The City Commission voted to annex roughly 49.5 acres north of County Road 44 and east of State Road 19, approving three linked ordinances that change the property's status and planning designations.

Staff said the property owner, Robert T. Sangster, requested annexation and the mixed commercial-industrial (MCI) designation for the parcel. The package approved April 17 consisted of: Ordinance 25-03 (voluntary annexation of ~49.5 acres), Ordinance 25-04 (comprehensive plan amendment from Lake County's urban low to mixed commercial-industrial), and Ordinance 25-05 (assigning the bridal neighborhood design district to about 40 acres and suburban corridor district to about 9.5 acres). Planning staff told commissioners utilities are available at the road frontage and that future development will require floodplain and geotechnical studies because the site includes low-recharge soils and FEMA flood zones.

Residents and nearby property owners raised several concerns during public comment. John Thornton and Sherry Norton said much of the parcel appears to be wetlands, that trucks have been bringing concrete to the site and that recent on-site concrete grinding and fill activity could affect drainage. Cindy Newton said heavy truck traffic was using restricted local roads and warned that changes to the parcel's grading could affect Trout Lake drainage. Thornton asked the city to require "stringent requirements" on how the property would be developed.

Commissioners debated trade-offs. Some said annexation gives the city more regulatory control than leaving the property under county jurisdiction; others said they preferred the site remain unchanged. Multiple commissioners said they preferred light industrial or commercial uses to dense residential development. Commissioner Asbadi said annexation would "put pressure on us" as a city but noted it would allow Eustis to oversee future development rather than leave control to the county.

All three ordinances passed on commission roll calls with recorded yes votes from Commissioner Holland, Commissioner Asbadi, Vice Mayor Ashcraft, Commissioner Lee and Mayor Hawkins.

Ending: Staff said future development proposals would require detailed studies (floodplain, geotechnical, and traffic) and that city code enforcement and state regulators (Saint Johns Water Management District was mentioned as monitoring possible violations) would be engaged if unpermitted activity continued. Commission members instructed staff to monitor the site and report back as development proposals advance.