The Palm Coast City Council in a 4-1 vote today censured Mayor Mike Norris for the second time in three months and agreed to send a letter to Gov. Ron DeSantis asking him to unseat the mayor. Both acts were extraordinary for this or any city but for controversies Norris has been provoking since his election last November, making a routine of the extraordinary.
Palm Coast
Palm Coast Council’s Five Charter Review Picks Reflect Politics and Experience, Not Diversity
The Palm Coast City Council today appointed five residents–five men, four white, one Hispanic–to the Charter Review Committee, along with five alternate members, out of 27 applicants. The council’s choices reflect some appointments with an eye to politics and some to experience. The appointments include former two-term County Commissioner Donald O’Brien and current East Mosquito Control District board member Michael Martin. O’Brien especially has deep familiarity both with governance and parliamentary procedures, as well as the difference between charters and ordinances.
Judge France Signs Order Against Palm Coast Mayor Norris, Ending Attempt to Unseat Gambaro
Circuit Judge Chris France on Thursday signed the judgment against Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris, who had filed suit to have the court remove fellow Council member Charles Gambaro and order a special election. France ruled on the matter at the end of a 50-minute hearing last July 3 with Norris in attendance. The written judgment spells out the ruling and closes the case, unless Norris appeals.
Data Center Planned for 2028 in Palm Coast Cloaked in More Secrecy and Undocumented Boasts than Answers
Following up on an announcement Wednesday by Google that it would be building a transatlantic cable and land it in Flagler Beach, Palm Coast and Flagler County for the first time this week disclosed what has been reported since last August–that a company would build a large data center in Palm Coast’s Town Center. But the two governments’ releases provided more boasts than information.
Don’t Paint Your House Purple Just Yet: Palm Coast May Reconsider Stricter Color Regulations or Referendum
A week after a unanimous Palm Coast City Council vote to move toward revoking all outside paint-color restrictions, Council member Theresa Pontieri said on Tuesday she’ll request a reconsideration, pausing the process. She will seek either a “more reasonable change to the code” or possibly put the matter to voters in a referendum. At least two other council members are willing to think about a referendum.
Dodging and Defiant After Losing Lawsuit, Palm Coast Mayor Norris Says He Doesn’t Care If He ‘Cost the City $1 Million’
A defiant Mike Norris Tuesday evening said he didn’t care if he “cost the city a million dollars.” He was not repaying a dime of the $30,000 the lawsuit he just lost cost taxpayers. He gave no indication that he accepted the court’s ruling. He blamed his colleagues for not taking his advice in December to protect the city against the lawsuit he ended up filing. He warned his colleagues on the Palm Coast City Council that he would be seeking reimbursement of his legal fees over the pending ethics complaint they filed against him. And he renewed conspiratorial claims about city staff and “what’s going on in this city.”
Retirement for Reilly Opelka? Wimbledon Disappointment Brings Palm Coast’s Tennis Giant to a Crossroad
Michael Lewis, who’s covered Reilly Opelka for FlaglerLive since 2013, was reporting from Wimbledon this week, where Opelka fell in the second round, and where Lewis saw the Palm Coast tennis giant “depressed, frustrated and at a loss as to what’s going on with his career” as he interviewed him after the match.
Rain on Independence Day? Worst Expected in Mid-Afternoon, Less Likely During Fireworks
The National Weather Service in Jacksonville is predicting that the highest probability of rain in the Flagler Beach-Palm Coast region will be from 3 to 6 p.m., with a 6 percent chance at 3, falling to a 45 percent chance at 6 and 30 percent by 9 p.m.
In Stinging Defeat for Mayor Norris, Judge Rules on All Counts in Favor of City’s Gambaro Appointment
Circuit Judge Chris France today handed Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris a stinging defeat in his lawsuit against his own city, challenging the legality of the council’s appointment of Charles Gambaro to a vacated seat last summer. In a hearing lasting less than an hour, and in a courtroom with more than two dozen Norris supporters filling the gallery, France ruled against Norris both on standing–he had none–and on the merits.
