Volusia County will soon own about 1,300 acres in Osteen, which the public will be able to access.
The Volusia County Council voted unanimously May 5 to spend $20.1 million from the Volusia Forever program to buy the River Bend Ranch property in Osteen.
“To me, this is exactly what Volusia Forever’s all about,” District 1 Councilman Don Dempsey said.
It also comes without a partnership. The county is buying the property on its own instead of first seeking partners to co-fund the project.
Dempsey has spoken against Volusia Forever partnerships in the past because he doesn’t want the county to be limited in how it uses the land in the future, if some issue should arise. His comments have raised concerns in the public about the future of Volusia Forever lands, though he says he supports Volusia Forever and land conservation.
“Whatever the future council wants to do with it 500 years from now, 1,000 years from now, it can do it without having to get the blessing from all these other distant agencies,” he said.
Several people spoke during public comment and supported the purchase. Daytona Beach resident John Nicholson supported the purchase, with a caveat. Nicholson said he supports getting partners to share the financial burden because that means money can be stretched out to conserve other lands.
“It is a big chunk (of money),” Nicholson said.
Osteen property has St. Johns River frontage
Volusia County Community Services Director Brad Burbaugh said the plan is to keep the land as a sole county purchase instead of seeking funding partners.
“I think that the council has been clear that there’s special pieces that they want to own (outright) , and I think this is one of those special pieces,” Burbaugh said.
The property is at 1411 Osteen Maytown Road, and includes about two miles directly located on the St. Johns River and 1.3 miles along Deep Creek.
The property has about 561 acres of wetlands. It is next to Deering Preserve at Deep Creek, a county-owned site covering 1,385 acres. The River Bend Ranch property will open the door to expand “public access for hiking, wildlife viewing, paddling, and fishing.”
The county plans to open it up for public access after the sale closes, Burbaugh said.
The seller is Alan Ashlock.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Volusia OKs spending $20.1M for Osteen land on St. Johns River
Reporting by Sheldon Gardner, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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