Brevard County commissioners voted unanimously Tuesday to approve an agricultural enclave designation for just over 142 acres of unincorporated county land near the Kennedy Space Center on North Merritt Island.
The property previously came before the board in the form of a rezoning request seeking to allow more intense development on the land. Commissioners rejected that request in April. Now, the approved agricultural enclave designation will likely make it easier for landowners to get development plans approved.
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Agricultural enclaves
For decades, Florida law has allowed unincorporated, undeveloped land meeting certain conditions to be designated as agricultural enclaves. As of July 1, though, Senate Bill 686 makes an agricultural enclave designation much easier to get — and, from there, much easier to develop the land.
Generally, an agricultural enclave refers to a pocket of agricultural land mostly surrounded by development.
To qualify for the enclave designation, the land must have been in continuous use for “bona fide agricultural purposes,” as defined by state law, for at least five years before a development application is submitted. All the land in question must also belong to the same owner or entity.
The Brevard ranchland — and flooding concerns
The 142 acres of ranchland just approved for an agricultural enclave designation in Brevard County belong to a company linked to Joe Strada, the Republican nominee for Florida’s 11th Congressional District.
Now that the ranchland has been approved for the enclave designation, it will likely be easier for Strada’s development company to advance plans to develop it. The new state law requires local governments to allow agricultural enclaves to be developed in the same way as nearby commercial, industrial or residential areas.
“The (comprehensive plan) amendment is presumed to not be urban sprawl if it includes land uses and intensities of use that are consistent with the uses and intensities of use of the industrial, commercial, or residential areas that surround the parcel,” according to an analysis of the bill.
On Tuesday, area resident Danielle Dulude urged commissioners not to allow more intense development in the area now approved for an agricultural enclave designation.
“Replacing that much vegetation and open drainage with rooftops, driveways, and roads will push significantly more stormwater and push it faster into a system that is already failing,” Dulude said. “The result will be more frequent, deeper, and longer-lasting flooding on the downstream properties where people already live.”
Dulude said she and her neighbors already struggle with flooding issues, and she fears more intense development of the rural area would only make things worse. “I can tell you from direct experience that the ground where I live stays saturated for months, not just days, even after an ordinary rain.”
Based on the new state law’s terms, County Attorney Morris Richardson said, commissioners “had no choice” but to approve the agricultural enclave designation. “The board's hands were tied by the state.”
No new development plans for the area have yet been submitted, following commissioners’ denial of plans submitted by developers earlier this year. That denial rested on recommendations from the county’s boards for planning and zoning and the North Merritt Island Dependent Special District.
Developers were contesting that denial, but said Tuesday they will likely withdraw their rezoning application and proceed with proposing development through the agricultural enclave avenue.
The new enclave designation law applies in counties with populations of 1.75 million or less. All but two Florida counties, Miami-Dade and Broward, fall below that population threshold.
