- November 27, 2024
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After hearing concerns from Ormond Beach residents regarding Belvedere Terminals’ proposed fuel farm at 874 Hull Road, the Volusia County Council is looking to amend an existing agreement with Ormond Beach that would give the city more oversight over the unincorporated property.
On Tuesday, Oct. 17, County Councilman David Santiago made a motion to discuss possible amendments to the North U.S. 1 Interlocal Service Boundary Agreement, first adopted in 2014. This agreement established a municipal service area aimed to encourage intergovernmental coordination in planning, service delivery and boundary adjustments, as well as reduce intergovernmental conflicts, according to the city’s website.
The agreement currently only includes properties on the northeast side of U.S. 1.
“Whatever decisions they make, they’ll have to deal with, but at least it eliminates the block that we have from taking action on that property right now,” Santiago said. “We are prohibited by law, and then [residents] can do your advocacy to make sure what you want happens.”
The law Santiago was referring to is Senate Bill 250, signed by the governor in June. It disallows local governments located within 100 miles of anywhere Hurricane Ian or Nicole made landfall from proposing or adopting “more restrictive or burdensome amendments to its comprehensive plan or land development regulations.” The bill also prohibits local governments from proposing or adopting “more restrictive or burdensome procedures concerning review, approval, or issuance of a site plan, development permit or development order” before Oct. 1, 2024.
Volusia County’s legal department believes the county cannot change zoning for the Hull Road property because of this.
Santiago’s motion was not the first time an interlocal boundary agreement was suggested as a solution. At previous Ormond Beach City Commission meetings, the city’s attorney mentioned wanting to create a new agreement to establish a joint planning and municipal service area for zoning and land uses involving unincorporated lands that share a boundary with the city.
The council also approved a motion by Troy Kent to discuss options to lease the land at 874 Hull Road — owned by the Florida East Coast Railway — for a different use.
“We have heard from hundreds publicly here at our podium about why it’s wrong,” Kent said.
Discussing lease options, and including the city of Ormond Beach in the conversation, would give county staff “another tool in their tool belt” to oppose the fuel farm, Kent said.
Councilman Danny Robins, though he voted in favor of Kent’s motion, said he was concerned with setting a precedent in Volusia for leasing land that has a zoning designation with which municipalities or residents disagree.
“That’s a big deal and that’s a big burden now that we’re assuming,” Robins said. “Yes, this is very important but we have certain things that we’re doing, and we have to remind ourselves, we don’t even have an application yet.”
There is a precedent the county is setting, Kent argued.
“The precedent is this: You come to our county and you try to do something inappropriate, we’re going to fight you with every tooth in our head,” he said, earning cheers from the meeting’s attendees.
At the City Commission meeting Tuesday evening, however, some residents felt like the county’s motions were punting the fuel farm issue to the city, particularly Santiago’s motion to amend the existing interlocal service boundary agreement.
“While their motion seem appealing on the surface, I can’t help but view this as the county passing the responsibilities and accountability to you, the city of Ormond Beach,” resident Lindsay Pate said.
Kent’s motion also sounded great, she added, but she doubted the FEC, which is owned by Mexican mining company Grupo México, would be interested in giving up on the fuel farm to lease the land to the county.
Daytona Beach resident Catherine Pante told the City Commission that Santiago’s motion does “nothing more than relinquishing the county’s responsibility to oppose the fuel terminal and support public safety for residents.”
“This concept of passing the buck to Ormond Beach is wrong in my view and this will come back for discussion,” she said.
During closing comments, City Commissioner Travis Sargent said that when he heard of the motions made by the County Council, his first inclination was to think the city should “jump on board.”
“The more you think about it, the city of Ormond has done everything that we can,” Sargent said. “We stepped up. We did everything possible. I just don’t think there’s more for us to do on this issue at this point to stay on top of it.”
At the end of September, the city of Ormond helped local food and beverage distribution company S.R. Perrott contest the Florida Department of Environmental Protection’s decision to issue an air construction permit to Belvedere Terminals, which seeks to construct a fuel farm in the property behind their headquarters.
The city has also said it intends to eliminate its I-2 “Heavy Industrial” zoning.
In TV news interviews conducted two weeks ago, Belvedere Terminals Chief Financial Officer Tim Schwarz said the proposed fuel farm would be composed of three storage tanks instead of 16.
After a year of bargaining sessions, higher wages are coming for Ormond Beach Police officers.
The City Commission unanimously approved via its consent agenda the ratification of a collective bargaining agreement between the city and the Ormond Beach International Union of Police Associations on Tuesday, Oct. 17. Negotiations began in October 2022.
The contract outlines that:
“You are appreciated,” Commissioner Travis Sargent said. “And I think this contract is a very good start, and it shows that this commission is behind y’all.”
