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Editor's note: The following story was submitted by contributing writer Dale Smith:
DELAND – Nineteen consent agenda items will precede public hearings on zoning changes and a proposal from Volusia County Sheriff Ben Johnson on an ordinance that would provide tougher county regulations on secondary metals recyclers when the Volusia County Council meets Thursday.
The zoning hearings include a project in Ormond Beach where developer Vanacore Commercial Properties is seeking approval to have 5.26 acres rezoned from B-2 (neighborhood/commercial) to business planned unit development.
The property is on North U.S. Highway 1. Another rezoning hearing is for the proposed RR Farms development at 3585 Pioneer Trail in New Smyrna Beach, where the applicant is seeking a change from A-1 (prime agriculture) to a revised business planned unit development on 9.6 acres.
The County Council has already adopted the small scale amendment plan for RR Farms changing future land use from agriculture to commercial. Developers have proposed a new commercial complex with shops at that location.
Sheriff Ben Johnson will go before the county councilors proposing an ordinance that would provide for countywide regulation of secondary metals recyclers. His proposal would provide for more restrictive regulations than is currently found in state law. The ordinance is modeled on ordinances adopted by other Florida local governments and serves as an additional tool for law enforcement in preventing the theft of secondary metals, such as copper components to air conditioning units and utility lines.
Secondary metals recyclers, or SMRs, are people engaged in the business of gathering metals which have served their original economic purpose or manufacturers which convert metals into raw material.
State law requires SMRs to register with the state, maintain purchase transaction records for inspection and limits cash purchases to $1,000 for specified secondary metals.
The ordinance would apply to both the unincorporated and incorporated areas of the county unless a municipality adopts a conflicting ordinance on the subject.
The county council is also expected to grant a special exception for a proposed flea market in Samsula. Hart Land & Cattle Company, Inc., owners of the New Smyrna Speedway property, 3939 S.R. 44, hope to open a 100-stall flea market at that location.
The county council meets at the Thomas A. Kelly Administration Center, 123 West Indiana Ave. in DeLand. The meeting begins at 8:30 a.m.
About the contributing writer:
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Dale Smith is a resident of New Smyrna Beach, who has reported on local news in Volusia County since October 2009. His writing background includes a mix of journalism and public relations in several community newspapers and a p.r. firm in northern Virginia. He attended Barton Academy in Barton, Vt., and the Cambridge (Mass.) School of Broadcasting for radio & TV broadcasting.