- February 5, 2026
The Volusia County Council unanimously approved an amendment to the Halifax Plantation development plan on Tuesday, Feb. 3, that will allow the Volusia County School Board to sell an 18-acre property previously set aside for a future school site.
The school site, located on the north side of the intersection at Acoma Drive and Monaghan Drive, was deeded to the School Board in 2005 in exchange for cash and school impact fee credits. Based on Halifax Plantation's Development of Regional Impact and Planned Unit Development agreement, the site was originally slated for a future elementary or middle school. However, in May 2025, the School Board declared the school site unnecessary and indicated a desire to surplus it.
The amendment doesn't change the use of the property, according to the county. If and when it is sold, the future owner would need to seek a major amendment to the PUD for a different use. It would come before the County Council for approval.
"So it will come back to us," County Chair Jeff Brower said after the unanimous vote. "Don't lose hope."
Halifax Plantation residents brought their concerns over the future sale of the land to the council.
The property is a "hole in the donut" in the center of the community, said Peter Hartman, board president of the HOA for Halifax Plantation Phase 2 and 3.
"What happens in that piece of property is going to be a reflection on the rest of the community that's there," Hartman said. "It is imperative that the HOA and its residents are a part of the continuing development formula that's set forth in the original DRI, to be consistent with the language and intent of that DRI when it was developed."
Hartman said that residents were unaware of the potential sale of the school site until they read about it in the newspaper.
Halifax Plantation is nearing build-out of its 2,415 units. Currently, the community encompasses about 1,800 homes with about 4,200 residents. Hartman said the HOA simply wanted an assurance that it would have some governing process over the sale.
Halifax Plantation resident John Maurer expressed concern about a map attached to the agenda item documents showing the school site with a future land use of "Urban Low Intensity."
"While this designation may be compatible with single-family uses, it also indicates compatibility with business uses and manufactured housing," said Maurer, a retired planner and architect. "These last two classifications are wholly inappropriate and inconsistent with the community design and the original intent of the DRI."
As it stands today, the property has limited uses. If not a school, it can only be a library, park, recreational playing fields or a community center. Any other use would need council's approval.
Other residents asked the council to help ensure that the property, if sold, would remain undeveloped or be turned into a park. Pam Crowell said she bought her home in 2003 thinking the the school site, which borders her backyard, would remain green. She found out it was slated for a school site years later.
"We do not want any more development," she said. "We don't want homes. We don't want a recreational sports field. We don't want a community center. We don't want a library. The developers are chipping away at the beauty of our neighborhood.
Representing the School Board, attorney Alex Ford said the HOA was given notice of the amendment. While the School Board was not seeking to change the property's use today, the property is under contract with Serenity Capital Management, Ford said.
Serenity Capital Management is a real estate development company based in Tampa. According to the company's website, its projects are currently focused on single-family homes, built-to-rent communities, multifamily units, mixed-use developments and retail.
"I don't know what they would do with it," Ford said. "... If I were them, I would be looking to do something compatible with the neighborhood because if you don't do that, you're going to be facing 20 times the number of folks that are here right now."
