An advisory board to Brevard County Commission denied a zoning request Monday, June 15 that could have brought up to 57 new homes on a 14-acre site on the west side of Turtle Mound Road and the north side of White Road, just north of Aurora Road.
The Planning and Zoning Board/Local Planning Agency rejected the rezoning request after about 30 residents raised concerns that the proposed development would worsen traffic and flooding and ruin their rural lifestyles.
Even a few of the property’s former owners weighed in against the rezoning.
“Unfortunately, it was completely too much money to go forward with the project,” Roger Baxter, one of the property’s former owners told the board. “There’s a lot of wetlands there.”
Initially, the developer had wanted a zoning change that would increase by six times how many homes can be built on a 14-acre site on the west side of Turtle Mound Road and the north side of White Road, about 240 feet north of Aurora Road.
The initial rezoning request was to change the undeveloped property at 1800 Turtle Mound Rd. from a rural, one-home-per-acre designation to a category that allows up to six homes per acre. That would have increased the potential from about 14 homes to as many as 86 on the 14.37 acres of undeveloped land.
To move forward, the project also would have required a separate land-use map amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan, increasing the property’s allowed density from “Residential 4” to “Residential 6.”
But at Monday’s meeting, the applicant withdrew its request to change the comprehensive plan, and changed its rezoning request to zoning (RU-1-11) that would allow 7,500 square-foot lots and up to 57 single-family homes on the site.
“The zoning we’re requesting is single-family residential,” said Kim Rezanka, the attorney representing the developer.
Defender Homes Airway Heights LLC wants to build what it describes as a single-family subdivision.
Steven Emtman is the company’s principal. The former NFL defensive end and No. 1 overall draft pick in 1992 who played for the Indianapolis Colts, became a developer after injuries cut his football career short.
Residents fear loss of rural lifestyle
Opponents of the rezoning garnered more than 2,250 signatures against the rezoning in an online petition.
The site property sits in a largely rural residential pocket. Most nearby properties are single-family homes on relatively large lots. The dominant zoning is the same low-density rural category the developer wants to change.
More compact development exists nearby, including a subdivision across Turtle Mound Road. But county planners say higher-density land uses are not the norm immediately around the site.
Planning staff said the initial proposal of zoning that would allow up to 86 homes could meet traffic capacity, school space and other technical requirements.
But staff had raised broader questions about compatibility with the neighborhood. Most nearby homes are on acre-plus lots. The property has carried its current low-density land-use designation since Brevard adopted its comprehensive plan in 1988.
Are there any environmental concerns?
A significant portion of the property comes with environmental constraints that could limit how it gets developed.
Much of the land lies in a FEMA-designated flood zone, meaning development will have to account for water storage and avoid worsening flooding on nearby properties.
County rules also limit building on wetlands, typically allowing no more than one home per five acres unless impacts are kept under a small percentage of the property.
The land also is in a groundwater “aquifer recharge” area. That can restrict how much of the ground can be covered by roads, roofs or other “impermeable” surfaces.
County staff also flagged potential issues with protected trees and wildlife: threatened gopher tortoises, and part of the site’s inclusion in a so-called Indian River Lagoon “nitrogen-reduction zone,” which may require advanced sewer treatment if sewers aren’t available.
Before denying the rezoning request, board members said they need more time to consider such changes to rezoning, which in this case weren’t presented to the board until Monday’s meeting.
“I’d like to go a little in-depth and find out what the impact will be,” board member John Hopengarten said.
Waymer covers environment and government. Contact him at (321) 261-5903 or jwaymer@floridatoday.com. Follow him on X at @JWayEnviro.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Brevard board rejects housing plan on Turtle Mound Road
Reporting by Jim Waymer, Florida Today / Florida Today
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By Jim Waymer, Florida Today | USA TODAY Network
