1,300 square-foot home that is already on the property, and we would like to keep that home.
We met with George Ritchie to go over the entire application.
Public comment.
Jeff Duncan, 4855 N. Tropical Trail, Merritt Island - Using the Brevard County zoning and future
land use maps to determine the actual zoning of pieces of land on Merritt Island, if you look at
S.R. 528 for a southern border, going north all the way to NASA Causeway, and from S.R. 3
west to the Indian River, the subject property is the only instance of RU-1-13 in that entire
section, except for the development of River Island Estates development, 2.3 miles away from
the subject property. Aside from the River Estates development, there is not a single example
of the RU-1-13 zoning being utilized in that section, so this would set a precedent as it is not
something that has been done numerous times before. The actions of the RU-1-13 zoning
being utilized as a standalone property as mentioned demonstrates the unprecedented and out
of character nature of the requested zoning change. I hope you will give this information due
consideration and disapprove this one zoning change because proof is clearly demonstrated
that the requested zoning change is not appropriate for this part of North Merritt Island.
Chris Minerva, North Merritt Island Homeowners Association (NMIHOA) - Regarding the
rezoning request from AU to RU-1-13 at 4850 N. Tropical Trail, the NMIHOA voted to ask you
to deny this request based on the following information and County policies. The owners
purchased the property with AU zoning in March 2022; in June they applied for a change of
zoning; and they are renting out the existing house and have stated they wish to build another
rental house on the lot, or to split the lot. The lowest density zoning category that can be placed
on this property and allow the changes the owners want, is RU-1-13. This is unfortunate
because this is not a zoning used in this area; there is not one property of RU-1-13 in this large,
rural, suburban area. The NMIHOA disapproves the RU-1-13 zoning, even with a binding
development plan restricting development to two houses. The existing house can be removed
in the future allowing five houses on this lot, unlike the hundreds of single-house lots that
surround it, even just two rental houses on one lot is inappropriate in this area. The County’s
own analysis describes the character of this community as single-family residences on lots of
spacious character for agricultural uses. As listed in Administrative Policy 3a, the zoning of this
property to RU-1-13 would result in a reduction of the neighboring property values, and would
be completely inconsistent with historical land use patterns and inconsistent with the actual
surrounding development in the preceding three years, and also inconsistent with any
surrounding development approved but not yet constructed in the past three years. In
Administrative Policy 4, the request is completely inconsistent with past and current character
of the neighborhood, and as stated in Administrative Policy 8, the request should be denied
based on a consideration of character of the surrounding properties and land use, the impact of
the proposed zoning on the established character of the surrounding properties, and how
incompatible this zoning would be with the existing land use, and how inappropriate this zoning
would be based on applicable conditions defined in the Administrative Policies. The owners
might consider another option, such as increasing the size of the existing house, making it
more desirable if they wish to rent it out, and thus increasing the rental income, or to increase
the desirability for future use and/or resale.
Mary Gonzalez, 4990 N. Tropical Trail, Merritt Island - I’m opposed to the zoning change at
4850 N. Tropical Trail. The request from AU-1 [sic], which is one house per acre [sic], to
RU-1-13, which is five houses per acre introduces an entirely new zoning and isn’t consistent
with any in the area. We all moved to North Merritt Island for the rural and large lots. Most of
the lots only have one house per acre, yet the zoning being requested is five homes, not
anywhere close to what is currently there. It would change the whole character of this area,
making it much more crowded and no longer rural, because you’re bringing a whole new zoning
and that means that anybody who wants to buy a house can go ahead and buy the house with