A plain-language summary for Trinity Bay residents, compiled from Orange County public records as of November 11, 2026.
Community meeting
Tuesday, November 17, 2026 6:00 to 7:00 p.m.
Aloma Elementary School cafeteria, 2949 Scarlet Rd., Winter Park, FL 32792
Hosted by Orange County District 5 Commissioner Kelly Martinez Semrad and county staff. The meeting is informational. Attendance is optional and no decisions will be made.
The short version
Trinity Preparatory School has asked Orange County to rezone the Orange County part of its campus from single-family residential (R-1A) to a Planned Development (PD) written for the school.
A second application proposes one new two-story classroom and dining hall building on the Lake Martha side of campus. It replaces an existing building, Witmer Hall.
The school’s plans state there is no increase in student population.
The rezoning would set a much higher ceiling on future building area than what exists today.
Neither application is approved. County reviewers still have open items, the largest being wetland and lake protection rules.
No public hearing dates have been set.
Where this is
The school sits on both sides of the Seminole and Orange county line. Trinity Bay is in Seminole County, on the north end of Lake Burkett. The rezoning covers only the Orange County land, and much of that area is lake surface.
Land and water inside the rezoning request (Orange County only)
Proposed classroom and dining hall building
Existing campus buildings
Trinity Bay, general area
Sketch redrawn from the county’s Land Use Plan and survey sheets. Not to scale; shorelines and building positions are approximate.
Two applications, one project
The rezoning
Case LUP-26-01-007, filed January 16, 2026
Changes the zoning from R-1A to PD and sets the rules for the campus: allowed uses, height, setbacks and total building area. It also asks for a 0-foot setback on the north property line, the county line, so the campus can run continuously onto the school’s Seminole County land.
This is the subject of the November 17 meeting. It needs two public hearings.
The building
Case DP-26-08-190, filed August 28, 2026
The development plan for the classroom and dining hall building and its site work.
County staff have stated it cannot be approved until the rezoning is approved.
The applicant for both is AVCON, Inc., an engineering firm, on behalf of Trinity Preparatory School of Florida, Inc.
What the rezoning would set
Area covered
48.34 acres. Of that, 34.84 acres are lake surface and 1.8 acres are wetland, leaving 11.7 developable acres.
Use
Private middle and high school, plus the one existing residence (the head of school’s house).
Students
The traffic table uses 327 middle school and 529 high school students and states “no increase in student population.”
Building height
Up to 50 feet or 4 stories. Limited to 35 feet within 100 feet of any residential use or district.
Setbacks
0 feet along the north property line (waiver requested). 25 feet on all other boundaries. 50 feet from the lakes’ normal high water line.
Building area
About 111,000 square feet of school buildings exist today. The plan lists an allowable 1,014,087 square feet of institutional space, based on a floor area ratio of 2.0.
Paved and roofed area
Up to 70% of the net developable acreage.
Parking
A 2023 variance (SE-23-06-029) allows 317 spaces where 384 would be required. County staff note that required parking may be in either county’s portion of campus.
The notice mailed to neighbors lists 55.32 gross acres. During review the county had the applicant correct the application to 48.34 acres, the figure on the survey and plans. A peninsula between the two lakes, near North Landmark Drive, is marked “not included in PD” and would keep its R-1A zoning.
The proposed building
Use: dining hall and classrooms. The plan counts one additional classroom and four new parking spaces.
Size: two stories on a 14,180 square foot footprint. The site plan also lists a gross building area of 32,705 square feet, and the county has asked the applicant to clarify the two figures.
Height: 34 feet on the site plan and 34'-6" to the top of the wall on the architect’s elevations. A rooftop screen around mechanical equipment reaches 42'-8".
Location: inside the existing campus, on the north shore of Lake Martha.
Demolition: 16,145 square feet of existing building would be removed, including Witmer Hall.
Hard surface: the plan shows a net decrease of 458 square feet in paved and roofed area.
