1000 Friends of Florida and our partner, the St. Johns Riverkeeper, remain engaged in Volusia County following our November 2021 workshop, Volusia 2070, in Deland. Last Tuesday, Policy and Planning Director Jane West presented to the Volusia County Council during their day-long workshop on growth management and permitting. County planning staff provided a comprehensive overview of Volusia County’s role and responsibilities in managing growth and Council Members engaged in discussion about the challenges associated with balancing the community’s needs.
A few important takeaways from this workshop include:
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Get engaged and be active early in the process. Volusia planning staff informed Council Members of the best opportunity to shape growth management policy and the critical time to implement public opinion is during the Comprehensive Planning process. By the time the community is weighing a zoning or permitting decision for a particular project, it is often too late.
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An important opportunity to engage in shaping Volusia County’s Comprehensive Plan is coming soon. The County will begin the state-required Evaluation, Appraisal and Review (EAR) process by December 2022. Planning staff committed to providing Council Members with a robust public engagement strategy. The EAR process includes a review of the actionable items in the comprehensive plan, and, importantly, allows the community to provide input on the Future Land Use Element, which serves as a blueprint for how the county will look in years to come.
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Better intergovernmental planning coordination is needed between the county and cities. Council Members grappled with the challenges of jurisdiction and responsibilities between the County and municipalities, and how to encourage better coordination.
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County staff suggested additional protections for the habitat of Threatened and Endangered species. Volusia’s freshwater springs, such as Volusia Blue, provide critical habitat for thousands of manatees. Volusia County already has a Manatee Protection Plan but may be able to strengthen this policy with an enforcement mechanism, septic system inspections and low impact development (LID) standards to protect water quality.
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Council Members directed staff to re-establish the Green Ribbon Panel. This multi-stakeholder panel consisting of members of the public last met in 2009 to help direct the county staff and Council Members to prioritize critical environmental and growth management issues and develop community-prioritized recommendations to guide the county. During Tuesday’s meeting, Council Members indicated their support for reviving this committee and will likely vote to do so at a future council meeting.
We are encouraged by Volusia County Council’s willingness to engage in this important conversation. For more information about the content of our presentation to Volusia Council Members, please see the
Volusia 2070 final report and follow
this page on our website. We continue to follow Volusia County’s efforts to make wise growth management decisions and will offer our support for policies that protect Volusia’s unique rural character, natural lands and precious freshwater springs.
