Sanford approves first‑reading annexation and rezoning for Royal Palm at Crosswood development

The Sanford City Commission voted on first reading July 13 to annex roughly 3.02 acres into the city and to approve related land‑use and rezoning requests for the Royal Palm at Crosswood project, a planned development proposing about 360 multifamily units and approximately 41,600 square feet of commercial frontage at 100 Crosswood Loop.

City planner Eileen Sensen told the commission staff had reviewed the annexation and found it met the statutory criteria and was within the city’s service area. Staff recommended approval of three separate but related items: the annexation, a small‑scale comprehensive plan amendment from a county High Intensity Planned Development target industry designation to the city’s Westside Industry and Commerce designation, and a PD rezoning. Planning & Zoning recommended the comp plan amendment by a 4–1 vote; P&Z recommended the PD rezone unanimously.

Eric Rausch of Inspire Placemaking, representing Royal Palm Companies, said the overall site is 22.22 acres and the applicant is proposing a mixed‑use master plan with "20 dwelling units per acre" as the target density and a maximum of six residential buildings, a clubhouse and three commercial outparcels. Rausch said the project includes several stormwater ponds to meet new state nutrient‑loading standards, and that the applicant would fund off‑site improvements including turn‑lane work on State Road 46 and plans to invest in correcting a regularly‑flooded county ditch — an effort he estimated could exceed $250,000.

Commissioners pressed the applicant and staff on multiple requested deviations from the city code: reductions in buffers and setbacks adjacent to single‑family homes, a requested reduction in open space from the code’s 50% requirement to about 30% in the proposal, smaller parking stall dimensions and lower parking ratios, mechanical‑screening and landscape‑island reductions, and increases in the number of units per building compared with older building‑type rules. One commissioner called the number and scale of deviations "big changes," asking whether the city was effectively rewriting its code to fit the project.

Sensen said many deviations reflect current multifamily building types and recent approvals in the city and noted staff recommended a set of 21 conditions intended to mitigate impacts. Rausch and other members of the applicant team said they would work with staff on landscaping and shared‑parking covenant language and that they were agreeable to clarifying tree and landscape plans at second reading.

Environmental issues drew sustained interest. Staff and the applicant confirmed there are wetlands on portions of the site and that the applicant is pursuing mitigation options outside direct on‑site preservation. The applicant also reported it has submitted a General Take Permit application and will coordinate with U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service because of an active bald eagle nest near the property; the developer said monitoring and construction‑period protections would be used, and that buildings were oriented to avoid the nest area.

Transportation and capacity questions were raised as well: the applicant said traffic modeling followed FDOT and city methodology and that required growth‑rate assumptions would be presented at second reading. Staff and the applicant also said sewer, potable water and school concurrency analyses showed capacity to serve the project at the annexation stage, while noting later approvals and engineering would lock in final commitments.

After discussion — including a request from commissioners for additional written clarifications on tree species, final parking‑study methodology and the scope of ditch improvements — the commission closed the hearings and approved the annexation, the comp plan amendment and the PD rezoning on first reading by voice votes recorded at this meeting as unanimous. Second readings and final conditions will be set for future meetings.

What’s next: staff and the applicant will supply requested clarifications for the second reading, including a traffic growth‑rate memo, a more detailed landscaping/tree plan aligned with the staff's recommended standards and final language for any shared‑parking covenant or Narcissus Avenue access condition.