Against the wishes of neighbors, the Volusia County Council Feb. 20 narrowly approved a mix of town houses and retail stores, including a supermarket, at an intersection just east of the DeLand city limits.
“What we have here today is a change in both the land use and a rezoning for 40 acres,” Volusia County Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin told the council.
The project, known as the East DeLand Market Place, will have 100 townhouses and almost 100,000 square feet of retail space, plus outparcels for restaurants. When the plan was unveiled last fall, the property’s owners proposed 240 multifamily units, but the number has been pared to 100. The latest plan calls for 10 acres to be set aside for conservation.
The property in question is an aggregate of parcels at the northwest corner of the intersection of East New York Avenue, also known as State Road 44, and Kepler Road. That intersection becomes a chokepoint for traffic during the morning and afternoon rush hours, and critics say the proposed new development will result in more traffic and compound the problems for drivers and property owners nearby. The land has several owners, including the F.A. Ford family.
The county’s planning staff had recommended approval of the mixed-use project, but the Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission had voted 5-1 to recommend the County Council reject it.
The tandem measures for the East DeLand Market Place drew split votes of 4-3.
Before anything of this scale may be built on the site, the land use must be changed from the Urban Low Intensity (ULI) to Urban High Intensity (UHI), with a commercial designation.
The multiple zoning also must be changed from the combination of A-3 (Transitional Agriculture), RR (Rural Residential) and Planned Unit Development (PUD) to Planned Unit Development for the entire tract. The property has a Circle K convenience store at the corner, and there is agricultural activity on another part of it.
DeLand is growing, and Ervin noted the site is in the path of the city’s enlargement.
“The comprehensive plan identifies it as an urbanized area,” he said.
Indeed, the DeLand 2050 outlook anticipates the inclusion of the property and surrounding lands within DeLand in the future.
The landowners’ attorney, Mark Watts, said the mixed-use development has been in the making for decades.
“There has been planning out there since 1990, that is just now coming to fruition,” he told the council. “It’s time for us to look at what’s occurred.”
Watts outlined a brief history of the area.
One major change has been the development of Victoria Park, a multiphase residential project with thousands of homes, many of them upscale.
Victoria Park was “out” from the older parts of DeLand when its first homes were built and marketed in the early 2000s. The vacant space between the former city boundaries and Victoria Park, however, is now being filled by new neighborhoods, such as Cresswinds, Trinity Gardens and Beresford Reserve.
In fact, the numbers of new homes projected in subdivisions already approved by DeLand or awaiting approval total more than 2,500.
With a rather skeptical audience sitting behind him, Watts highlighted the proposed commercial development to serve the settlers who now must drive several miles to buy the things they need.
“A shopping center is a necessity,” he said.
Without a supermarket in the growing vicinity, Watts added, “you’re going to be sending the trips through town [DeLand].” His clients’ project, he said, is a way of “providing a grocery option in an area without one.”
Much of that traffic, he said, would go through the overburdened S.R. 44/Kepler intersection. County officials say the problems for the traveling public will greatly ease when the Florida Department of Transportation builds a roundabout to replace the current traffic signal at the intersection. The FDOT may begin construction of the roundabout within the coming months.
The roundabout, proponents assure, will facilitate a smooth flow of traffic from all four directions, instead of having drivers stop and wait for traffic-light changes.
Construction of the roundabout is supposed to begin this summer, at a cost of $64.4 million, FDOT spokesman Timothy Freed wrote in an e-mail to The Beacon.
COLOR IT ACTIVE AND BUSY — Change is coming to one of the busiest intersections in Volusia County. The midday traffic shown in this photo will likely increase, once a new shopping center and an apartment complex appear on the northwest 40 acres at the crossing of State Road 44 — also known as New York Avenue in and around DeLand — and Kepler Road. The County Council has agreed to a land-use change of the property depicted here, with the whole parcel set to become Urban High Intensify with a commercial designation. The orange portion is destined for 100 multi-family dwellings, while the area in the red shading, becomes the site of a shopping center. To accommodate the growing volume of vehicles passing through the intersection, the Florida Department of Transportation is planning to construct a roundabout to replace the existing signalized crossing. The roundabout is supposed to be safer than a signal-controlled intersection, while facilitating the more rapid flow of traffic.
Not happy
Not everyone is happy about the coming of the East DeLand Market Place.
“I rise in opposing to the proposed rezoning,” Paul Richardson said. “I don’t think this is appropriate. … To the north of it is a church and undeveloped areas. … town homes and a grocery store and a shopping center — it just doesn’t fit.”
“I’m here today to strongly oppose this rezoning,” Paul Valentine said. “We live in this area. … I’m opposed to the size and scope of this project. … Please deny this rezoning … and give it more thought.”
“Anything — 100 town homes — is going to make the intersection worse,” Ruth Ann Fay said. “Drivers don’t understand the yield signs [in roundabouts].”
The result
After hearing from the professional planners and people who live nearby the site, County Council members were divided on the future of the property and the growth trend.
“Someone is going to have to convince me to say yes on this,” County Vice Chair Troy Kent said.
“I understand the frustrations of the public,” Council Member David Santiago said. “I think roundabouts work. … I think with the road, help is on the way. … I was not for this project in its original proposal. … The commercial project is needed.”
“Our job is to look at the big picture,” Santiago added, as he moved for passage of the land-use change.
Council Member Danny Robins quickly seconded the motion.
“We’ve got 2,800 homes here, and we don’t know how that’s going to impact the intersection,” Council Member Don Dempsey said. “I’m not a big fan of roundabouts. … I can’t see this being a good fit right now.”
County Chair Jeff Brower spoke against the land-use amendment for the East DeLand Market Place.
“I can’t vote for this today,” he told his colleagues and the audience. “This is the worst intersection in DeLand.”
As for the pace and volume of development in the area, Brower warned some drainage problems would worsen.
“We’re going to put more water there. We’re going to create more flooding,” he added. “I can’t approve another project that is going to flood out the area.”
“We’re seeing flooding over the county,” Ervin said. “We plan for a 25-year storm event.”
When Brower added more words and passion about flooding woes, Santiago challenged him.
“I respect your opinion,” Santiago told Brower.
“That’s why I bring up flooding. It’s a serious problem,” Brower said. “I’m not willing to approve this one.”
When the vote for the land-use change was taken, Brower, Kent and Dempsey were on the losing side, while Santiago, Robins, and Council Members Jake Johansson and Matt Reinhart were on the prevailing side.
The vote on the rezoning of the land was likewise 4-3, with the same threesome led by Brower in the minority and the same majority on the winning side.
How soon may the shopping center and the town homes become a reality?
“It will probably be 10 months to a year before you see anything,” Watts said.
