DeLand City Hall, 120 S. Florida Ave.
The DeLand City Commission and DeLand Planning Board will meet next week to discuss topics including the city’s proposed millage rate for the 2022-23 fiscal year and the redevelopment of the city’s Old Jail.
City Commission — 7 p.m. Monday, July 18
The DeLand City Commission will meet first at 7 p.m. Monday, July 18.
Topics on the agenda include adopting the city’s proposed millage rate for the next fiscal year and a rezoning application for an apartment complex on North Spring Garden Avenue.
The DeLand City Commission will discuss approving a proposed millage rate of 6.6841, 8.65 percent above the rolled-back millage rate of 6.1520. That number was hashed out in three public budget workshops held July 11-13.
The millage rate agreed upon by the City Commission will be advertised in the mailed-out TRIM, or Truth in Millage, notices DeLandites will receive in the mail.
While DeLand residents are likely to see some increase in their property taxes next year, the City Commission has tasked city staff with trimming the budget to reduce the millage rate by the time a final rate is agreed on in September.
Costs driving the budget range from increased costs across the board, a potential decrease in state revenue, a 3-percent raise for city staff, new hires, and a number of capital projects, including designs for a recreational field planned for the city’s southeast side.
Other discussion items include the first reading of a rezoning application for the Pointe Grand apartments. Developer United Shares Real Estate LLC is proposing nine three-story apartment buildings with a total of 204 units on 14.57 acres along North Spring Garden Avenue.
Pointe Grand was approved by the DeLand Planning Board last month by a 4-1 vote, with members Nora Lewis, Dan Reed, Albert Neumann and Jeremy Owens voting in favor of, and member Buz Nesbit voting against the project.
Some on the Planning Board had some misgivings about the project, chiefly the lack of elevators in the buildings. The Planning Board’s approval came with the stipulation that the developer consider adding elevators to the buildings.
In the latest plans, there is no mention of elevators.
The DeLand City Commission will meet at 7 p.m. Monday, July 18, in the City Commission Chambers in DeLand City Hall, 120 S. Florida Ave. All City Commission meetings are open to the public and broadcast live on the city’s website, HERE.
To view the full agenda for the June 18 meeting, click HERE.
DeLand Planning Board — 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 20
The DeLand Planning board will meet next at 5 p.m. Wednesday, July 20.
Topics on the board’s agenda include the redevelopment of the Old Jail building at 130 W. New York Ave. in Downtown DeLand.
The Planning Board saw the latest plans for the redevelopment project, GlassHouse Square, last month. At that meeting, the Planning Board asked GlassHouse Square LLC — the developers behind the project with connections to Deltran Operations — to provide specifics on a parking plan and how the project has changed since the city originally put out a request for proposals, or RFP, for redeveloping the Old Jail.
Parking, specifically, has been a sticking point with the development of the Old Jail, and the latest plans for the project still do not have specific information on when and where the parking will be built for GlassHouse Square.
According to a document prepared by city staff, the developer plans to hash out the specifics on parking with the DeLand City Commission when the Planning Board passes the project along.
Some changes have been made since last month, like the addition of sample language regarding construction vibrations that could affect nearby historic buildings, but other requested revisions, like information on the changes the project has undergone and the inclusion of a maintenance easement on the Old Jail’s east side have not been included.
Staff are recommending the Planning Board approve the project and pass it along to the City Commission for more discussion.
Other items on the Planning Board’s agenda include DeLand Tech Park — an industrial and commercial development on the city’s southeast side — and DeLand Commons — an apartment project proposed in Downtown DeLand. Both projects are recommended for approval by city staff.
The Planning Board will meet at 5 p.m. Monday, July 20, in the City Commission Chambers in DeLand City Hall, 120 S. Florida Ave. All Planning Board meetings are open to the public and broadcast live on the city’s website, HERE.
To view the full agenda for the June 20 meeting, click HERE.
Even more next week
Next week, the meetings will continue with a special meeting of the DeLand City Commission at 7 p.m. Monday, July 25, to discuss the second reading for Beresford Reserve, the controversial housing development proposed for the old Southridge Golf Course and former city dump.
That meeting will also be broadcast live on the city’s website, HERE.
