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Central Florida Public Media

Rural Volusia County blames floods on overdevelopment, demands moratoriums

By Lillian Hernández Caraballo

October 24, 2024 at 6:01 AM EDT

Last week, JC Figueredo was driving a Honda side-by-side, an off-road vehicle, instead of his pickup truck.

It’s the only way he can come in and out of his 12-acre property, off Jackson Woods Road, and into the surrounding community of unincorporated Volusia County, ever since Hurricane Milton dropped 16 inches of rain and flooded large parts of the area on Oct. 9.

Figueredo said he estimates the flood water to be around five to six feet deep in some parts.

“This is the worst it’s ever been,” he said. “It gets worse every time.”

That afternoon, the normally dusty, dirt road that leads to Figueredo’s house looked —and smelled— closer to a dank, Florida swamp. He said he expects more pestilence, as he braces for an increase in mosquitoes, rotting vegetation, and dead animals.

His home, which stands almost at the center of the large property, is just about the only dry thing there. Figueredo sat inside his side-by-side, looking out at his land, which resembled a lake.

“Every time it's gotten progressively worse, and this time it got about a foot deeper than it did last hurricane. So much of the ground is saturated that the water has nowhere to go,” he said.

Figueredo said he’s tried it all. Pumping the water out, rerouting the water, living with it.. he said the real problem is overdevelopment.

Driving on water: JC Figueredo's land looks more closely like a dank, Florida swamp. (2837x3782, AR: 0.7501322051824432)

Volusia County and the perpetual fight against rising water 

In May, the series Central Florida Seen & Heard: Rising Water took a deep dive into the subject of flooding, introducing people across the region who struggle with the issue.

In the wake of Hurricane Milton, and the catastrophic flooding it brought to certain places, a revisit to unincorporated Volusia County and its people showed residents are still dealing with flood water and again pushing for policy changes and moratoriums on building.

Like many in this rural area, Figueredo has been battling increasing floods for years. Even when it doesn’t rain for long periods of time, his land is never dry anymore.

The small business owner points the blame specifically at two newer neighborhoods: Victoria Trails and Sawyer’s Landing, which sit in annexed land directly adjacent to his property, in the city of DeLand.

He said that ever since they were developed, his property is consistently wet and floods easily, sometimes after a typical Florida afternoon thunderstorm.

“It's been six plus years. I've spent the money, I've hired the people, you know, I've been screaming the same thing. How long does this go on?” he said.

Figueredo’s taken his complaints to county meetings, social media, and local news outlets. He even filed a lawsuit that was dismissed earlier this year, but he said he’ll be filing it again.

He said Volusia needs responsible growth, but that’s not what he believes is happening. He said local governments are rubber-stamping new developments required to be built higher than older communities, leaving them to deal with the stormwater runoff.

Figueredo is not the only one who feels this way.

JC Figueredo's 12 acres look resemble lake land after Hurricane Milton. Behind his property, standing at several feet of elevation, is the DeLand neighborhood of Sawyer's Landing. That community did not experience intense flooding during the storm. Figueredo said that's because all their water flowed down to his land. (1598x911, AR: 1.7541163556531285)

The townspeople are crying for dry land and safe homes

Hundreds of Volusia County residents took to the mic during public comments at a county meeting last week to express their grievances — yet again.

Pat Joslin was cheered on by a packed room of people who say they’ve had it with the floods.

“We need a moratorium on building anywhere in Volusia County. It needs to stop,” Joslin said.

Outside her flooded home off East Taylor Road, which was closed off to traffic due to heavy flooding, Joslin said newer developments on city land are not offsetting their impact on stormwater.

“You're supposed to hold your water. You're not supposed to put it on your neighbor. They're not holding their water. So we are their reservoir, and that's what this is,” she said.

Joslin and her husband, John, run Common Ground Farms. The couple lost almost half their crops about two years ago when rainfall from Hurricane Ian and Nicole left their land flooded over a month.

This year, she said, they’ve poured $162 thousand dollars into their land, installing underground pumps, filling in berms with nearly 300 pounds of dirt, and digging their own retention pond.

Ultimately, those efforts didn’t help much. Joslin struggled to find the words.

“This is way past sad. This is despair. I guess that's the right word, despair. This is despair,” she said. “We've all been here years and years and years and years and years and until those two subdivisions… They went in, and we started flooding.”

Volusia County Resident Pat Joslin can't get into her home at Common Ground Farms due to flooding. (3025x2148, AR: 1.4082867783985102)

Still, she said, she was luckier than her neighbors from across the street, Pam and Mark Teator.