In Historic Shift, Palm Coast Council Votes Unanimously to End All Color Restrictions on Exterior House Paint
Palm Coast’s decades-old discrimination against colored houses may be over. In a remarkable vote on Tuesday, the Palm Coast City Council unanimously agreed to repeal almost all restrictions on exterior house colors in place since before Palm Coast was a city. The requirement of only two base colors and some accent-color allowances will remain. The repeal is nowhere near final. It requires a rewrite of the ordinance, a hearing before the planning board, and two more hearings before the council. The vote was a victory for Mayor Mike Norris, who pushed hardest for the repeal.
More Tension and Frustration Than Answers as County Seeks to Break Off Animal Control from Flagler Humane Society
Flagler County government is estimating that if it were to run its own animal control operation, separate from the Flagler Humane Society, it would cost taxpayers $420,000 in the first year and an average of $333,000 a year. County Commissioner Kim Carney says the numbers are not believable and are designed to set up the proposal for failure. Commissioner Leann Pennington, who is also interested in breaking away, is displeased with the slow pace of moving that way, despite the commission’s direction to its administration to have a plan fleshed out before the next one-year contract with the society runs out.
Mayor Mike Norris Snubs July 4 Parade and Reading of Declaration of Independence with Colleagues
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris is snubbing both the July 4 parade and the traditional reading of the Declaration of Independence alongside 15 elected officials, including all four of his council colleagues Friday as he continues to abdicate many of his office’s public responsibilities outside of council meetings.
Palm Coast Library Hours Will Be Cut 23% and Staff Reduced, Shifting Resources to New Nexus Center in Bunnell
The Flagler County Public Library in Palm Coast will see a sharp, 23 percent reduction in hours of operation–from 52 to 40 hours a week–and a significant reduction in staffing as the new south side library, known as the Nexus Center, opens later this year, itself with slightly fewer staff than originally planned. Each library will be closed two days a week. For the Palm Coast branch, that means no more Monday hours. It’s been closed on Sunday.
No More Undocumented Chickens: Palm Coast Launches Pilot Backyard Program for Up to 4 Hens Per Coop
The city today launched a pilot program that will permit 50 residents to have up to four chickens per backyard coop. The $100 permit, valid for two years (or $50 a year), will be issued on a first-come, first-served basis. The program is available to residents of homesteaded, single-family houses only. That means residents of areas controlled by homeowner associations are not eligible. Nor are residents in apartments or duplexes. Nor are renters. Nor are roosters.
Palm Coast Administration Issues Budget Plan Scaling Back Some Spending Ahead of July 8 Discussion
With budget season in full swing, the City of Palm Coast is presenting the Fiscal Year 2026 General Fund budget at the City Council workshop meeting on Tuesday, July 8, at 6 p.m. The City Council’s priorities remain at the heart of this budget, with a focus on maintaining a healthy fund balance or reserve while investing in public safety, infrastructure, and long-term efficiencies.
DeSantis Signs $115 billion Budget, Vetoes $567 million; Palm Coast’s Modest Appropriations Survive
Gov. Ron DeSantis signed into law a long-awaited state budget Monday just hours before it would take effect, vetoing $567 million. Palm Coast’s pair of appropriations, $2.5 million for an “equalization tank” and $2.5 million to help modernize Waste Water Treatment Plant 1 in the Woodlands, the city’s biggest and oldest, survived vetoes.
Yummy: Palm Coast Residents Get Behind-the-Scenes Look at Water and Sewer Plants
Palm Coast residents gained an in-depth understanding of the city’s vital water and wastewater treatment processes during a guided tour of the city’s Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant. Not to worry: the two are not co-located.
July 4 Celebration from Flagler Beach Parade to Palm Coast Fireworks at County Airport
Flagler County Government and the Cities of Palm Coast, Flagler Beach, and Bunnell invite all Flagler County residents and visitors to the United Flagler 4th Community Celebration on Friday, July 4, starting with the Independence Day Parade in Flagler Beah and culminating with a 15-16 minute firework show featuring 3,300 shells at the county airport. All events are free.
