Article Courtesy of The
Daytona Beach News-Journal
By Clayton Park
Published December 4, 2023
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When the Ormond Beach City Commission on Nov. 7 considered the controversial
Tomoka Reserve project to convert the former Tomoka Oaks golf course into a
272-home gated community, they were told by the developers' attorney that
"conventional" zoning would allow 317 homes.
Attorney Dennis Bayer, representing the Tomoka Oaks Homeowners Association,
accused the developers and their attorney Rob Merrell of threatening a "nuclear
option" if they didn't get their way.
On Wednesday morning, the developers, after being rebuffed by the Commission,
announced their decision to exercise the 317-home option.
They also warned in a letter to Ormond Beach City Attorney Randy Hayes that
denying their request for approval of conventional zoning for the 147.9-acre
former golf course could be a violation of the state's newly enacted Community
Development Act.
The developers want the Ormond Beach Planning Board to review their new
application at its scheduled meeting on Jan. 11, 2024.
"City staff have received the letter and are in the process of reviewing it and
the project process," Ormond Beach Planning Director Steven Spraker told The
Daytona Beach News-Journal on Wednesday morning.
Carl Velie, one of the project's three developers along with Ray Barshay and
Sheldon Rubin, told The News-Journal, "It is regrettable that we were not
afforded a meaningful negotiation at the recent City Commission meeting. We
believe the city left us no choice but to withdraw the (most recent) proposal
and are now fully engaged in pursuing our rights as a property owner for R-2
conventional zoning. ... We believe the conventional zoning will allow us to now
move forward with development of the property in a more timely manner." |
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The Ormond Beach City Commission reviews the
controversial Tomoka Reserve project to convert the former Tomoka
Oaks golf course into a 272-home gated community called Tomoka
Reserve at its meeting on Nov. 7, 2023. The developers on Nov. 21
announced they have scrapped that plan in favor of pursuing zoning
that would allow them to increase the number of house lots to 317.
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Why the change in direction?
"The Property Owners have concluded that the Commission's decision to remand
their application back to the Planning Board ― despite their stated objections —
for the purpose of negotiating a 'significant reduction' in the number of
residential lots would be an exercise in futility," attorney Karl J. Sanders
wrote in a letter dated Nov. 21 to Ormond Beach City Attorney Randy Hayes.
"Accordingly, the Property Owners will be moving forward with their pending
application (the 317-home option) to reaffirm their legal right to use and
develop their private property."
Sanders is the newly added co-counsel for the developers: real estate investors
Carl Velie and Ray Barshay of Ormond Beach and their South Florida business
partner Sheldon Rubin.
The developers will continue to also be represented by Merrell and his team of
land-use attorneys at Cobb Cole Law Firm in Daytona Beach.
Who is the developers' new attorney?
Sanders on his LinkedIn.com page describes himself as president of KJS Law PA in
Ponte Vedra. His primary practice "focuses on representation of corporate and
individual landowners in connection with real estate development entitlements,
including local land use/zoning regulations and all aspects of local government
law." He also offers "litigation services before quasi-judicial administrative
and judicial officers in both original and appellate proceedings."
Developers withdraw previous plan
Sanders in his letter informed the city that his clients decided to withdraw
their previous application for a Planning Residential District development
order. That proposal would have called for the creation of 272 house lots
surrounded by a natural landscaped buffer around the perimeter of at least 50
feet in width.
Instead, under R-2 zoning, the developers would only be required to create a
six-foot-wide perimeter buffer.
"Although the property owners continue to believe that their most recent changes
to the PRD Development Order proposal (calling for 272 single-family lots with
extensive buffering and other site enhancements) reflects a development plan
which offers significant public benefits for both the neighboring property
owners and the city, they also recognize their legal rights to develop the
property in accordance with the conventional zoning district regulations
associated with the R-2 zoning district — the original zoning designation for
the property (and the current zoning designation for the residential
neighborhoods surrounding the property)," Sanders wrote.
Why is the project controversial?
The developers, doing business as Triumph Oaks of Ormond Beach LLC, bought the
former 18-hole golf course for $2.6 million in April 2021.
The Sam Snead course opened in the early 1960s, surrounded by a 547-home golf
community called Tomoka Oaks. The community, which is non-gated, is off Nova
Road, roughly a mile north of The Trails Shopping Center.
The golf course used to include a two-story clubhouse that had a restaurant and
banquet facilities as well as a golf pro shop. The clubhouse closed in 2018
which was when the golf course also stopped being staffed. The building has
since been torn down.
What makes the proposed Tomoka Reserve project different from other proposed
residential subdivisions is that the gated community would be completely
surrounded by an existing non-gated community and would only have one narrow
road in and out: Tomoka Oaks Boulevard, which connects with Nova Road. Tomoka
Oaks Boulevard is also the only way in and out of the older Escondido
condominium community.
In addition to concerns over increased traffic, some Tomoka Oaks residents,
including those whose homes are currently along the former golf course, have
been pushing for the Tomoka Reserve property to either be restored as a golf
course or turned into a park.
Other area residents have conceded the developers' right to build homes, but
want the number of house lots to be significantly reduced with lots on the
perimeter to be at least 100 feet in width to match the existing house lots for
homes at Tomoka Oaks that are along the former golf course.
The developers held numerous neighborhood meetings and revised their plans for
Tomoka Reserve to reduce the number of proposed house lots from 276 to 272. They
also appeared before the Ormond Beach Planning Board at three separate meetings
in July, August and September. Each lasted several hours and included public
comments from dozens of area residents as well as traffic, landscaping and
planning experts. The Planning Board at its meeting in September voted
unanimously to recommend that the City Commission reject the developers'
proposal.
"We have spent almost three years trying to get to the decision makers at the
City Commission," said Velie in a text message on Wednesday. "To have them
remand us back to the Planning Board was an exercise in futility."
How does the new state law factor into this?
Sanders in his letter to the city wrote that the Florida Legislature in passing
the Community Development Act earlier this year "has expressly directed all
local governments in this State 'to recognize and respect judicially
acknowledged or constitutionally protected rights.'"
The letter also quoted a section of the Community Development Act stating that,
"Property owners must be free from actions by others which would harm their
property, or which would constitute an inordinate burden on property rights ...
Full and just compensation or other appropriate relief must be provided to any
property owner for a governmental action that is determined to be an invalid
exercise of the police power which constitutes a taking, as provided by law."
In light of the new state law and the City of Ormond Beach's own adoption of a
"property rights element" in its Comprehensive Plan, Sanders in his letter wrote
that "R-2 zoning district regulations must be applied uniformly to all parcels
assigned with that zoning designation."
He added, "There are no site-specific development standards for the city to
consider in determining the 'compatibility' of a proposed development with
neighboring properties."
The former golf course property, according to Sanders' letter, was originally
assigned an "R-2" zoning designation prior to the City Commission's adoption in
2006 of an agreement with the property's then-owner that would have allowed him
to develop residential units in the center of the site while maintaining the
golf course. That agreement expired several years ago as the proposed housing
development was never built.
Tomoka Oaks HOA 'ready' for legal fight
Jim Rose, chair of the golf course committee for the Tomoka Oaks Homeowners
Association, on Wednesday said that his group was not surprised by the
developers' latest move.
"We do not believe it's a slam dunk for them," said Rose of the developers'
stated intention to pursue R-2 zoning approval. "We think we have legal
positions that we can assert. We're ready to go."
Rose declined to reveal specifics regarding the HOA's legal strategy to combat
the developers' plans.
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