Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Airport Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Technical review committee conditionally approves Empty Propeller hangar plan pending lease, monitoring-well and right-of-way fixes
Summary
The City of DeLand Technical Review Committee conditionally approved Empty Propeller’s proposed hangar site plan at the airport, requiring the applicant to resolve a revised lease line, add monitoring-well abandonment language per state guidance, and document right-of-way vacation and fire-access notes before final permit approval.
The City of DeLand Technical Review Committee on Dec. 15 conditionally approved the site plan for Empty Propeller’s proposed hangar at the municipal airport, but only after the applicant and city staff agreed the plan must show a new lease boundary, include a monitoring-well note consistent with state guidance, and add a right-of-way (vacation/abandonment) note so setbacks and access are clarified.
The action came after the project presenter described design revisions that add a new fire hydrant tied to an existing water line and reposition circulation to preserve truck access. Planning Director Carol **** said the city could not issue a permit while FAA-related restrictions and the lease-boundary question remained unresolved: “We just we cannot until this this is resolved,” she said.
Presenter remarks and committee discussion focused on three technical obstacles: (1) a revised lease line (the red line on the plan) that becomes a new property boundary and forces building reorientation and changed setbacks; (2) two monitoring wells near or within the proposed footprint that staff advised should be abandoned or relocated consistent with Florida Department of Environmental Protection (FDEP) procedures; and (3) clarifying whether the adjacent service drive/right-of-way will be vacated so the project’s ‘front yard’ and setback calculations are correct.
The presenter said he moved a hydrant to a point with an existing tap and included backflow-prevention equipment in the revision. Committee members pressed whether fire apparatus could access hydrants currently located on the taxiway; one member observed city trucks need roadway access rather than taxiway placement. The design team agreed to run an auto-turn analysis and to pursue a one-way drive alignment and angled parking to preserve maneuvering room without exceeding setback limits.
Applicant representative Gus Spring, who said he was hired by NT Propeller to assist the company, asked the committee to move quickly so the manufacturer could begin construction and create local jobs. “These people need a facility. They need it now,” Spring said, urging staff coordination on the lease and survey.
City staff identified the administrative follow-ups: the applicant must provide a legal description and survey for a new lease line, the city will add plan notes indicating the right-of-way to be vacated and the monitoring-well abandonment (to be completed consistent with FDEP guidance), and staff will review a draft lease description before the applicant formally resubmits. The application record shows the initial submission date as 08/27/2025 and the applicant was advised to address reviewer comments in the permit portal upon resubmittal.
A committee member moved to conditionally approve the site plan with the stated caveats — resolving the lease line and referencing the vacation/right-of-way note, adding the monitoring-well note, and addressing outstanding reviewer comments — and the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote.
Next steps: the applicant is to provide the lease survey/legal description and plan-note language; staff will coordinate contacts at FDEP for well-abandonment requirements and will confirm required hydrant/fire-access details. Final permit issuance will follow verification that the listed conditions have been satisfied.
