As in November, the city’s utility consultant was again tasked with drafting an amendment to a study recommending sharp water and sewer rate increases, on the heels of a 20 percent increase in the last four years. Council members want to know what the consequences would be if certain capital projects were delayed, since they drive a lot of the need for the rate increases through 2028.
Palm Coast
Updated Palm Coast’s Technical Manual for Residential Construction Compliance Is Reissued
One notable amendment mandates that all flatwork, including sidewalks, air conditioning pads, patios, and other hardscaping elements, along with the PEP tank, must not obstruct drainage flow or the maximum slope of drainage conveyance. Consequently, these features may need to be relocated to the rear of the structure to maintain effective drainage functionality.
Palm Coast Fire Department Announces Wave of Promotions
Chief Kyle Berryhill unveiled the latest promotions within the department’s ranks, demonstrating dedication to enhancing the organization. Among these notable advancements is the elevation of Driver Engineer Kalin Graham to the role of Lieutenant, succeeding Lieutenant Rich Cline, who retired this past September.
Joe Saviak, Frequent Flier of Local Government Mentoring, Helps Palm Coast Council Launch Its Goal-Setting Season
Joe Saviak spearheaded a dynamic orientation meeting on Monday morning at the Palm Coast Community Center, guiding the Palm Coast City Council, administration, and department directors through a strategic action planning session. The City of Palm Coast has consistently undertaken an annual strategic action plan process over the past decade, a crucial initiative to address community needs and pave the way for a positive future.
City Invites Residents to Grand Opening of Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center
The City of Palm Coast is thrilled to announce the grand opening of the long-awaited Southern Recreation Center and the new Lehigh Trailhead, adjacent to the current Palm Coast Tennis Center, on February 23rd from 4:30 pm to 7:00 pm at 1290 Belle Terre Parkway, Palm Coast, FL 32164. These projects are pivotal steps in aligning with the priorities outlined by the community during the recent countywide Parks and Recreation Master Plan.
Palm Coast Firefighters Honored for Heroic Acts, Bringing Back to Life Three Palm Coast Residents
Lieutenant Richard Cline (retired), Lieutenant Joseph Paci, Driver Engineer Brandon Davis, Driver Engineer Dylan Mulligan, Driver Engineer Julie Rivera (retired), Firefighter Kyle Gardner, and Firefighter Tyler Major were awarded unit commendations in recognition of their decisive actions that effectively led to the successful resuscitation and life-saving rescue of Palm Coast residents Mike Rowlings, Mark Leinemann, and Vito Mattioli.
Palm Coast Clears Way for $31 Million Connector to Loop Road Through Vacant West of the City, With a Warning to FPL
The Palm Coast City Council on approved four related measures that will advance the opening to development of 12,000 acres on the west side of U.S. 1, from the Matanzas Woods Parkway area, including a $25 million state grant contributing to the cost of a $31 million connector road, dubbed a “flyover,” that will cross above the Florida East Coast railroad corridor. But FPL drew withering criticism from council members over the manner in which the company is charging the city for an “estimate” about moving its infrastructure as part of the Matanzas Woods project.
Palm Coast Mayor Spotlights State of City’s Heroes and Names Flagler Cares’ Carrie Baird Citizen of the Year
At Palm Coast’s State of the City Thursday evening, Mayor David Alfin awarded David Lydon the Public Service Award for his work with veterans. Erik Libby and The To-Do-Dudes got the Next Generation Award, and Flagler Care’s Carrie Baird received the Citizen of the Year Award for her dedication to “building a robust social safety net for our community.”
Suspected Gas Station Armed Robber Who Was Shot By a Store Clerk in 2nd Incident Returns to Flagler to Face Charge
Qwinntavus Kwame Jordan, the 32-year-old man suspected of armed robbery at the Shell convenience store on State Road 100 in Palm Coast last April, and of another robbery in Georgia hours later, where a store clerk shot at him eight times, was booked at the Flagler County jail Wednesday, on no bond, to face a first-degree felony charge of armed robbery.
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.
Palm Coast City Council Hold Strategic Action Planning Orientation on Feb. 5
The Palm Coast City Council will hold an orientation session focused on the strategic action planning process on Monday, February 5th, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the Palm Coast Community Center. Facilitated by Dr. Joe Saviak, an expert in strategic planning, the session aims to chart a course for the city’s future growth and prosperity. The session is open to the public.
