NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla. — State Road 44 in New Smyrna Beach could look very different in the coming years. Plans are now in place for Deering Park, a sprawling development that will cover a large area near Interstate 95.
Late Tuesday night, city commissioners voted 4 to 1 to rezone the land, allowing the New Smyrna Beach portion of Deering Park to move forward.
Some residents who support the massive project believe it will bring much-needed jobs to the area.
“We really are a tourism based industry, restaurants jobs, hospitality, things like that, we really need more high tech and this is a solution to that,” New Smyrna Beach resident Mark Beckwith said.
Other residents have protested Deering Park, citing worries over how it will impact their city. Concerns about traffic and the potential for more flooding have been top of mind.
“It’s already becoming so busy and crowded and if you go down towards Flagler, you can’t even get on the beach on the weekends,” resident Michael Dunphy said.
Resident Bill Gallagher expressed concerns about infrastructure aggravation. “We’ve got a lot of people flooding, we’ve got a lot of people that are paying too much for insurance,” he said.
The developer’s attorney, Glenn Storch, said they have taken these concerns into account. “71 square miles of it have been preserved for conservation. We can direct stormwater to these areas during major hurricanes.”
Tuesday night’s vote means plans for new homes, businesses, and industrial areas can now take shape.
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