Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mda Amendment School Safety topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission amends Madeline Commons MDA to allow flashing beacons, not fence, at Sugar Mill Elementary
Summary
Port Orange commissioners on Jan. 23 approved an amendment to the Madeline Commons master development agreement that replaces a planned 6-foot privacy fence with rapid flashing pedestrian beacons and a flashing stop sign at Sugar Mill Elementary’s parent pickup driveway.
PORT ORANGE, Fla. — The Port Orange Planning Commission on Jan. 23 approved an amendment to the Madeline Commons planned development master development agreement (MDA) to require safety signs — rapid flashing pedestrian beacons and a flashing stop sign — at the Sugar Mill Elementary parent drop-off driveway on Charles Street, in place of a previously agreed 6-foot privacy fence (PRZA-24-0309).
Planning staff explained the fence had been included in the MDA at the request of the Volusia County School District during approval of the PUD. During subdivision construction, staff and other agencies discovered that installing a 6-foot privacy fence along the shared boundary would have created impacts to a protected wetland within a conservation easement and could reduce visibility into the school property, raising security concerns.
"During the construction of the subdivision, it was determined that installing the fence would actually create impacts to the protected wetland that is in a conservation easement on the plat," planning staff said. They added that the city police department and the school crossing guards reviewed options and agreed that signs were an acceptable public-safety improvement in place of the fence. Staff said the proposed signs were already installed at the site.
Commissioners confirmed the School District, school-level staff and the sheriff’s crossing guards had been involved in the discussions. Maria Mills Bennett asked whether the improvement addressed pedestrians crossing from the opposite side of the street; staff clarified the improvements focus on the parent-driveway crossing and that the locations were selected by school staff and crossing-guard personnel.
The amendment passed on a unanimous roll call. The approved change does not alter other terms of the MDA; it replaces the fence requirement with specified safety signage and related arrangements for stormwater and conservation-area management remain unchanged.
