DELAND, Fla. — Volusia County Council members met to discuss potential changes to current I-2 heavy industrial zoning regulations in a permitting and zoning workshop held Tuesday afternoon.

Heavy industrial zoning has been of interest to county staff and residents alike because of a potential fuel terminal site proposed near Ormond Beach.

What You Need To Know

  • Volusia County Council members met to discuss potential changes to current I-2 heavy industrial zoning regulations Tuesday

  • A proposed fuel terminal site near Ormond Beach is currently zoned I-2 heavy industrial

  • For nearly a year, residents have said the site shouldn’t be zoned I-2 because of its proximity to neighborhoods

  • County staff said language on I-2 heavy industrial zoning is “too broad” and recommended making changes to which industrial uses were automatically allowed by right

Nearly a year ago, Belvedere Terminals proposed building a multi-million gallon fuel terminal at 874 Hull Road near Ormond Beach. Since then, thousands of residents have pushed back against the location.

“There's thousands of homes that are nearby,” Ormond Beach resident Elena Krafft said. “It's literally walking distance. It's 500 feet from the sports complex utilized by thousands of families every single year.”

Krafft started a petition against the fuel terminal that currently has more than 43,000 signatures. The current site is near residential areas, a local airport and a youth sports complex. Ormond Beach residents argued the proposed terminal site should not be zoned as heavy industrial because of its proximity to residential areas.

Krafft said that she hoped the County Council would recognize that the area shouldn’t be zoned heavy industrial at Tuesday’s workshop.

“My biggest wish for this meeting, and it's been a year long fight, is to finally acknowledge that Hull Road is not appropriately zoned,” she said. “It should not be zoned heavy industrial.”

In a presentation, county staff said that current language surrounding I-2 heavy industrial zoning is "too broad." Right now, any of the 115 industrial uses are currently allowed by right.

At Tuesday's workshop, county staff recommended making some of the uses require special exceptions or conditions instead of being automatically approved. County Chair Jeff Brower agreed.

“It's a wide open zoning,” Brower said. “I would like to restrict it at the very least to where the council — PLDRC (Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission), and the Council has to approve it by special exception so that we know what's going to happen to the residents in that area.”

Because Tuesday’s meeting was a workshop, there was no vote. Brower said that a vote on changing I-2 zoning regulations could happen within a month or so. 

Regarding updates on the fuel terminal, Brower said the county waiting to hear from Belvedere Terminals regarding their preliminary site plan. 

“We sent back 20 pages of questions, maybe 22 pages of questions, and we haven't heard anything,” Brower said. “Right now, it's in limbo. We don't know where they are.”

At-Large Representative Jake Johansson said the County Council is trying to get Belvedere to consider alternate locations outside of Volusia County.

“The council is actively trying to get Belvedere to consider options outside of the county,” Johansson said. “In the big scheme of things, it's not convenient to have that stuff that close to the residential. I have no problem with it being next to the airport. I have nothing with it being next to the sporting complex, but residential.”

Gov. Ron DeSantis recently allocated $10 million to fund an alternate site for the fuel terminal.

When asked about the funding, Belvedere Terminals Chief Operating Officer Mike Benedetto shared this statement with Spectrum News 13 on Tuesday: “Belvedere leaders will provide further information as soon as we are ready to announce our progress in detail.”

Because of the meeting’s workshop format, there was no public comment. Johansson said that may have been frustrating for people who wanted to make comments, but he encouraged residents to keep their questions ready.

“I suggest that as we go through this list and kind of come to a consensus on where we think we're going to go, keep those questions ready for the PLRDC if it goes to that,” he said. “And then the Council for the ordinance discussion. And that's where we'll have a healthy debate and finally finalize whether we are going to adopt it or let it go.”

Reagan Ryan is a 2023 — 2025 Report for America Corps Member, covering the environment and climate across Central Florida for Spectrum News 13. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues.