FELLSMERE — The Fellsmere City Council heard no opposition Thursday night to a request from private property owners seeking to have their more than 8,800 acres of land annexed into the city.
Though several people were in the audience, including a couple from Sebastian who were merely curious about the proposal, no one addressed the Corrigan family’s request.
The family has 8,845 acres of land on the southeast side of Fellsmere, abutting the Sand Lakes Restoration Area, managed by the St. Johns River Water Management District, and straddling Interstate 95 south to 26th Street. The eastern edge of the property is essentially 90th Avenue.
“This is an exciting opportunity we’ve been working on for the last couple weeks,” City Manager Jason Nunemaker said. Annexing the land would give Fellsmere more opportunities for long-range transportation development as well as more economic development potential.
At most, the property could have 12 million square feet of non-residential development consisting of “regional employment activity centers” and industrial uses. Residential development is capped at 1.6 dwellings per acre.
Attorney Christopher Marine, a representative for the Corrigans, told the Council that the family is “very enthusiastic” about the annexation of the “big, enormous piece of land.”
Mayor Susan Adams asked the representative if what she had heard of the family’s current plans were correct – that the lands would be kept for cattle into the foreseeable future.
“The ranch is not for sale,” Marine said, adding that development would only occur on a small portion of the property.
Under the terms of the annexation agreement, the Corrigans would be required to provide rights of way for extensions of 90th Avenue and 53rd Street – in the event that 53rd Street is extended to 90th Avenue.
Ten percent of the property would be donated as public space, which would serve one of any number of public uses, from open space, parks and public parking, to land for future schools, fire stations and other such facilities.
Worked into the donation would also be 100 contiguous usable acres that would be developed as outdoor recreational space, according to the agreement.
Vice Mayor Joel Tyson voiced support for the annexation, recalling a meeting he had with Dan Corrigan so many years ago when Tyson was not on the Council. He said Corrigan approached him about being annexed in, but the property wasn’t contiguous to the City. Since then, the City has annexed properties separating the boundaries from the Corrigan land, and it now meets.
Tyson said annexing the property would give Fellsmere more transportation routes into and out of the City so it isn’t so dependent on County Road 512.
No other Council members spoke in favor of or in opposition to the proposal.
The second and final reading of the annexation ordinance is scheduled for the next Fellsmere City Council meeting, Oct. 2, at 7 p.m.
