When the Deltona City Commission named John Peters III acting city manager in November, they had just finished ranking firms to assist in the search for the city s next permanent manager.
Now, nearly three months later, commissioners don t seem interested in finding someone to replace Peters, a DeBary resident.
Some elected officials, however, are wondering if it could be time to change the charter, which says city managers must establish residency in Deltona within six months of appointment.
Since the resignation of the embattled Jane Shang one year ago, some commissioners have expressed finally feeling hopeful about the city administration s direction with Peters at the helm. And while his title includes the term acting, commissioners and residents seem in no rush to see someone else take the helm.
As the residents of rural Osteen have long feared, development is likely headed their way.
The Deltona City Commission recently, and narrowly, approved a request to change the 95.34-acre parcel, dubbed Enterprise Osteen West, from Volusia County Rural to City Low Density Residential. Volusia County s rural designation allows for one single-family unit per acre to one unit per 10 acres; the city s low-density residential designation allows for up to six units per acre.
The 4-3 vote Commissioners Loren King, Dana McCool and David Sosa cast the dissenting votes held on Jan. 19 also amends the Future Land Use Element of the city s Comprehensive Plan by adding a goal, objective and policy regarding the property.
Volusia County officials think so.
The council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to have county officials reach out to Deltona about potentially returning to the drawing board for the JPA, also known as the Osteen Local Plan.
The Osteen JPA is an area located in southwest Volusia County along the SR 415 corridor between Lemon Bluff Road and Acorn Lake Road and includes 3,990 acres, according to county documents. The plan was a result of extensive intergovernmental coordination between the City of Deltona, County of Volusia and community stakeholders.
The JPA was supposed to facilitate certain level of land use intensity with a mixture of land use types and urban for areas along S.R. 415, according to Deltona staff reports. The Mixed Use Village Center and Osteen Commercial Village promote a mix of land use types such as commercial, institutional activities, medium density residential, including multi-family, single-family, and live/work options.