The City of Eustis Local Planning Agency voted unanimously on April 17, 2025, to transmit Ordinance 25-04 to the City Commission for consideration, a proposal to annex 49.5 acres on County Road 44 into the city and designate it Mixed Commercial Industrial (MCI). The parcel, owned by Robert T. Sangster, sits across from the Trout Lake Nature Center and east of the intersection of County Road 44 and State Road 19.

Mike Lane, Development Services Director, told the agency the annexation request seeks an MCI land-use designation that excludes residential uses and allows light manufacturing, distribution, commercial and industrial facilities. Lane said the city’s MCI standards include a floor-area-ratio up to 2.5 and an impervious-surface allowance up to 75 percent, but he noted the property contains wetlands, a 100-year floodplain and a low groundwater recharge area (about four inches per year). Lane said water and sewer utilities are available and that future development likely would need a FEMA map amendment if structures are sited in the mapped floodplain. Lane recommended transmitting the ordinance to the City Commission.

Logan Wilson, representing property owner Robert T. Sangster, described past interest from residential developers and said the site’s flood and wetland constraints made standard residential subdivision work costly. He said Sangster’s near-term plan is limited covered and outdoor storage for equipment, RVs and boats, not retail or high-traffic commercial uses, and described the borrow pits on the front of the property as useful for stormwater collection. Wilson told the agency the existing small buildings on the site are more like hangars or large storage bays than individual 5-by-10 rental lockers.

Multiple nearby residents urged caution. John Thornton, who said he owns the house immediately behind the parcel, described heavy truck traffic and nighttime deliveries tied to concrete removal at other projects and raised health and contamination questions about crushed concrete and asphalt brought to the site. Thornton said county enforcement had ordered a cease of some activity and that the St. Johns Water District was investigating. "Where did it come from, and what's inside that concrete? Is any hazardous material?" Thornton asked the agency.

Other speakers expressed environmental and traffic concerns. Blake Griswold, who identifies as a City of Eustis resident, urged protection of Trout Lake and the Pine Meadows Conservation Area and asked the agency not to risk nearby wetlands. Cindy Newton, who said she lives in unincorporated Eustis about 1.5 miles from the site, warned that drainage from the parcel flows to Trout Lake and then to Lake Eustis. Sherry Thornton, who lives adjacent to the property, described noise and lights from trucks arriving as early as 2–4 a.m. and urged agency members to inspect the site.

Agency members and staff discussed whether annexation would give the city more regulatory control than leaving the parcel in county jurisdiction; an agency member said the city’s proposed regulations are stricter than the county’s current “urban low” future land-use category. The county designation was described during the meeting as "urban low," which allows up to four dwelling units per acre and some commercial uses; the city's MCI does not allow residential uses.

At the end of the hearing, an agency member moved to transmit Ordinance 25-04 to the City Commission for consideration; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll-call vote. The recorded votes were: Mr. Holland — aye; Mr. Asbodie — aye; Vice Chair Ashcraft — aye; Miss Lee — aye; Chairman Hawkins — aye. The agency transmitted the ordinance for further consideration by the City Commission.

The City Commission is scheduled to consider the ordinance at a later meeting; agency staff said members of the public who did not speak at the planning-agency meeting will have an opportunity to address the commission when the item is heard.