EDITOR'S NOTE: Jim Hathaway has declared his intention to run for the Volusia County Council district 3 seat in the 2012 elections. This ongoing and exclusive weekly column with NSBNews.net pertains only to Jim Hathaway's views as the current vice mayor and city commissioner of New Smyrna Beach. Therefore, his views as a candidate for the County Council 3 seat are not allowed in this forum. NSB News LLC maintains exclusive copyright provisions.
NEW SMYRNA BEACH -- The most recent City Commission meetings were substantially about economic development. At a special meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 25, the Commission discussed form-based design guidelines for future development in the City of New Smyrna Beach. After much spirited discussion, the item was tabled until our visioning session in December.
While it is important to streamline the process for responsible development in our city, it is also equally important to make sure we have flexibility in our design standards. It would be an unfortunate turn of events if we made the process too difficult for businesses to want to relocate here.
Cracker Barrel, a well-known and well-branded chain restaurant wants to build in New Smyrna Beach and our design standards or other planning process should not unduly burden such a business. I believe a Cracker Barrel would add a positive imprint on our community.
The City Commission also gave the green light to the first applicant of the new CRA grant program called the CRA Opportunity Grant. The City Commission approved a plan by a private citizen to try and revitalize a few buildings on Canal Street – a move that will hopefully help spur more economic development in the area.
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