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Headline Surfer photo by Henry Frederick / The 100 block of the North Causeway in New Smyrna Beach is proposed for a 202-unit development that includes workforce housing, something nearby neighbors in the upscale Venezia neighborhood want no part of.NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- It's known as NIMBY or "not in my backyard."
That was the message of some 250 New Smyrna Beach residents in September to a development on the North Causeway that includes workforce units or affordable housing for families making between $20,000 to $40,000 annually.
Residents attending a special meeting at the Brannon Center called for by the project's developers want no part of the 239-unit apartment complex Causeway Landings.
The housing issue comes in at No. 54 in Headline Surfer's countdown of the top 100 local stories of 2012.
Opponents dressed in red and carried signs that supported "owners" but opposed "renters." They called themselves "New Smyrna Beach Citizens for Smart Growth" and were organized by nearby Venezia resident Marty Danaher, who insists such a development will decrease property values.
The project by Atlantic Housing Partners would go up in the 100 block of the North Causeway where a Food Lion was once located near the upscale waterfront Venezia neighborhood where many of the single-family homes come with their own boat docks.
Robert Tolley, the city watchdog who routinely attends government meetings said not a single person there spoke in favor of the project.
"I think the city's going to have fight on its hands," Tolley said, adding he has no opinion either way. "Everybody there tonight was dead set against it. It would have been suicide for anyone who wanted to speak for it."
Mayor Adam Barringer said he and his elected colleagues on the commission "heard our residents loud and clear."
"It's a delicate issue," Barringer said. "I know because we have the Angler's Club right across the street and I'm hearing from the Venezia residents. They don't want it."
Barringer agreed there is a need for workforce housing, especially for beginning families, but he said the city has to weigh the negative reaction of what the nearby residents want with the legal property rights of the developer, referencing to lawsuits against municipalities in Ponce Inlet and Winter Springs where similar projects are being challenged as NIMBY.
"While this was not a city-initiated community meeting, I attended along with my fellow city commissioners to learn specific details about the proposed development, The Causeway Landings, and to hear what the several hundred residents had to say about the project," Barringer said.
Barringer emphasized the new owners of the property have legal rights under state law and the Federal Fair Housing Act to develop the property according to current zoning, which allows for some commercial and multi-family residential up to 18 units per acre. Based on a 2005 agreement to develop the site as the Island Town Center, to expire in 2015, the number of units identified is for 202, and also specifies architectural design standards.
"Ultimately, the city has to make the right decision based on the law," the mayor stressed.
David Glunt of Madden Moorhead & Glunt Civil Engineers requested the meeting to present the project, which is proposed at the 14-acre site. The purpose of the meeting was to address concerns regarding design aspects related to the multi-family and commercial components of the proposed project," the city said in a press release in advance of Wednesday night's meeting.
The property already is approved for 202 multi-family residential units and approximately 10,000 square feet of non-residential space,” the release stated, quoting NSB Planning Manager Gail Henrikson.
"The approved development agreement requires specific architectural features be incorporated into the design of all buildings on the site," Henrikson said in the release.
Among the project's highlights:
* Dedicated public waterfront access - 240 multi-family residential units, including senior housing
* Approximately 5,000-10,000 square feet of non-residential space.
A previous $60 million mixed-use proposal for the site, Island Town Center, called for 202 condo units, along with 104 boat slips a restaurant, other shops, a gazebo and walking trails, but the developer, Ambling Group Companies of Valdosta, Ga., scrapped it after mounting construction costs and the onset of the downtrodden housing market.
The current developers have until 2015 to work out some kind of proposal before the zoning exceptions for the project expires. No dates have been set on when the planning board will hear further from the developers.
Editor's Note: Mayor Adam Barringer and City Commissioners Judy Reiker, Jack Grasty, Kirk Jones and Jason McGuirk voted unanimously against the zoning amendment change for the workforce housing plan.
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