BEACON FILE PHOTO Downtown DeLand photographed from above.

The DeLand City Commission and the DeLand Planning Board will meet next week to discuss such topics as the allocation of funds from the federal government and the expansion of an age-restricted community on the city’s south side.

First, at 6 p.m. Monday, April 18, the DeLand City Commission will meet for a workshop to discuss how to allocate $5.6 million the city was granted as part of the American Rescue Plan Act passed by the federal government last year. ARPA distributed $350 billion to municipalities across the country, including others in West Volusia.

Eligible uses for the funds include: public health and economic impacts, revenue loss, and investments in infrastructure. More specifically, per documentation prepared by city staff, the money could be put toward, for example, fixing up water and sewer infrastructure, improving broadband infrastructure and funding COVID-19 mitigation efforts.

In anticipation of receiving funds, the city has already earmarked some of the money in its current budget. Fifty thousand dollars was budgeted for The Bridge homeless shelter, operated by The Neighborhood Center of West Volusia in DeLand, while $100,000 was budgeted for business improvement grants and $96,800 for “Virtual Desktop Infrastructure licenses.”

Immediately after the workshop, the DeLand City Commission will meet at 7 p.m. for a regular meeting to discuss topics that will include changes to the city code to allow for more affordable housing and the final plat for the Canopy Terrace subdivision. 

The changes to the city code were OK’d by the DeLand Planning Board last month. The code revisions include making it easier to build accessory dwelling units, reducing the minimum square-footage for single-family homes, and eliminating the requirement that homes have a carport or garage.

Another item the City Commission will discuss is the final plat for Canopy Terrace, a 140-lot subdivision being constructed on some 36 acres of land northeast of the intersection of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beltway and Cassadaga Road. 

Rezoning for Canopy Terrace, formerly known as Kirk DeLand, was approved for rezoning by the DeLand City Commission February 2022.

The DeLand Planning Board meets next at 5 p.m. Wednesday, April 20. Topics planned for discussion include the expansion of The Oaks mobile home park on DeLand’s east side and a project to build nearly 50 town homes on the city’s southeast side.

The Oaks’ more than 40 acres of land currently exists as a mixture of zoning classifications, according to city documentation, and the owner wants to annex 6.73 new acres of contiguous land and rezone the entire 51.86 acres as a single planned development.

City staff is recommending the Planning Board approve the proposed annexation and reclassification, and DeLand Attorney Mike Woods of Cobb Cole said this project shouldn’t be affected by the city’s desire to cut down on annexations for residential development.

“This was underway before they adopted that resolution, plus, The Oaks is not standard single-family residential,” Woods told The Beacon. “The overall application is trying to unify the full development plan.”

Another item up for discussion by the Planning Board is a plan to build 49 town homes at 422 E. Beresford Ave. The developer, Ivan Moreno of DeLand Florida Developers LLC, wants to construct the town homes with an amenity center.

All of the DeLand meetings will take place in the City Commission Chambers at DeLand City Hall, 120 S. Florida Ave. All meetings are open to the public, and available to listen to after the fact on the city’s website, HERE, where the full agendas are also available. DeLand City Commission meetings are also streamed live at the city’s website.

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