Palm Coast Council Will Seek At Least a Small Reduction in Property Tax Rate, Leaving Open Possibility of More
The Palm Coast City Council will seek at least a modest decrease in next year’s property tax rate when it adopts its budget in September, continuing a trend begun in 2021. It is not ruling out a full rollback in the tax rate, something the council has done only once in the city’s history, in 2023, at heavy cost to the city’s operations. The council resisted rolback last year.
Palm Coast Council Deadlocks Over Selling Palm Harbor Golf Club; It May Raise Rates Again and Beg Loopers for a Cut
The Palm Coast City Council deadlocked over the future of the Palm Harbor Golf Club today, split between council members who want to sell it and those who don’t. Other proposals include sharply raising rates, bringing in new management, reconfiguring overhead costs, and even asking Loopers, the successful restaurant at the golf club, to renegotiate its lease for a little profit sharing that would benefit the club’s bottom line. Previous councils have tried most of these tactics for years, almost going back to the city’s acquisition of the 141-acre property in 2008.
Still on Warpath, Palm Coast Mayor Files Records Requests Targeting City Manager’s Communications
In an unprecedented inquisition into the city’s top staff by its own mayor, Norris filed a public record request, seeking to know every communication Acting Palm Coast City Manager Lauren Johnston has had with Chief of Staff Jason DeLorenzo, local developers, county and sheriff’s officials, local media and others, from the day of his election–Nov. 6–to the present. It is unusual that an elected official would seek with such sweep what amounts to an interrogative of his own city manager’s administrative paper trail, especially in light of his recent censure.
Jason DeLorenzo, Palm Coast’s Chief of Staff and Target Mayor’s Attacks, Leaving to Be Assistant City Manager in Palm Bay
Jason DeLorenzo, Palm Coast government’s community development director and chief of staff for the last six years, previously a city council member for five years, and one of the administration’s most institutionally versed and versatile executives, will be leaving City Hall July 11 to be the assistant city manager in Palm Bay in Brevard County. The move up for DeLorenzo is a huge loss for the city administration, and a portend of a brain drain exacted by Mayor Mike Norris’s continued scorched-earth assaults on the city administration.
Palm Coast Planning Board Rejects Rezoning That Would Allow Concrete Mixing Plant on Hargrove Grade, Citing Pollution
The Palm Coast Planning Board rejected a request to rezone 37 acres on Hargrove Grade on the west side of U.S. 1 to heavy industrial so a national could build a concrete mixing plant there. The land includes 10 acres of wetlands, overlaps within the protection zone of two public well sites that furnish water to the city, and would not be far from acreage zoned for a hospital or a medical building. The batch plant would be the only one in Palm Coast. Those factors, along with traffic, noise and pollution, played into the reasoning of board members and members of the public who opposed the rezoning.
Double-Edged Resolution Calling on Mayor Norris To Do Better Falls Short at Flagler GOP After Sharp Debate
In a remarkable display of the polarizing effect Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris is having within his own party–and the party’s own internal strains– the Flagler County Republican Party could not agree on a double-edged resolution about Norris at its monthly meeting last week. The voice vote was not a failure of support for Norris, exactly. It spoke more about the party, its fractured membership and its complicated relationship with Norris.
Charter Review Committee’s 5 Slots Draw 27 Applicants With Variety of Backgrounds Except in Age
After a slow start, the call for applicants to Palm Coast government’s Charter Review Committee drew 27 candidates by the time the window closed at 5 p.m. this evening, 11 of them over the weekend. The applicants bring a wide range of backgrounds and experiences. The council wanted choices. It now has them and then some but for its pronounced boomer skew.
Palm Coast Launches Government-Wide Risk Assessment to Drive Efficiency
In response to City Council direction and residents’ calls for continual advancements, the City of Palm Coast will conduct an Entity‑Wide Risk Assessment this summer. National consulting firm Plante Moran has been selected through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process to lead the effort.
Palm Coast Approves Sharply Increasing Development Impact Fees on Builders, Citing ‘Extraordinary Circumstances’
With some pushback from the Flagler Home Builders Association but notable unanimity from the dais and no complaints from the public, the City Council today approved sharply increasing fire, parks and transportation impact fees in hopes of further shifting the burden of development toward new residents. Last year the council did likewise with water and sewer impact fees.
