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DeBary parks officials say recreation element meets standards; limited edits proposed
Summary
At its Aug. 6 workshop, DeBary staff reported the recreation and cultural element of the city—s EAR already exceeds the city—s standards and the parks and recreation director concurred that no EAR-driven amendments are necessary; proposed edits are mostly to align the element with the city vision and remove outdated goals.
At the DeBary City Council workshop Aug. 6, 2025, Growth Management Director Stephen Bap said the recreation and cultural element of the city—s Evaluation and Appraisal Report is a required element and that the city—s existing parks and recreation system "far exceed[s] our set standards already." He said the Parks and Recreation Director concurred that "no EAR-based amendments would be necessary" for this element.
Bap told the council the recreation and cultural element provides the framework for public and private recreation sites and that the proposed changes are limited to updating the element to reflect the city—s vision and to remove outdated policies and goals that have already been achieved.
Council member Selle praised the city—s parks work, saying the recreational and cultural element in DeBary is "leaps and bounds better than most other surrounding cities." Council members had no substantive objections and accepted staff—s recommendation to keep edits limited and to carry forward the city—s current standards.
Why it matters: the recreation and cultural element is one part of the comprehensive plan that guides park provision, facility planning and cultural programming; confirming that no major EAR-driven amendments are needed means staff can focus on aligning the element with the city—s strategic vision rather than on regulatory fixes.
Discussion vs. decision: this portion of the workshop was discussion only; the Parks and Recreation Director—s concurrence was described as a staff finding, and no formal vote or ordinance change took place.
Next steps: staff will incorporate vision-related wording and remove outdated goals in a clean draft for the adoption phase and will return with the economic development, public facilities and transportation elements at future workshops.
