NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. – Some residents of New Smyrna Beach protested outside City Hall Tuesday night, hoping to stop a final vote on a major development called Deering Park.
This project plans to cover more than 70,000 acres in Volusia and Brevard counties.
The part of Deering Park in New Smyrna Beach would be about 1,600 acres, located off State Road 44, right next to Interstate 95.
Opponents of the development argued that this project does not fit the character of New Smyrna Beach.
“We all came to this town and live here to go to the beach and ride your bike around. It feels like it’s slowly starting to become more like South Florida,” said resident Michael Dunphy.
They said they also worry about the infrastructure in the city not keeping up with the demands the development could bring.
“We have serious flooding issues here. We have serious traffic congestion problems where people can’t access areas of town, especially on the weekends. This project is just going to make it exponentially worse,” said resident Bryon White.
The property in question is located across from Venetian Bay. It would be mixed-use land for both industrial and residential purposes.
It is just a small part of the entire Deering Park project, which covers 70,000 acres and extends into Brevard County. The project will include commercial, industrial, and residential areas, with 46,000 acres set aside as conserved land.
Each city must approve its section of the project. The first phase has already begun in Edgewater. The entire project will be built over several decades.
Developers requested rezoning to allow for 2,100 new housing units, including single-family homes, townhomes and apartments, along with 6 million square feet of commercial space for offices, research, light manufacturing, storage, and a regional sports complex.
On Tuesday, New Smyrna Beach city commissioners approved the land rezoning after hours of public comment.
Supporters of the New Smyrna Beach portion believe this development is exactly what the city needs to thrive.
“We’re going to get new industries here, which our city desperately needs. Our city is really tourism-based with restaurant and hospitality jobs, and we need more,” said resident Mark Beckwith.
The developer’s attorney, Glenn Storch, explained that the engineering plans have been carefully designed to minimize the impact on local infrastructure.
“We have the advantage in this particular case of being able to direct our stormwater south,” he said.
He also mentioned that they cannot build homes for years because they must first develop the nonresidential areas to create a tax base.