The Palm Coast City Council in rapid-fire succession Tuesday approved the final step clearing the way for four developments totaling 533 single-family homes, the final-plat approval that essentially means lots will be sold and homes built on infrastructure and according to plans that won regulatory approval several years ago. Some of the developments were more dormant than others.
Real Estate & Development
After Trickle of Interest, All 5 Applicants Are Appointed to Palm Coast’s ‘Drainage Advisory Committee’
Only six people applied to be members of the Palm Coast Citizens Drainage Committee, few of them part of the vocal throngs, and one withdrew before the council had a chance to make its choices. The advisory committee required a minimum of five members and at least one alternate, and could have had as many as nine members and two alternates. Given the dearth, the council had no choice but to appoint all five members when it made that decision on Tuesday.
Land Clearing for 333-Home Subdivision Along Royal Palms Parkway and Town Center Blvd.
Crews began clearing land on nearly 200 acres for the future Sabal Preserve subdivision, a development of 333 relatively affordable single-family homes at the northeast intersections of Royal Palms Parkway, Town Center Boulevard and I-95 to the east in Palm Coast.
Time for Renters’ Tax Credit
According to the Low-Income Housing Coalition, there is no state or county in the United States where someone working full-time at minimum wage can afford a modest two-bedroom apartment. When a huge chunk of your paycheck goes to rent or the mortgage, there’s little leftover for an emergency. And most Americans — 56 percent of us — can’t pay for an unexpected emergency of $1,000. A surprise dental bill, medical bill, or car repair can send us spiraling into poverty.
Proposed 90% Increase in Flagler Beach Impact Fees Shadowed by Questions and a Looming Development
After hearing it first proposed last July and twice opting not to adopt it just yet since, the Flagler Beach City Commission will try again to approve a revised impact fee schedule that would raise water and sewer fees for the first time in 14 years and create new impact fees for parks, police, fire and the library system. But questions about the study rationalizing the new schedule, including from a city commissioner and from the Flagler County Home Builders Association, continue to shadow the proposal.
Palm Coast Approves Steps for Trio of Developments That Will Add 689 Homes in North and South of City
The Palm Coast City Council and its planning board between them approved different steps for a trio of developments in north and south Palm Coast that will add a combined 689 single-family homes to the city’s inventory. The approvals were for the final plat of Phase 2B of Sawmill Branch off U.S. 1, the final plat of Seminole Palms Phase 1 on the west side of Seminole Woods Boulevard, north of Grand Landings Parkway, and for the subdivision master plan of Sawmill Branch Phase 3.
‘Promenade at Town Center’ Will Add 204 Apartments Atop Shops in First Development of Its Kind There
Palm Coast’s Town Center will finally get the kind of development that was meant to define it when it was conceived in 2003–a 17-acre project mixing commercial, retail and residential uses in a six-building complex totaling 233,000 square feet, called The Promenade at Town Center. It’ll be right in the center of it all: at the southwest corner of Bulldog Drive and Central Avenue, with 1,100 feet of frontage on Central–about three football fields’ length—and 350 feet on Bulldog.
Out of Her Control: Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin Explains Why He Fired City Manager Denise Bevan
In a 40-minute interview Tuesday afternoon, Alfin explained what led him to make his motion, threading a needle between lavish praise for Bevan in one sentence and sharp criticism of city management in the next, while explicitly conceding that Bevan may have been the victim of political circumstances. Bevan, in sum, paid a paid a price for election-year political currents she was not in control of.
Census Bureau: Flagler County’s Population Was 131,500 Last July, an Increase of 16,000 in Three Years
Flagler County is again among the faster-growing counties in the nation, but not among the fastest. The county added 16,000 residents between 2020 and 2023, a 14 percent increase beginning to resemble the population surge of the early 2000s that was halted by the housing crash. Put another way: the county has grown by a population equivalent to more than three times the size of Flagler Beach in that brief span. Just since 2010, the county has grown by 40,000 people.
The Rent Is Still Too High
Housing prices are spiraling alongside homelessness. Last year, homelessness hit an all-time national high of 653,100 people. To solve this crisis, we need to recognize housing as a human right.
