A retail chain that caters to low-budget consumers is looking to build yet another store in Deltona, and neighbors and city officials are wary.

Dollar Tree has submitted a proposal to construct a store enclosing nearly 10,000 square feet on almost 1.6 acres at 937 Howland Blvd., directly across from Pine Ridge High School. Deltona’s Development Review Committee, a panel of senior department personnel, has called upon the business and its engineering partner to amend the request and head off possible problems with traffic congestion.

“There are several residents that would be impacted by that development,” Deltona Deputy Public Works Director Phyllis Wallace said Nov. 2, as the DRC considered the proposal submitted by Dollar Tree and its engineering consultant, Kimley-Horn and Associates Inc.

The site in question is already zoned C-1 (Retail Commercial).

Traffic snarls become acute during the weekday mornings, when parents or guardians drop off their children, and in the afternoons, when they pick them up, and as school buses are on the move at and around Pine Ridge High, as well as nearby Pride Elementary School and Heritage Middle School. In addition, Deltona Christian School has opened its secondary-school campus on the property formerly occupied by Pine Ridge Fellowship.

Pine Ridge Fellowship, a United Methodist church that merged with another congregation, sold its land and facilities to Faith Baptist Church a few years ago for the latter’s expansion of Deltona Christian School. The proposed Dollar Tree would be about a stone’s throw from Deltona Christian School.

In addition to the school-related traffic congestion in the mornings, Howland Boulevard is one of Deltona’s gateways and an alternative route for connecting with State Road 415 and getting to and from work in Sanford or the Greater Orlando area.

“We’re going to require a TIA [traffic-impact analysis, or traffic study] for this,” Deltona Development Services Planner Jessica Entwistle told Daniel Blasco, of Kimley-Horn.

Howland Boulevard is a Volusia County thoroughfare that serves as a sort of beltway between the north side of Deltona, off Interstate 4, and S.R. 415 on the southeast side of the city. Volusia County Traffic Engineering counts of vehicles for 2021 — the most recent year available — show the segment of Howland between Fort Smith Boulevard and S.R. 415 logged an average daily volume of 17,850 cars and trucks.

“One Dollar Tree generates only 30 trips per day. It’s not like a school,” Blasco said.

Blasco said the proposed Dollar Tree may actually be a stand-alone store that would replace one of the chain’s other stores, such as one in a shopping center.

Deltona now has four Dollar Tree stores.

“Did anybody do a needs study for a dollar store in this area? I mean, with one so close, less than a mile away up the street and Dollar Tree less than three miles away. Is there a need for this?” asked Jim McCully, a homeowner in nearby Pine Ridge, an existing neighborhood whose lots are greater than an acre.

“I don’t think the plan is to add more stores, but more to relocate an existing one,” Blasco replied.

“We’re questioning whether there is a need for something like that in that spot,” McCully said.

McCully added he “is looking down the road at future development,” including the third phase of the Fernanda Place residential planned unit development (RPUD) and a proposal to build more homes in Pine Ridge, west of the Deltona Christian School campus.

“It could be a potential nightmare,” McCully said.

One of McCully’s neighbors, Matilda Morabito, agreed.

“I believe it’s not the best place for a Dollar Tree,” she said, referencing the traffic concerns. “They have the right to build, but Dollar Tree is not the best choice.”

“Whether we like the dollar stores or not, it’s zoned for this,” Wallace said, referring to the property.

The DRC also noted the site of the proposed Dollar Tree may be a habitat for gopher tortoises. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service designates gopher tortoises as a threatened species.

Wallace said the Dollar Tree proposal needs more work, and asked Kimley-Horn to refine the request and submit additional information.

Blasco agreed to take the meeting’s comments into consideration.

“I think the bigger issues are with the schools,” he said. “We’ll do whatever we can to be compliant with city codes. … I think I’ve gotten enough feedback.”