Please read and sign this petition if you agree that Deland is growing too quickly, without the roads, water, and services needed to support it. We don’t want Deland to become Delando. The most egregious example is the proposed 600-home Cresswind development by Kolter Homes to be located along the eastern side of Lake Winnemissett. There are four major points of concern with this and surrounding large-scale developments:

1.      The overall small-town nature of the city and functionality of the ‘Eastern Deland Gateway’

2.      High density and lack of conformity with the existing neighborhood

3.      Road infrastructure, or lack thereof

4.      Environmental impacts

Members of Lake Winnemissett Civic Association and other community residents are vehemently opposed to the over-development of eastern Deland. For over 65 years, the Lake Winnemissett Civic Association has fought to protect and preserve the lake and surrounding community to prevent rampant over-development and urban sprawl from polluting the area. The +/- 318 acre subject tract is located on the far eastern fringe of the Deland metro area and is not part of Deland’s core. While the subject area is incorporated into the city, it is an enclave; the surrounding land is zoned within unincorporated Volusia County, in a suburban to rural transition area. The +/- 225 developed acres surrounding Lake Winnemissett holds just 128 single family residences for an average area density of 0.57 units/ac. This project is 4 times greater in density than the surrounding community and is not in the least bit conforming.

Since 1994, the population of Deland has increased by 88%. The infrastructure (roads and Highway 44) serving this property from the city has not changed. The County has designated the surrounding roadways and interchanges as critical and over-capacity. Cresswind’s only access into town is via State Rd 44, a two-lane residential street with an average daily traffic count rivaling many divided commercial thoroughfares throughout the County.

This project is one of several pending at the moment. Over 2,000 new residential units are planned in the immediate vicinity. Infrastructure improvements have been considered necessary for the area for close to 30 years and to this day no concrete plans are in place to enact them.

The city and county mandate is to maintain and improve the quality of life of the residents therein. This and other proposals violate that mandate.  Increasing the city’s tax base is not a reason to approve a development, especially when the entire surrounding community cannot benefit as all are located in unincorporated Volusia County.

The roadway infrastructure accessing the subject remains nearly identical to 1994 and is now significantly over capacity in 2020. Infrastructure should come first, then development. The proposed Beresford Ave extension was first conceived more than 20 years ago. A summary by the Florida Department of Transportation shows that if the Beresford extension is constructed as a two lane roadway, we would expect the traffic on SR 44 west of Kepler Road to reduce almost 10% on average compared to the “no-build” option.  Traffic east of Kepler Road on SR 44 would reduce almost 20%. This summary was made before adding large developments in the east Gateway of Deland, such as proposed Kolter’s 600 home Cresswind. This extension is critical for the long-term functionality of the City, even without considering the influx of new development.

This development will reduce the quality of life for not only residents in the Lake Winnemissett area, but all of Deland. Our goal is to keep Deland beautiful!

Please consider signing this petition, to be presented to the City Commission, and consider contacting your City and/or County representatives to voice your concerns. Public participation is the key to enacting change and developing sound growth policies. If you have questions, or would like to share your concerns please see the below contacts.

Sincerely,

Concerned Citizens of Lake Winnemissett