Four ‘No Kings’ Protests of Trump’s Authoritarian Swerve Draw Upward of 1,000 in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach
Demonstrators by the hundreds in Palm Coast and Flagler Beach this morning peacefully but loudly, festively and–for Flagler County–massively transformed major intersections, a bridge overpass and a 1,000-ft. stretch of State Road 100 in Palm Coast into the largest anti-Trump protests to date. The size of the protests surprised even organizers and frequent participants, two of whom, after attending every protest this year on State Road 100, said today’s was more than double any previous one.
Ex-Council Member Ed Danko’s Ethics Complaint Against Mayor Norris Found ‘Legally Insufficient’
The Florida Ethics Commission on Friday tossed out a complaint by former Palm Coast City Council member Ed Danko against Mayor Mike Norris, finding it “legally insufficient.” As often as not, that sort of dining is equivalent to saying: “Not the Ethics Commission’s venue.” It is not necessarily to the discredit of the complaint’s allegation, as indeed several of those allegations are either in the public record, have been corroborated in an investigation conducted on behalf of the city, or have been argued in a city filing in Circuit Court.
Taxable Property Values Rise 9% Over Last Year, But Rate Is 3rd Decline in a Row in Cooler Housing Market
Annual taxable property value increases local governments depend on to fuel growth in their budgets have continued their descent from a post-crash high of 18 percent in 2022, to just 9 percent as of June 1 in Flagler County, according to figures released by the Flagler County Property Appraiser. In Palm Coast, values increased 9.29 percent in 2025, with more than half of that powered by new construction. In Flagler Beach, it was 7.56 percent, and in Bunnell it was just 5.5 percent.
Coaches in All Local Sports Organizations Will Need Higher-Level Criminal Background Checks; Palm Coast Seeks Standards
Palm Coast government wants to align city policy with a new state law requiring more detailed criminal backgrounding of youth athletic coaches and others who supervise children in organized sports even when they do not work for the city. The backgrounding could result in disqualification from coaching in some cases, but council members want to more precisely define those thresholds so that, say, a drug offense from 10 years ago isn’t a life sentence away from coaching. The city attorney is cautioning council members to be consistent, whichever policy they adopt.
Abandoning Most Public Responsibilities, But Not Pay, Palm Coast Mayor Norris Forces Council Members to Pick Up Slack
Attending and chairing most meetings aside, a piqued and vengeful Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris is no longer fulfilling basic public and administrative council responsibilities that his four colleagues are fulfilling, in some cases causing his colleagues to carry the weight of the responsibilities he’s shrugging off. He has abandoned all but one of his committee responsibilities, he refuses to meet with the acting city manager to prepare for meetings, his petulance or absence has required Theresa Pontieri, as vice mayor, to step in and lead high-profile public functions, and he’s now refusing to participate in town halls.
Charter Review Committee Field Grows to 10, With Notably Experienced Additions
The list of applicants to serve on the five-member Palm Coast Charter Review Committee has grown to 10, with a little over a week left before the application window closes. The four new applicants since last week bring distinct and varied experience, including Donald O’Brien, who just ended an eight-year tenure as county commissioner, two of them as chair, Jake Scully, the data architect, former member of the Palm Coast Planning Board and former long-time owner of PC Bike, and Karen Sousa, a 10-year employee of the Flagler County Supervisor of Elections office.
City of Palm Coast Wins Statewide Planning Award for Imagine 2050 Comprehensive Plan Update
The City of Palm Coast was honored with the 2025 Florida Planning and Zoning Association’s Outstanding Public Outreach & Community Involvement Award for its exceptional public engagement efforts during the Imagine 2050 Comprehensive Plan update. The award was presented on Friday during the 72nd Annual FPZA Conference at the Casa Monica Hotel & Spa in St. Augustine.
Without Prior Discussion, Palm Coast Council Approves $300,000 Plan Integrating City Surveillance with Sheriff’s Crime Center
The Palm Coast City Council approved the first phase of a five-year, $304,000 plan to integrate all city surveillance cameras–on streets, on and inside buildings, at utility and other facilities–with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Real Time Crime Center. Integration will significantly expand the center’s capabilities and give the Sheriff’s Office immediate and unimpeded access to the camera streams, though the city will retain control of the network, the software, and the implementation of the system.
