September 1982: ITT Community Development Corp. announces plans to build a massive beachfront development along five miles of the Atlantic in the Hammock in Flagler County. The proposal foresees an ultimate population of 12,500, which was equivalent to the population of Flagler County at the time. Jerry Full is the public face of the development for ITT and its subsidiary, Admiral Corp. Full subsequently becomes an environmental advocate and briefly serves on the Palm Coast City Council.
Sept. 14, 1982: Opponents of the Hammock Dunes development organize under the banner of Friends of the Barrier Island. They include Jerry Schatz, the group’s president; Richard Stuckey, Janice Hoskins and Pat Bennington, with support from the Sierra Club, the Florida Wildlife Federation, the Friends of St. Johns County and the Environmental Council of Volusia County.
March 30, 1984: The Flagler County Commission approves the Hammock Dunes Development of Regional Impact by County Resolution 84-7 along five miles of beachfront on the Atlantic. The developer at the time was Admiral Corp., a subsidiary of ITT Community Development Corp. The development covers 2,258 acres, allowing Admiral to build 6,670 dwelling units in 42 development clusters. Construction would be clustered on 893 acres. Three major subdivisions are eventually built, including Hammock Dunes, Ocean Hammock and Hammock Beach.
1985: The governor and the Florida cabinet approve the establishment of the Dunes Community Development District. The establishment of the district enables ITT to float bonds to finance the development’s infrastructure, including the bridge connecting Hammock Dunes to Palm Coast Parkway across the Intracoastal.
1988: The Hammock Dunes Bridge is completed.
July 1995: The development order is amended to reduce residential acreage from 893 to 888. The maximum number of dwelling units is reduced from 6,670 to 4,400. Clusters are increased from 42 to 43. The maximum building height in the development’s medium high density clusters is reduced from 20 stories to 12. The location of the golf course shifts. Requirements to develop the various phases of the project sequentially are eliminated, opening the way for ITT to sell portions of the development to other developers, including the Ginn Corp. By 1999, ITT is no longer directly involved.
March 1998: The development order is amended to reduce the number of residential clusters to 35 (from 43) and shift some clusters’ locations. Residential acreage is increased from 888 to 916 acres. More notably for the public, 33 acres of beachfront, public land, previously intended to be a public park, are conveyed to the developer to build a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course. The golf course is intended to be a buffer between the development and the beach. The developer is still required to build a public park and preserve public access to the beach at the eastern end of 16th Road.
Dec. 17, 2001: The development is amended a third time, without changing unit numbers or their locations.
Oct. 7, 2002: The county commission repeals the previous amendment in a fourth change to the development order.
2003: The development order is amended a fifth time to extend the build-out date by five years and 11 months, to Feb. 28, 2009. No revisions are made to the number of dwelling units or their locations.
Feb. 7, 2009: Ginn-Luber Adler file a Notice of Potential Change (NOPC), the sixth proposed amendment to the Hammock Beach DRI. It would extend the build-out date three years and create a new, 34-acre residential cluster and shift 1,147 dwelling units to it from other clusters. The acreage would cover the beach club and a part of the Ocean Hammock Golf Course. The Lodge would be demolished to make room for the new new structure.
June 19, 2009: Ginn-Luber Adler changes its proposal, reducing the cluster’s acreage to 24 and the proposed density from 1,147 units to 561, with an overall reduction of units in the DRI from 4,400 to 3,800. Flagler County administrative staff recommends approval. Public opposition is fierce. Admiral submits a letter of objection.
Feb. 11, 2010: Ginn-Luber Adler submits a third proposal, reducing the acreage of the new cluster to 12 instead of 24 acres, with a 77-foot hotel, and possibly moving 16th Road farther south to enlarge the construction area of the new units. Again, county staff recommends approval, with a few conditions.
April 5, 2010: Subsequent to a public hearing, the Flagler County Commission denies the creation of the new cluster and the reallocation of 541 units to it, but approves the DRI’s overall reduction of units to 3,800. The county determines that the new cluster would adversely affect residents in the area and would be detrimental to the public beach and general neighborhood.
Dec. 2, 2010: The County Commission again denies another attempt by the developer to clear the way for the proposed cluster.
December 15-17, 2010: The dispute over the proposal is tried before Administrative Law Judge D. R. Alexander, who rules in favor of the county commission’s position.
Aug. 2, 2011: The governor and the Florida Cabinet hear the case and rule in favor of Flagler County. The cabinet’s decision may be appealed to the 1st District Court of Appeal, but isn’t.
Dec. 19, 2011: The Flagler County Commission votes unanimously to approve the build-out agreement with Admiral Corporation, ITT and the Florida labor department, over Palm Coast’s objections. The agreement releases the developers from most obligations toward local government, including concurrencies related to future development.
palmcoaster says
Thank you for the historical sad data Flagler Live.
