- September 7, 2024
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To amend, or not to amend.
When it comes to the county's "Heavy Industrial" I-2 zoning district, that's a topic the Volusia County Council is currently split on.
On Tuesday, July 23, the council held a Growth and Resource Management and Permitting workshop, where it discussed the county's I-2 zoning regulations — namely, the fact that the language is overly broad, a fact brought to light after Belvedere Terminals proposed to build a fuel farm at 874 Hull Road near the city limits of Ormond Beach.
"It is wide open," Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin said of the zoning district. "I have never seen language like that in a zoning regulation since I started doing this in 1987.
The county’s current I-2 zoning district allows any industrial use, by right, unless it is identified as requiring approval of a special exception. There are, to date, five properties that are zoned I-2, all of which are located north of Hull Road in an unincorporated area near the city of Ormond Beach.
During the workshop, the council appeared to be split 4-3: Council Chair Jeff Brower and Councilmen Troy Kent and Matt Reinhart were in favor of pursuing amendments to the I-2 zoning ordinance. The rest worried the change could bring legal challenges to the county or voiced not wanting to impede on the property rights on the impacted landowners.
Councilman Jake Johansson said he'd be in favor of having staff collaborate with the landowners and let them be aware amendments to the I-2 zoning may be coming.
"I would like to communicate with them and move forward toward a more restrictive I-2 zoning that will cover us from the unknowns in the future," Johansson said.
On the other hand, Reinhart said the I-2 zoning district needs to be cleaned up.
"The language does need to be more clear," he said. "We need to be able to avoid this from happening again in the future."
To avoid liability, the council was also asked to consider providing an exemption for, or grandfathering, the five properties currently zoned I-2.
Kent, whose district includes Ormond Beach, was not in favor of this. There may be "fear mongering" about consequences on not exempting the five properties, but Kent said the county has a capable legal team and ability to hire outside counsel "to make sure that the nonsense stops because of our wildly inappropriate, crazy, liberal I-2 zoning."
"There's risk involved, but there's risk involved in just about anything you do," Kent said. "And our residents have spoken loudly and clearly and let us know that they're OK with that risk."
In February, the council voted 5-2 against putting a moratorium in place for heavy industrial properties as it considered changes to the zoning ordinance. Kent, who voted for the moratorium alongside Brower, said this led to an application being filed by Belvedere Terminals for its proposed fuel farm.
"Now we have more of a problem, in my opinion," Kent said.
In June, the state allocated $10 million for the relocation of the proposed fuel farm. Kent asked during the workshop if a provision for those funds could state that Belvedere won't take legal action against the county.
County Attorney Mike Dyer said it could be a conversation to have.
Kent also tried to convince Johansson and fellow Councilmen Danny Robins, Don Dempsey and David Santiago — all of whom were in favor of providing an exemption to existing I-2 zoned properties — to change their mind. Nobody would want this project in their backyard, he said.
Councilman David Santiago said he believes he's been clear on where he stands on the issue: He's not willing to accept the liability if the I-2 zoning is amended. He was in favor of providing an exemption for the properties zoned I-2.
Santiago said none of his constituents have expressed wanting to take on the liability. However, last year, the Deltona City Commission passed a resolution 4-0 supporting the Volusia League of Cities in its opposition of the fuel farm project.
Kent told Santiago that if the fuel farm project was in Santiago's district, Kent would be the "guy you want next to you saying 'heck no' to it."
In response, Santiago said that, when the project was first brought to the council's attention, he supported Kent's opposition to the fuel farm.
"Do I finish in the same location with you? It's the details," Santiago said. "If this were in the center of Deltona, it would be a lot tougher decision for me, I agree with that."
Brower said the only way he'd agree to grandfather the properties is if the county issued a condition that the landowners could not use their land for a more intense use than what exists today.
"I think we have four companies there now that are good neighbors and I don't want to hurt them from doing what they're doing," Brower said.
He was not in favor, however, of exempting the proposed fuel farm property from amendments to the ordinance.
"I know that's problematic, but it's been said really clearly that it's in the wrong spot," Brower said.
Robins said he felt almost like the county would be "punishing" existing landowners if they modified the ordinance and its allowed uses. He was in favor of exempting all the properties.
He was also worried about the financial risk the county would have to take on if it modified the I-2 zoning district.
"We need to be careful about staying in our boundaries, but the big thing is, to get me to move from that? Spending threshold," Robins said. "How are we going to pay for it?"
Johansson said property rights are important, but again, he wanted to communicate with the landowners on the changes. And, modifying the ordinance could turn out to be a "bridge too far," he said.
"We haven't heard from Belvedere in any substance in months," he said. "Maybe they'll never come back. Do they have an obligation to tell us they're done? It would be nice, but we'll never know."
Councilman Don Dempsey said he'd rather not amend the I-2 ordinance at all, nor exempt properties. He's not convinced it's a dangerous project, he said.
"I'm not saying I think it's a great idea to be there ... but I want that to vet itself through the site plan process," he said.
