Daytona Beach CRA approves seawall funding and a commercial renovation grant amid dispute over event-center outdoor activity; staff to continue PD/review

The Daytona Beach Community Redevelopment Agency on July 1 approved several administrative resolutions: up to $400,000 in tax increment funds for a seawall and boardwalk extension, and a $41,966.84 commercial property improvement grant for a renovation at 204 South Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard.

The seawall and boardwalk funding (Item 7A) was introduced by staff as a resolution from the Main Street redevelopment area trust fund. The commission moved, seconded and approved the allocation without further debate.

Item 7B — a commercial incentive under the CRA’s 0% interest loan/commercial incentive program to support renovation of the building at 204 S Dr. Martin Luther King Boulevard — drew extended discussion. Several commissioners voiced concern after staff and neighbors reported repeated outdoor activities at the Legacy XV event center that, staff said, exceeded what a previously granted variance allowed.

Rose Ascu, the city’s interim economic development director, told the commission staff had received resident complaints about after-midnight activity, parking on residential streets and recurring outdoor uses that the variance did not authorize. “When I started receiving the calls, I got with code enforcement and the police department. So they've been monitoring,” Ascu said.

The property owner, Renee Richardson, described a long list of community events hosted since opening — including graduations, a Memorial Day event, poetry slams and small celebrations — and said the owners are pursuing a planned-development (PD) rezoning to formalize outdoor use. “We have worked extremely hard. It has been extremely costly. So, we would definitely appreciate your support,” Richardson said.

City staff and the city attorney advised that the property met the grant program’s eligibility for building improvements and that the grant award could be brought forward while permitting, PD and any enforcement issues continued as a separate process. Project manager Michelle Toiver said materials and labor for the patio and awning were properly purchased and that the grant covered building improvements rather than the question of permitted outdoor use.

After discussion, the commission approved the commercial improvement grant on the record. City staff said compliance and PD review would continue and that, if code enforcement later required closure of the business and the owner failed the program’s post-award business requirement, the grant/loan repayment terms allow recovery.

Separately, the CRA discussed setting aside up to $250,000 toward a proposed $500,000 community commitment if Daytona Beach bids to host a large folk festival conference. Lori Campbell Baker, executive director of the Daytona Beach Area Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the CVB and the Halifax Area Advertising Authority have committed $100,000 and are fundraising to reach the required community match; commissioners indicated conditional support and discussed matching mechanics.