Ending Speculation, Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin Announces Re-Election Run and Joins Crowded Field
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin, first elected in July 2021 to complete the term of Melissa Holland, will run for a full four-year term in an Aug. 20 primary that has drawn four other candidates so far. In 2021, Alfin won in a six-way race, taking 36 percent of the vote. His absence from the list of declared candidates had begun to draw speculations about his intentions, though he left no doubt about those in an interview on Tuesday.
Veranda Bay Courtship: Flagler Beach Swiftly Changes Its Annexation Rule In Defensive Move Against Palm Coast
Flagler Beach is in an annexation race with Palm Coast to win over Veranda Bay and its hundreds of homes along John Anderson Highway. To that end, Flagler Beach changed its annexation rule. By convincing it to annex into Flagler Beach, the city is hoping to limit development impacts on its rim. It fears that under Palm Coast standards, Veranda Bay could be an intense cluster of high rises and high-density developments.
Old Kings Village Development of Up to 210 Houses Clears Obstacle Course with Polo Club West as City Approves Rezoning
The approvals followed weeks of wrangles between the developer, the city, the county and Polo Club residents. (See previous steps here, here and here.) The council had considered the items on Dec. 5 and Jan. 2, both times getting strong pressure from Polo Club property owners–and their attorney–to delay approval, pending the resolution of sharp differences with the developer.
Palm Coast Building Moratorium Fails After Fierce Debate But City Agrees to Citizens Advisory Board on Flooding
An attempt by Palm Coast City Council member Theresa Pontieri to enact a 45-day moratorium on home construction in Palm Coast’s “infill” lots failed today. But the council approved creating a citizens’ advisory board focused entirely on flooding problems tied top new home construction, while also approving the accelerated enactment of a series of related regulations Pontieri was urging. Pontieri, however, voted against that measure.
Proposed Building Moratorium Addressing Flooding Concerns: An Exchange Between Home Builders and Pontieri
Members of the Flagler Home Builders Association have been writing Palm Coast City Council members to urge them to vote No on a construction moratorium City Council member Theresa Pontieri has proposed for 60 to 90 days on so-called “infill” lots in the city’s sections platted by ITT. What follows is an exchange that took place today between a home builder and Pontieri on the proposal. The council meets Tuesday and may take up the issue then, depending on other developments.
An American Invention, the Shopping Mall’s Evolution Is Now Owned By China
Many Chinese malls are being re-imagined by owners and users as palaces of experience – civic areas for communities to meet and interact, with new configurations of public and private space. These experiments could become models for new, creative uses of retail space in the U.S., where the mall was invented.
Proposed Old Kings Village’s 205-Home Subdivision Still Clashing With Polo Club West’s Cling to Old Florida
The clash has as much to do with the opaque minutiae of land-use regulations as it does with something anyone in Palm Coast and Flagler County can relate to: what kind of community do residents want for themselves, and how far should the city go to change zoning and land use designations that result in two vastly different subdivisions–one densely packed with homes, one not, with a rapidly increasing population adding its own pressures on diminishing green spaces.
Raising Alarms, Pontieri Calls for Moratorium on Flood-Prone Construction Until Regulations Are Rewritten
Palm Coast City Council member Theresa Pontieri unexpectedly called for a 60 to 90-day moratorium on construction on so-called in-fill lots, the traditional quarter-acre lots that ITT platted, or until until the city’s revised construction regulations are enacted. The regulations address issues that have caused flooding on existing lots. Pontieri’s proposal, to be considered for adoption on Jan. 16, drew a startled response from the Flagler County Home Builders Association and caution from some council members.
After Raucous Hearing, Palm Coast Votes Again to Limit Cascades Development in Seminole Woods to 416 Homes
Nearing midnight Tuesday the Palm Coast City Council voted unanimously again to limit development on the Cascades development in Seminole Woods to 416 single-family homes following an often raucous hearing before an overflow and untempered crowd. Much of the discussion–or arguments–hinged on whose fault it was that the issue required the extraordinary re-hearing, after the council had seemingly settled the matter in a pair of votes last September and November.
