you want to, or do we want to start with commissioners at the table? Okay, fingers are pointing towards Allison. So I can kind of give you an overview of where we're at today. Um obviously Tara is the applicant is also here and has prepared her presentation. But so Tara applied for a comprehensive plan, text amendment, because right now our comp plan says you can't split lakefront lots. So she's the contract purchaser of 1020 Palmer Avenue. Asked if she could split it. Answer is no, because of our comp plan. So she applied to change the comp plan and add the new policy in our code. So that went to the planning and zoning board. They recommended approval for two of her proposed policy. And that's where we're at today. It's obviously coming to you for a vote on Wednesday. Also during that time, the owners applied for a demolition permit. And

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