Developer withdraws LPGA Golf Villas comp-plan request after resident objections over traffic, trees and golf practice area

A developer withdrew a request to change the future land use for about 36.5 acres near International Golf Drive and Champions Drive following more than an hour of testimony from residents concerned about traffic, tree loss and the conversion of LPGA practice holes to housing.

The applicant had asked the Daytona Beach City Commission to reclassify three future‑land‑use parcels (retail, office transition and golf course) to a single ‘‘Level 1 Residential’’ designation and then proceed later with a plan development (PD) zoning request. City staff and the applicant showed the commission alternative site plans and described a package of concessions developed in neighborhood meetings. At the end of the hearing the applicant withdrew both the plan amendment and the companion zoning request.

Why it matters: The change sought to eliminate higher‑intensity uses allowed by the existing plan (including multifamily and medical office) and to cap development at the lower density the applicant proposed. Residents said even a smaller single‑family plan would add traffic to an already congested corridor, remove public green space and reduce golf practice facilities that they and the LPGA headquarters use.

What was proposed and why the applicant said it was needed

Attorney Rob Merrill and the project team told commissioners they sought the comp‑plan amendment so future zoning and land‑use designations would match, allowing development under single‑family residential standards. The city packet and the presentation showed the existing map split among retail, office transition and golf course uses; the applicant proposed reclassifying those areas to a single low‑density residential category.

Design engineer Parker Minchenberg described a sequence of neighborhood meetings and a series of concessions the team said it had offered: reducing earlier concepts that included townhomes and multifamily to a single‑family plan of about 120 lots; eliminating a previously proposed public park in favor of setting several acres aside as preserved wooded area; eliminating a roadway connection to the northeast; and adding continuous…