Flagler County government is belatedly moving toward adopting a tree ordinance that would significantly increase tree-protection measures, either by reducing the number of trees cut, by increasing replanting requirements, or by establishing a tree fund that will be a form of replacement bank developers may pay into, to compensate for the trees destroyed on a development site.
The county moved toward a more effective tree ordinance at the urging of Andy Dance, the current County Commission chair and a landscape architect, after county officials learned through public hearings–when it was too late–that stately oak trees on the 612 acres of the future 1,200-home Radiance development on Old Kings Road (formerly known as Eagle Lakes) had no protection from being torn down. No tree survey had been done. None had been required.
“And here we are at PUD approval,” Dance said at the time, referring th Radiance’s Planned Unit Development application more than two years ago. “Once it gets past this stage, we don’t have anything to hold them accountable.”
As a result, Dance proposed to his colleagues on the County Commission that the county should rework its tree ordinance, even if only as a stop-gap measure: the county is also rewriting its comprehensive plan and its land development code, all of which will have bearing on tree policy.
The ordinance has since been drafted. “When a subdivision is coming in to design a new neighborhood,” Assistant County Attorney Sean Moylan said, “when this is in place, they have to take into account the existing natural resources on the land and try to in incorporate that into their design, instead of just imposing their development on the landscape. If they have, for instance, a nice stand of large trees, well, they might want to leave that area alone, and design around it. That’ll be codified once this is adopted.”
The Flagler County Planning Board on Tuesday recommended approval of the ordinance when it goes before the County Commission for a first reading next Monday, even though Adam Mengel, the county’s planning director, said the proposal is incomplete.
“I’m not going to tell you that it won’t yet change more,” Mengel said. “I think this is a bit of a work in progress,” especially as the Land Development Code is rewritten. The timing irked Mengel. “As part of an overall in development code update, we may take a totally different approach, on on format, on structure, the bones may may still yet be the same, but I do think we’ll revisit this.”
The ordinance:
- Requires developers to conduct a tree survey before construction.
- Encourages developers to craft site plans that take mature trees into account.
- Conditions final plat approval on proof that all required tree replacements have been accomplished.
- Redefines so-called “indexed trees”–hardwoods with diameters of more than 6 inches, specimen trees larger than 18 inches, historic trees larger than 36 inches–as protected trees. They’re still not immune from destruction. But if they are destroyed or uprooted, they must be replaced, replanted or the county must be compensated through a tree fund.
- Establishes a tree fund.
- Increases tree-replacement ratios while exempting trees within the immediate footprint of single family home footprints from having to be replaced.
- Provides for variances, or allowances, to diverge from the ordinance, with regulatory review.
“The county has been a little tardy in addressing it,” Dance said, but he’s been pleased with the pragmatic approach. “There is flexibility built in for some mitigation, so if trees come out there’s a process for mitigating those removals and replanting, and part of the new code is: if you can’t replant on the site, there’s a tree fund very similar to Palm Coast to where you can pay into the tree fund, and those funds can be used for tree protection or tree planting by the county.”
The tree fund would be based on the wholesale value of the trees. The county would plant the trees on county property, though there’s only so many trees it could fit on public. “So there may be something then that if we have the historic trees, the specimen trees that are present on a property,” Mengel said, “rather than going and buying the property as we had with Old Moody homestead, and taking it off the tax roll, putting it on the government side, we may have a less-than-fee acquisition. We may have effectively a tree easement. I’m calling it that. Some kind of conservation easement that would be placed there, to place that tree, or trees, maybe a grove of trees ideally into some kind of permanent easement.” The county would use money from the tree fund to buy the tree easement.
If trees were to die, the owner might have the ability to buy back the easement, Mengel said, though when he was floating that possibility, it had not been written into the ordinance.
The designation for heritage trees–the most valued trees–is at the discretion of the County Commission, and at the request of land owners, which was absurd: “Imagine that scenario as a landowner,” Mengel said. “You’re going to somebody saying, Hi, I want you to put a restriction on my land.” That works when a landowner is attempting to woo the county to buy the land and add it to its inventory of environmentally sensitive lands for protection. It does not work in the overwhelming majority of cases when landowners or developers are building on land and razing trees. “It’s odd that right now, the only way that we have that designation is through the designation by the board itself,” Mengel said.
