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Palm Bay council approves Ashland Park land-use change to allow 33-acre town center
Summary
The City Council voted 5-0 to amend the comprehensive plan to add 33 acres to a planned Ashland Park urban mixed-use (UMU) area, clearing the way for a visible town-center site at the St. John's Parkway interchange.
The Palm Bay City Council voted unanimously to approve a comprehensive-plan amendment that adds 33 acres to the Ashland Park urban mixed-use (UMU) area and establishes a new, visible site for a downtown-style town center near the Interstate 95 interchange.
Why it matters: The amendment aligns the western parcel of the Ashland Park master plan with the UMU designation already approved for the larger project to the east. Developers said the added acreage gives them direct access from the planned St. John’s Parkway and lets the project place the town center where it will be visible and accessible from I-95 rather than farther inside the master plan.
Developer and staff descriptions: Jake Wise, civil engineer for the applicant, said the 33 acres will let the project “do something much bigger, much better, create that town center, that downtown that Palm Bay does not have now.” James Dix, president of DX Developments, which is leading the project, told council the overall master plan includes mixed housing types, hundreds of acres of open space and trails, a 30-acre school site and a roughly 50-acre town-center area. Christian Ocendo, the project architect, said the design emphasizes walkability, a lakeside park and an amphitheater-type gathering place.
City staff framed the decision as the next step in a multi-year review. Lisa Frasier, growth management director, briefed council that the eastern portion of the master plan already carried UMU land use and that the 33-acre amendment would allow the town-center concept to shift westward to the parkway access. She described the vote as a transmittal hearing: the council’s approval sends the amendment to state review and requires a second adoption hearing after agency comments are received.
What council voted on: The ordinance amending the future land use map to change the 33-acre parcel to UMU was adopted on first reading and approved for transmittal to the state; council voted 5-0 in favor.
What comes next: The application will go to state review as required for large-scale comprehensive-plan changes and return to council for final adoption after state and agency comments are resolved. Developers said the team is preparing additional zoning and subdivision applications that will come to planning staff and the council for separate approvals.
Speakers quoted in this story appear in the meeting record and included Jake Wise (civil engineer), James Dix (developer, DX Developments), Christian Ocendo (architect, CBA Architects) and Lisa Frasier (Growth Management Director).
