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Staff asks council to weigh road connectivity against conservation limits in SEDS update
Summary
City staff presented an update to the Southeast Economic Development Strategy (SEDS), highlighting constrained east‑west connectivity from large conserved wetlands, a proposed Kumquat Road extension to improve safety, and tradeoffs between opening subdivision links and preserving neighborhoods and environmental resources.
Ryan, speaking for city staff, presented the Southeast Economic Development Strategy (SEDS) update and asked the council to provide guidance on prioritizing transportation connections given significant environmental constraints. He noted the city is working with New Smyrna Beach on a joint resolution for Old Mission Road and recalled a 2012 policy (2.10.6) to improve Old Mission.
Staff showed a map indicating an 11,000‑acre wetland corridor that limits east‑west links and said most conserved land in the area reduces feasible roadway options. Ryan asked whether the city should actively prioritize new east‑west and north‑south corridors as part of the SEDS or apply caveats to preserve environmentally sensitive areas.
Ryan described a specific proposal to extend Kumquat Road to close a dangerous curve at 35th and create a safer turning movement to Volco; the extension would require roughly a quarter‑acre of wetland mitigation. Council members generally supported studying obvious low‑cost, high‑benefit connections but stressed the need for site‑specific traffic studies and careful attention to neighborhood cut‑through concerns.
The council discussed longer‑term possibilities, including a frontage road alongside I‑95 and potential overpasses between Edgewater and New Smyrna Beach, that would depend on future demand and industrial growth. Staff flagged increased truck traffic from anticipated Parktown warehousing and the need to plan for alternative north‑south corridors and improved access to I‑95.
Ryan said staff will bring the commercial industry overlay and the Oak Hill sewer plant service map to the next meeting for further direction and that he is updating the SEDS based on the board's guidance.
