Planning board backs SMA Healthcare permit to legalize long‑standing clinic use

The Daytona Beach Planning Board on Dec. 19 voted to recommend approval of a semi‑public use permit for SMA Healthcare that would change the nonprofit clinic’s long‑standing nonconforming status to a conforming use.

City planning staff told the board the clinic, located at 1220 Willis Avenue north of Daytona State College, occupies the southern 3.51‑acre portion of a 6.91‑acre parcel zoned single‑family residential (SFR‑5). Staff said SMA Healthcare has operated at the site since the 1960s and recommended granting the permit and associated waivers that would allow the facility to continue operating without requiring physical alterations.

The waivers in the staff report include reduced parking and drive‑aisle dimensions, allowing an existing unpaved access drive to remain un‑resurfaced, applying business‑district sign standards in the residential zone, waiving certain landscape and buffer requirements, and exempting a sidewalk connection to Heinemann Street. Staff said the waivers are limited to the property as it exists and that any future expansion would require separate approvals.

Mark Coretta of Zip Co. and Associates, representing SMA, said the site has not generated code‑enforcement complaints and that a portion of the clinic’s funding is tied to state and federal grants that require facilities to meet ADA and other standards. “None to my knowledge,” he said when asked if there were outstanding safety issues at the site.

Board members asked whether the approvals would apply only to this parcel (staff: yes), whether interior ADA compliance is documented (applicant: interior is believed to meet ADA; staff noted building‑code compliance is a separate matter), and whether allowing the waivers poses liability to the city (staff: waiving certain site standards does not, in itself, create additional liability).

A board member moved to recommend approval; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. The planning board’s recommendation will be forwarded to the Daytona Beach City Commission for final consideration, tentatively scheduled for Feb. 6, 2025.

The decision changes the property’s land‑use status but does not authorize physical changes to the building or site; any alteration or expansion would require additional review and permits.