Daytona Beach annexes Tomoka Farms parcels and approves 344-unit Tomoka Farms Road apartment plan

The Daytona Beach City Commission voted 5 to 1 on May 21 to annex county parcels along Tomoka Farms Road, change the properties’ future land‑use designation and rezone the site to allow a 344‑unit multifamily complex. The items approved were: a voluntary annexation of about 20.2 acres, a small‑scale comprehensive plan amendment covering roughly 30.8 acres, and a plan‑development rezoning for a 344‑unit apartment project on land at 1484 Tomoka Farms Road and 3039 West International Speedway Boulevard.

Why it matters: the site sits near the Tomoka River and an interchange area several commissioners described as already strained by traffic. The project’s approvals shift regulatory authority from Volusia County to the city; commissioners said that gives Daytona Beach more control over future development and tax revenues but leaves outstanding questions about road and bridge capacity, drainage and long‑term infrastructure needs.

Developers and landowners said the project had been revised during more than a year of staff and technical review. Rob Arrow, an attorney for the applicant with Cobb Cole, said the annexation would “reduce an existing enclave of county property that’s got city all around it,” and argued the change is consistent with state law that favors resolving surrounded county enclaves. Arrow said the team had worked with city staff, the Technical Review Team and the planning board, which recommended approval.

Matt Green of the Green Organization, which will develop the site with local landowners, described the company’s experience in other markets and said the firm hopes to include affordable units. “We’re looking to expand in the market,” he said. Robert Campbell, who represents the Root family (the property owner), said the team is “targeting 20% affordable” units based on their experience in other projects.

Traffic and wetlands were the most contested issues in public testimony and during commission debate. Manny Rodriguez, the city’s traffic engineer, told the commission the proposed change from the county activity‑center designation to multifamily would reduce trip generation for the site compared with many commercial uses that the county’s activity‑center designation allows. Rodriguez said he and the applicant’s traffic consultants were coordinating with FDOT and Volusia County on signal improvements and road widening plans that could include additional lanes and a new signal at Tomoka Farms Road and Bellevue.

The applicant also said it reconfigured the site to preserve environmentally sensitive areas. Chris Rollo, the project engineer, said the design will avoid a federally regulated wetland on the south side and preserve two other wetland areas totaling about 5.12 acres while proposing to impact a separate isolated wetland of roughly 2.87 acres. “We are preserving 2.26 acres and 2.86 acres… and we are impacting 2.87,” Rollo said during the staff presentation.

Commissioners pressed for more detail on regional traffic and infrastructure. One commissioner said they were reluctant to approve additional projects in the area until improvements tied to other nearby developments — including a large project called Waypoint — were completed. Others argued city control would let Daytona Beach require improvements and collect tax revenue rather than letting more intense county uses proceed without city input.

Legal and affordability questions also surfaced. City attorney Jessica Gallicoff clarified that the Live Local Act (Florida tax incentive program discussed by some speakers) requires 40% of units to qualify for certain benefits; the applicant said they planned 20% workforce units but there was no binding requirement in the approvals tonight.

Formal actions and outcome: the commission approved all three related items — annexation, comprehensive‑plan amendment and plan‑development rezoning — with 5‑1 votes on each. The record notes the planning board’s unanimous recommendation and that the project will still need engineering, environmental permitting and concurrency review (transportation/utility capacity) before building permits are issued. The commission asked staff for a follow‑up report on the broader Tomoka Farms/ISB area and infrastructure implications for bridges and roadway capacity.

What’s next: developers must complete traffic impact analyses and obtain permits from St. Johns River Water Management District and other agencies; the city will monitor required road and utility improvements as part of site plan and concurrency review. Commissioners also directed staff to return with a broader staff report on the corridor so the commission can track infrastructure needs and coordination with county and state partners.

Speakers quoted in this story are identified from the meeting transcript.