VOLUSIA COUNTY, Fla. – Volusia County’s proposed changes to its land use and zoning ordinance promises streamlined processes. While officials say the new rules will make things simpler, some residents fear they’ll lose their chance to speak up about new construction in their neighborhoods.
The county council is slated to making a final approval to the change at its meeting on Thursday morning.
“It gives everybody more standing, more flexibility, and rights to do on their property that quite frankly, it’s already zoned and approved for. These are just layers of bureaucracy we’re trying to sort through,” councilman Danny Robins said.
The county’s revised ordinance aims to simplify building and permitting regulations for residents while modifying how some projects receive approval. Under the new system, several projects that previously required public hearings before the county council will instead receive approval from staff members or a planning commission.
However, residents worry these changes could limit their ability to address development-related issues affecting their community, particularly flooding problems.
“They always think it’s just a few of us people. It’s not a few people — it’s thousands of people. Some of our homes still have not been fixed,” Holly Hill resident Danielle Latona said.
These residents argue the new system could reduce transparency in development decisions.
“This is a way to make the county council not be responsible for a lot of this. This is a way for them to say we didn’t have anything to do with it,” Holly Hill resident Mary Nichols said.
Robins maintains that developers must still navigate numerous approval processes, and this change should help residents for permitting and zoning.
“It cuts back on the process - not every case deems or has to go to the county council,” Robins explained.
While there will still be an appeals process for residents to voice concerns, some community members argue this doesn’t equate to having input before initial decisions are made.
The county council will discuss these changes at their upcoming meeting, scheduled for Thursday at 9 a.m.
[WATCH OTHER VOLUSIA COUNTY COVERAGE: Man accused of scamming Volusia woman out of $30K]