LAKE COUNTY, Fla. — To raise the roof, or not. Mount Dora city leaders will discuss a potential building height increase Monday night, after a proposal was pulled from last month’s Planning and Zoning Committee Meeting.

Crissy Stile believes you can’t put a price on a potential big change to downtown Mount Dora.

“Ninety-nine percent of the population does not want these tall buildings because it just doesn’t fit,” said Stile, owner of Barrel of Books and Games.

Mayor Cathy Hoechst scheduled a Town Hall meeting for Monday night to discuss building heights. City staff will give a presentation on the existing ordinance and recent discussions, and residents will be able to share their thoughts.

“You come here and it’s quaint and it’s charming, and it’s the mom-and-pop shops,” Stile said. “It’s just totally different from any other city, any other historic downtown in Florida, and nobody wants that to change.”

Stile has picked up about 600 signatures at her store on a petition against the zoning proposal and more than 1,300 signatures online.

“So many people came in and said, 'What can we do, what can we do?' and really the only thing we can do is speak up, and that’s through a petition,” Stile said.

For some perspective, Mount Dora’s Renaissance building is about 35 feet tall. That’s 20 feet under what the city may consider at 55 feet.

“Everyone around this historic area is going to be able to see 55 foot tall buildings downtown,” Stile said.

Local developers see the potential increase as an opportunity to fill a need for retail, offices and residential units.

“When you look at new architecture — and trying to get a mixed use product you really need the 55 feet," said Gerry Guenther, Managing Principal at G3 Development. "Not to put extra stories, but to make the spaces work.” 

Both residents and developers will be anxiously awaiting a decision regarding efforts to transform the historic downtown.

“I’m hoping that we create a downtown, not just for the day tourists, but also to have people work and live who are going to support these small businesses 365 days a year, versus the seasons,” Guenther said.

“It ain’t broke, don’t fix it kind of thing," Stile said. "There’s nothing wrong with how everything is rolling right here."

A city representative told Spectrum News that Monday’s meeting is merely informational.

It has not yet been determined if the proposal will be back on the agenda at a future Planning and Zoning meeting.