Exhibit_H_Environmental_Assessment_and_Developable_Area_Summary.pdf
PDF 3 MB Posted
- Attached to
- LONG-TERM PUBLIC GROUND LEASE FOR PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT AND OPERATION OF A MOTOCROSS PARK IN EAST CENTRAL FLORIDA State and local contract opportunity
- Solicitation number
- 26-P-45PW
- Issued by
- Volusia County, Florida
About this file
This is an environmental assessment memorandum prepared by Zev Cohen & Associates, Inc. for Volusia County's Resource Stewardship Division regarding site constraints and developable area analysis for a proposed motocross park facility on State Road 44 in East Central Florida. The County has purchased two parcels totaling approximately 77.37 acres, comprising 55.75 acres of uplands and 21.62 acres of wetlands. The County is responsible for resolving a pre-existing Consent Order with the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD) related to unauthorized wetland impacts on the property. To facilitate development, the County is obtaining an after-the-fact Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) from the SJRWMD and an Individual Permit (IP) from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The County will handle all permitting and mitigation for previously impacted wetlands, including state-level Wetland Alteration Permits (WAP), and will provide a Developable Envelope to prospective public-private partnership bidders. The upland areas are readily available for development without additional state or federal mitigation requirements.
The developable wetlands identified for potential use consist of low-quality pasture wetlands (designated W2, W4, WA, WB, and WC) that have been significantly degraded from historic wet flatwoods and herbaceous prairie. If the selected Concessionaire chooses to impact any of the 21.62 acres of pasture wetlands beyond the 55.75-acre upland development area, all associated permitting and mitigation costs become the sole responsibility of the developer. The estimated cost to impact all identified pasture wetlands is approximately $1.25 million, based on a Uniform Mitigation Assessment Method (UMAM) value of 0.5 credits per wetland and mitigation costs of $120,000 for state-only credits and $130,000 for combined federal and state credits through a Regional Mitigation Bank. This valuation is preliminary and subject to finalization during the permitting process with SJRWMD and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
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Text version
ZEV COHEN & ASSOCIATES, INC.
MEMORANDUM
To: Nick Dunnam, Resource Stewardship Director, Volusia County Resource
Development Stewardship Division
From: Gaston Hayworth, Environmental Scientist
Date: January 22, 2026
Re: Site Environmental Constraints and Developable Area Analysis
The County of Volusia has purchased two parcels for the sake of preserving wetlands and developing a successful motocross track facility to benefit the general public for recreational and competitive use and to be operated by a public-private entity. The property purchased by Volusia
County included wetlands that were previously impacted without permitted authorization from the St. Johns River Water Management District (SJRWMD), resulting in a compliance case being opened on the property and a Consent Order for their resolution. The County has agreed to take on all responsibility to resolve the Consent Order for the impacts associated with the property purchased, currently owned by the County. In order to resolve this Consent Order, the
County is restoring small, specified areas of fill within wetlands and restoring ditches to pre-existing grade, as well as obtaining an after the fact Environmental Resource Permit (ERP) from the SJRWMD for the Consent Order wetlands to present them as “developable” for a motocross track, associated parking, utilities, and infrastructure.
Permitting Status
Currently, the County is engaging the SJRWMD for an ERP and the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers to obtain an Individual Permit (IP) for the previously impacted wetlands identified in the Consent Order. As part of this permitting process, to be handled by the County, mitigation for the previously impacted wetlands will be provided to the respective agencies by the County.
In addition, the County will provide a “Developable Envelope” to the P3 bidders. The wetlands within this Developable Envelope consist of “pasture wetlands” which have already been degraded significantly by historic conversion from wet flatwoods and herbaceous prairie wetlands to pasture wetlands which still retain some low value wetland characteristics.
The County will also handle all County level wetland permitting through a Wetland Alteration
Permit (WAP). All impacts to the County’s required 50’ wetland buffer will be mitigated and permitted by the County to relieve the added permitting and mitigation cost of the track developer.
Development Area
The Development Area Map depicts wetlands, which have been delineated in the field but have not been reviewed or approved by the SJRWMD or USACE, and uplands within the overall property. An approximate total of 55.75 acres of uplands and 21.62 acres of wetlands are available for potential development. There is a minimum 15’/25’ average, upland, buffer around the wetlands regulated by the SJRWMD (Wetland Buffer Map); if this is not maintained secondary impacts to the wetlands will be assessed for the development. Given the County has agreed to resolve the Consent Order by obtaining an ERP with the SJRWMD, the upland areas presented in the Development Area Map are readily available for development without additional wetland mitigation from the state (SJRWMD) or federal (USACE) agencies. All of the depicted wetlands (Development Area Map) selected for potential development, are low quality pasture wetlands delineated by Zev Cohen & Associates, Inc. The County selected these pasture wetlands as areas they would allow any future motocross track builder to utilize in order to establish two successful motocross tracks and any associated infrastructure. These identified pasture wetlands and uplands can be utilized for a motocross track, parking, stormwater and/or floodplain compensating storage, and for the purpose of obtaining fill material for the development. In addition, any development and impacts to the low-quality pasture wetlands (W4
& W2) would require state and federal permitting/mitigation, while any impacts to the low quality pasture wetlands (WA, WB & WC) would require state permitting/mitigation but potentially no federal mitigation. The winning bidder will be responsible for the permitting and costs associated with mitigation.
Mitigation
The County will provide mitigation credits to resolve previously impacted wetlands identified in the existing Consent Order with St. Johns River Water Management District. Development confined to the 55.75-acre developable upland area that meets minimum RFP requirements will not require additional wetland alteration permitting or mitigation credits. Should the successful Proposer elect to impact any portion of the 21.62 acres of identified pasture wetlands to expand the development footprint, all associated permitting and mitigation credit costs shall be the sole responsibility of the Proposer.
The estimated value of the pasture wetlands are approximately 0.5 using the Uniform Mitigation
Assessment Method (UMAM). This value will be negotiated in the field with SJRWMD and
USACE. Based on the estimated pasture wetland quality and cost per credit ($120k for state only credits, $130k for combined federal and state credits) from a Regional Mitigation Bank, the cost to impact all 21.62 acres of pasture wetlands identified in the Development Area Map would be approximately $1.25 million. This valuation is an estimate that will only be finalized during permitting with the SJRWMD and/or USACE.
W1
W5
W5
W4
WC
WB
WA
W6
W2
Source: Esri, Maxar, Earthstar Geographics, and the GIS User Community
Wetland Buffer Map Volusia SR 44
New Smyrna Beach, FL800 0 800400 Feet Path: Z:\PROJECTS\2025\25046 Volusia County SR 44 Property\Wetland Buffer Map.mxd
Date Saved: 1/30/2026 Created by: ghayworth
Info:
Potential Development Boundary SJRWMD Buffer PDA (474,387.75 sqft)
Potential Development Areas Uplands (55.75 ac) Wetlands (21.62 ac) Boundary Flagged Wetlands (276.83 ac) Surface Water
300 Interchange Blvd Ormond Beach, FL 32174 ph 386-677-2482
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