Michael Goodman, a planning board member, cited the example of a church in the Hammock that cut down five oak trees and put a prefabricated building in their place. “Something there doesn’t make sense to me,” he said. “We have to be able to make it economically not viable for them to be destroying trees in that manner.”
The proposed ordinance would give the county the authority to look at certain trees and designate them as more valuable than others. “It would still not mean that you couldn’t cut it down. But if you cut it down, you removed it, you would have an above and beyond requirement for your replacement,” Mengel said. “It’s intended to discourage you, or maybe say it a different way: to encourage you to preserve that tree on the property.”
The proposed ordinance received comments from builders, developers and their representatives, interests Mengel described as ” a handful of folks that we see kind of routinely in our chambers.” But it is almost certain to get more vetting by the same special interests before the County Commission.
As for the old oak trees at the Radiance development, they’re still there, if only because the developer has not yet submitted a site plan for the property. If enacted, the proposed ordinance cannot be retroactive. So it will not apply to Radiance, leaving the developer free to cut down the oaks. But the developer is just as free to approach the design of the project with the new ordinance in mind.
Jan Cullinane says
Thank you, Commissioner Andy Dance!
Keep Flagler Beautiful says
Bravo to all who are responsible for enacting this ordinance. It is long past due. It’s just a rotten shame it cannot be applied retroactively to the Radiance development, which will be a monstrosity. However, I’m not entirely convinced that it cannot be applied retroactively, since the developers have not yet submitted a site plan. This should be looked into very carefully. The tree demolition left Eagle Lakes looking barren. There was no reason why that had to happen. Once Radiance starts moving in with their bulldozers, that entire stretch of Old Kings Road will look horrible, and there will be a devastating effect on wildlife. We have even seen eagles nesting in those trees.
Pogo says
@Reagan ever sleep here? God knows, plenty of the local yokels claim him…
“…I think, too, that we’ve got to recognize that where the preservation of a natural resource like the redwoods is concerned, that there is a common sense limit. I mean, if you’ve looked at a hundred thousand acres or so of trees — you know, a tree is a tree, how many more do you need to look at?…”
“…Why he believed what he said, however, remains a mystery. Reagan, who was often attuned to nature, was strangely insensitive to the magnificence of the redwoods, long recognized as natural wonders of the world … Reagan was reluctant even to acknowledge the grandeur of the trees. Of one of the oldest and loveliest groves of redwoods, he said (on 15 March 1967), “I saw them; there is nothing beautiful about them, just that they are a little higher than the others.”…”
https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/if-youve-seen-one-tree/
Jane Gentile Youd says
I cannot control my laughter at this new ordinance WE HAVE ONE but it is openly, with the blessings of Adam Mengel, broken by at least 3 big boy developers in the past 3 years ( that I know of) – the big project on John Anderson…..The Hammock… recently Plantation Bay precious oxygen creating 50 foot and taller trees were illegally removed. Developer replaces with twigs and had the audacity in front of those whose privacy her clients destroyed ” Oh, the trees will grow tall in a few years”…. She was not speaking to 5 year olds who have all the time in the world , she was talking to a group with an average age of OVER 60 – some in their 80’s!
Ordinances protecting our environment including the air we breathe mean nothing to Adam Mengel. He is all for promoting the developers – he even uses the words :” WE” when speaking about projects as he did Tuesday night so pass all the Ordinances and pretend…
Nothing will be enforced per current or future code until Adam Mengel is G O N E from his position as Growth Management Director. He has no growth of his own in Flagler County – not one inch of land – he can’t even vote in Flagler because he does not live in Flagler. He can come in one day and say ” See ya guys I’m leaving. No condo or house to sell.. not even a rental lease to cancel !
” – and those of us with no trees left can say ” we told you so”
WE NEED TO ENFORCE THE TREE PROTECTION ORDINANCES WE HAVE NOW WHICH IS NOT BEING DONE AND HAS NOT BEEN DONE FOR Y E A R S ( unless you own a single family home – get ready to go through a big big process)
Sickening – just more sickening each day.
GOD Bless those of us who love our trees – Adam Mengel is not one of us
Local says
I don’t know this man you speak of and you sound like you’ve done your homework, but the hypocrisy when you say, “He has no growth of his own in Flagler County.” How much “growth” do you have in Flagler, Janet, coming from NYC? Who did you sell-out to as a realtor?
