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Derbyshire Park named top priority in Daytona Beach parks master plan; commissioners urged to pick 3-4 first projects
Summary
City staff and consultant presented a 200+ page parks and recreation master plan that ranks parks by existing condition and community impact. Commissioners focused on Derbyshire Park as the highest-impact, and discussed converting golf-course land and pursuing grants and impact-fee funding for large parcel improvements.
City officials and consultants presented a final parks and recreation master plan to the Daytona Beach City Commission on April 2, urging the commission to prioritize large parcels for design work and grant pursuit.
David Waller, the city's public works director, said staff wants the commission to select "3 or 4 that you think we should focus on first" so staff can assemble on-the-shelf designs and chase grants. Consultant Brett Gazzoyan described the planas a 200-plus page document built from a park-by-park inventory, public outreach and a statistically valid survey that produced roughly 410 responses citywide.
The plan scores each park for existing condition and community impact; Derbyshire Park scored low on condition but high on potential. "The existing park score is a 4.7," Gazzoyan said, "and on the other side of things, it's also one of the highest community impact scores." Commissioners and staff agreed Derbyshire merits immediate attention, with discussion of phased, large-scale investment. Commissioner Strickland said Derbyshire has been neglected for years and urged the commission to act: "It's past time for Derbyshire Park," she said.
The consultant flagged options including a 20,000-to-40,000-square-foot community center with an aquatic component, and proposed clustering facilities so nonprofits and clubs could program them without the city hiring additional coaches. Staff estimated some large projects, like a full Derbyshire overhaul, could cost in the multiple millions; Waller noted that smaller maintenance and CDBG-funded projects had been effective on pocket parks, but that Derbyshire and other large parcels would need targeted capital campaigns and design teams.
Commissioners debated a suggestion to reduce a 36-hole municipal golf course to 18 holes to free acreage for sports fields, community centers and stormwater solutions. "The golf course on the south side represents a large swath of land where we could really eat into some of those level-of-service standards," Gazzoyan said; other commissioners raised concerns about losing golf amenities and noted the course remains used by residents.
Staff said they will return with a short list of candidate sites (Waller suggested Derbyshire, Tuscawilla and Rainer Park plus a beachside site) and an implementation roadmap identifying funding sources (impact fees, grants) and next steps for design and community engagement. The commission did not adopt a specific capital appropriation at the meeting, but directed staff to bring prioritized recommendations back for decision.