Cascades Development in Seminole Woods Back on the Table for a Re-Hearing, Putting in Question 416-House Limit
A part of the application for the 416-home Cascades development in Seminole Woods will be heard again by the City Council in January following an error in the application process, possibly reopening the way for the developers to push for a higher housing limit than the 416 the council agreed to, after much public opposition to the originally proposed 850 units.
Commissioners Votes Heather Haywood Off Flagler Planning Board Over Public Records Snub: ‘She Handled It Poorly’
On a motion by Greg Hansen, the Flagler County Commission Monday evening unanimously voted to remove Realtor Heather Haywood from the county’s planning board after Haywood falsely accused Hanse of “crossing a line” in a Facebook Messenger text he never sent, and after Haywood failed to take seriously a public record request. It was the second time in a month that the commission removed a planning board member. Haywood appeared to leave commissioners no choice.
Heather Haywood’s ‘Inauthentic’ Records Fail to Prove Incendiary Accusation Against Flagler Commissioner Hansen
Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed said Friday that Planning Board member Heather Haywood, who has made false and public accusations against Commissioner Greg Hansen, has not been responsive to a public record request, and what she has submitted about “Hansen” is deemed “inauthentic”–that is, either fabricated or part of a scam. The County Commission on Monday is to vote on whether to retain Haywood’s membership on the planning board or to remove her.
City Attorney Warns Palm Coast Away from Directly, Financially Aiding Flooded Property Owners
Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko wants the city to more directly aid property owners whose yards have been flooded from adjacent, new construction, but the city attorney says funds may not be spent to benefit any single private property owners. The city administration will look at alternatives.
All Those Yards Flooding from New Construction? Blame ITT, Nature or Changing Codes, Not Builders, City Finds
More than 80 property owners have filed complaints about yards flooding as new construction has gone up in Palm Coast recently. Palm Coast officials say there are all sorts of reasons but builders and new construction are not among them. The city is working with property owners to analyze the issues and provide direction. It is also rewriting is technical building rules. But it’s stopping short of providing direct aid.
Approval of 205-Home Old Kings Village Delayed as Polo Club West Residents Say Developer Is Not Negotiating
The Palm Coast City Council is not yet ready to approve Old Kings Village, a planned 205-home development on 60 acres on Old Kings Road, 2.5 miles south of State Road 100. The proposed development is within a short distance of Polo Club West, an equestrian community significantly less dense and more lush than would be its neighboring “Village.” Residents of Polo Club West are objecting to the Village, absent wider buffers and other safeguards.
Florida Lawmakers Put Developers’ Interests Ahead of Residents’ Hurricane Safety
In a bill to supply aid to the victims of Hurricane Ian and Idalia, lawmakers told local governments in counties hammered by the storm that they were not allowed to make “burdensome” changes to their land-use or growth plan regulations for three years. No learning from their mistakes and trying to avoid repeating them.
9-Building, 216-Unit Apartment Complex Would Line Old Kings Road South of Palm Coast Parkway
The Palm Coast Planning Board in a 5-2 vote that reflected some sharp resistance to the project recommended approval of a master plan for a nine-building, 216-apartment complex lined along Old Kings Road’s two lanes, halfway between Palm Coast Parkway and Town center Boulevard. It would be by far the largest development visible from the road south of Utility Drive, changing the complexion of what had been one of Palm Coast’s last remaining greenways.
Realtors Want Their Signs in Rights of Way. Palm Coast Warns that Hate and Other Signs Would Follow.
Palm Coast Council member Ed Danko is leading the charge on behalf of Realtors and other businesses to open up city rights of way to their advertising signs on weekends. Fellow Council member Theresa Pontieri is warning that doing so would open up rights of ways to every sign imaginable, including hate signs, while overwhelming the city’s Code Enforcement Department. The council is split on an issue it will have to decide soon.
As It Fields Flood of Complaints, Palm Coast Is Revising Building Rules to Limit New Houses’ Fill Elevations
Palm Coast government, responding in part to mounting complaints about flooding seemingly caused by new construction of much higher homes in the city’s quarter-acre single family home lots, is working swiftly to limit how high the slab elevation of new homes, and the fill beneath it, may go. A new house at 98 Birchwood Drive has been ground zero of a problem that until now had not drawn broad attention or responses by the city.
