- May 2, 2024
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A conservation area will provide a buffer between residential and commercial areas.
BY WAYNE GRANT | STAFF WRITER
A sign of an improving economy will be evident to residents when a commercial development begins erecting at 1298 W. Granada Blvd., the now vacant land between Lowe’s Home Improvement and Chelsea Place subdivision.
On Tuesday, the Ormond Beach City Commission approved rezoning the land, which will allow its owner, West Granada LLC, to proceed with development. Documents show the owner plans 34,000 square feet of commercial space.
Glenn Storch, attorney for the developer, said the plans call for “a small shopping center with probably a restaurant base.”
He said the first step will be for the owner to work out leases with tenants, and then build. Construction could begin in a year.
“It’s great to see something happening on State Road 40,” he said. “It shows faith in the Volusia County economy.”
The 4.64-acre portion of the site along Granada Boulevard has been rezoned “commercial” and the 9.89-acre portion to the south is zoned “open space/conservation.”
Steve Spraker, senior planner for the city, said the conservation area will include stormwater retention and wetland preservation. He said this natural area will provide a separation between any new commercial development and Chelsea Place.
“Any development plans will be reviewed by city staff including engineering, planning and the fire department,” he said, adding that permitting could take two or three months, but sometimes can take as long as six months.
There will be advertised meetings with property owners within 600 feet to discuss any concerns.
The Tuesday night vote was the second and final reading of the rezoning ordinance. There were no speakers for or against the proposed rezoning at the previous Planning Board meetings or at the City Commission meetings.
The area was annexed into the city Aug. 20, at the request of the landowner.
City codes to be reviewed
In other business, the commissioners voted to spend $16,950 to have the city’s laws, known as its code of ordinances, reviewed by an outside company, Municipal Code Corporation.
Randy Hayes, city attorney, said the code has not been looked at since 1982. Since then, he said, laws have been created and revised “piecemeal,” and looking at the entire code is “long overdue.”
City documents show that 122 supplements have been issued to the code since 1982.
The commission decided at its Oct. 1 meeting that the code should be reviewed and updated after discussing the need to update the laws on Sunday morning alcohol sales.
At that time, Commissioner Bill Partington said he wondered how many other laws were out-of-date. The commission directed staff to have the code reviewed by Municipal Code Corporation, also known as Municode.
Hayes said his staff had already been in discussions with Municode for about a year.
“We’ve been looking at doing this for quite some time,” he said.
In the review process, a staff of lawyers at Municode will compare the city’s laws with current state statutes and case law and will make recommendations.
Hayes said every city has different needs and the city will make any final decisions.
“It’s like a recipe,” he said. “One city might need to have a different ingredient.”
Municode serves about 352 local governments in Florida and has published the code of ordinances for Ormond Beach since 1958.
