Planning staff advance downtown mixed‑use site plan while parking agreement and tree protections remain unresolved

City of DeLand planning staff and project representatives agreed at a meeting to forward a downtown mixed‑use site plan to the planning board while finishing a 50‑year parking agreement with the county and adding specific protections for a newly designated historic tree.

Planning staff said the project will return to the city commission for final action on the park/parking agreement once comments are incorporated and the county coordinates required language. "You did see that it is a 50‑year agreement," a planning staff member said, noting the draft includes a long‑term monitoring provision.

The discussion centered on three unresolved items staff said must be clarified before final approvals: the parking agreement that will govern use of county‑owned parking, tree preservation language for a large off‑site tree that became historic during review, and exterior design/massing details tied to a Certificate of Appropriateness issued by the Historic Preservation Board.

On tree protection, designers and staff described a 24–25 inch tree whose drip line extends into the project site and historic designation occurred during the review. Staff asked the applicant to show 1.5 times the drip line on plan sheets, add notes stating coordination with an ISA‑certified arborist for any pruning, and to include a root‑pruning plan where a water/fire line crosses near the tree. The applicant agreed to add a plan note: if pruning is needed to avoid contact with the building, a certified arborist will be consulted.

Design and scale also drew lengthy discussion. The applicant said the current building form follows the city's form‑based code and Historic Preservation Board guidance, and that roof peaks and stepped massing were used to reduce perceived height. In response, staff requested horizontal and vertical dimensions on black‑and‑white elevations, clarifications on uninterrupted wall plane lengths, and confirmation of the building's relationship to adjacent single‑story structures. The applicant said the building's highest peak reaches about 77 feet to a stair enclosure and that lower sections were reduced to three stories along the street face to improve pedestrian scale.

Other technical items staff sought in resubmittal included: sidewalk dimensions along New York Avenue (staff noted a 5‑foot sidewalk currently exists and said moving to 6 feet would conflict with utilities and right‑of‑way), drainage and runoff details (staff recommended minor check dams on the eastern edge and subsurface connections), clarification of bicycle parking counts (applicant reported 48 interior and 4 exterior spaces), and trash rollout procedures (trash to be stored inside and rolled out on collection days by on‑site staff).

Staff also flagged recordation steps tied to cross‑access and drainage easements: the applicant was advised to prepare a declaration of easement and to insert placeholders on plan sheets for recording data. Staff noted the property is not yet owned by the applicant and easement recordation will follow property transfer.

After discussion, the board moved to advance the application toward the planning board and to city commission for the park/parking agreement, subject to finalizing the parking agreement and resolving outstanding plan comments. The motion was seconded; the transcript does not record a full roll call or tally for that specific motion.

What happens next: staff told the applicant team to return revised plans with the requested notes and dimensions and to coordinate a follow‑up call with county representatives so the parking agreement can be finalized for commission review. Staff estimated the earliest scheduling would align with the next available planning board and city commission cycles once the agreement and plan revisions are complete.

The meeting placed particular emphasis on documenting the protections for the off‑site historic tree and making the parking agreement explicit before final approvals. Project representatives said they will add the arborist notes, revise plan dimensions, and continue to coordinate with county staff on the parking agreement.