DeBary revises public schools facility element to mirror interlocal agreement with Volusia County

Growth Management Director Steven Bap told the City of DeBary council at an Aug. 2025 workshop that the public schools facility element in the draft 2045 comprehensive plan has been revised to match the city—s 2008 interlocal agreement with Volusia County public schools.

"What we've done with this element is we've mirrored the element to reflect directly the, policies, objectives, and goals that were contained in the interlocal agreement," Bap said. He said the element was significantly altered for two reasons: to make it consistent with the interlocal agreement and to remove policies made unnecessary after the repeal of a Florida Administrative Code provision (referred to in the meeting as Rule 9J-5.025).

Coordination with county utilities and water management Bap said city staff coordinated the public facilities infrastructure reviews with Volusia County Utilities and the St. Johns River Water Management District, particularly on potable water and sewer level-of-service standards and recent "septic to sewer" laws. "They took a little bit longer, but they wanted to make sure that it was done correctly with all the changes to, Florida statutes and laws that they're facing too," he said.

Next steps and schedule Bap said the capital improvement element (CIE) and intergovernmental coordination sections remain to be finalized and will be presented at a future meeting. "The capital improvement element will be revealed at a later date," he said, and staff expects the CIE, intergovernmental coordination and the public facilities element to be brought forward on Sept. 3, 2025.

Why it matters: The public schools facility element governs how the city coordinates with the school district on school siting, student growth and infrastructure planning; aligning the element with the interlocal agreement updates local policy language and removes obsolete requirements tied to a former state administrative rule.

Public participation The city clerk reported there was no public participation at the workshop. Council members asked clarifying questions but did not take formal action on the schools element during the session.

No formal vote No formal votes or ordinance readings occurred on the schools facility element at this workshop; staff will return with the revised elements and the CIE for further review.