Contrary to Flagler Beach’s Impressions, Palm Coast Is Not Pursuing Veranda Bay for Annexation
Palm Coast is not pursuing the annexation of Veranda Bay, the 335-home development formerly known as The Gardens on John Anderson Highway, nor would it pursue an annexation: that would be the land owner’s prerogative. And in veranda Bay’s case, the developer has not filed any kind of formal document suggesting he’d want to annex into Palm Coast.
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.
3rd Annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Palm Coast Is Set in Town Center on Feb. 3
The City of Palm Coast will host its 3rd Annual Tunnel to Towers 5K Run/Walk Palm Coast on Saturday, February 3, 2024 at Central Park in Town Center, beginning at 8 a.m. The previous two events raised nearly $30,000 with all proceeds going to the foundation.
At Joint Meeting of Local Flagler Governments, Homelessness Draws a Vague Pledge to Seek Funding
A joint meeting of Flagler County’s cities and the county again took up homelessness and again mostly deferred to non-profits and churches to pick up the pieces. But officials also agreed at least to explore state funding possibilities. More firm commitments to tackle the issue are still lacking.
Graffiti on Bridges in Palm Coast C-Section Concern Residents and Prompt Talk of Surveillance Cameras
Residents of Palm Coast’s C-Section are concerned about recurring graffiti that’s been re-appearing on bridges on Colorado Drive and Colchester Lane, after city crews painted over a spate of graffiti there last year.
Palm Coast’s Richenbacker Drive Loses Its Aitch as the City Formally Abandons Spelling No One Respected
In the annals of Palm Coast history–which dates back to the pre-history of its 1960s scrubland–this was huge: Richenbacker Drive was losing its h. Not only that. The h was surrendering to the less aristocratic k, because the street’s h never got any respect since ITT platted it as such a few decades ago: not the city, not the Post Office, not the Property Appraiser wrote it with an h. The Palm Coast City Council buried the old spelling in a unanimous vote Tuesday night.
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.
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.
Redefined Food, a Local Business, Wins Contract at Palm Coast’s Southern Recreation Center
The Palm Coast City Council has awarded Redefined Food Co., a 5-year-old business based at City Marketplace in Palm Coast, the lease to run the food and drink concession at the most anticipated new community destination since the original Community Center on Palm Coast Parkway had its own grand re-opening, with a much bigger footprint, in the spring of 2018.
Charlie Esposito, Who Built Up Palm Coast’s Volunteer Firefighters and Fire Police, Dies at 95
Charlie Esposito had built up Palm Coast’s volunteer corps before Palm Coast became a city in 1999, doing the same for the city’s Fire Police, and establishing safety and training protocols, including for the county’s emergency helicopter, that are still followed today.
Palm Coast Will Spend $94,000 To Study Lower Speed Limits on City Streets, and Again Study Florida Park Drive
Palm Coast will spend close to $100,000 on a pair of traffic studies–one to investigate whether speed limits may be lowered on many residential streets from the current 30 miles power hour, the other to investigate speeds and how traffic-calming medians could help improve traffic flow on Florida Park Drive, the most studied roadway this side of the Appian Way.
Reports of Flooded Properties Attributed to New Homes Rise to 148 as City Pledges Help, But No Sure Solutions
City staffers have visited 75 of the affected properties so far in hopes o analyzing problems and proposing fixes. They are hoping to have visited all 148 by the end of January, assuming the tally doesn’t grow much further. But while the city has addressed building rules that should reduce flooding problems in the future, it does not have a comprehensive, retroactive fix for existing residents who see their yards turn to ponds after rain events.
Call for Building Moratorium in Palm Coast Retreats as City Says It’s Already Implementing New Construction Rules
The Palm Coast administration made a surprising announcement today: for weeks, the city has been requiring builders to follow new rules, such as limiting new homes’ fill elevations, designed to lessen a slew of flooding issues existing residents have been complaining about since last fall. The city has been implementing the rules even though the technical manual containing them has not yet been formally approved, though it will be next week–a month ahead of schedule.
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.
We Asked Flagler County Leaders to Tell Us About Their Favorite Book of 2023. Their Answers Are Page-Turners.
Twenty-one Flagler County leaders–in politics, culture, business, education, media–were asked to tell us about their favorite book of 2023. The very wide-ranging responses were always enlightening and often surprising, showing how minor our political or ideological differences can be, or ought to be, when we connect on a cultural and personal or literary level, which is to say: a human, or humanist, level.
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.
