Southwest 127th Avenue, west of Flamingo Road, is partly paved and partly dirt, gravel and asphalt millings. At the northeast corner of Southwest 26th Street, a developer has proposed eight custom homes on what the application calls about 10 acres. The property's net land area is 9.25 acres. The other three-quarters of an acre exists only on paper, because the applicant's representative explained at the September 8 Planning and Zoning Board meeting that roughly 10 acres "could be counted for density purposes by including the area to the centerline of the adjacent rights of way."
The project is called Emilka Estates. It shows how acreage works in Davie's rural areas, and that matters to anyone buying on a horse-country street with an old nursery or open field next door. The agricultural zoning on that land looks like protection. In most of the 2026 cases that reached the Town's Planning and Zoning Board, it worked as a placeholder. The land-use plan already allowed homes, and a gross-acre count decided how many.
The Acre Is Counted Before the Roads Come Out
Davie's Comprehensive Plan says growth should keep the town's rural atmosphere, preserve open space and farmland, and discourage density increases outside activity centers and major roadway corridors. It also requires the Town to maintain its Rural Lifestyle Regulations. Those protections are written in terms of density. They are not a promise that every parcel stays as it is.
On the Emilka site, that works out like this. The site carries a Residential 1 Dwelling Unit per Acre land-use designation and was zoned agricultural. The applicant asked for rezoning to the Estate Dwelling R-1 district, and Town staff noted the code identifies R-1 as appropriate zoning for that land-use designation. The plan's 9.25 net acres also hold a 20-foot internal road with sidewalks on both sides and two wet retention areas fronting Southwest 127th Avenue. Those take up land before any of the eight lots are drawn. The Planning and Zoning Board voted 7-0 on September 8, 2026 to recommend both the rezoning and the site plan. Those minutes are still marked draft.
Here are the three 2026 cases side by side:
| Project | Location | Land | Proposal | Where it stands |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Emilka Estates | SW 127th Ave and SW 26th St | About 10 gross acres, 9.25 net | 8 custom homes, A-1 to R-1 rezoning, no variances | P&Z recommended 7-0 on Sept. 8, 2026 |
| 5600 LLC | 5600 SW 61st Ave, north of Stirling Rd | Just over 10 gross acres, about 9.5 net | Started at 10 lots, ended at 8 with no rezoning or variances | P&Z approved plat 4-0 and site plan on May 12, 2026; placed on June 3 Council agenda |
| Beverly Townhomes | 900–1000 South Flamingo Rd | About 18 acres of agricultural nursery land | 92 townhomes | Rezoning passed first reading at Council on May 6, 2026 |
What "No Increase in Density" Allows
The 5600 LLC hearing shows where the fight over lot size actually happens. The land is just over 10 acres between Southwest 58th and Southwest 61st Avenues, zoned A-1 with a one-unit-per-acre land-use designation. Town staff said the unit count was based on gross acreage of just over 10 acres, not the net figure of about 9.5. By March the plan had dropped from ten lots to nine. The developer was still asking for a variance to cut the minimum lot size from 35,000 to 30,000 square feet.
The 35,000-square-foot standard neighbors defended is itself about 80 percent of an acre, since an acre is 43,560 square feet. The developer told the board he could build eight homes by right without any variance. Several nearby owners spoke against the request. Some said they had bought expecting new development on one-acre lots, and others pointed to drainage and traffic. The board tabled the item. By its May 12 meeting the applicant had withdrawn the rezoning and all three variances and cut the plan to eight lots. Staff confirmed that version complied with zoning.
So eight homes on roughly ten gross acres was the outcome the neighbors pushed for. It was also always available under existing rules.
Beverly Townhomes shows the same logic at a larger scale. MHV Development proposed converting an agricultural nursery site of about 18 acres along Frontage Road into 92 townhomes with a clubhouse. According to the April 7 Planning and Zoning Board minutes, the applicant's attorney described it as "consistent with existing land use and without increasing density." The board recommended the rezoning, plat and site plan 7-0 on April 7. The Town Council then approved the rezoning unanimously on first reading on May 6, according to Citizen Portal. First reading is not final adoption.
