John Miklos, the controversial chairman of the St. Johns River Water Management District and CEO of Bio-Tech Consulting, has taken a special interest in this year’s Oviedo City Council races.
Three seats are on the ballot in November, and Miklos is backing a candidate in each race. He and affiliated companies account for 15.3% of incumbent Keith Britton’s campaign contributions, 16.3% of incumbent Bob Pollack’s donations, and 13.2% of Jeffrey Chudnow’s collections, according to the most recent report, which ended October 5.
Oviedo is a suburb of Orlando with a population of 40,000. Its main concerns are traffic and overdevelopment, and Miklos is involved with a new housing project that will make both worse: Rivercross. Miklos is both chairman of a state-created board that is supposed to protect the environment, and also the president of a company that assists developers in conducting environmental studies necessary to build. His company did the environmental study for Rivercross. Critics say Miklos’ business interests are a conflict with his role as protector of Florida’s waterways.
Rivercross is a 669-acre proposed development that would put over 1300 residential dwelling units and 1.5 million square feet of commercial space to the east of the Econlockhatchee River in what is now unincorporated Seminole County. People in this new development would use county road 419 to travel, making traffic in the area even worse.
Over 70 residents spoke out against the project at a Seminole County Commission meeting in August, and the Commission voted unanimously against allowing the project to proceed. Infamous developer and former legislator Chris Dorworth has since filed suit in federal court, claiming his project should be allowed to move forward based on the Fair Housing Act.
Many residents feel the county is justified in opposing this development. “If we’re the only county in Florida to stand up to protect a way of life, so be it,” said an activist with the organization ‘Save Rural Seminole.’
Dorworth has already been in touch with staff members at the City of Oviedo to inquire about sewer capacity. At this time, the project is not permissible in the county and no formal application has been made to the City of Oviedo.