County officials want citizens to attend workshops this month about expanding the Urban Service Boundary westward, but the thing most people really want to know is: Who owns all that property that will go up in value if brought into the fold of county services?
The current boundary where county water and other amenities stop is located roughly at Interstate 95, except for an area along the State Road 60 corridor and property within the City of Fellsmere.
Most of the land west of Interstate 95 is undeveloped. Based on information obtained from the county Property Appraiser’s website, thousands of acres are owned by corporations with varying names but all with the same address in Atlanta.
The layers of LLCs eventually trace back to CT Corporation System, which has headquarters in New York City and is a subsidiary of Netherlands-based Wolters Kluwer, a global provider of professional information.
In addition, Epic Estates of Flowermound, Texas, a real estate company that specializes in land banking, owns about 1,300 acres west of Interstate 95 in Vero Beach that could be slated for development.
Blackwater Creek Ranch LLC, Bhakta Farms LLC, IMG Citrus, Hugh Corrigan Limited Partners and Banack Family Limited Partnership are among the other large landholders west of the interstate.
County Commissioner Laura Moss wants the decision on whether and where to extend the boundary to be the result of a vast consensus among residents from Vero, Sebastian and the barrier island – not just of the entities who may see their property values soar.
“I just want to encourage everyone to participate. It’s probably the single most important decision for the county in addition to potable water,” said Commissioner Laura Moss, who believes the county should be very cautious in making any change. “We still have areas (inside the boundary) that can be filled in,” she said.
But planners are presenting the issue as a choice between increasing population density – a scary proposition for some – or expanding the Urban Services Area.
Indian River County’s population is expected to grow by 25 percent through 2050. It was 167,781 in 2023 and is anticipated to reach 210,100 by 2050. The current boundary was established 34 years ago. To accommodate future growth, county officials can increase densities within the existing urban service area boundary or expand it.
An extra $10,800 was added to the original $128,010 cost of the study last month, bringing the workshop total from three to six. The total cost of the nine-month long study, which is being conducted by Orlando-based Inspire Placemaking Collective, is now $138,810.
According to Chris Balter, chief of long-range planning, approximately 87,000 emails were sent to registered voters asking their input.
“We would like citizens to have the opportunity to directly share their personal vision for the future of our County,” said Commission Chair Susan Adams. “The more input we get, the better resolution we can get.”
In addition to responding to the survey, residents are invited to attend any of the four remaining workshops. Dates and locations are as follows:
- May 22 at the Intergenerational Recreation Center, 1590 9th St., SW, Vero Beach, at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
- May 29 at the IRC Administration Building A, BOCC Chambers, 1801 27th St., Vero Beach, at 11:30 a.m. and 6:30 p.m.
The first two workshops took place yesterday at North County Library in Sebastian.
“We are enjoying a great response to the survey on the county website, and we believe in-person workshops will provide us even greater insights into what the citizens of the county expect as we journey into the future,” said IRC Planning and Development Services Director Andrew Sobczak.
The findings of the study will be presented to the Board of County Commissioners in the fall. For more information or to complete the survey, visit the Urban Service Boundary website at https://www.inspire-engagement.com/indian-river-usb.