Palm Coast Will Not Charge Residents ACH Autopay Check Fees in Utility Payments After All
The Palm Coast City Council agreed to scrap plans to charge residents and businesses bank or digital check fees–the ACH autopay system, or ACH debit–when making electronic payments for utility bills and other city-related costs. But the transaction fee applying to credit or debit card transactions will remain.
New Cell Towers Planned for Palm Coast Parkway East of I-95 and in Seminole Woods, as Business and Safety ‘Necessity’
Two more cell towers will rise over Palm Coast to add to the seven existing ones as the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved leasing two city-owned land parcels. One is at the future Fire Station 22 on the north side of Palm Coast Parkway near Colbert Lane–the station is under construction–the other is at 50 Citation Boulevard, co-located with the city’s Water Treatment Plant #2. Palm Coast government will generate some revenue from each, which will be built by private companies at their own expense.
Palm Coast Council Approves Hiring of Sheriff’s Chief Strobridge on 4-1 Vote; Staly Addresses Risks
The Palm Coast City Council on a 4-1 vote Tuesday night approved hiring Mark Strobridge, the Flagler County Sheriff’s chief of staff, as the assistant city manager for at least three months. With little discussion, the majority of the council was supportive. Mayor Mike Norris was not. Strobridge has described his responsibilities as focusing on the utility department hire and on improving process and efficiencies across the city. A source familiar with the hire says some already-designated personnel may be losing their job during Strobridge’s tenure.
Mark Strobridge, Sheriff’s Chief of Staff, Set to Be Assistant City Manager in Palm Coast for 3 Months
In an unusual arrangement, the Palm Coast City Council is set to vote on an agreement that would bring Mark Strobridge, Sheriff Rick Staly’s chief of staff and right-hand man, as assistant city manager for a few months, with a focus on operations and the city’s leaderless Utilities Department. Acting Palm Coast City Manager Lauren Johnston finalized the plans today after approaching Strobridge about it a few weeks ago. The Sheriff’s Office has the largest contract out of the city’s general fund, and Strobridge has negotiated that contract every year.
Flagler County Will Buy 5.2-Acre Parcel on Intracoastal North of Hammock Dune Bridge for Preservation as Parkland
The Flagler County Commission this morning approved the purchase for up to $1.9 million of 5.2 acres of scrub land fronting the west side of the Intracoastal Waterway in Palm Coast, immediately north of the Hammock Dunes bridge, for perpetual preservation and possible transformation into a park. County officials say the price is worth the future preservation of a prime piece of land in an area prone to high-density development. The parcel is not isolated, but would become part of Palm Coast’s network of connected trails and parks.
Answering Lawsuit, Palm Coast Accuses Mayor Norris of Frivolously Weaponizing Court Against Gambaro’s Legitimacy
Palm Coast has mordantly and vigorously answered Mayor Mike Norris’s claim that Charles Gambaro should be booted off the council and a special election held to replace him. Attorney Rachael Crews, who represents the city, is giving Circuit Judge Chris France a buffet of arguments to find Norris’ claim “frivolous,” falsely urgent, legally groundless, injurious to the city charter, and not least, without standing. Norris sued Palm Coast and Gambaro on May 5, claiming that Gambaro’s appointment last fall should have ended in November.
Palm Coast’s Fire, Parks and Road Impact Fees Are About to Jump 90 to 160% as City Capitalizes Future on Development
The Palm Coast City Council is about to raise development impact fees for transportation, fire and parks from 95 percent to over 160 percent in some cases. The new fees would go in effect in full in mid-September. Impact fees are the one-time fee builders or developers pay on new construction to defray the cost of the “impact” of their development on infrastructure. The revenue helps pay for new roads, new parks or recreation centers and new fire stations or fire trucks.
Palm Coast Council Holds 8-Hour Meeting Without Drama or Embarrassments. Mayor Norris Was On Vacation.
