Volusia County Council Nixes Building Moratorium

The Volusia County Council declined to issue a moratorium on building pushed by Council Chair Jeff Brower but the more than seven-and-a-half hour special meeting earlier this month did produce some potentially positive results.
Brower introduced the idea of a moratorium this past November in response to severe flooding in the county in the wake of Hurricanes Ian and Milton. At that time the County Council agreed to hold a special meeting in January 2025 to discuss the issue. The meeting, held in the county’s Thomas C. Kelly Administration Center in DeLand, attracted an overflow crowd of residents with 87 speakers signing up to address lawmakers.
The first half of the meeting was devoted to staff presentations on stormwater management issues and legal questions surrounding the issuance of a moratorium on development.
“There are multiple variables about why we flood, and stormwater management is one of those,” said County Public Works Director Ben Bartlett.
Bartlett said the perception many residents have that the kind of flooding seen in the county recently is something new is correct.
“There’s not a stormwater management system in this county able to handle a rain event of more than 11 inches,” he said. “We’re seeing an increased amount of these occurrences.”
In addition to heavy rain events such as hurricanes, Bartlett said there has been an increase in the average annual rainfall in the region which also contributes to flooding problems. He said from 2006 to 2016 the county had below average rainfall, but since then “you can see the numbers jump,” which affects the groundwater table.
Bartlett said building code changes and new design standards are ways to combat the flooding issue.
Clay Ervin, director of growth and resource management, reviewed stormwater permitting and regulations, saying the county will have new stormwater regulations coming into effect this year.
On the legal front, Senior Assistant County Attorney Paola Soria said the “fundamental question” in issuing a development moratorium is it needs to be reasonable in scope and duration.
“There is no set rule of how long a moratorium can last,” he said. “You can definitely do it in the unincorporated areas of the county, however, the (county) charter does not support the issuance of a moratorium in the incorporated cities.”
During the public comment period, residents and representatives of a variety of community groups spoke for and against a moratorium,
Mike Disher, town manager of Ponce Inlet, said since 2020 the Town Council has issued a resolution that declared flooding and resiliency to be issues that needed to be addressed in the community.
“We want to make sure we are on the same page with you as you move forward with these new initiatives and new regulations,” he told the County Council. “We want to partner with you.”
Bella Schwarts, a student at DeLand High School,l told the Council she had a petition signed by more than 2,000 students and residents to end development.
“I did not encounter a single person who opposed a building moratorium,” she said. “Teenagers are still the most powerful group because we are the future of this county.”
Representatives of the business community also spoke at the meeting, including David Robinson, director of advocacy at the Daytona Regional Chamber of Commerce.
“We understand the difficulties of the discussion today,” he said. “We do believe that those who have experienced flooding need attention and need it immediately.”
Robinson warned that a development moratorium would have negative impacts.
“It is important to remember that a temporary prohibition on development through a moratorium will have significant consequences for our region, impacting even those who are not experiencing flooding. A moratorium will hinder economic growth, disrupt ongoing projects and create uncertainty for businesses and developers.”
Speaking for the Volusia Building Industries Association, immediate past president Tony Dinizo said the organization has been working to find solutions to the flooding issues. He said one key way to address the problem is to establish a Stormwater Roundtable to provide a space for dialogue.
“This initiative is not just about talking, it is about taking action,” he said. “We’re not asking for a halt to progress, but for a collective commitment to thoughtful and sustainable growth.”
Two Volusia County municipalities, New Smyrna Beach and Edgewater, have already instituted development moratoria.
At the same time of the County Council special meeting, New Smyrna Beach city commissioners approved an extension of a six-month moratorium on development of the Venetian Bay Phase II project.
Earlier this month the Edgewater City Council approved the Florida Shores Drainage Basin Moratorium and a citywide moratorium that will be imposed on the consideration of annexations, rezonings, comprehensive plan amendments, site plans, preliminary plats and final plats.
When the discussion returned to the County Council, Brower reiterated his reasons for seeking a development moratorium, saying the specific purpose of the measure was to find solutions to the current flooding issues.
“I am proposing (this) for the purpose of making changes to the way we are developing,” he said. “Continuing to add more flooding is a recipe for financial ruin for our cities, for our county and already for some of our residents.”
While saying he was opposed to a moratorium, Councilmember Troy Kent offered several possible solutions to the flooding issues including banning building on wetlands, not paying into a wetlands mitigation bank, clearing county and city canals, purchasing low-lying homes and land that flood, discussing county lands near flood areas that can be used to move water into retention ponds and having conversations with municipalities about construction of apartment complexes.
Expressing his opposition to the moratorium idea, Councilmember David Santiago made a motion to direct county staff to bring back to the County Council more information to incorporate Kent’s ideas into formal ordinances and regulations.
Kent made a motion of his own supporting a suggestion made by Brower to direct staff to study the feasibility of not allowing land to be raised for development, which can lead to flooding problems on adjacent properties and neighborhoods.
Both motions passed unanimously. The County Council tentatively scheduled a special meeting Feb. 11 to discuss stormwater management and related issues including the recommendations from Kent.
