Ormond rejects Tomoka Reserve zoning request for golf course. Here's the likely next move.

ORMOND BEACH ― Before an overflow crowd of 250 people, the Ormond Beach City Commission on Tuesday night rejected a request by developers that would have given them the right to redevelop the former Tomoka Oaks golf course.

The unanimous 5-0 vote drew cheers, but the saga is far from over.

Land-use attorney Karl Sanders, representing the developers, warned that his clients' next move might be to sue the city.

"You've got a $40 million damages claim waiting out there," Sanders told the City Commissioners before the vote. "No one wants to do that which is why I am imploring you to follow what the law requires and give these property owners the property rights they're entitled to."

City Commissioner Lori Tolland referenced Sanders' comments before casting her vote to deny the developers' request to give the former Sam Snead signature 18-hole golf course a Residential-2 zoning designation. "I don't appreciate the convoluted threat," she said.

What is R-2 zoning?

R-2 zoning allows the development of "low-density" single-family home residential subdivisions that would have no more than 4.3 homes per acre. The minimum lot size would be 10,000 square feet. The minimum width of the lots would be 100 feet. Builders would only be able to construct homes whose footprints cover no more than 35% of the lot.

Homes would also need to be set back at least 30 feet in front, 25 feet in back and eight feet on the sides.

The developers, doing business as Triumph Oaks of Ormond Beach, have been seeking approvals to convert the 147.9-acre former golf course into a new gated community called Tomoka Reserve.

In theory, R-2 zoning could allow more than 630 homes to be developed on a property the size of the former golf course.

In actuality, the property's unique butterfly-like shape realistically would only allow just over 300 homes to built there, according to statements made in the past by Carl Velie, one of the partners in Triumph Oaks.

The developers sought approval for a new Planned Residential Development (PRD) agreement last year that would have allowed them to build 276 homes with a natural landscaped perimeter buffer around Tomoka Reserve of at least 50 feet in width.

After criticism from both Tomoka Oaks residents as well as Planning Board members that the density of the project was too high, the developers reduced the number of proposed homes under the PRD plan to 272.

They warned at the time that if that plan failed to win the city's approval, they would seek to develop their property under an R-2 zoning designation that would allow more homes. They also warned that under R-2, they would only provide a perimeter buffer six feet in width.

The City Commission in November remanded the project back to the Ormond Beach Planning Board with admonitions by several Commissioners to significantly reduce the number of homes.

The developers responded by withdrawing their PRD proposal to focus on the R-2 option. Sanders in his remarks to the Commission reiterated his clients decision to end efforts to develop their property under a PRD agreement. "That ship has sailed," he said.

Where is Tomoka Oaks?

Tomoka Oaks is a 547-home non-gated community developed in the early 1960s off of Nova Road, roughly a mile north of The Trails Shopping Center. It is surrounded by several neighborhoods including The Trails and the Escondido condominium community. Escondido's only entrance/exit is on Tomoka Oaks Boulevard, a narrow two-lane road only a few blocks long that connects with Nova Road.

If built, Tomoka Reserve's only entrance/exit would also be on Tomoka Oaks Boulevard.

Traffic safety concerns as well as the strong likelihood of increased traffic congestion on Tomoka Oaks Boulevard have been cited by many of the Tomoka Oaks, The Trails and Escondido residents in voicing their opposition to the proposed Tomoka Reserve project.

Developers' attorney 'not here to make a sales pitch'

"I'm not here to make a sales pitch. This is not a rezoning application. There is no proposed development for you to consider," Sanders told the commissioners. "We're only going to talk about what is before you tonight, which is our application for you to amend the zoning map."

The property currently does not have a zoning designation.

At one time, it was zoned R-2. That changed in 2006 when the city approved a PRD agreement that would have allowed the property's then-owner to develop 122 multi-family residential units in the middle while retaining the golf course.

The then-owner shelved his redevelopment plans during the Great Recession that began in 2007. The PRD agreement with the city expired in 2014 and has yet to be reinstated or replaced.

The golf course ceased being staffed in 2018. Its buildings, which included a two-story clubhouse with a restaurant and golf pro shop, have since been torn down.

When did the current developers buy the property?

Triumph Oaks paid $2.6 million to acquire the former golf course in April 2021. Its partners include Velie, who works as a Realtor in Ormond Beach, restaurateur Ray Barshay who also lives in Ormond Beach, and South Florida real estate investor/developer Sheldon Rubin.

