Issue 2, February 2023, Volume 2
💌 Hi, Neighbor!
February has arrived, and with it, a fresh issue of the Sunshine Gardens Neighborhood Association newsletter! We have lots of talk about this month, so let’s get right into it!
🗒️ January Meetup Recap
On January 28, 2023, we had our first neighborhood meetup of the year at Foxtail Coffee on Lee Road.
First, we noted what we always note in this newsletter: that the Sunshine Gardens Neighborhood Association is a voluntary organization with no legal authority. We have no ability to issue liens or demand participation or dues. Our goal is to create a stronger sense of community within the neighborhood through different events and initiatives.
Next, we discussed formalizing the organization with Orange County with the help of its Get Organized (GO) program. The first step is having neighborhood residents complete an interest survey, which is described in more depth later in the newsletter.
We also determined the neighborhood boundaries—what streets are considered as part of the Sunshine Gardens Neighborhood Association. This, too, will be explained later in the newsletter.
Throughout the meetup, we talked a lot about our concerns regarding the neighborhood, which included the following:
Speeding and litter on Adanson
Too few street lights on Eli
Lack of bike lanes
Illegal camping in the woods surrounding St. Paul’s
Car break-ins
Overall, the biggest priority was getting to know and connect with neighbors by having community cleanup events, block parties, and so on.
A future meetup date, time, and place has yet to be determined, but it will likely be on a weeknight around 7:30 PM. If you have a suggestion for a location, let us know at SunshineGardensNA@gmail.com!
📝 The GO Program Survey—Please Complete!
Having a more formal volunteer neighborhood association amplifies our neighborhood and its issues. We can get more support from the county as an organized group and apply for beautification and sustainability grants. The City of Orlando’s site lists additional benefits to having a volunteer neighborhood association, most of which also apply to us.
Orange County’s GO Program will help get us started as a formal volunteer neighborhood association, but the first step is to determine the level of neighborhood interest in having one. This month, Orange County will send out surveys to everyone in the neighborhood that ask the following questions:
Do you believe there’s a need for a voluntary organization in your neighborhood?
Would you participate in a voluntary organization in your neighborhood?
How often would you regularly be able to attend a meeting?
What’s the best day and time to meet?
Would you be willing to take an active role in the organization?
If the survey responses reveal enough interest in having and participating in the volunteer neighborhood association, we’ll move on to the next phase: pulling together an organizing committee to develop bylaws, elect officers, and ultimately create a group with some staying power.
Please complete and return these surveys by early March, and encourage your neighbors to fill out and send in their surveys as well. We need your involvement to help make things happen!
🚧 Neighborhood Association Boundaries
The legal boundaries of the Sunshine Gardens neighborhood are Courtland, Fairbanks, Eli, and Adanson. The streets to the left of Adansen compose the Sunshine Gardens Additions 1 and 2. The streets to the right of Eli are Fairbanks Shores Additions 2 through 6.
We decided at the January meetup to follow the natural boundaries of the neighborhood and include the Fairbanks Shores additions in the Sunshine Gardens Neighborhood Association. We have enough in common that this makes sense, as well as a lot of enthusiastic neighbors over there!
Some things to note about this:
The Fairbanks Shores additions are considered part of Winter Park, whereas Sunshine Gardens and its additions are unincorporated Orange County. (We’ll have many issues in common, but not everything.)
These are the legal names of the neighborhoods and can’t be changed.
We can, however, call the neighborhood association anything we’d like/something more all-encompassing (e.g., Friends of Sunshine Gardens).
If you have a suggestion for what to call the neighborhood association, please email your idea to SunshineGardensNA@gmail.com, and we can have a poll to determine the new name.
📚 Around the Neighborhood
Looking to read more in 2023? The Fairview Shores Library is less than a mile away, and in addition to offering free virtual and in-person programming for children, adults, and seniors, it also provides access to LinkedIn Learning courses and at-home delivery at no cost to you. So sign up for your free library card if you don’t have one!
You can also sign up for a free Winter Park Library card even if you don’t live in Winter Park. This type of card is called a reciprocal card, so access will be limited; you won’t be able to put holds on items or access eBooks. However, you can still check out materials in person and enjoy the beautiful new building. Learn more about reciprocal cards here.
Speaking of reading, did you know we have a little free library in our neighborhood on Canovia? Pick up a book or leave one to share!
If you would like to host a little free library of your own, the Lee Road Safe Neighborhood (LRSN) organization can help with that—just contact Becky at info.lrsn@gmail.com. LRSN will install it on your property at no cost to you, and even donate some books if necessary. The only caveat is that you must be the property’s owner.
If you’d like an alternative to a little free library, check out the following links, which feature great ideas, including a plant stand:
If you see something fun in our neighborhood or know of a neighbor who has a compelling story to share, let us know! Send your photos and news to SunshineGardensNA@gmail.com or post in the Facebook group! (If you’re suggesting someone for a neighbor spotlight, please also share their contact info with us so we can reach out to them.)
🗓️ Event Schedule
Lee Road Safe Neighborhood Association Meeting – Tuesday, February 7, 6 PM at the Fairview Shores Library
Lee Road Safe Neighborhood Association Board Planning Meeting – Sunday, February 19, 10 AM at Foxtail Coffee on Lee Road
Community Cleanup – Sunday, February 19, 11 AM at Foxtail Coffee on Lee Road (Directly after the board planning meetings, click here for details)
✍🏽 Contact Info
Join the Sunshine Gardens group on Facebook to stay in the know and share what’s on your mind, or send an email to SunshineGardensNA@gmail.com if you have a question, concern, project, or event in mind. You can also comment on these newsletter posts!
📧 Subscribe!
If you haven’t already, be sure to subscribe to this newsletter to stay informed about what’s going on in Sunshine Gardens, and share it with a fellow neighbor!