Ormond Planning Board rejects developers' latest plan for homes on Tomoka Oaks golf course

ORMOND BEACH ― After three meetings and seemingly endless hours of testimony, the Ormond Beach Planning Board on Tuesday night voted thumbs-down to developers' plans to convert the old Tomoka Oaks golf course into a new gated community.

The decision drew applause from the 200 people attending the nearly four-hour meeting at Calvary Christian Center.

Here's what led to the board's unanimous rejection of the Tomoka Reserve project:

The latest proposal

According to revised plans submitted Sept. 6, the developers — Ray Barshay and Carl Velie of Ormond Beach and South Florida real estate investor Sheldon Rubin — proposed 272 single-family homes on the former 18-hole golf course. They previously proposed 276.

They bought the property in 2021 for $2.6 million. It sits on 147.9 acres in the heart of a larger non-gated community called Tomoka Oaks, off Nova Road, a mile north of The Trails Shopping Center.

Some of the 547 homes at Tomoka Oaks date back to the 1960s when the Sam Snead Signature course opened. Its clubhouse/restaurant closed in 2018 and was torn down last year.

House lots at Tomoka Reserve in the latest plan would be at least 80 feet wide on the community's perimeter and 60 feet wide for homes on interior streets.

Tomoka Reserve would include a "natural buffer" at least 50 feet wide along its 3.3-mile perimeter to separate the new community from Tomoka Oaks.

The buffer would have five trees and 50 shrubs per 100 lineal feet. Because it would consist of native Florida plantings, the buffer would not need an irrigation system, according to the developers. They pledged to take out a two-year bond to cover the cost of manually watering the plantings and to replace any if needed during that period.

Concerns remained despite 'concessions'

Rob Merrell, the developers' land-use attorney, said the latest plan included a list of concessions in response to suggestions by Planning Board members, city staff and local citizens at the two previous meetings in July and August.

"We've said yes to a lot of things," said the Cobb Cole attorney Merrell.

The concessions included modifications to the entrance and adding a new traffic signal and pocket parks, as well as sidewalks on both sides of Tomoka Oaks Boulevard.

Ormond Beach Planning Director Steven Spraker told the Planning Board his staff recommended a no vote after analyzing the latest plan. The reasons included the project's density, proposed perimeter lot sizes, and the number of plantings and lack of an irrigation system for the buffer.

Spraker said his staff recommended 100-foot-wide lots on the perimeter to match lot widths for Tomoka Oaks homes along the former golf course and that the buffer have an irrigation system and seven trees, 70 shrubs and 70 ground-coverings per 100 lineal feet.

Planning Board members agreed with the staff recommendations. Several questioned the developers' traffic study saying it seemed likely 272 homes would result in far more car trips in and out of Tomoka Reserve than projected. The increased traffic also increases a greater potential for accidents in an area with a lot of kids.

One way to reduce traffic is to have less homes. Planning Board member Troy Railsback estimated requiring 100-foot-wide lots alone would reduce the number of homes to 240.

Planning Board Chair Doug Thomas, who lives in Tomoka Oaks, said he preferred limiting Tomoka Reserve to 220-to-225 homes.

Attorney: Developers are trying to be 'neighborly'

Merrell said his clients bought the golf course because it was already zoned for planned residential development. "They knew houses could be built there," he said. "It's just a question of what configuration of houses. We think the plan that's before you is a good configuration. It's a good negotiated custom fit for this property."

The city's comprehensive plan allows 4.3 homes per acre, he added. That means, in theory, the developers could build 632 homes. Instead, "we started at 300. These guys could have asked for more."

Merrell said his clients preferred a mutually agreeable "negotiated custom" plan out of a desire to be "neighborly."

If that proves not possible, Merrell said his clients could resort to "straight zoning." While that likely means homes on 100-foot-wide lots like at Tomoka Oaks, it would only require a six-foot-wide buffer and none of the concessions currently on the table, he said.

HOA lawyer criticizes Merrell for hinting 'nuclear option'

Dennis Bayer, the attorney representing the Tomoka Oaks Homeowners Association, lambasted Merrell for suggesting the "nuclear option."

Bayer told the Planning Board the former Tomoka Oaks golf course is a "unique piece of property" that shouldn't be viewed the same as developments west of Interstate 95.

"It's not the next 100 acres out on State Road 40 as you drive out of town. This is the hole in the middle of a donut," he said referring to how Tomoka Reserve would be completely surrounded by the Tomoka Oaks community. "This is taking green space and converting it into residential use."

Area residents voice disapproval over latest plan

Tomoka Oaks resident Tom Harowski was one of nearly 20 people who testified Tuesday night.

"Thank you very much for not very much," said Harowski, referring to the concessions. "The basic issues of total project size, lot size and buffering, they remain the same as they have almost from the beginning."

Flavia Casassola, a Tomoka Oaks resident who lives near the proposed entrance to Tomoka Reserve, told Merrell his clients weren't doing her community any favors.

"You're doing this for the sole purpose of money," she said. "(Reducing homes from) 276 to 272, that is ridiculous."

The City Commission has the final say

Planning Board rulings are strictly advisory. The final decision rests with the Ormond Beach City Commission.

The developers' options now include seeking approval for their project as-is from the City Commission or come up with either another revised or new plan.

The next move is up to the developers

Merrell on Wednesday said his clients intend to make their pitch directly to the City Commission. Whether they make changes to their plan has yet to be decided. "We are thankful to be moving the project forward to the City Commission for first reading on 11/7," he wrote in an email.

Rubin in a written statement said, “The Planning Board’s reasons for denial offered constructive guidance as we advance to the City Commission. I’m proud of our team for putting forward expert testimony and planning to position Tomoka Reserve for the next phase of the approval process. We remain optimistic that our plans for a residential community will become a reality.”

LOOKING BACK: Plans to build homes on closed Tomoka Oaks golf course in Ormond Beach riles up residents

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ormond board rejects plans for homes on Tomoka Oaks golf course