- October 11, 2024
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A multifamily development between Dix Avenue and Highland Avenue in Ormond Beach has received the Ormond Beach Planning Board’s approval to build 16 more units.
The Planning Board recommended approval for two rezoning amendments and a development order for the Ormond Enclave development, formerly known as “The Courtyard at Ormond,” at a Thursday, June 8 meeting. In 2019, the City Commission approved three comprehensive plan amendments for the 6.34-acre site at 145 N. Yonge St. At the time, the proposed plans included 48 units and a 10,889-square-foot commercial building.
Based on feedback from neighbors during a neighborhood meeting in August 2021, the developer — CST Holdings, LLC — opted to remove the commercial property from the plans and replace it with more multifamily units, for a total of 64 units.
“This is the first downtown multifamily (development) that we’ve been looking at in this area in over 40 years,” said Glenn Storch, the attorney representing the developer.
The first zoning amendment request was for a 0.34-acre portion of the property. The developer seeks to rezone it from “B-4 Central Business” to a Planned Business Development designation; the second request is to rezone a 0.99-acre portion of the property from “R-3 Single-Family Medium Density” to Planned Residential Development. The rest of the property already has a zoning of PBD and PRD.
In 2009, the City Commission approved the development of a Dollar General store, a 12,000-square-foot retail center and a 16-unit two-story townhome project on the property.
In addition to eliminating the commercial aspect of the proposal, the developer has modified its plans to have an entrance-only, one- way access point along Highland Avenue. The main entrance and exit of the apartments, to be marketed as luxury units, will be shared with the existing Dollar General next door.
The primary concern from residents who spoke at the Planning Board meeting was traffic.
Rick Sandora said people already use Highland and Dix avenues to cut through to Beach Street during rush hours, and the apartments will worsen the problem. The speed bumps placed by the city have been ineffective, he added.
“I think we’re creating a monster that once it’s done, it’s done, and we’re not going to be able to rectify it after you allow this,” Sandora said. “I’m totally against it. I think we’re tiptoeing around the traffic problem.”
Only Planning Board member Angeline Schull voted against the development order, citing concerns about traffic. The votes for the zoning amendments were unanimous. Planning Board member GG Galloway said he understood residents’ concerns. But the concerns, he said, would exist with or without the construction of the development.
“We’re constantly hearing about, ‘We’re approving stuff to create urban sprawl,’” Galloway said. “And here’s a perfect project that is coming to us to get the people back within the city, to stop the traffic from coming from outside the city into the city.”
Board Chair Doug Thomas wondered if Highland and Dix avenues, as narrow as they are, could be turned into one-way streets in the future to address the traffic problem.
“We’re no different than you,” Thomas said. “We’re citizens of Ormond Beach; we’re residents. We have the same problems you do. We have the same traffic you do. ... And we’re just ones that are up here that are trying to make our city better.”
The Ormond Beach Planning Board unanimously recommended approval for a proposed 24-unit condominium development at 121 E. Granada Blvd. at its June 8 meeting.
The development, known as 121 East, will include a mixture of one- to three-bedroom units in a five-story building, with parking on the ground floor. The board recommended approval for a development order and a rezoning request to convert the 0.76-acre property’s zoning from “B-4 Central Business” to a Planned Business Development.
“Compact, pedestrian-oriented development — it’s one of the things that that’s in your downtown overlay,” said Rob Merrell, an attorney with Cobb Cole, representing the developer. “This is definitely it.”
Board member Al Jorczak said the proposal is “a way to do infill” while promoting a walkable community in the downtown.
“I think it’s a first-class development, high quality,” he said. “It will encourage a clientele, I think, that will be beneficial to the city, beneficial to our tax base.”
The Volusia County Council will meet at 4 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, and discuss the appointment of a new corrections division director, according to a press release.
Former Corrections Director Mark Flowers was fired in January after the county reported that he had created a hostile work environment. Flowers said a county internal investigation into an alleged excessive force incident at the jail was mishandled, and that he was being retaliated against for blowing the whistle on inmate abuse.
The council will also continue its discussion of the Library Advisory Board, the creation of a “Stupid Motorist” ordinance to prohibit motorists from driving around barricades to enter flooded streets during declared local states of emergencies, and sex offender/predator residency distance requirements and playground regulations.
The meeting will be held in the council chambers at the Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center at 123 W. Indiana Ave., DeLand.
