DeBary council advances Southwest Sector mobility plan and new mobility fees on first reading, includes Dirksen Road funding set‑aside

The City of DeBary City Council on first reading approved Ordinance O4-2025 to amend the land development code, adopt the DeBary Southwest Sector Mobility Plan and a mobility fee schedule intended to fund multimodal transportation improvements around the SunRail transit‑oriented development (TOD) area.

Stephen Bap, Growth Management Director for the City of DeBary, introduced the ordinance and said the city selected New Urban Concepts to update the plan. Jonathan Paul, principal of New Urban Concepts, described the mobility fee as “a mitigation paid by new development to offset their impact to the city's transportation system.” Paul emphasized the fee applies to new development only and is a one‑time payment.

Paul said the mobility program covers about a 20‑year horizon and includes projects around the SunRail station: intersections, roadway improvements, trails, transit access and signalization. The technical report estimates the plan cost at approximately $44,000,000, of which roughly $8.5 million is the estimated cost to add a center turn lane on Dirksen Road from State Road 1792 to Interstate 4. The recommended fee area largely mirrors the 2020 boundary but extends north to include land south of Benson Junction to account for potential redevelopment,…