Deltona, Florida

Deltona
City
Location in Volusia County and the state of Florida
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Volusia
Settled	April 1963
Incorporated	31 December 1995
Government
• Type	Commission-Manager
• Mayor	Dennis Mulder
• City Manager	Faith Miller
Area 1
• City	38.32 sq mi (99.3 km2)
• Land	35.78 sq mi (92.7 km2)
• Water	2.54 sq mi (6.6 km2)  6.6%
Elevation 3	45 ft (9 m)
Population  (1 July 2006) 2
• City	82,788
• Density	1,943.7/sq mi (750.5/km2)
• Metro	496,575
Time zone	UTC-5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-4 (EDT)
ZIP code	32725, 32728, 32738-32739
Area code	386
FIPS code	12-17200Template:GR
GNIS feature ID	0281490Template:GR
Website	http://www.deltonainfo.org/

Deltona is a city located in southwestern Volusia County, Florida. According to 2006 U.S. Census Bureau estimates, the city has a population of 82,788; it is the largest city in Volusia County. Deltona is a principal city of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which the census bureau estimated had a 2006 population of 496,575.

History

In 1962 the Mackle brothers bought 17,203 acres, filed for a planned unit development with 35,143 lots and named the area Deltona. The first Deltona residents arrived in April 1963. By the end of that year 78 families had arrived in Deltona. Deltona was laid out by the Mackle brothers who have a street reverse-named in their honor (Elkcam). Deltona formed from the Mackle brothers idea of "community". The area is mainly populated by younger families living in single-family homes. Due to its proximity to Orlando and its theme parks via I-4, the area grew very rapidly between 1970 and 2000, and Deltona has served as a bedroom community for commuters to Orlando. Residents voted to incorporate as a city on 31 December 1995, after two previous attempts had failed in 1987 and 1990.

Deltona is centrally located between Daytona Beach and Orlando and is considered to be an "edge city" of Orlando. Deltona abuts the rural communities of Cassadaga, Enterprise and Osteen. It is adjacent to the cities of Orange City and DeBary. Police protection is provided through inter-local agreement with the Volulsia County Sheriff's Office.

Deltona is home to the Lyonia Preserve, a 360 acre joint project of Volusia County Land Acquisition and Management and the Volusia County School Board. The federally threatened Florida Scrub Jay lives on the preserve.

Deltona's first mayor, John Masiarczyk served for ten years and left office due to term limits. In those years, Masiarczyk expanded the size and boundaries of the city by pushing a series of controversial annexations. The most notable being the attempted Leffler annexation, an over 5,000 acre expanse of wetlands and flatwoods on Deltona's eastern edge. This annexation of land, also part of a preservation zone called the Volusia Conservation Corridor, prompted a series of lawsuits aimed at limiting the uncontrolled expansion of the city that lasted several years before the annexation was ruled illegal and voided.

Mayor Masiarczyk's management style alienated many residents and caused friction in relations between the growing city and other municipalities and Volusia County government. Masiarczyk's direction in development plans and rezoning issues brought Deltona into direct opposition with both Volusia County growth management regulations and the State Community Affairs Department for a number of years over a long dispute over the historic Thornby lakefront property fronting Lake Monroe on the city's southern border. The political battle begun just over this one issue carried on for over five years into the next administration of Deltona.

The desire for a change in the attitude and mindset of the original Masiarczyk administration became part of the campaign in the city-wide elections following the end of Masiarczyk's term of office. Following the election, proponents of the old style of management lost. As a result, political infighting has persisted in the new administration as factions of the former management style have opposed most city government action. This struggle has shifted in recent time with the newer members taking the majority in most votes. Deltona's City Commission is sharply dividied by a 4 -3 margin in favor of the current mayor, Dennis Mulder. Towards the end of 2007 and in January 2008, the 4-3 margin voted to fire the only charter members of the City Government, the City Attorney in late 2007 and the City Manager in January 2008, costing Deltona taxpayers approximately $500,000 in severence packages.

Since the election of the current Mayor, Deltona has seen a sharp increase in political activism that extends currently to recent proposals by the sitting Mayor. Recently, Mayor Mulder made statements in reference to the recent Property Tax Reform Ammendement to the Florida State Constitution, by stating he wanted to wipe away any property tax upon which the city would be dependent. These statements were made to the local press outlets without any detail or substance to support the plan Mayor Mulder proposed.

