Spruce Creek Crossing Development

Table Of Contents

1. E-Mail From Trish Smith, Planning Manager, Planning and Development Services, Volusia County

2. Creek Crossing Concept Plan For 64 Lots

3. Creek Crossing Site Plan

4. Access Roads

5. Aerial Including Lot Lines At AQPITC and Spruce Creek Fly-In

6. Letter From Janice Albert To Volusia County Council

7. Letter From Janice Albert To Florida Department Of Environmental Protection (FLDEP)

8.  QR Code For Sample E-Mail To County Planning Manager

9. Spruce Creek Crossing - Updated Map Incl. Approx. 40 Additional Lots 

10. E-Mail From Stephen Shams, Planner III, Planning and Development Services, Volusia County

11. Spruce Creek Crossing - Revised Concept Plan 2025-07-09 For 130 Lots

1. From Trish Smith, Planning Manager, Planning and Development Services, Volusia County

From Trish Smith, Planning Manager, Planning and Development Services, Volusia County, January 02, 2025: 

"Mr.  Hoover – Since you are the President of the Quiet Place in the Country HOA, I am sending you the attached documents for your information.  We recently received a development application in our office for a 64-unit single family residential subdivision that is proposed to be located on 87.87 acres between your subdivision and the Spruce Creek Fly in.   It is proposed for Parcel #6236-00-00-0050. The applicant is proposing to access the new subdivision through your subdivision via Creek Crossing Road and Lot 21 of a Quiet Place in the Country. The first document is the proposed concept plan. The second document includes the two proposed access points. The third document is a plat of your subdivision that identifies Lot 21.  

The application is for a proposed rezoning from Rural Residential, which allows one unit per acre to Planned Unit Development (PUD).  The new units are proposed to be 14,000 square feet each, with dimensions of 100 feet wide by 140 feet deep.  We are in the early stages of reviewing this application.  It will require two public hearings, and the first hearing is not anticipated to be scheduled before late spring.  The applicant will be responsible for providing due public notice to all adjacent property owners.  They will also post orange signs near lot 21 and near Creek Crossing Road at least 10 days before the first public hearing.  A legal ad will also be posted in the News Journal.  You can follow the application process through our online permitting portal -   https://connectlivevolusia.org/citizenportal/app/landing

We recognize that the HOA is an interested party, and we would like to get your opinion on the proposed access to this project through your community as well as the potential replat of Lot 21 from a single-family home parcel to a right of way for the adjacent subdivision. While the subdivision lies outside of the Tomoka Farms Village Local Plan, Lot 21 and your subdivision are subject to the requirements of the plan.  You can find a copy of the local plan at the following link.  https://www.volusia.org/services/growth-and-resource-management/planning-and-development/long-range-planning/Local-Plan-Areas/tomoka-farms-village.stml

If your organization would like to comment on this project, we’d appreciate a letter on HOA letterhead. We also welcome letters and emails from individual property owners within your subdivision.  Please send them to me at this email address.  All comments will be added to our staff report for the County Council and the Planning and Land Development Regulation Commission to consider.

Trish Smith, AICP

Planning Manager

Planning and Development Services

pssmith@volusia.org

386.736.5959, x12943"

