Deltona City Commission and P&Z Joint Workshop on Comprehensive Plan Chapter 4 – June 8, 2026

The City Commission and Planning & Zoning Board held a joint workshop on Monday, June 8, 2026, from 6:30 p.m. to 7:42 p.m. in the Deltona Commission Chambers to discuss Chapter 4, Plan Implementation, of the Comprehensive Plan Amendment process. The purpose was to confirm that the Comprehensive Plan direction remains consistent with the adopted Deltona Vision 2050 guiding principles. City Commission attendees were Mayor Avila, Vice Mayor Avila-Vazquez, and Commissioners Colwell, Heriot, Nabicht, and Santiago; Commissioner Howington was absent. P&Z attendees were Chair Cardo, Vice Chair D'Errico, Members Northey and Stewart, and Alternates Warnicke, O'Brien, and Guida; Secretary Amoroso and Alternates Hasson and Zlatos were absent. The Community Development Services Director introduced consultants from JBPro, AXIS Infrastructure, and The Corradino Group.

Discussion Items

• Consultants presented a project recap and used interactive Slido polls to confirm whether the Vision Statement and Guiding Principles 1 through 7 from Vision 2050 remain accurate. A majority of City Commission and P&Z Board members concurred with each item.
• The presentation linked the guiding principles to earlier public input on housing choices, mixed-use redevelopment, targeted industries, transportation priorities, natural lands protection, and public facilities and infrastructure.
• Commissioner Heriot expressed concerns about the 'all forms' language in Guiding Principle 5, citing e-bikes and e-motorcycles sharing sidewalks and roadways with pedestrians and cars. Another commissioner called for sidewalk width standards greater than the current five feet, suggesting six to eight feet.
• On Guiding Principle 6, discussion covered Deltona Forever land acquisition, Volusia Forever, wetland parks, eco-tourism, connectivity, and walkability.
• On Guiding Principle 7, participants discussed balancing immediate needs with future goals. Commissioner Nabicht asked whether the plan would include ways to evaluate, update, and re-engage over time; consultants said metrics could be built into policies or an administrative element.
• O'Brien of the P&Z Board said the same roughly 40 to 50 people had repeatedly provided feedback despite a city population of about 100,000, and urged monitoring and expanding participation.
• Commissioner Heriot raised state funding limitations, preemption concerns, and the need for commercial incentives. Commissioner Nabicht also asked how plan effectiveness would be measured.
• Mayor Avila requested strict policies so any change to an approved development or redevelopment must return to the City Commission, not only the P&Z Board. Consultants explained that such procedures would be implemented through the Land Development Code.
• Mayor Avila asked that development density be based on buildable land, and Commissioner Colwell requested density be calculated on actual buildable land rather than the total site; the consultants agreed this framework would be set in the Comprehensive Plan and detailed in the Land Development Code.

Public Comments & Testimony

• One resident praised the process and the consultants' presentation, saying it captured the hopes and concerns heard throughout the public workshops. The speaker disagreed that public input had been insufficient, saying hundreds of people had contributed in person and through proxy networks, and expressed optimism that Deltona would be a great place to live in 20 years.

Key Outcomes

• No formal motions or votes were taken; the workshop was a consensus-building discussion.
• The City Commission and P&Z Board concurred that the connection to the Vision 2050 guiding principles was sufficient and that work should move forward on goals, objectives, and policies.
• Consultants announced the next workshop for Monday, July 27, 2026, focused on redevelopment and mixed-use areas, with a draft map of center types: downtown, uptown, community center, community corridor, main street corridor, neighborhood center, eco-center/eco-tourism, and economic center.
• Two more workshops on general Comprehensive Plan policies are planned, with a transmittal target of November 2026.
• The meeting was extended by 15 minutes by consensus and was adjourned at 7:42 p.m.