The Mayor also supported reconsideration of the Thornby issue. After five years of a political tug-of-war over the topic a public forum and a series of workshops were held to study possible preservation options for the property. A partnership purchase of the 40 ares of lake front property was finally brokered between Deltona and Volusia County and promises to become a link in a county-wide systems of recreational trails. Although some residents objected to saving Thornby the prospects of it becoming a park and its trail access offer Deltona opportunities for eco-tourism and new commerce. With the 4-3 margin on the City Commission, the Mayor has been able to overturn other previous rulings of the City Commission.

In February 2008, the City Commission voted (6 for, 1 against) to accept a Joint Planning Agreement (JPA) with Volusia County for the development of County Road 415 that runs along the edge of Deltona's city limits. The JPA limits the ability of the city to fully develop commercial districts in the best interests of its residents as any change must be agreed upon jointly by the Volusia County Council and the Deltona City Commission.

A committee was appointed to consider revisions to the Deltona City Charter and were voted on in the November 2008 election cycle.

The City Commission took it upon itself to vote an extra year onto its term. The controversial decision was in part suspicious when the daughter of the Volusia County Supervisor of Elections, Commissioner Michelle McFall-Conte voted in favor of the proposal to support her mother's recommendation. The decision focused on moving municipal elections to even numbered years to coincide with Federal and other State elections.

A voter referendum to develop a city police department failed primarily due to faulty financial estimates by an independent study whose authorship was suspicious as well as the city financed study by a California-based consultant.

Recently, the City Commission overturned the City Manager Selection Committee's recommendation and appointed City Manager Faith Miller even though she did not meet the commission's stated qualifications.

These and other issues created an atmosphere of infighting within the City Government and some residents of Deltona which today is being addressed by a greater involvement by the majority of Deltona's residents so that a vocal minority no longer keeps the city's growth and progress in limbo.

Geography

Deltona is located at 28°54′25″N 81°12′59″W (28.907032, -81.216345).Template:GR

The majority of the land encompassing the city is comprised of Karst topography. Eons ago, when ocean levels were higher Deltona was much closer to the sea shore. The ancient sand dunes and the foliage that adapted there are now an ecosystem that is quickly becoming scarce in Florida because of development. This landscape dominated on the surface by sand hills and sand pine scrub while below its surface limestone and sandy soils work to filter rainfall as it becomes groundwater and part of Florida's unique hydrological system.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 38.3 mi² (99.2 km²). of which 35.78 square miles (93 km²)is land and 2.54 square miles (7 km²) is water. Water is 6.6% of the total area.

Deltona is generally divided into three "sides." First side, or the first exit from 1-4, starts at Deltona Blvd and is generally cosidered to end at Saxon Blvd. Second Side, which begins at Howland Blvd and ends at Providence Blvd, includes Deltona High, while Third Side, which starts at Providence and ends in Osteen, includes Pine Ridge High

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1970	4,868		—
1980	15,810		224.8%
1990	50,828		221.5%
2000	69,543		36.8%

As of the censusTemplate:GR of 2000, there were 69,543 people, 24,896 households, and 19,518 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,943.7/mi² (750.4/km²). There were 26,417 housing units at an average density of 738.4/mi² (285.1/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 60.92% White, 31.97% African American, 0.35% Native American, 0.93% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 4.97% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.33% of the population.

There were 24,896 households out of which 37.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.5% were married couples living together, 12.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 21.6% were non-families. 16.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.79 and the average family size was 3.10.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.0% under the age of 18, 7.5% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 21.4% from 45 to 64, and 15.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 94.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $39,736, and the median income for a family was $42,122. Males had a median income of $31,087 versus $23,482 for females. The per capita income for the city was $16,648. About 6.2% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.6% of those under age 18 and 6.0% of those age 65 or over.

Education

All public schools in the city are run by Volusia County Schools.

Elementary Schools

• Deltona Lakes Elementary
• Discovery Elementary
• Forest Lake Elementary
• Friendship Elementary
• Pride Elementary
• Spirit Elementary
• Sunrise Elementary
• Timbercrest Elementary

Middle Schools

• Deltona Middle School
• Galaxy Middle School
• Heritage Middle School

and Riversprings Middle School

High Schools

• Deltona High School
• Pine Ridge High School

College

• Daytona State College Deltona Campus

Trivia

• Deltona is the home of Twiggy the Water-Skiing Squirrel.

• The name "Deltona" is derived from two nearby cities - DeLand and Daytona Beach. It was developed by combining the prefix "Del-" from DeLand, and the suffix "-tona" from Daytona.

• Despite spending thousands of hours online in a campaign of misinformation and character assassination, the online forums have failed to incite the residents of Deltona. Instead, more residents are becoming informed and involved in the growth of their city.

External links

• City of Deltona