Palm Coast Approves Final Step to Complete 210-Home Whiteview Village Gated Community
The Palm Coast City County on Tuesday approved the final plat for 81 homes in Whiteview Village, phase two of a two-phased development of 202 homes approved as a master-planned development by the council in 2018. Construction began in 2021 in an MPD that also includes a future 316-unit apartment complex.
Palm Coast Residents Complain: New Homes Built Higher Than Ours Are Flooding Us, and City Turns Blind Eye
In Palm Coast, new homes are suddenly being built on significantly higher fill bases of a foot, two feet or more than adjoining properties. Older properties that never flooded now do. Homeowners of long date are shocked as they watch the yards of their dream homes–their main investment–turn to small lakes. The city has made them feel even more powerless: there’s nothing the city can do. There are no limits on fill height.
Bowing to Bitter Public Opposition, Council Kills Seminole Woods Apartments and Limits Development to 416 Homes
In a twin blow to the developer–and to the city’s meager apartment market–the Palm Coast City Council Tuesday rejected a rezoning application that would have allowed for an apartment complex near the south end of Seminole Woods Boulevard, and rejected a land use change that would have allowed for the total number of housing units there to go from 416 to 850.
Palm Coast Approves 91,000 Square Foot Storage Facility Next to Elks Lodge on Old Kings Road
Another storage facility will go up in Palm Coast, on 12 acres on the west side of Old Kings Road, just north of the Elks Lodge, on land owned by First African Methodist Episcopal Church of Palm Coast, which is to the north of the site. The three-story building will be 91,000 square feet, or about half the size of a Walmart Supercenter.
Rent Hikes May Finally Moderate Thanks to Historic Housing Construction Boom
An unprecedented surge in the nationwide construction of new housing — mostly apartments — may finally be making a dent in fast-rising rents that have been making life harder for tenants. More than 1.65 million housing units were under construction last year, the highest annual number since federal record-keeping started in 1969. Florida added 233,000 new housing units since mid-2022.
Palm Coast Moving To Loosen Sign Ordinance, Allowing More Free Expression–and Realtors’ Sales Pitches
A proposed rewriting of Palm Coast’s sign ordinance would not change the look of the city markedly, preserving most of the restrictions in place now. But a draft ordinance–still very much a work in progress–errs on the more permissive than restrictive side, now that local governments are largely (but not entirely) barred from regulating what signs say. That means homeowners will get to express themselves more freely, including with hate speech. Realtors will get to plant more signs.
Heather Haywood Is Homesteaded in Volusia But Serves on Flagler’s Planning Board. A Commissioner Questions That.
The Flagler County Commission is giving Realtor Heather Haywood, who the commission appointed to the county planning board in February 2022, 30 days to drop her homestead exemption in Volusia County or appear before the commission for another vote on her eligibility for the planning board. But for the homestead record, there appears to be little question that Haywood is a Flagler County resident.
Victory for the Hammock as County Rejects More Intense Commercial Development on A1A Parcels
The Flagler County Commission Monday unanimously rejected a proposal to rezone an acre of Hammock property along State Road A1A to more intensive commercial uses. The commission, siding with Hammock residents, found the proposal vague in its designs for the property, at odds with the Scenic A1A overlay, and at risk of setting a precedent that would potentially damage or demolish the road’s character.
What Does Palm Coast Hope to Be ‘When We Grow Up’? City Launches 14-Month Plan to Listen and Respond
What should Palm Coast look like in 2050? City Hall today kicked off a 14-month process to answer that question, to do so by engaging as many residents as possible as inclusively as possible along the way, ending with a document that will re-imagines the city’s blueprint as its residents want it to be at mid-century. The result of that exercise will be a complete re-write of the city’s “Comprehensive Plan,” the first since 2004.
Palm Coast Issued Development Orders for 4,138 Homes This Year Alone, and Has 13,361 ‘in Pipeline’
While City Council member Theresa Ponstieri significantly overstated the actual number of homes the council approved this year, there is no question that Palm Coast is growing rapidly, and that Council policy is doing all it can to accelerate that growth, with increasing rumbles from existing residents who think, like Pontieri, that the pace is too rapid.
Don’t Blame Us Seniors for the Affordability Crisis. Blame Developers.
