The City of Eustis commission on May 1 tabled a proposal to annex approximately 49.5 acres north of County Road 44 after several commissioners and public speakers expressed concern that the property currently serves as a drop yard for construction debris and that concrete-crushing activity on the site could harm nearby residents and Lake Eustis.

Mayor Willie Hawkins opened second-reading consideration of Ordinance 25-03, the voluntary annexation request, and several commissioners and members of the public raised questions about the large stockpiles of concrete visible on the property. Commissioner comments noted worries about dust, water runoff and whether crushing operations were an appropriate use near residences and wetlands. One commissioner said she had researched health concerns and was uncomfortable approving annexation without further safeguards.

Logan Wilson, who identified himself as representing the applicant, said the concrete piles are not part of the property's long-term plan and that the owner intends to remove the material. He said the owner operates a C&D (construction and demolition) landfill and could haul the material away or crush and remove it; the current presence of crushing equipment, Wilson said, is a temporary staging outcome from prior work the owner assisted the city with while other sites were being developed.

Staff and commissioners explored options. City planning staff confirmed that the property’s current county zoning allowed uses with interpretation — the city’s mixed commercial and industrial (MCI) designation also includes language that can allow light industrial activities, but neither the county nor the city code explicitly lists “concrete crushing” as a permitted or prohibited use. Staff advised that the commission could delay action and direct a code amendment to make concrete crushing an explicit conditional or prohibited use in the MCI category, apply a conditional-use restriction for the specific property, or allow annexation now and rely on the city’s development-review process to require buffering, hours-of-operation limits and other controls for future activity.

Several commissioners favored tabling the annexation to allow staff time to draft code language that would restrict or manage crushing and aggregate operations. The commission moved to table the ordinance while staff prepares a land-use amendment; the motion passed unanimously. Christine (city clerk) performed a roll-call vote and all commissioners present voted "Aye." The meeting record shows the commission directed staff to re-advertise and to return with proposed code language and a future hearing date.

Commission discussion and the public record reflect three core concerns: the current on-site stockpiles of concrete and crushing equipment, proximity to residences and the potential for adverse water or dust impacts on Lake Eustis, and the uncertainty about what future owners might do if the land is rezoned or annexed without explicit restrictions. The commission did not adopt any ordinance on May 1 and set additional work on code language and re-notification as the next steps.