Despite some misgivings about traffic hazards on the busy highway, the Volusia County Council has approved a subdivision and a commercial center at the northwest corner of State Road 44 and Grand Avenue.
The land in question is 42.36 acres that has been a tree farm, but is now within the planning sphere of DeLand. The neighborhood-to-be has been christened Woodruff Ridge, and it will have 121 single-family homes. A Circle K convenience store is already on the corner, but it is not part of the new development. As well as the homes, Woodruff Ridge will include a retail-commercial element of 36,000 square feet for the benefit of the people living close by. The commercial center will be situated on a 3.2-acre outparcel along S.R. 44.
The property’s proximity to the commuter rail system and the availability of water and sewer service from the City of DeLand make it likely to be annexed into the city.
“It is identified as a transit-oriented area,” county Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin told the council. “From staff’s analysis, this does not constitute urban sprawl.”
The OK for Woodruff Ridge came May 7, after extensive discussion about the possible dangers of more crashes, injuries and deaths at and near the roundabout intersection.
“The danger of this is traffic coming eastbound [on a bridge on S.R. 44] over the railroad tracks,” Council Member Don Dempsey said. “You can’t see the traffic coming over the bridge.”
Dempsey cited statistics about more than 40 accidents occurring at or near the intersection over five years, including an April 5, 2016, crash that claimed the lives of a woman and three children. Upon hitting another vehicle that had turned into the path of the Jeep in which they were riding, the victims were trapped inside the Jeep and were burned alive.
Dempsey, who recalled he had become involved in the case as an attorney, urged that no left-turn access into Woodruff Ridge be permitted from the eastbound lanes of State Road 44. Dempsey called for a right-in/right-out access from New York Avenue for the subdivision, which may also be entered and exited from a planned street connecting with Grand Avenue.
“Are you willing to limit the project to right-in/right-out?” Dempsey asked Michael Woods, the landowner’s attorney.
“Yes,” Woods answered.
“It’s a dangerous area,” Dempsey said.
“We have taken that seriously,” Woods agreed.
The roundabout, proposed as a safer way of moving traffic, was constructed at the crossing of New York and Grand avenues shortly after the tragic accident cited above.
County officials say they have no jurisdiction over the state road, but they assured Dempsey the Florida Department of Transportation will review safety concerns.
At Dempsey’s insistence, and with the support of the council, the county will press for right-in/right-out access into and out of the neighborhood, unless the FDOT allows for eastbound left turns with a turn lane long enough to accommodate waiting vehicles and not have them waiting in the through lanes to make a turn.
The county’s approval of Woodruff Ridge came in two parts. First, the County Council voted to change the land use of the tract from Rural to Commercial and Urban Low Intensity (ULI). Land uses are specified in the county’s state-mandated growth-management plan, also known as the comprehensive plan, and any change or amendment of the comprehensive plan must be passed by an ordinance.
After, the council voted to rezone the property from A-2 (Rural Agriculture) to PUD (Planned Unit Development). Had the council not changed the land use and the zoning, the owner of the property, TLC Volusia Holdings LLC, would have been allowed to build only one home per acre on the undeveloped tract.
With the land use change, the owner could legally build as many as 153 homes on the property, but the working cap on new dwellings is 121. The homes will be clustered on lots with widths of 50 and 60 feet and lengths of about 100 feet, thus following a trend toward smaller residential lots. The clustering, or concentration of homes, allows more open space for pocket parks, a dog park and a playground. The developer has also “agreed to dedicate a 30-foot strip of land along the northern property boundary for the County’s Spring-to-Spring Trail connection,” a county summary notes.
“The PUD will be developed in two phases. Phase 1 (estimated commencement of 2025) includes the 121 single-family residential units, and Phase 2 (estimated commencement of 2030) includes the 36,000 square feet of commercial uses along SR 44,” the county summary noted.
The first phase got the attention of Council Vice Chair Troy Kent, who said he was “not crazy about the 50-foot lots.” He described the drawing of the preliminary plan for the subdivision as “having house on top of house on top of house.”
“How many homes can we fit in this postage stamp?” he asked.
“The applicant has not determined how he wants to develop the commercial area. Both the residential units and the commercial area will need to go through the final site plan/subdivision process if the project is approved by the County Council,” the paper also read.
Woodruff Ridge, when built out, will result in an average of 2,698 vehicle trips per day to the area’s roads, according to planning papers.
The County Council approved the change in the land use with a 5-2 vote. Council Members Kent, Jake Johansson, Matt Reinhart, Danny Robins and David Santiago formed the majority, while Dempsey and County Chair Jeff Brower dissented.
On the companion resolution to rezone the tract as a PUD, the vote was also 5-2, but the factions were different. The rezoning was passed by Dempsey, Johansson, Reinhart, Robins and Santiago. Brower and Kent opposed the measure.
The proposed land-use change, or comprehensive-plan amendment, will be reviewed by the Volusia Growth Management Commission and by the Florida Department of Commerce.