Pam Teator is inconsolable after what happened to their home during Hurricane Milton.

“We just kept watching the water come closer and closer. I said, we're going to have to get out of here, because I got really scared. We are devastated,” she said.

The retired couple bought the home in July when they moved down from North Carolina. Pam Teator said she feels duped, as they bought the house before a new Florida law went into effect this month requiring sellers to disclose a property's flood risks.

The Teators’ home is not livable right now, so they’ve been staying with friends. Meanwhile, they’re facing up to a $12,000 deductible for the damages.

On top of that, the Volusia County Property Appraiser estimates the Teators will be paying more than $10,000 in property taxes this year, which includes the county’s stormwater management fee.

“We can clean up this time, but is it going to do it every single time? We can't sustain that. We’re so overwhelmed,” Pam Teator said.

Pam and Mark Teator say flood water came inside their home. They drove down from their friend's house in Flagler County to visit their damaged home. (4080x3072, AR: 1.328125)

Annexation, urban sprawl, and looking to the future 

Out of eight county council members, the residents have said they count on three supporters, including the county chair, who has championed their demands from the beginning.

That said, the developments aren't in the county. They’re on annexed land in the neighboring City of DeLand.

In 2006, Volusia was already concerned about urban sprawl, with respect to protecting natural and rural resources.

“The result (of annexation) has been urban encroachment into areas that are environmentally sensitive, the displacement of agricultural operations, the creation of land use incompatibilities and conflicts, or all of the above,” the document states.

DeLand's Strategic Plan for 2015-2025 showed some of the city's priorities include filling vacant sites and expanding boundaries, which includes annexation until they "square off" the city limits, in joint planning agreements with the county.

This practice is not unique to DeLand but encouraged by Florida’s own design. According to Volusia County, it's an easy process that "requires very little planning data and analysis."

“The annexation of larger tracts of land located at the periphery of traditional urban areas is facilitated and encouraged by existing State law, ” the county reported.

DeLand’s demographic data shows close to 25% population and housing growth in 11 years. The U.S. Census Bureau has updated numbers, as of 2023. (1378x793, AR: 1.7377049180327868)

Since 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau’s latest data, DeLand’s population has increased by about 45%, with a population of more than 43,000 people, as of 2023.

The census bureau reported housing is up to 15,799 units, as of last year, already exceeding the city’s projection of 15,465 homes by 2026. This is nearly a 38% increase in DeLand households in 13 years.

The Victoria Park developments that Figueredo and the Joslins feel are responsible for their increased flooding were approved in the 90s and span more than 2,000 acres for about 4,000 homes.

DeLand’s 2050 Report prioritizes smart growth, with a focus on re-developing already-developed and urban areas. The city has asked for public feedback on this plan.

Still, the rural county residents have said both the county and neighboring city are approving too much development without concerns about impact.

How local governments are responding and planning 

The City of DeLand has long held that these developments are built responsibly —adhering to some of the strictest stormwater management standards in the region — but they’ve also been responsive to the complaints.

In the past year, the city corrected a setting on a water pump that was keeping water levels too high in one retention pond. They also paid a private engineer to run a study of the area.

This week, Community Information Manager Chris Graham validated the residents’ concerns for the first time.

“One thing that the city will be looking at is that we have had development over the past several years, and I think you can logically come to the conclusion that the development did perhaps contribute to some of the flooding,” he said.

However, Graham said that's just one part of the story. While he acknowledges a potential impact after decades of growth, he pointed out that storms have also grown. They’re historically stronger now and bringing record-setting rainfall.

A packed room of upset residents packed the Volusia County building at a public meeting Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024. (4000x3000, AR: 1.3333333333333333)

He said the lower-lying communities in the county would have likely flooded this season, whether the city developments were there or not.

“There are several other factors. When you look at what we saw in terms of rainfall from Hurricane Milton, we had 18.32 inches of rain here in DeLand in a 24-hour period. And there are not many, if any at all, stormwater systems that can handle that kind of volume within that amount of time,” he said.

Graham said mitigating future floods is a future conversation for the city and that he expects progress over the next few years.

In the meantime, residents are asking for help. Some say they would like to be bought out while others are simply at a loss, not knowing what to do next.

Volusia County does not offer a voluntary buyout program for Hurricane Milton at this time but encourages residents to apply with FEMA.

The county chair suggested the council adopt a rural boundary amendment, not unlike the one Orange County has on the ballot this November.

A spokesperson for the county said they have contracted an engineering consultant to analyze and develop a hydrology model for the north side of Taylor Road, right where the Teators live.

Lillian Hernández Caraballo is a Report for America corps member.