Master plan for Osteen on way to Tallahassee

BEACON PHOTO/AL EVERSON
Osteen agreement gets OK — Leaders of Volusia County and the City of Deltona conclude more than three years of discussions on the future look of Osteen, by approving a joint planning agreement. From left, County Council Member Josh Wagner, County Chair Frank Bruno, Deltona Vice Mayor Michael Carmolingo and County Manager James Dinneen listen during a final round of discussion on the agreement. Osteen is mostly in the unincorporated area of the county, but some parts of it have been annexed into Deltona. The new joint planning agreement is supposed to preserve Osteen's rural character, while allowing limited development.

By Al Everson
BEACON STAFF WRITER

posted May 10, 2009 - 7:14:15pm

The master plan for the future of Osteen is finished and on its way to state growth-management officials in Tallahassee. In a special joint session April 21, the County Council and the Deltona City Commission

ratified a land-planning agreement intended to preserve Osteen's rural character while allowing more residential and commercial development.

The plan grew out of legal battles between the county and Deltona, as the city annexed lands on the east side of State Road 415. To head off costly and bitter court actions, the city and county decided, three years ago, to work together in mapping out where in Osteen high-intensity development would be permitted and which parts of the area would be shielded from development.

At the outset of the negotiations, leaders of the city and county agreed land uses in the plan would determine how or if a parcel would be developed, rather than the jurisdiction over the land in question. That policy served to take away the incentive to annex for ease in development.

While the County Council voted 7-0 for the blueprint, the Deltona City Commission could not claim such solid support. Commissioner Herb Zischkau dissented, and Mayor Dennis Mulder and Commissioner Zenaida Denizac did not attend the joint meeting.

Deltona and Volusia County will add the Osteen plan to their respective growth-management plans, subject to approval by the Florida Department of Community Affairs and the Volusia Growth Management Commission.

— al@beacononlinenews.com

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