For the first time since the founding of the city a quarter century ago, commercial vehicles are on the verge of being allowed to park in Palm Coast’s residential driveways for more than a lunch hour, or to make service calls.
A divided Palm Coast City Council voted 3-2 to approve on first reading the change to what had been one of the more vexing restrictions for trades workers and for the council, which has wrestled with the restriction on several occasions since 2010, always stopping short of altering it–until now.
Mayor Mike Norris and Council members Ty Miller and Theresa Pontieri voted for the change. Council members Dave Sullivan and Charles Gambaro voted against. The council is to vote on the ordinance’s second and final reading in four weeks, at which point it would be enacted. (Pontieri, a lawyer, will be absent at the next business meeting in two weeks, having to represent a client at trial, and the measure would fail in a 2-2 vote.)
“This is a very reasonable medium to be business-friendly in our community,” Pontieri said. “I constantly hear the need to bring in working families, younger families, improve our workforce. And I think this is a step in that direction, without taking away a lot of the restrictions that continue to make our neighborhoods beautiful.”
The change ranks alongside the council’s recent relaxing of outside paint color restrictions on residential homes, an issue that had also divided the council and the community for years, but that increasingly appeared musty and fusty in a city begging for a jolt of vibrancy.
The biggest changes are the removal of a prohibition on advertising, commercial or any other markings on vehicles, regardless of size (until now any markings larger than three square feet were prohibited), and the removal of a prohibition on vehicles with a carrying capacity larger than 1 ton.
(*) But the change, while significant, comes with a rackful of caveats and asterisks. In other words, numerous other pre-existing restrictions remain.
Six conditions apply to permissibly parked commercial vehicles: racks, ladders and other attachments, such as pipes, may not exceed the length of the vehicle by more than 2 feet, or its width by more than a foot. Any attachment is considered a rack and includes storage containers, which must be securely attached. The vehicle must be kept neat with nothing dangling or loose. No hazardous or malodorous materials allowed. Commercial vehicles that exceed 18 feet in length and 10 feet in height are prohibited. And only one commercial vehicle is allowed per driveway.
While the typical commercial trades vehicle such as a van for electrical, plumbing, painting or cable work may now be permissibly parked overnight or at any other time in driveways, all larger commercial vehicles, from limousines to dump trucks to box trucks to overnight services delivery trucks to semis to recreational vehicles and boats on trailers remain prohibited.
“Does the council,” Norris asked his colleagues, “feel that this is meeting our objective to make it a little bit easier for craftsmen and tradesmen and other people within the community, small business owners, do we feel that this is meeting what our goals and objective of this change to the ordinance? Does anyone have any issues?”
Council member Dave Sullivan and Charles Gambaro had no issues. They were just opposed to changing the ordinance. Gambaro mentioned recently seeing a prohibited vehicle’s trailer parked at a short-term rental, even before changing the code. “The founding fathers of the city laid out a vision of what they expected this city to look like,” he said. “This is a slippery slope going forward.”
Pontieri and Miller approved, Pontieri tying the change to quality of life, as it helps families spend more time together rather than see one of their breadwinners have to drive a commercial vehicle to and from a parking area after or before work. A lot of the city’s innumerable storage facilities thrive on that trade.
She rejected claims that the measure would “open the floodgates” to abuses. “ This literally just allows you to put one work vehicle with pretty strict restrictions, still in your driveway, and it doesn’t allow any of the other things that our code currently precludes,” Pontieri said. “Obviously, it’s incumbent upon code enforcement to make sure that this amendment, if it passes, is abided by appropriately. And if we do start to see abuse, then, you know, we as council have the ability to come back and put the restriction back in place. I just don’t think we’ll see that. I think that’s a false alarm.”
The majority approved the measure with the understanding that the city’s Code Enforcement division will report back in six months with a summary of all complaints received on commercial vehicles. Norris wants the measure’s changes widely advertised on the city’s social media and other platforms.
A construction tradesman who’s lived in Palm Coast for five years told the council he’s never had an issue like he’s had in this city, with his vehicles. “The rules that you guys have in parking, nobody else has that,” he said. “I drive $150,000 truck, and yet it’s a nice truck, but I get harassed by a neighbor–not me, but he calls the city. He lives three blocks away from me, and just because he says it’s a rule, you harass me.” He said Palm Coast is no longer just a retirement community. “I work emergency call-outs. I run calls for knocked down traffic signals. I have to be able to jump in my truck and go. You guys have your own guys that work here, but a lot of cities don’t.”
Another resident got emotional, describing how the prohibition had affected her family life, with pending fines and her son possibly having to move because of his van. But Code Enforcement Manager Barbara Grossman said the city has worked with the woman, ensuring that if the ordinance amendment does pass, none of the enforcement mechanisms would be invoked.
justbob says
Irritate the many to satisfy the few.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
Now if they would work on allowing boats and campers that fit in our driveways, with a 10 foot setback from the street or sidewalk, we’ll look like a city.
Dusty says
Whoever wants to just moved them around anyway. We have a neighbor with a bus sized TV that moves it across the street into the driveway next door but it’s always right there so they never park it anywhere else anyway. Code enforcement hasn’t been hard on them ever
Laurie BEhenna says
This needs to be put to a referendom. Four people are not qualified to speak for the time. This is still a democracy.
JC says
The people who are complaining about this purposed rule change are anti-workers and anti-working class NIMBY types. The end.
NJ says
WHAT!!! Palm Coast is Finally trying to become a NORMAL City! Has Hell Frozen Over??
Raymond says
Oh no they are parking vehicles that are considered commercial in a driveway. What will we ever do!! Oh the agony! You guys would cry about anything. By the way I don’t have a commercial vehicle if that’s what you were gonna say.
Just me says
Who truly wants to buy a house and not be able to park your own trucks, boats, trailers etc.. in your own driveway and not get crap for it. Clearly there’s plenty of haters and jealousy but just like property taxes, I feel like we never truly own our home and actually reside with things we worked hard for and like to enjoy without paying another fee for storage and the time it takes to go get whatever and utilize it?! Never will it ever make sense to me how this county/city just decides things and continues to pads pockets with nonsense fines when they could be putting it into our roads and less obstructive landscaping🙄 🤦🏼♀️🤷🏼♀️