Grinchy Storm Raises Flooding Concerns and Cancels Palm Coast Starlight Parade, With No Make-Up Date
A low-pressure system in the Gulf of Mexico that will whirl across Florida over the weekend, from the Big Bend area to Jacksonville, is expected to churn up the Atlantic with up to 10-foot waves and significantly higher tides that may cause flooding, it is already kicking up wind gusts of up to 40 mph in places, and it is cancelling weekend plans such as the much-anticipated Palm Coast Starlight Parade.
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.
Palm Coast Adopts Countywide Parks and Recreation Master Plan
The Palm Coast City Council took a significant step forward in its commitment to providing residents and visitors with a high quality of life by approving the 2023 Parks & Recreation Master Plan.
Palm Coast Pledges ‘Task Force’ Action on Homes Flooding Near New Construction, But Residents Are Skeptical
The Palm Coast city administration is pledging to residents that it is taking a case-by-case approach to address concerns about flooding on quarter-acre properties seemingly caused by new construction. It has created what it calls a “task force” to address the issue. But residents are skeptical, claiming their calls or emails go unanswered, or that the city’s response is to sue neighbors, or that they’re having to shoulder their own costs of drainage improvements.
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.
Palm Coast’s Starlight Parade Returns on Dec. 16, After 3-Year Hiatus
The City of Palm Coast in collaboration with the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office will host the much-anticipated Starlight Parade in the heart of Town Center on Saturday, December 16, 2023, in Central Park at 6 p.m.
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.
Factual Yowls Aside, Palm Coast Says Community Cats’ Trap, Neuter and Release Program Is Working
The Palm Coast City Council heard an enthusiastic report on the city’s partnership with Community Cats and its Trap, Neuter and Release program, which seeks to limit the feral cat population, with volunteer caretakers feeding and caring for the cats. The report contained notable factual errors and some lack of perspective.
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.
Consultant Says Palm Coast Residents Must Pay Cost of Future Growth With Higher Water Bills. Council Recoils.
Growth is increasing your cost of living as an existing resident of Palm Coast, and you’re going to have to pay for it in higher water and sewer bills, according to a utility-rate consultant Palm Coast government hired. City Council members are not nearly so sure, and are asking for new numbers, possibly sharply raising impact fees on developers and builders.
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.
When Even Ed Danko Is Right
Ed Danko is right to resist Mayor David Alfin’s proposal to have all council members sign “Code of Conduct,” including a pledge of civility. It is not an elected board’s place collectively to regulate or codify its members’ behavior, or government’s place to force pledges of any kind on anyone.
Renoir-Inspired Turtle, Dedicated at Intracoastal Bank, Is 21st In Flagler’s Biggest Public Art Trail
Artists Lisa Fisher’s and Nancy Zedar’s “Renny,” the 21st edition in the Turtle Trail, which has quietly grown into the single-largest public art project in Flagler County in the last five years, was dedicated in front of Intracoastal Bank on Palm Coast Parkway to commemorate the community bank’s 15th anniversary. Scores of supporters turned up.
Amid Horrors in Israel, Temple Beth Shalom Prepares to Celebrate 50th Anniversary in Palm Coast
Fifty years ago, 18 Jewish families who found themselves living in Flagler County in the early 1970s, discovered each other and discovered they had no place of worship to call their own. They founded Temple Beth Shalom, which bills itself not as a Conservative or a Reform temple, but rather an egalitarian, independent house of worship. This weekend, it celebrates its 50th anniversary in Palm Coast.
Those Thin Black Tubes All Over Palm Coast Streets? They’re For a Traffic County Study.
The City of Palm Coast is currently in the process of conducting its Citywide Traffic Count Study, a biennial initiative aimed at collecting essential data to enhance traffic management and plan for future development within the city. Residents may have noticed black tubing stretched across major roadways, extending across multiple lanes.
Palm Coast Dedicates a Trail To the Memory of Al Krier, Demosthenes of Cimmaron Safety and Civility
The 1.3-mile Al Krier Trail was dedicated by Palm Coast city officials and friends of Al Krier this morning on Palm Harbor Parkway, commemorating the dogged activism of a man who focused the city’s attention on safety issues on Cimmaron Drive and brought a civilized, cheery style to his campaigns.
A ‘Code of Conduct’ for Palm Coast City Council Members, Proposed by Mayor, Gets Pushback
Palm Coast Mayor David Alfin is looking for the City Council to adopt a Code of Conduct for itself. The council is divided on the matter. The split is not over the wording of the proposed code, which drew few objections, but over the document’s implications, its lack of enforceability, and the precedent it may be setting, treating elected officials as city employees–which they are not.