People who rent — rather than buy — will soon have a place in Deltona to call home.

The City Commission agreed to change both the land use and the zoning of almost 35 acres on Deltona’s north side for the development of rental-only housing.

“The project we’re proposing is consistent with the comprehensive plan,” Glenn Storch, attorney for the developer, told the City Commission Dec. 12.

The “comprehensive plan” is the state-mandated growth-management plan that serves as a guide for developing Deltona and assigning zoning for housing, businesses, industrial sites, schools, parks and other must have and nice-to-have assets.

The developer is MAS Development of North Miami Beach.

Deltona Community Services Director Ron Paradise said the project, known as Catalina Pointe, will “be a showcase development,” with a mix of duplexes, cottages and town houses located on Howland Boulevard close to its intersection with Catalina Boulevard.

The total number of homes will be capped at 280.

“There’s nothing less than 300 square feet,” Storch said.

As outlined, renters in Catalina Pointe will have a clubhouse, a swimming pool, a fitness center and a trail system.

A restaurant will be built on an outparcel fronting on Howland Boulevard.

Storch said Catalina Pointe is needed to provide workers — especially those employed by Amazon and Halifax Health — a place to live.

The rent will not be cheap: probably about “$2,300 per month,” Storch said.

The project’s cost is estimated at $70 million, Storch said.

Though residential in character, for taxation purposes, Catalina Pointe will effectively be a commercial development, so its property taxes will not be reduced by homestead or other exemptions, as would be the case with owner-occupied homes.

Deltona alone may reap as much as $900,000 per year in additional ad valorem tax revenue. Volusia County and the city will also collect impact fees and proportionate-share payments for transportation improvements.

Commissioner Dana McCool questioned the ability of Volusia County’s public-school system to take in more children. Catalina Pointe, officials say, will add approximately 36 new students to the area’s schools, notably Timbercrest Elementary, Galaxy Middle and Deltona High.

The effects on school capacity were detailed in a letter from Volusia County Schools Planning Coordinator Stephanie Doster.

“The student projections generated by this project will increase the existing percentage above 100 percent permanent capacity at the elementary and high school levels,” Doster wrote.

She went on to say, however, that the over-capacities will be between 115 percent and 120 percent, not enough to trigger an objection from the school district.

“Based on this, the school district has no objections to the proposed development plan. Minimum planning considerations should include pedestrian and vehicular access, safety, connectivity, and buffering,” Doster wrote.

Regarding buffering, an 8-foot-high wall will separate Catalina Pointe from the existing single-family homes west of the rental neighborhood.

The City Commission approved two ordinances. The first was a measure to change the land use of the property from Commercial (C) to Medium Density Residential (MDR), amending the city’s comprehensive plan to reflect that. That ordinance was approved on second and final reading.

The second ordinance was the rezoning of the property from Business Planned Unit Development (BPUD) and Retail Commercial (C-1) to Residential Planned Unit Development (RPUD). The commission approved the zoning change on first reading.

For both ordinances, the City Commission’s votes were 6-0. Commissioner Tom Burbank was absent. The second public hearing and final vote on the rezoning will be slated for Jan. 17, 2023.

Asked when construction of Catalina Pointe may begin, Alan Benenson, of MAS Development, said the company hopes to begin in the third quarter of 2023.

Benenson estimated the build-out will take 18 months.