DeLand planning board approves Victoria Reserve Phase 4 plat with conditions on dog park screening and corner signage

The City of DeLand Planning Board recommended approval of combined preliminary and final plat CSV25-001 for Victoria Reserve Phase 4, a subdivision phase that would add 162 multifamily units and a private dog park, with conditions to remove a planned monument wall and sign and to finalize screening and grading details with city staff.

Belinda Collins, senior planner for the City of DeLand, presented the application and the staff recommendation. "This request is for a combined plat that includes the details required for the subdivision of the property," Collins said, describing the application submitted in January 2025 and the project location at the northeast corner of Beersford and the MLK Beltway.

The recommendation matters because Phase 4 adds a sizable multifamily component to an existing planned development and transfers an undedicated portion of right-of-way to the developer in exchange for enhanced landscaping — the area proposed for a dog park. The planning board’s conditions aim to address public commentary and technical concerns about landscaping, visibility and long-term maintenance.

Staff told the board that earlier phases of the development received approvals in 2020 and 2024; the transcript indicates prior phase approvals in July 2020, October 2020, and February 2024. Collins said the phase now before the board would develop 162 multifamily units and includes a depiction of a dog park sited on the parcel the city would transfer. She also noted that the property transfer has not yet been completed.

Board members and staff discussed several technical and design points: additional plantings to provide screening around clusters of eight-unit buildings; a three- to four-foot berm topped by a three-foot hedge to provide layered screening at the dog park; the need to preserve existing trees where feasible; the proximity of a stormwater easement and a proposed berm that may require adjustments to grading or tree mitigation; and the practical visibility of the dog park on day one versus the twenty-year rendering. Staff and the applicant agreed the final landscaping and buffer details should be coordinated with city staff before the item proceeds to the commission.

Board members also asked about ownership and maintenance: staff said the streets in the development will be public; the dog park will be private and maintained by the Phase 4 homeowners association (HOA) for the townhome phase. The board asked whether a master HOA or combined maintenance structure might be appropriate in the future; the applicant said that remains to be determined and that the Phase 4 HOA would at minimum be responsible for upkeep.

At the conclusion of public participation, a motion to recommend approval with the conditions (removal of the wall and corner sign; applicant coordination with staff on screening and grading at the northeast corner by the dog park; and other items discussed) was made and seconded. The planning board recorded four affirmative votes and the motion passed unanimously. The item will be forwarded to the City Commission for a single reading; a final commission date was not specified in the transcript.

The planning board’s action is advisory to the City Commission; the property transfer referenced by staff must be completed before the city conveys the right-of-way referenced in the plat documents. The board’s conditions require the applicant to revise or clarify the corner treatment used in commission materials so elected officials see realistic, near-term landscaping and not only long-range renderings.

The next formal step is the City Commission hearing; staff and the applicant said they will coordinate final landscape and grading plans before that hearing.