A Hammock resident rejects the claim that Palm Coast’s and Flagler County’s seniors “contribute least” as they buy up homes, or that they are to blame for the housing affordability crisis. Rather, developers convince your fearless leaders that they cannot make any money unless they cram in as many houses on a property as possible. They convince commissioners to change zoning frequently, for profit.
Up to 210 Homes Approved on Old Kings Road South of SR100 But Polo Club West Neighbors Have Worries
The Palm Coast Planning Board recommended approval of a rezoning of 62 acres on Old Kings Road some 2.5 miles south of State Road 100 that will clear the way for up to 210 small homes, hours after the Palm Coast City Council annexed the property into the city, from the county. The property is adjacent to Polo Club West, an upscale equestrian community where residents have been worried about the effects of a more dense development on their privacy and property values.
‘Faith’ Bridge Over SR100 Goes from Maligned to Acclaimed as It Opens, But in the Absence of Its Champion
Flagler County and city officials inaugurated the formal opening of the $12.3 million pedestrian bridge over State Road 100, five years in the making, with speeches and a dedicatory run by the Flagler Palm Coast High School track team. But its leading champion, Faith al-Khatib, was absent.
Rezoning Enabling Up to 850 Homes in Seminole Woods Causes Sharp Debate Before Palm Coast Approval
The Palm Coast City Council today approved on a pair of 4-1 votes land use changes that clear the way for up to 850 housing units on 375 acres on the west side of Seminole Woods Boulevard, three miles south of State Road 100. The proposal, for a project called Cascades, drew sharp opposition from City Council member Theresa Pontieri and an equally sharp defense from the developer, Jeff Douglas of Douglas Properties. The exchange drew in the mayor and other council members and reflects a recurring debate in Palm Coast over the speed, density and purpose of development.
Palm Coast Approves Doubling Housing Units to 845 at Lighthouse Harbor on Colbert Lane, Part of Future ‘Village’
The council approved several deviations from the Land Development Code to accommodate the developer, which is part of the Marina Village collection of developments. Between Marina del Palma’s 615 units to its immediate north and a 240-unit apartment complex immediately to the west of Colbert Lane, the cluster of new developments will add 1,400 housing units.
300-Unit Apartment Complex Going Up Next to Imagine School at Town Center, One of 2 Planned There
A high-end, gated, 300-unit apartment complex is going up on the 27-acre squarish parcel across the street from Imagine School at Town Center. It is to be the first of two such apartment complexes in that area. The complex is to be called The Legacy at Palm Coast Town Center.
Palm Coast Approves 275 Town Homes Over Objection of Tax-Base Shift From Commercial to Residential
The 4-1 vote, with Council member Theresa Pontieri in dissent, led to a discussion–if not a debate–on what has become routine in the city’s ongoing residential development boom: time after time, land zoned for commercial use is being re-zoned for residential uses. In this case, the rezoning is taking place despite going against the city’s own Land Development Code in one regard: the town homes will be smaller than the code calls for.
Cascades Development, Revived from 2005, Calls for Up to 850 Homes on 375 Acres in Seminole Woods
After a nearly two-decade hiatus, the massive Cascades development planned for Seminole Woods is back, and is more than double its original size: up to 850 single-family homes and apartments on 375 acres. If built out to that cap, the Cascades would be, along with Coquina Shores on Old Kings Road–a 750-home development just rezoned for the purpose–one of the largest developments in the city.
Affordable Housing is a Human Right, Not a Handout
Housing is more than a roof over our heads. It determines our ability to stay healthy, get an education, build wealth, and live longer. It is not merely a luxury commodity limited to those who can afford it. It is a right — and our government should start recognizing and treating it as such.
Make Developers Offer Strategies to Reduce Car Use
For decades, cities have required developers to provide a set number of parking spaces for their tenants or customers. And while many people still rely on parking, the amount required is typically far more than most buildings need.
Daytona Area Home Sales Remain Steady in June
461 existing single-family homes (detached) were sold in the Daytona Beach area with median home sales price of $377,500. That’s a more than 4 percent increase in total home sales compared to June 2022, but it’s 3.5 percent lower than home sales in May.