Rezoning for 543 homes approved on DeLand’s southeast side

Trinity Gardens subdivision gets OK

A housing development that will bring 543 new homes to DeLand’s southeast side, just north of the planned extension of Beresford Avenue, was approved by the DeLand City Commission May 16.

The approval for rezoning for Trinity Gardens, planned for construction at 791 S. Blue Lake Ave., will allow 425 single-family homes and 118 town homes on 184 acres.

The development was approved by a 4-1 vote of the DeLand City Commission, with City Commissioners Kevin Reid, Chris Cloudman, Jessica Davis and Mayor Robert Apgar in favor, and City Commissioner Charles Paiva the only vote against the development.

While he voted against the rezoning application over density concerns, Paiva said he liked many of the development’s features — from its contributions to a public bike trail along the planned Beresford Avenue extension, to its various parks, including one that is open to the public, and a dog park.

“We have no small lots, but we provide the amenities as if we do,” DeLand Attorney Mike Woods of Cobb Cole, representing the project’s applicant, Orlando-based developer Hanover Land Co, said.

Of the 425 single-family homes, 330 will be built on 50-foot-wide lots and 95 will be built on 60-foot-wide lots. The development is currently planned to have three entrances and exits: one on South Blue Lake Avenue, another on the Beresford extension, and a third on the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Beltway

From the start, city commissioners and members of the DeLand Planning Board praised Trinity Gardens for being a well-put-together development plan, especially for how the developer integrated low-impact development strategies without having to be asked to.

Those design elements include preservation of wetlands on the property, Florida-Friendly plants, and special surfaces for some parking areas and the pool area that allow rainwater to seep through to the aquifer instead of running off.

The project’s engineering team is also mindful of a nearby depression area to mitigate future flooding.

“I’ve appreciated that this project from the very beginning has incorporated these practices,” Cloudman said. “We’ve had some existing properties that have seemed to gain some water level in extreme rain events, so the fact you’re modeling for neighboring properties depreciation area is a very positive thing to hear.”

With the project’s annexation of 64 acres into DeLand — the other 120 acres are already in the city — and rezoning to a planned unit development approved, the next step for Trinity Gardens is for the developer to draw up more plans and advance toward construction.