The City Council accepted first reading July 16 of an ordinance to annex two parcels totaling about 39.85 acres on the east side of Vic Road, roughly a quarter‑mile north of West Lester Road, and held the ordinance for second reading and formal adoption.

Bobby Howell, the city’s planning manager, told the council the parcels are contiguous to the city limits and meet the criteria in Florida Statute 171.044 for annexation. The applicant’s attorney, Lisa Sal, said the annexed area is a small portion of a larger 618‑acre project and that annexation gives the city a single permitting and land‑use framework for the entire development. She said the proposed plan would change the future land use to residential low suburban with a later zoning application to create a plan development (PD).

Sal and staff said the density within the county would be 4 dwelling units per acre while the city’s proposed standard would be 3.5 dwelling units per acre for the annexed portion. The applicant offered 30‑foot right‑of‑way dedications for Panken and Vic Road and proposed buffers to minimize impacts on adjacent uses; staff and the applicant said those dedications and buffers would be finalized during subsequent PD and site‑plan proceedings.

Several residents and planners in public comment raised broader concerns about cumulative development impacts — school capacity, roads and stormwater — and urged the council to ensure infrastructure and timing accommodate growth. Planning staff and the applicant said roadway and right‑of‑way improvements have been discussed and that some Vic Road segments are in multiyear planning lists, while the larger development would move forward through the city’s PD and permitting process. The council voted to accept first reading and table the ordinance for a second reading and adoption at a later meeting.