City of Sanford Government Update

Sanford City Council Update:

• Denied an upzone request for 3.37 acres of land within the Bellaire subdivision (Cool Springs Road). The minimum lot size if approved would have downsized from 20,000 to 12,000 SF. Thirty residents showed up in opposition.
• Approved annexing of 32.46 acres north of Tramway Road (Bruce Coggins Road). The project will be a mixed-use development consisting of 37 single family homes, 84 townhomes and 12 “live-work”units on the second and third floors ( a live-work unit allows for commercial and residential to be combined for residents to both live and work in the same unit).
• Sanford City Council approved a 121.2 million dollar budget. The property tax rate will remain at 53.5 per $100 assessed value.

Other News:

Brookshire Estates (Ryan Homes) had a ribbon-cutting for it’s third development in Sanford. The development is located at the northern part of Sanford (U.S. 421 bypass). Ryan homes plans to build an additional 391 homes in this subdivision. The median price will be $369,990.

The Sanford Area Growth Alliance presented statistics regarding the state of the community. Below are a few interesting numbers.

• Average wage 2019 – $41,567 2024 – $55,959
• Population 2018 – 60,878 2023 – 67,059
• Housing starts 2019 – 195 2024 – 609
• Sales Tax revenue 2019 – $14,669,199 2024 – $24,412,516

A 30-acre site south of Walmart on the eastern side is slated to have new commercial businesses. Plans for a Olive Garden, LongHorn Steakhouse, Whataburger, Academy Sports, Burlington Coat Factory and Books-A-Million are among those committed to the project.