County Council shifts gears, rejects development moratorium paving way for fuel terminal

In a stunning turn of events, Volusia County councilmembers voted 5-2 Tuesday to reject a moratorium that would have stalled development of a proposed fuel storage and distribution facility near Ormond Beach.

Council Chairman Jeff Brower and Vice Chairman Troy Kent were in favor of the moratorium.

The decision to reject a development pause in heavy industrial-zoned land means that the county now has to process Belvedere Terminals' site plan for the facility at 874 Hull Road. It also came as the county faced a potentially costly legal battle with the firm.

The move came after months of public opposition to the project, multiple hearings with packed Council chambers, and a grassroots effort that sprang up to stop the project. Thirty-seven people spoke during public comment, with only four opposing or questioning the moratorium.

Despite assurances from Belvedere Terminals, people fear for their safety with a large amount of fuel stored near residences, businesses and an airport with 24-7 truck traffic expected.

Councilmembers who voted to deny the moratorium said, among other things, they wanted to rely on the county's own development review process to handle safety and other concerns.

"If it is truly dangerous, we've got to stop it," District 1 Councilman Don Dempsey said.

Dempsey said he's concerned about the number of training flights for students taking place near the facility.

Growth and Resource Management Director Clay Ervin said the county's review includes looking at fire prevention, building codes, wetlands, utilities, stormwater and other concerns.

Ervin said the county will have to process the development application. It will go through site plan review. Ultimately it will go to the county's Development Review Committee for a vote. If the committee votes against it, Belvedere Terminals can appeal to the County Council.

Brower said while the moratorium isn't a "silver bullet," neither is the regular planning process.

"It scares me to death ― if you want to talk about fear ― that we would go to the regular process and leave it up to that," Brower said.

The county is under the gun with Belvedere Terminals having already filed a lawsuit against Volusia County to try and force them to process the development's site plan. Most of the Hull Road site is zoned heavy industrial.

The moratorium would have given county staff the time to craft proposed changes for the heavy industrial zoning category.

The moratorium would have put a temporary stop "on the acceptance, processing, and consideration of all development orders, development permits, site plans, or building permits for any property in the I-2 Heavy Industrial Classification."

GrayRobinson Attorney Nick Dancaescu, who is representing Belvedere Terminals, said the firm is entitled to a quasi-judicial hearing that would allow it to make a full presentation ― instead of three minutes of public comment. He also said state law protects fuel terminals against moratoriums such as the one proposed by the county.

At-Large Councilman Jake Johansson, who voted against the moratorium, said he was concerned that the moratorium would hurt the county's tax revenue by deterring businesses from coming in. He said the proposed moratorium had already deterred some business representatives, which he didn't name.

Members of the Ormond Beach City Commission spoke in favor of the moratorium. Some council members had previously supported creating a legal path for the city to take over control of 874 Hull Road ― allowing them to stop the project on their own.

District 5 Councilman David Santiago said Tuesday that Ormond Beach doesn't "want the hot potato."

"They want the hot potato to stay here," Santiago said.

Ormond Beach commissioners have already said they don't want to annex the land and won't provide utilities to the site.

Kent pointed out that 874 Hull Road is in the county's jurisdiction.

"This is on our shoulders at the county. I'm not afraid. I won't shirk my responsibility to another community and push it off to them. I'm willing to do what I think is the right thing here and now today," Kent said.

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Moratorium related to fuel facility rejected in Volusia. What we know