- December 12, 2025
A commercial park development proposed for a 12-acre property in the North U.S. 1 corridor in Ormond Beach was recommended for approval by the Ormond Beach Planning Board on Thursday, Dec. 11.
The Tomoka Commerce Park development, to be located at 890 N. U.S. 1, will be composed of four different lots, spanning a total of 11 buildings and about 110,270 square feet, according to the city staff report.
Though it was approved in a 6-0 vote by the Planning Board (Board member Mike Scudiero was absent), several citizens voiced their opposition to the development on concerns it would worsen existing flooding issues in the corridor. The project is impacting two small wetlands onsite, totaling 0.44 acres and 0.03 acres, respectively.
"We deserve a project that avoids wetland impacts," Ormond Beach resident and Protect Volusia founder Elena Krafft said. "Don't pave over them. That should be just the minimum standard."
The development's environmental report states that the two impacted wetlands are man-made, with the larger having somewhat revegetated over the years. Mitigation is not being required for the direct wetland impacts, or the impacts to 0.079 acres of surface water. The applicant, however, is proposing to mitigate impacts by purchasing mitigation bank credits.
A 1-acre wetland in the southeast portion of the project will not be impacted.
Board Chair Doug Thomas said the larger of the two impacted wetlands was a hole that was used to dispose of glass bottles.
"I'm telling you, that land is high and dry," he said.
Several residents, including Krafft, also opposed the construction of more storage facilities; the developer, Scott Vanacore, owns Stor-It Boat & RV Storage Solutions.
But while storage units would be an allowed use, board members pointed out that the commerce park project would allow many others — business/professional offices, churches, restaurants, retail stores, and indoor RV and boat storage.
"Nowhere in this presentation have I seen a four-story public storage being proposed," Board member GG Galloway said.
The property at 890 N. U.S. 1 is zoned as a Planned Business Development, with a previously expired development order. There were two applications to develop the property as a business park in the past, one in 1999 and another in 2007. Both applications were approved, but the projects were never constructed.
"We have identified that corridor as an area where we want this type of business and this type of activity," Board member Troy Railsback said. "We have zoning descriptions and opportunities and restrictions for property owners to do things in those areas. ... I don't have a perspective that all new development comes with a bunch of errors in stormwater flow that result in water popping up in different places."
Responding to the public's criticism of Vanacore and project engineer Parker Mynchenberg, Railsback said their existing projects are all well-maintained and with a "responsible focus" on their impact to utilities, including stormwater.
Board members also responded to claims by citizens regarding flooding, calling them "half-truths" and "misinformation." Additionally, Galloway said that the Tomoka Commerce Park development is in line with what's already been constructed in the North U.S. 1 corridor.
"For those of you all who want to stop growth, I suggest you start raising funds and you go out and buy properties like this and donate it to the city and the county," he said.
Building codes change every year, and if this project had gone before the board for approval a few years ago, half of the St. Johns River Water Management District requirements the developer is adhering to would not exist, Board member Angeline Shull said. If residents want to complain about water and flooding, the SJRWMD is the "king of water in the state of Florida," she said.
"If you don't think a project should be somewhere, then get involved and get somebody that can put a different project there," Shull said. "Bring back another suggestion. Bring back another idea. Don't just say it shouldn't be there."
At the Planning Board meeting, the board also approved an administrative request to update its land development code for Live Local Act development, based on new amendments made to the affordable housing law in the last legislative session. The amendments allow for Live Local Act developments in commercial, industrial and mixed-use zoning, as well as reducing parking requirements for properties within a quarter mile of transit facilities.
It was during this agenda item that Vanacore spoke. The Live Local Act and recent Senate bills that impact development, he said, are a result of state legislators "trying to stop the political push of the misinformed bunch."
"They're playing off the Brower playbook of flooding," Vanacore said, referencing Volusia County Council Chair Jeff Brower. "That's how you get elected and that's what they see."
His project, he said, is not a storage facility. It's supporting small businesses.
"I built the Ormond Commerce Park, which is 75,000 square feet just north of there," he said. "I built that 25 years ago, and it is full, and it's thriving."
