Cocoa council approves first readings to annex and rezone 45 acres east of Gryom Parkway for industrial uses

On April 14, Cocoa City Council approved first readings of three companion ordinances—annexation (01‑2026), a comprehensive‑plan future‑land‑use amendment (02‑2026) and a zoning map amendment (03‑2026)—covering approximately 45.26 acres east of Gryom Parkway that the applicant plans to develop as an industrial complex.

City attorney and staff framed the legislative package as an applicant‑initiated, contiguous annexation required by the city’s code when a property requesting wastewater service lies outside city limits. Attorney’s materials named the property owners as Dale and Lorie Morris and identified the applicant and representative as Park Industrial LLC with counsel present. Mrs. Webster and planning staff described the request: the annexation would bring the parcels into city limits, the comp‑plan amendment would change the designation from Brevard County Residential‑4 to City of Cocoa Industrial, and the zoning change would reclassify the parcels as M2 manufacturing and industrial.

“Annexation does not require planning and zoning board approval,” the city attorney said, adding that planning staff had presented the companion comp‑plan and zoning requests to the Planning & Zoning Board, which recommended approval with conditions. Planner Lucileni Hibo explained that the proposed M2 use would permit larger indoor recreation and adaptive reuse of industrial buildings and that the zoning text amendment to M2 would include compatibility safeguards such as screening, limits on outdoor amplified sound and standards for accessory uses.

Council members asked questions about access and utility coordination with Brevard County. Applicant counsel and the development team said they were coordinating access issues—some access relies on county right‑of‑way and easements—and that they expected to resolve those coordination points with the county during detailed design. Staff noted that the annexation and map amendments have conditional effective dates tied to each other as required by the Community Planning Act.

Council voted unanimously to approve the first reading of each ordinance; each ordinance’s effective date is conditional on the successful completion of the annexation procedure and statutory notice periods. Additional hearings (second readings) are required before final ordinance adoption.

What this means: If the annexation and map amendments proceed through the required second hearings and become effective, the property will enter the city’s utility and regulatory framework and become available for industrial development under city M2 standards. Staff said future site‑specific approvals (plats, site plans, permits) will follow standard technical and concurrency review.