Exterior: white and gray metal panels, glass and stucco, with an exterior stair and patio.
What the county has not signed off on
County reviewers mark a plan “denied” when they want corrections before approving it. It does not mean the project has been rejected.
Rezoning
The applicant submitted a sixth revision on November 6. As of November 11, traffic, stormwater, schools, fire, parks, plat and public works engineering had approved it. Zoning, planning, transportation, utilities, environmental protection and development engineering were still reviewing, with comments due November 16.
Parking waiver: in October, county staff wrote that a parking waiver was needed. The applicant replied that, after coordination with the county, one is not needed.
Wetland rules: in October, staff reported the County Attorney’s Office was reviewing whether the county’s new wetland code applies.
Building
On the October 19 revision, seven review groups asked for corrections: zoning, planning, plat, landscape, fire, environmental protection and development engineering.
Lake and wetland buffer: the County Attorney’s Office determined the project is subject to the county’s current wetland and surface water protection code. Staff asked for a 100-foot undisturbed upland buffer and a Natural Resource Impact Permit. The submitted plan is drawn to a 50-foot lake setback.
Stormwater: environmental staff asked that a stormwater outfall be removed from the lakeshore, wetlands and buffer. Engineering asked for proof that runoff is treated before it discharges to Lake Martha.
Trees: a tree survey and a tree removal and replacement plan have been requested more than once and were still outstanding.
Fire access: corrections to the fire truck turnaround and access road.
Height near homes: zoning staff reminded the applicant of the 35-foot limit within 100 feet of residential zoning.
Paperwork: several figures do not match between plan sheets and must be reconciled.
What this means for Trinity Bay
The county’s survey shows Trinity Bay lots along the north edge of the Lake Burkett portion of the school’s parcel. That portion is open water, labeled on the plan as surface waters.
The proposed building is on the Lake Martha side of campus, not on the Lake Burkett shoreline.
The school’s fields, most of its parking and its Aloma Avenue entrance are in Seminole County. They are not part of this rezoning, and Orange County’s review does not cover them.
The county mailed 275 notices to property owners within 900 feet of the site.
Not answered by the documents: whether the 0-foot north setback is meant to apply only where the campus meets the school’s own Seminole County land or along the whole county line; whether the school has longer-term building plans beyond this one building; and whether anything is planned on the Seminole County side.
What happens next
Community meeting, November 17. Presentation and questions. No vote.
Planning and Zoning Commission public hearing. Date not set. The commission makes a recommendation on the rezoning.
Board of County Commissioners public hearing. Date not set. The board makes the final decision on the rezoning.
Building plan approval. The development plan can be approved only after the rezoning is.
Both hearings are held in person at the County Administration Building, 201 S. Rosalind Avenue, Orlando.
Will the 0-foot north setback be limited to the boundary with the school’s own Seminole County parcel?
If enrollment is not increasing, why does the plan allow about a million square feet of building area? Would the school accept a lower cap or an enrollment cap as a condition?
How will the project meet the 100-foot lake buffer the county is now requiring?
Does rooftop equipment count toward the 35-foot height limit near homes?
How was the parking waiver question resolved?
Is anything planned for the Seminole County side of campus?
Sources and how to check them
Everything on this page comes from these Orange County records:
Community Meeting Notice for case LUP-26-01-007
Land Use Plan, sixth revision, received by the county November 6, 2026
County review report on the rezoning, October 23, 2026, and the applicant’s response letter, November 5, 2026
Development Plan for case DP-26-08-190, received October 19, 2026, with architectural exhibits
County review report on the building plan, October 30, 2026
Case status pages on Orange County FastTrack, viewed November 11, 2026
To read them yourself, go to fasttrack.ocfl.net/OnlineServices, choose “File #” in the search box, and enter LUP-26-01-007 or DP-26-08-190. The documents are listed at the bottom of each case page.