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Board presses developer on truck routes and school‑area safety near Sample Road
Summary
Board members pressed staff and the applicant about truck circulation and the risk of delivery‑van activity near an elementary school, asking whether traffic analyses and design features sufficiently keep heavy vehicle movement on Sample Road and away from the school on 27th Avenue.
Board members raised repeated questions about truck circulation, driveway configuration and the proximity of an elementary school to the project site during review of the industrial redevelopment at 2900 West Sample Road.
Commissioner Tonda King said she was "concerned because there is a school down there, and they do have buses going back and forth," and asked whether traffic studies addressed school‑period flows. Applicant representative Dennis Meeley said the planned warehouse use typically generates less traffic than the prior retail flea‑market use, that truck courts are internal to the site and that the project was reviewed by police and fire during the DRC process. Meeley said trucks are expected to approach primarily from the Turnpike and use the Sample Road driveways rather than 27th Avenue.
Board member Robert Hartsell warned that last‑mile delivery vans can create peak periods of vehicle activity that coincide with school drop‑off and pick‑up. Meeley acknowledged that last‑mile facilities require a different layout and said the current site is "not set up for that at all in this site plan," noting that the project was designed for conventional warehouse/distribution uses and that a shift to a van‑based last‑mile facility would require a different plan review.
The board asked staff to ensure county and FDOT driveway approvals and to monitor whether future tenants change the operational profile of the site; those agency sign‑offs remain conditions before building permits can be issued.
