Edgewater planning board backs 137‑unit RPUD with conditions after residents press for tree, stormwater protections

The City of Edgewater Planning & Zoning Board voted Feb. 11 to give a favorable recommendation on RZ2415, a request to reclassify 4401 South Ridgewood Avenue from county mobile‑home use to a city residential planned unit development that would allow a 137‑unit single‑family subdivision, contingent on the RPUD and master plan incorporating the concerns raised at the meeting.

Residents who own property adjoining the site urged the board to require the preservation of 14.7 acres — 35% of the roughly 41.9‑acre parcel covered by the Indian River Protection overlay — as native open space, and pressed staff and the applicant to exclude stormwater pond acreage from that preservation total. "Requiring the 14.7 acres to be preserved in its natural state is the right thing to do," said Janet Shira, who testified as an expert witness on behalf of five neighbors.

Shira and other speakers also described the developer's requests in the RPUD language: smaller lot sizes than standard single‑family zoning, higher maximum building heights (the application asks for up to 35 feet where nearby single‑family zones limit heights to 26 feet), and greater lot imperviousness (the plan includes lots with up to 80% impervious surface where the conventional code allows up to 60%). Neighbors said those changes increase flood and runoff risk and reduce tree cover and habitat value.

The applicant’s attorney, Mark Watts, told the board the development team had revised the plan to incorporate many of the conditions requested at a prior hearing and by staff. Watts said the current RPUD limits the project to a maximum of 137 dwelling units, increases stormwater capacity to meet updated city standards, and restores some larger lot sizes adjacent to existing neighbors. "We reduced our overall density by 28 units versus what's currently approved," Watts said, and the team had updated development‑agreement language on tree preservation and inspection procedures.

Several residents asked the board to require model‑based flood‑impact analysis showing before‑and‑after inundation scenarios and cumulative impacts for major developments; staff replied that detailed hydrologic and hydraulic modeling requires engineering inputs that are typically available later in the permitting process, and that a final development order will not be issued until stormwater compliance is demonstrated.

Board members and staff spent substantial time on document consistency. Members pressed for the RPUD written text and the concept plan exhibit to match precisely, for explicit dates on the concept plan to avoid ambiguity about which version is adopted, and for clearer tree‑preservation commitments rather than the current language (which describes "approximately" preserving historic trees and permits "up to two" historic trees to be removed subject to administrative approval).

After the public hearing and rebuttal from the applicant, board member Chris (S2) moved to recommend approval to the City Council provided that "all of the concerns and questions reflected in the minutes of this meeting on 02/11/2026 be incorporated into the RPUD and the master plan prior to City Council's first hearing." The motion was seconded and passed on a roll call with one recorded dissent.

The recommendation is advisory; the City Council must still consider the land‑use amendment and rezoning in its public hearings. If the council approves a first reading, the matter will be transmitted to the Volusia County Growth Management Commission for review as required, and then return for a second council reading before final action. Staff and the applicant said additional engineering, tree surveys, wildlife (gopher tortoise) surveys and final site design will be completed at the preliminary‑plat/permitting stages.

The board’s action does not authorize construction. Staff emphasized the timeline and process: conceptual approvals and an advisory board recommendation are early steps; clearing, permitting and construction require further submissions, engineering, and compliance with stormwater and tree‑preservation provisions.

Next steps: The RPUD package will be brought to City Council for its first reading; the board asked staff to ensure the concerns raised that night are captured in the board’s recommendation packet to council. The developer said it would continue to work with staff and neighbors on refinements before that hearing.