5. Aerial Including Lot Lines At AQPITC and Spruce Creek Fly-In

6. Letter From Janice Albert To Volusia County Council

 February 10, 2025
To: Volusia County Council Chairman at jbrower@volusia.org
CC: Jake Johansson, At-large, Don Dempsey, District 1, Matt Reinhart, District 2 and Vice-Chair,
Danny Robins, District 3,Troy Kent, District 4, David Santiago, District 5, and George
Rectenwald, County Manager
Dear Chairman Brower:
My name is Janice H. Albert, and I reside at 435 Country Circle Drive East, Port Orange, FL 32128,
Unit 5, A Quiet Place in the Country. My husband, Dr. Jack Albert and I, built our home in 1987. I have
owned land on both sides of Spruce Creek for many years. I arrived in Volusia County in 1980. I have
been a certified real estate appraiser for 52 years, 45 of them here in Volusia and Flagler Counties. My
bachelor's is from Northwestern University, specializing in geology and hydrology. My Master's and
Graduate work were in Real estate appraisal, and I have valued thousands of properties of all types over
the four and a half decades. When our house was built in 1987, our deed was subject to an
environmental easement put into place at the time that Spruce Creek became a protected waterway.
None of the 300 plus year old oak trees can be cut down within 75 feet either way of the Creek. There
was a bridge on my property which was destroyed in 2004 by the hurricanes and the specifications to
replace it included not putting any footers in the Creek bed nor cutting trees to change locations.
It has come to my attention that an individual new to Volusia County has been quietly planning an
extension of Quiet Place to the east of the Creek. To my knowledge, no plans have been filed as to the
number of homes or any other details. You council members might be tempted to allow these additional
homes, which would back up to the Fly-In Development, probably thinking that the homes would be of
high quality and add to the tax base. This gentleman purchased the property from a group of
chiropractors that we previously stopped a number of years back from their intention to build a 43
home addition to Quiet Place. The current bridge was built in 1952 by the Volusia County Fire District
to access the lands to the east, all of which were owned by the Beville Dairy Corporation. There is only
one way in or out, but they tried to obtain access at Creek Crossing Drive. Costs were very high at the
time, but values have increased dramatically. However, something all of you need to consider is that
not only would there be mass destruction of Timucuan Indian burial grounds and 300 plus year old
protected oak trees in order to make access, there are already serious drainage issues in and around the
headwaters of Spruce Creek. More flooding has been occurring in recent years as additional areas are
paved over. This proposed development will not only impact Quiet Place and Spruce Creek Farms, but
also the Fly-In and areas further northeast as well as those to the south and west. Thousands of homes
will feel the effects of this decision, and Volusia already has flooding problems in many areas. The
extra taxes you might perceive to happen will be far exceeded by the potential problems. This
gentleman also put up a fence that blocks off the easement on the south side of the Quiet Place lot,
which was in the original plat to give access to the Creek by the homeowners.
I will be contacting both the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as well as the St. Johns
River Water Management District regarding this theoretical proposed project. Volusia County itself
does not have the right to allow Creek access without permission from the State for this protected
waterway. We stopped Danny Hammett's plan to make a boat ski park on the south side of the Creek,
by removing four million cubic yards of high,dry land to create it. This falls into the same category, and
is ill-advised on many different levels. As can be seen from the number of protest signs locally, most
people that are aware of this foolish plan are against it. Please consider these factors before making a
quick decision.
Janice H. Albert

7. Letter From Janice Albert To Florida Department Of Environmental Protection (FLDEP)

February 10, 2025

Florida Department of Environmental Protection

Central Florida Division

Aaron Watkins, Director

Mr. Watkins

I am a resident of a subdivision called A Quiet Place In the Country, west of Port Orange, Florida, located in central Florida along the banks of Spruce Creek. I am a

real estate appraiser, and became aware of plans to develop the rural agricultural area between Spruce Creek Fly-In development and Quiet Place, which had been zoned ten acre minimum, for an extension of our subdivision, zoned R-1 with 1.5 to 2 acre homesites to a proposed 64 sites of one-third acre, which is a density 30 times the ag land. We have stopped other proposed developments, since the access is on a single remaining lot in our subdivision across Spruce Creek, thereby necessitating crossing the Creek and destroying old growth 300 plus year old oak trees and Timucuan Indian burial grounds. There is currently an old bridge which was built in 1952 by The Volusia County fire district to access the rural areas. My 1987 deed shows a FDEP easement which prevents destroying these trees and placing footers in the Creek, a protected waterway. The other developers only had the one access, but this group proposes making two entrances, thereby destroying even more of the trees. My background is in geology and hydrology, and in the almost 40 years I have had acreage here have been a good steward of the land and trees. Others have sought to make new bridges and you have stopped them. Since density in the Fly-In has increased, and the land is lowlands, there have been more incidences of flooding, which is why it was to be kept agricultural. I have sent a letter to all of the council members regarding this serious issue.

I am attaching my original letter to the members and George Reckdenwald, the County Manager, whose job is to monitor water issues. This developer, calling itself Fourth Quarter LLC is new to Volusia County. I assume there would have to be a package sewer and water plant as there is in the Fly-In. This land is very low, at or near the water table as I have done engineering studies, and this does not even take into consideration the damage to make the two roads. Volusia County has many flooding issues already, and I doubt the additional tax base of the 64 homes will offset the huge damage and impact up and down the Creek system. I am enclosing the proposed site plan. Nothing has been given to the County yet, but I wanted to allow you to see what is on the table for a project such as this one.

Hopefully you will stop this as you have other encroachments to and over the head waters of Spruce Creek.

Please keep us informed, as we are monitoring developments carefully. The people along the west side of the Creek are almost unanimously against this.

Sincerely,

Janice H. Albert

10. From Stephen Shams, Planner III, Planning and Development Services, Volusia County, June 18, 2025

"Good morning [...],

I don’t have any updates on the project. I contacted the applicant recently for an update and have not received a response. We are waiting for them to resubmit documents and plans. I’ll be sure to let you and all other interested parties know when there is new information."

Stephen Shams, AICP

Planner III

County of Volusia

Planning and Development Services

Email: SShams@Volusia.org

Phone: (386) 736-5959 ext. 12022

 11. Spruce Creek Crossing - Revised Concept Plan 2025-07-09 For 130 Lots