DELAND — A resolution wasn't reached with Lake Helen regarding annexing land for the I-4 Automall, but city leaders agreed they want to work amicably toward a settlement resulting in the best possible project.
Lake Helen City Administrator Jason Yarborough met with City Manager Michael Pleus and Darren Elkind, DeLand's city attorney, Wednesday afternoon at City Hall for a conflict assessment meeting, which is required by law as part of the dispute resolution process.
DeLand and two other petitioners filed suit in May against the smaller of the sister cities, requesting a judge undo the ordinance in which Lake Helen annexed 57 acres northwest of the Interstate 4-Orange Camp Road interchange, because it would create a "pocket."
Elkind said Tuesday another part of the issue is that the ordinance is contingent upon the developer acquiring two parcels on the eastern half that haven't been purchased yet.
"We understand your position and obviously we have a disagreement," Yarborough said.
If the automall is built as planned, it would bring about one dozen dealerships and other commercial development to the site.
A joint meeting between the two commissions is the next step as a resolution hasn't been reached.
Yarborough and Pleus said they would each create a list over the next five business days of potential mediators who could neutrally moderate the meeting.
After closing the conflict assessment meeting, Elkind, Pleus and Yarborough answered questions from about one dozen meeting attendees.
One resident wanted to know why the developer had put part of an adjacent parcel back on the market.
Yarborough said that Brendan Hurley, in addition to dealing with loan-related costs, has taken on Lake Helen's legal bills related to the case.
"He may have to sell off a portion of the 50-plus acres to continue the fight. That's his perspective," Yarborough said.
Pleus and Elkind said the project's density, design and planned layout remain concerns.
"If you put this distribution facility right up there on that frontage road it just makes for a bad aesthetic," Elkind said.
"Our counterpoint is that Disney can hide mechanical buildings and other uses," Yarborough said.
Should the parties find a solution during the dispue resolution process and with the Volusia Growth Management Commission, the result would be an enforceable agreement.
One place where there's no conflict is the desire for a pleasing architectural design, Elkind said.
"Part of the challenge is we've shown images at meetings that show these 80-foot tall boxes without any architectural details or anything," Pleus said. "It's an expensive proposition to have them go through full design."
One resident wondered if Hurley may at some point give up on the site as legal proceedings continue.
"You don't spend $9 million dollars on acquiring property and then walk away," Yarborough said. "Something's going to get built."