- March 6, 2026
A motion to have staff bring back a charter amendment concerning regulating voluntary annexations died by lack of a second at the Volusia County Council meeting on Tuesday, March 3. A proposal for a charter amendment requires a two-thirds majority vote.
Last November, the County Council asked staff to conduct research on establishing rural boundaries, which is a way for counties to control rural land from being voluntarily annexed into municipalities for development. While Senate Bill 180 (passed last year) prohibits charter amendments regarding land use, county staff said it leaves the door open for an "exclusive voluntary annexation method."
As it stands today, property owners with land in the county can request to be annexed into an adjacent municipality. The land needs to be contiguous to the municipality so that it doesn't create an enclave.
County Council Chair Jeff Brower wanted the amendment to give voters the opportunity to decide if the council should have the authority to approve whether a property can be annexed out of the county.
It's a property right issue, Brower said. Not just for the property owner, but for their neighbors as well.
"I want to give the people in unincorporated Volusia County a voice at the table too," Brower said. They don't have one now when it comes to annexation in their neighborhood."
Volusia County's population grew by 1.78% from 2024-2025, according to data shared at the council meeting. From 2014 to 2024, it grew by 18%. It is currently the 10th largest county in the state and the 12th most populated.
In 2024, about 80% of the county's population resided within one of the 16 municipalities.
From 2022-2025, the county approved 12 projects with density changes. Four had a rural land use.
In that same three-year period, 1,784 new residential permits were issued in unincorporated areas, compared to 8,874 permits in the cities; Daytona issued the most, accounting for 3,150 permits from 2022-2025.
Ormond Beach issued 280 new residential permits from 2022-2025.
From 2015-2025, a total of 7,655 acres of unincorporated land has been annexed into municipalities, 4,409 acres of which through interlocal service boundary agreements.
The county has almost 500,000 acres left of unincorporated land.
Some speakers spoke in favor of a charter amendment to protect rural lands.
"This amendment is not about stopping progress," Daytona Beach resident Catherine Pante said. "It's about guiding responsibly. For generations, the rural areas of DeLand, New Smyrna, Edgewater, Deltona and Port Orange have defined the character of our county. Our farms, wetlands, forests, springs and open spaces are not empty land waiting to be built on. They are working landscapes, wildlife corridors, flood protection systems and part of the heritage that makes this county special."
But others felt that a charter amendment that would hinder voluntary annexation would negatively impact property rights. Retired Circuit Judge James Clayton said the council was imitating Tallahassee, due to SB 180.
"Y'all don't like it when the state tells you what to do — which is why we're having this conversation — with the issues that you can resolve a lot better than Tallahassee can," Clayton said. "Now you are basically doing to the cities, the 16 municipalities, what Tallahassee has done to you. You're telling them how to control their property."
Brower disagreed with Clayton.
"Right now, the cities are telling us what we can do," he said. "They come in and annex unincorporated Volusia land that probably has a rural designation ... and then the city annexes it and changes the zoning, changes the land use, and packs in 24 houses per acre, or whatever they can fit there, thinking that it's going to be a property tax nirvana."
His fellow councilmen, however, said they couldn't support a charter amendment to regulate voluntary annexation.
County Councilman Don Dempsey said it would take away property owners' choice on which jurisdiction they'd rather be a part of.
"If you don't want your neighborhood changed, you can go to the city meeting and argue, bring everybody with you to object to it," he said. ... They're getting a voice. Their voice is just going to be heard before a different commission."
Councilman Jake Johansson said he believes municipalities are "doing the right thing for the right reasons when it's required." The charter amendment, he said, would be a preemption from the county to limit their authority.
"I think we've heard from a bunch today, and the letters we got from the farmers and ranchers state the same," Johansson said. "They don't want us to pick winners and losers, and they want their opportunities to exercise their property rights."