Normalcy shouldn’t be news. At the Palm Coast City Council’s workshop on Tuesday, it was. Normalcy returned, if perhaps temporarily, after a string of meetings going back months that degraded proceedings with embarrassing regularity, derailing the city’s search for a city manager and culminating in the mayor’s censure and his retaliatory lawsuit against the city he leads. The tone on Tuesday was oddly, radically different. Mayor Mike Norris was on vacation. And Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri chaired the workshop.
Solemnity and Dissonance at Palm Coast’s Memorial Day Ceremony as Congressman Invokes 1.2 Million Casualties
Vice Mayor Theresa Pontieri led Palm Coast’s traditional commemoration of Memorial Day at Heroes Park with a tribute to Gold Star families as U.S. Rep. Randy Fine invoked the “stupendous” deaths of 1.2 million American casualties in wars over the years, four days after implying that nuking 2 million Palestinians was justified.
Don’t Buy the False Narrative that Palm Coast’s Infrastructure Isn’t Keeping Up with Growth
No one disputes that Palm Coast has grown significantly and faster than most communities in the country. The city’s population has grown by 150 percent in 20 years. That kind of growth naturally brings challenges, and anyone who suggests otherwise is being disingenuous. But to claim that our infrastructure is incapable of supporting this growth, or worse, that the city has been sitting idly by, is to ignore a mountain of evidence.
Palm Coast City Attorney Calls Mayor Norris ‘Unprofessional and Inappropriate’ 3 Weeks After Censure for Similar Behavior
Palm Coast City Attorney Jeremiah Blocker last week told Mayor Mike Norris that his conduct with the city’s two attorneys was “unprofessional and inappropriate” following a suggestion by Norris that the attorneys were ignoring him. It was the latest in a series of incidents involving Norris’s often brusque conduct involving city staffers, council members or members of the business community. The latest revelations are notable for having occurred after Norris was censured by the rest of the City Council for his conduct, and after he had offered something resembling an apology.
Reversing Planning Board’s Decision, Palm Coast Council Approves 100,000-Sq.-Ft. Storage Facility on Pine Lakes Pkwy
Overriding a decision by its Planning Board, the Palm Coast City Council today granted a special zoning exception to allow construction of a 100,000-square-foot storage facility on 6.8 acres off Pine Lakes Parkway, halfway between Belle Terre and Palm Coast Parkway. The Planning board, in an unusual decision, voted 4-2 to deny the special exception, saying there were enough self-storage facilities as it is: social media pages are rife with screeds about a surfeit of storage facilities.
Palm Coast Council’s Charles Gambaro Calls Norris Lawsuit Against Him ‘Frivolous’ and Mayor’s Conduct an ‘Abdication’
In a letter to the community, Palm Coast Council member Charles Gambaro on Sunday said Mayor Mike Norris’s conduct, from suing to get Gambaro off the council to conspiracy theories to evading City Hall deeply concerning, and the mayor’s refusal to fulfill numerous responsibilities “a troubling and unprecedented abdication of the fundamental duties he swore to uphold when taking office and deprive our citizens of full representation in their government.” Gambaro, for his part, intends to continue to serve.
Palm Coast Will Charge Transaction Fees on Electronic Utility and Other Payments 2 Months After Rate Increases Kicked In
Starting June 1, all Palm Coast customers paying their utility bills by credit or debit card–67 percent of customers last year–will see their bills increase by $1.95 per month, or 3.5 percent if they pay in person. Payments by electronic checks will cost 43 cents per transaction. The Palm Coast City Council in February, overriding its finance director’s recommendation, unanimously approved changing the payment model to pass those costs on to customers. Until now, the city was absorbing $700,000 worth of such fees. Customers may still avoid paying the new transaction fees if they pay bills by check or in cash, in person.
Majority of Palm Coast Council Willing To Scrap Certain Restrictions on Commercial Vehicles in Residential Driveways
Palm Coast may finally revise its commercial-vehicle ordinance, removing a ban on the parking of commercial vehicles in residential driveways. The proposed allowance would apply to commercial pick-up trucks, work vans and similar work trucks, including trucks with ladders and racks and a few other allowances. Commercial messaging–or any messaging, including political, poetic or polemical messaging–willl no longer have to be covered up if it exceeds 3 square feet on each side.