Beresford Yacht Club in DeLand taking steps to rebuild

PHOTO COURTESY ELIZABETH VOLLSTADT
Yacht club sails again — The Lake Beresford Yacht Club had its first Commodore’s Ball March 21 since a fire destroyed the clubhouse in August 2007. Enjoying a night of camaraderie in an interim clubhouse are newly inducted members of the board of governors, from left, Frank Jamerson, commodore; Roland Swintek, vice commodore; Claire Staton, treasurer; Laurie Sullivan, secretary; Roger Woywood, fleet captain; Wayne Wilhelm, rear commodore; Sheldon Reich, past commodore; Stuart Mills, governor; Charles Johnson, governor; and Dr. Michael Blais, fleet surgeon. Not pictured is Jan Ford, representative from the Ladies of LBYC. A limited number of boat docks are still available at the club on Lake Beresford, and membership applications are being accepted. Call (386) 734-3854 for more information.

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted May 1, 2009 - 9:21:17am

Two years after their historic clubhouse was damaged by a tornado and subsequently destroyed by fire, the Lake Beresford Yacht Club is on the way to building a new place to meet, eat and socialize.

The Volusia County Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission April 14 endorsed the Yacht Club's request for a new parking area to support a new clubhouse.

The club must clear more regulatory hurdles, but construction of a new clubhouse may begin by year's end.

"We are trying to move forward and rebuild the entire site," said Michael J. Wojtuniak, a senior project engineer with Engineered Permits Inc., a DeLand firm working with the Lake Beresford Yacht Co. Inc.

The Lake Beresford Yacht Co. Inc. owns the 21.5-acre parcel on the west side of the big lake, and the Yacht Club is the social organization, explained Michael Scallan, secretary of the Yacht Co.

Lake Beresford Yacht Co. asked the county for a special exception for new off-street parking on its land at 1961 Hontoon Road, west of DeLand. Part of the Yacht Club parcel is zoned B-7 Commercial, while the remainder of the property is zoned A-3 Transitional Agriculture and RC Resource Corridor. The special exception is for 1.3 acres of the A-3 portion of the property.

A special exception is permission to use the property in a way not specifically allowed, but also not expressly prohibited, by the county's zoning ordinance. The PLDRC action is not final; the County Council will have the final word on the matter next month.

Scallan said the Yacht Co. will submit a site plan for the new clubhouse, as required by the county. The old clubhouse went up in flames Aug. 1, 2007. Fire investigators later determined the blaze had been accidental.

"It had been there since 1944," Scallan said.

Loss of the building wasn't the only blow. "All of our records were lost," Scallan said.

The insurance payment for the fire loss was $600,000, he added. The proposed new clubhouse will cost much more.

"It's going to cost us $1.8 million to replace it by the time it's over with," Scallan said.

Marshall Bone, general contractor for the rebuilding, said the new clubhouse will enclose 7,000 square feet of space, just like the old building did.

"We're finalizing the plans as we speak," Bone told The Beacon.

The new building will be in a different spot on the property.

"The yacht club ... was a nonconforming structure because of its encroachment into the required waterfront yard setbacks of the current regulations," the county planning staff report reads.

"We're trying to build this to conform to all the new building requirements," Scallan told the PLDRC.

Bone estimated construction may take about seven months.

The Yacht Co. put four trailers on the property after the fire as temporary business facilities.

At the recommendation of the county's professional planners, the PLDRC attached conditions to its approval of the special exception. Among those conditions are approval of a final site plan and the understanding the new parking area will not be used unless it conforms to approved plans.

Also, the Yacht Co. must comply with the county's tree-preservation standards on the A-3 piece of its land, and landscaping buffers must be included.

The PLDRC voted 6-0 in favor of the Yacht Co.'s request. Commissioner Taver Cornett, a member of the Lake Beresford Yacht Club, abstained.

The County Council will consider the Yacht Club request May 21.

— info@beacononlinenews.com

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