Their three-year effort to win approvals from the city to redevelop the former golf course has included holding multiple "developer-initiated" neighborhood meetings, and meetings before the Ormond Beach Planning Board in July, August and September that culminated with a 7-0 vote by the board to recommend denial of the proposed PRD development.

Following the City Commission hearing in November in which the project was remanded back to the Planning Board, the developers presented their new proposal for a zoning map amendment to designate the former golf course as R-2.

The Planning Board, whose decisions are strictly advisory, in January unanimously voted to recommend denial of the R-2 zoning request. However, several Planning Board members acknowledged the developers' right to eventually develop something on their property as opposed to leaving it open space as some Tomoka Oaks residents have urged.

Several City Commissioners on Tuesday night also acknowledged that likely outcome.

In an email sent late Wednesday afternoon to The Daytona Beach News-Journal, Velie referenced those comments.

"After more than three years of engaging city officials and neighbors, it came as no surprise that our application was denied," he wrote of the Commission's decision on Tuesday. "Last night's rejection of our R-2 zoning request has now set a new path for our property and our future interest. We are confident that Tomoka Reserve will be developed as recognized by almost everyone at last night's meeting."

What happened Tuesday night leading up to the vote?

Deliberations over the developers' zoning map amendment request took a full three hours of Tuesday night's City Commission meeting. The deliberations included testimonies from 27 citizens as well as lengthy presentations both by Ormond Beach City Planner Steve Spraker, Sanders, and land-use attorney Dennis Bayer, who spoke on behalf of the Tomoka Oaks Homeowners Association.

Spraker said the City staff reviewed the application and recommended its denial. Bayer said the HOA also opposed the R-2 zoning request.

Sanders during his presentation brought to the podium Mark Karet, director of planning for Zev Cohen & Associates, an Ormond Beach civil engineering firm employed by Triumph Oaks.

In an unusual move, Sanders had Karet answer a rapid-fire string of questions like a scene out of a courtroom drama.

Karet said he found the city staff's recommendation regarding Tomoka Reserve "problematic" because "it never explained why the R-2 zoning should be denied."

Sanders also read aloud quotes from a Dec. 20, 2023, email exchange between Spraker and Ormond Beach City Attorney Randy Hayes in which the city planner asked "why R-2 zoning is not an appropriate zoning for this property?"

According to Sanders, Spraker in his email to Hayes wrote: "Before 2006, it was R-2. Everything around it R-2. The R-2 is consistent with the (city's) comp plan."

Sanders also quoted Spraker's email stating that the city planning director was "unable to find another city (in Florida) that has assigned a planned development with no development order."

"There is a reason for that: because it's illegal," Sanders told the Commission. "You have to have documented property rights, period. And that's why we're asking you to approve the amendment application."

The vast majority of citizens who testified opposed the developers' R-2 request. None of those in favor of it live in Tomoka Oaks.

Sanders at the start of the meeting also presented the Commission and Bayer with a new set of documents, which included a report by Karet on why the former golf course should be zoned R-2. Karet in a cross-examination by Bayer acknowledged he completed his written assessment just "a couple hours" prior to Tuesday night's meeting.

Several Commissioners prior to casting their votes expressed their displeasure at being handed new documents to review at the last minute.

"Getting something right before a meeting starts, I think it's totally rude," said Tolland.

Developers' attorney warns of 'consequences'

Sanders urged the Commissioners to think carefully before casting their votes.

"You cannot tell someone you have no rights to use your property. Well, you can do it, but there are consequences. And those consequences is a path that none of us here want to be on. And that's what's referred to as a takings claim," he said.

Ormond Beach Mayor Bill Partington, who is one of the city's five commissioners, on Tuesday night called the Tomoka Reserve project "one of the most time-consuming contentious issues that I can ever recall this city dealing with."

Tomoka Oaks residents cheered by the decision

Jim Rose, a Tomoka Oaks resident who chairs the HOA's golf course committee, said, "We're very pleased that the City Commission upheld the Planning Board's recommendation to deny the developers' request."

Rose, a retired general civil practice attorney, said, "We're sure the developers will take some sort of legal action to try to reverse the City Commission's decision, but we're ready to fight in any way we can."

This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Ormond Commission denies Tomoka Reserve zoning bid. Here's what's next