Protecting the headwaters of Bulow Creek from development’s proximity went from a hope to a plan Monday as the Flagler County Commission voted 5-0 to ratify an application process seeking several million dollars from Florida Forever, the state’s conservation fund, to buy 153 acres around the creek near Flagler Beach.
To improve and accelerate chances of qualifying for money, the county expanded its 4,260-acre Flagler County Blueway Project, a vast expanse of land it hopes to protect, placing the 153-acre parcel at the top of its priorities. Florida Forever’s 10-member Acquisition and Restoration Council meets on Feb. 13 to consider the county’s and other applications. The county is not seeking a grant immediately, but laying the groundwork for one.
The effort to heighten awareness over the importance of protecting Bulow Creek, then seek means of carving land out of a developer’s holdings to protect it, was the work of County Commissioner Andy Dance, who grew up in the area and still kayaks on Bulow Creek.
“We’ve made so much progress in this past year on environmentally sensitive lands,” Dance said. “It’s been amazing to see.”
“The Flagler County Blueway Project is already a Priority List item,” a county memo summarizing the initiative states. “The application will expand the boundaries of the Project to include the 153+/- acres of floodplain adjoining Bulow Creek, and was limited to those areas the developer agreed to put into the Program.”
The creek itself does not border land planned for development, though it is in close proximity. The planned development is Summertown, a sister development of Veranda Bay. The two developments combine for about 2,400 homes at build-out in a few decades, to be built on both sides of John Anderson Highway. Close to 200 homes have gone up on the east side of the highway. None have on the west side, where Summertown is to be built, along with about 650,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.
The 153 acres belong to SunBelt Land Management, represented by Ken Belshe. SunBelt is a willing seller, and Belshe met with Dance and county staff to lay out a plan, assuming the county can secure the necessary dollars, though precise dollar figures have not yet been disclosed. The willing-seller assurance was key to ensure that the state considers the application to Florida Forever. If Florida Forever is financing the purchase, the state agency will conduct the appraisals of the property and base its buying price on that.
All of that is also important to Flagler Beach for reasons that have less to do with conservation and more to do with annexation, though the two goals merge pragmatically. Both SunBelt and Flagler Beach want to annex Summertown (and, eventually, Veranda Bay). Both have faced strong opposition from a conservation non-profit called Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, which is concerned about the density of the development and its proximity to Bulow Creek. The non-profit’s advocates were first to raise the possibility of buying land for preservation.
“This is taking development pressure off of the edge of the Bulow Creek headwaters, and this had value to the developer,” Dance said before making the motion to modify the boundaries of the Blue Way.
Dance’s initiative and the negotiations went so fast that they were conducted ahead of County Commission discussion. That’s within County Administrator Heidi Petito’s purview: she has the authority to file for grants. But she also needed the commission’s ratification. That’s what took place on Monday.
“The project will protect environmentally sensitive lands, as well as very unique, rare communities, plants and animals,” Erick Revuelta, the county’s lands manager, said. “It will protect a portion of the FEMA floodplain, the 100-year floodplain for Bulow Creek, it will enhance passive recreation opportunities in the area. As we know, there’s a lot of plans with the Bulow Creek Regional Headwaters Park.”
Those plans are tied to the future “Eco-Discovery” tourism and visitor center planned for State Road 100, near the pedestrian bridge, whose trail will eventually go through the park.
Commissioner Greg Hansen’s first reaction was that the land the county is seeking to buy “is not enough.” Revuelta said the county “can’t put the whole property on the Florida Forever or the ESL. We essentially had to accept what they were willing to give us,” meaning the sellers. ESL is the county’s taxpayer-supported Environmentally Sensitive Lands program. Its fund is expected to contribute to the purchase.
“I’m with Commissioner Hansen,” Commissioner Kim Carney said. “ This was last minute. I get that. This is not a critique of anybody, except the fact that I know that the Bulow Creek folks have been begging for this for years. This has not been a low priority, but it was bumped into a high priority because of a deadline. I think that situations like this, no matter where they exist in the county, should be looked at every year.”
Dance clarified Carney’s view. There had been a lot of “wishing and wanting to do protections, but there wasn’t any movement,” Dance said. “It wasn’t until October that I was able to gain a face to face meeting with Mr. Belshe and Mr. Chiumento.” Michael Chiumento is the land use attorney who represents Belshe and SunBelt.
John Tanner, the attorney who has been a member of–and has represented–Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, said “the progress is good,” but only as a “good step in the right direction.” He, too, doesn’t think the acreage is enough. He remains opposed to annexation, which he said would remove all controls on density. He called on the county to “slow this annexation down,” hinting at litigation. The county is unlikely to take that route.
Caleb Hathaway, a resident of John Anderson Highway, R.J. Santore, a candidate for the Flagler Beach City Commission, and Brynn Newton, a Flagler Beach resident, a lawyer and a member of the county’s Land Acquisition Committee (which recommends lands for conservation), also pressed for additional acreage for conservation.
FedUp says
A day late and a few dollars short. But this is par for the course for Flagler County.