Like I mentioned in my prior post, here is addressed above and below the shameful trade of our 33 acres ocean front prime land for 300 acres of swamp land on the bun docks and a 20,000 check, I think was, to pay for the meager ocean front mainly for public park access area. We were left with the equivalent of a bone tossed our way!, All thanks to then county commissioners approval. George Hanns was one of them. They gave away OUR ocean front with few in opposition as the whole deal was pretty well hidden from the residents and done in a hurry, right before Palm Coast incorporation in 1999. There went our Palm Coasters ocean front pool, cabanas, bar and facilities.
Now this city still propose to give our FD to the county?
“March 1998: The development order is amended to reduce the number of residential clusters to 35 (from 43) and shift some clusters’ locations. Residential acreage is increased from 888 to 916 acres. More notably for the public, 33 acres of beachfront, public land, previously intended to be a public park, are conveyed to the developer to build a Jack Nicklaus signature golf course. The golf course is intended to be a buffer between the development and the beach. The developer is still required to build a public park and preserve public access to the beach at the eastern end of 16th Road.”
Anonymous says
Addition to Timeline:
1970 –
Prospective buyers are shown Palm Coasts’ 5 miles of Beaches; Palm Coasts Oceanfront Beach Club; Palm Coasts’ Oceanfront Hotel – Many Prospective Buyers are flow in and stay at Oceanside Palm Coast Sheraton Hotel; Slogan and Advertising: ‘Palm Coast Beaches are covered with Shells, not people…’.
1988 –
Palm Coast Blossoming as New Hometown
PALM COAST< Florida This rapidly growing planned community is becoming the 'resort hometown' planners at ITT Community Development Corporation envisioned ten years ago.
The "hometown' aspect of life in Palm Coast is evident everywhere. Citizens are involved with community growth; activities and challenges. Local government and ITT-CDC play stong roles in planning for and meeting those challenges successfully.
The 'Resort' envionment is Florida at her finest. Palm Coast golf courses and all-surface tennis club have earned national recognition. Complimenting these are five miles of beach.., a new beach club with pool, waterways and marina for boating, community-wide landscaping and a waterfront hotel and timeshare resort for vacationers and visitng friends. It is an atmosphere that attracts new industry, stores, services and more than 100 new residents each month to Palm Coast.*
* The Palm Coaster, Winter 1988, Page 1.
PALM COAST RESORTS ARE PICTURE PERFECT
Palm Coast, Florida – If you're not among the lucky 11,000 or so who live here all the time, you can still enjoy the Palm Coast life for a week or two or more, at vacation resorts among Florida's finest.
Seeing is believing, so we shall let pictures do most of the talking.
A pelican's view of a people's paradise…the Palm Coast beach, and new beach club, a place in the sun for vacationers and residents.
The Sheraton Palm Coast Resort and Palm Coast Marina…early evening.
The Harbor Club vacation ownership resort…villas surrounding Oak Tree Island.
You've seen the photographs. Now see the real thing. For Harbor Club sales information—vacations for a lifetime–contact your nearest Palm Coast sales office or call toll-free 1.900.874.1828 and ask for the Harbor Club at extension 870.
To reserve your waterfront room at the Sheraton, call 904. 445.3000 and ask for the Harbor Club at extension 870.
Palm Coast property owners can arrange for a holiday through area sales offices.
George Edward Chuddy says
1970 – Daytona Beach Sunday News Journal
PALM COAST – The illustration above delineates the more than 100,000 acre tract acquired or controlled by ITT Levitt Development Corp for its Palm Coast project in Flagler County. Arrow point to the first 20,000 acre section west of the Intracoastal Waterway selected for early development. I-95 and U.S. 1 traverse the heart of Palm Coast and future plans not shown call for an interchange with the interstate highway near the St. Joe Rd. Land use sketch at right shows
major development features pledged by ITT Levitt for Palm Coast.
They include a Golf Course, Yacht Club, conservation and park areas and sites for schools and shopping. An Oceanfront Motel is indicated but sites earmarked for multifamily housing and supporting commercial areas and street patterns were not depicted . Br. Norman Young, ITT Levitt president and the prime mover in the development of Palm Coast told civic and business leaders and media representatives last week that every possible effort will be made to preserve the natural environment and avoid pollution of all kinds
…
‘…In Response to a query Young made it clear that ITT Levitt will not be prepared to build homes in Palm Coast for general sale witin the next two years nor will it be able to offer fully improved lots for others to build on during that time.
Young emphasized that ITT Levitt efforts will be directed toward installment land sales to persons seeking a site on which to build a retirement or vacation home. when Palm Coast is fully improved with roads, water sewers and other utilities and amenities.
The “lead time’ period will be utilized by the developer to build a 150 unit oceanside motel, a golf course, yacht club and other recreational and environmental facilities, and an information center…’