Carol Bader says
I agree with you 100 % this CLEAR CUTTING has got to stop ! The cutting of these large OAKS is a disgrace and tells the community that the developers rule $$$$ SHAME ON THEM AND OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS !!!
DaleL says
This is a little off topic, but I want to plug my favorite species of tree. It is the macadamia. It is a bit hard to obtain as the local nurseries and big box stores do not stock them. When we moved to the Hammock in 2016, the county required our builder to plant replacement trees. Hurricane Matthew flooded our neighborhood’s streets and ditches with salt water. Three of our replacement magnolia trees died as result. I obtained several macadamias from a plant nursery near Miami. I also started some from seed.
I now have a beautiful large spreading Beaumont variety macadamia in my front yard and another smaller one in my backyard. One of my seedlings, planted where a magnolia died, is now a skinny 12 foot tall tree. In December 2022, my Davis weather station recorded extended periods of 26 degrees and a low of 25 degrees F. Our Choquette avocado suffered considerable die back. Our Brogden avocado suffered a little die back at the top of the tree. The macadamias did fine. The ones in the backyard had no die back and the Beaumont in the front yard had only minor die back at the very top of the tree.
Macadamia trees flower in the spring. The flowers are pink, fragrant and attract lots of bees. The nuts are prized by the local squirrels. The leaves are evergreen and a bit spiky like those of a holly tree.
Acorn says
Just a little too late. LOL!
Tree guy Tim says
Why? They have to have so many trees when the build a house or roads.
Deborah Coffey says
Very belated but better late than never.
Celia Pugliese says
Too little too late…but better than nothing until now. Palm Coast should adopt same as ordinance only now for single family homes and not for developers new subdivisions as they raze and burnt it all.
Doug says
If you look at every new house popping up around Palm Coast you will see the lots have been totally cleared and when finished there is a little gem magnolia and a crepe myrtle planted in the front and back. These are not shade trees, and with the new mantra of “climate change” why is this allowed. With nothing but concrete and asphalt everything heats up. Tree canopies help with shade and cooling. As usual builders get away the cheapest solution.
Robin says
This has been long overdue; I hope there will be stronger protections for specimen trees and higher penalties for removing them.
Tony says
Too little too late.
Flagler County S#!t Show.... says
So tired seeing & smelling huge piles of trees & vegetation being burned on many acres of totally destroyed land. What good is an ordinance & rules if they aren’t ENFORCED. If there were stronger ordinances & stiffer penalties that actually were followed, maybe the developers & property owners would think twice about completely clear cutting everything, then worry about getting their hands slapped & pay a small fine after-the-fact IF they get caught. They don’t care as long as the project moves along quickly. Developers/Owners who break the rules should be charged a HUGE fine AND have to cease all further activity by suspending their permit for 6 months, maybe that would get their attention. Adam Mengel & Mike Chiumento are the 2 worst people in position for the all the development in our county. One coaches the developers by way of loopholes & the other approves it all. Just sayin’…..
Foresee says
The developers think and act like termites. Besides, how is it equivalent to replace a tall 50 year old tree with one of those sickly little crepe myrtles that is more of a shrub than a tree? Disgusting lack of respect or understanding for the interdependent complexity of nature, and the failure to appreciate the beauty of it. “Developer” is the wrong word for these greedy people.
Laurel says
Foresee: Developers are the worst! I agree, it’s pure greed. Nature is just something in the way of lining their pockets before they haul ass.
Everyone involved doesn’t seem to recognize, or care, that the trees not only accomplish shade, homes for wildlife, but they draw water in low lying areas vulnerable to flooding, and the Hammock trees help protect the inland from hurricane damage.
If you replace a hundred years old Live Oak with a scrawny, trimmed up Home Depot tree, which may or not live, you’re done with protections, right? The new easement tree “dies” the land owner get the easement back. I wonder how many will mysteriously die.
What a load of crap. Flagler County turns its collective head away from being what could be a fabulous place, to the same old, backward thinking, and looks to personal money gain. Then telling us residents they are working on it.
Oh, and how are all these wonderful developments helping your tax trim notice, and the bill that follows? We need growth for what reason again? Tell us again about all the *benefits* of supposedly inevitable growth.
ELLEN says
STOP THE DAMN BUILDING,
Doug says
Sadly, Flagler County is a few years short of this rule.