For a buyer, this changes what to check. The zoning map shows how land is used today. The land-use designation shows what it can become without anyone asking for more density. Before you fall in love with the pasture view, look up the future land-use designation of the parcels around the home.
The Questions That Come With a Rural Parcel
The gross-acre math explains the lot. The same hearings also turned up a set of practical issues that a suburban buyer coming from a sewered, city-water subdivision may not expect.
Who supplies your water depends on which side of town you're on. At a March 2026 Planning and Zoning meeting, the Town's water consultant said utility service areas don't follow municipal boundaries. The Town serves roughly the eastern third of Davie and the City of Sunrise serves the western two-thirds, and a board member added that areas west of University Drive are generally served by Sunrise. The Town's demand projections also leave out residents on private wells. A "Davie" address can mean Sunrise utility bills or a private well.
The sale itself triggers no government septic inspection. Under Florida Statute 381.0065, an approved septic permit transfers with the title. The statute also says a government entity may not require a septic inspection at the point of sale. The Florida Department of Health in Broward County still handles septic permitting and inspection, and owners may choose private-provider inspections. Davie's Comprehensive Plan allows septic where health authorities permit it and calls for connection to central wastewater "where practical and financially feasible."
The paved road may stop before your street does. Emilka's developer has to pave Southwest 127th Avenue and connect it to the existing paved section before the first certificate of occupancy. A Town engineer said a Capital Improvement Program project to improve the whole road had been considered for the 2028 budget, subject to funding. One board member noted that buyers in the new homes would still drive over an unpaved stretch.
Drainage easements answer to a second agency. Emilka's declaration of restrictions must state that no alterations, changes or structures are allowed in the drainage easements without approval from both the Town of Davie and the Central Broward Water Control District. At 5600 LLC, removing a planned lake left the design with a retaining wall and dry retention area that meet minimum storage. That drew questions from board members and neighbors in May.
This is general information, not legal or financial advice. Confirm your own parcel's utilities, septic permits and easements with the appropriate agency, attorney or inspector before you commit.
How Much Time September's Numbers Give You
Market conditions decide whether you have time for that kind of checking. As of September 2026, according to the MIAMI REALTORS Broward city and ZIP report, Davie's single-family median sale price was $810,000, down 6.4 percent from a year earlier. Homes took a median of 30 days to go under contract and sold for 96 percent of original list price. Supply stood at four months, and cash buyers made up 30 percent of sales. Pending sales were down 20.7 percent year over year. Countywide in September 2026, the Broward single-family median was $641,500 with 4.2 months of supply.
The ZIP-level figures show a wider spread inside Davie's postal codes:
- 33330: $1.8 million median, 55 days to contract, 94 percent of original list, five months of supply, 53 percent cash
- 33331: $810,000 median, 46 days to contract, 97 percent of original list, four months of supply
- 33328: $672,000 median, 39 days to contract, 95 percent of original list, three months of supply
In 33330, half the September buyers paid cash, homes took nearly two months to go under contract, and sellers gave up more off their original asking price than they did town-wide. These figures cover a whole ZIP code for a single month, so the 33330 median can swing from one report to the next. The pace still gives a buyer room to ask for a contingency period long enough to cover a septic inspection, a check on the water provider and a look at the land-use map. Without a lender in the deal, nobody else is going to require those checks.
FAQ
Does "Residential 1 Dwelling Unit per Acre" mean every lot is an acre? Not necessarily. At both the Emilka Estates and 5600 LLC hearings, the unit count was based on gross acreage, which was larger than the net land area. Emilka's representative said its gross figure included land to the centerline of adjacent rights of way. Internal roads and drainage areas then come out of the net land before lots are drawn.
Can agricultural land next to my home become townhomes? It depends on that parcel's land-use designation. Beverly Townhomes' attorney described turning an 18-acre nursery into 92 townhomes as consistent with existing land use.
Does a septic system get inspected when a home sells? Florida law says a government entity may not require a septic inspection at the point of sale. How to handle the system in your own purchase is a question for your attorney and inspector.
If you're looking at a western Davie home near open land, the Ramona Bautista Team can help you look up the land-use designations on the parcels around it, find out who supplies its water and how its wastewater is handled, and write those checks into your contract terms. Ask us for a complimentary review of any Davie property you're considering, in English or Spanish.
