The Flagler County Commission Monday evening rejected a settlement agreement recommended by its own attorney to end the four-year-old dispute with a developer who wants to build a restaurant and 204-boat dry-storage facility in the Scenic A1A corridor. What would be called Hammock Harbor is a planned dry-storage marina, or warehouse, as the developer himself had described it in an early building plan, and as its opponents still describe it.
A lawsuit by the developer is likely.
Bob Million, the developer of Hammock Harbour, next to Hammock Hardware, is not barred from building the nearly 50,000 square-foot development, which would include a restaurant. But when Million last submitted building plans, the county rejected them. Million had to apply for a special exception first, since marinas are not specified as permitted uses in the county’s land regulations. The special exception would have to be approved by the county’s planning board, along with any other conditions the planning board may fined necessary.
Million and his attorney, Milo Scott Thomas, reject that requirement. They say the special exception doesn’t apply to their development. Terry Schmidt, a special magistrate, agreed. Monday’s decision hinged on whether the commission would accept the special magistrate’s recommendations–translated into a settlement agreement–or not.
It did not.
Commissioners found the special magistrate’s recommended order deeply flawed if not premature, and based in part on irrelevant facts. They were also put off by the developer’s refusal to follow standard regulatory steps. Commissioner Leann Pennington, in clear, forceful language, summed up the county’s impatience with both as she prepared to make a motion rejecting the settlement.
“How can the magistrate conclude a marina is permitted if it’s not expressly listed” in the county’s Land Development Code, or LDC, Pennington asked, twice expressing disappointment in Assistant County Attorney Sean Moylan for going along with the magistrate’s recommendation on that score, or for overlooking the magistrate’s equation of a public marina with a private marina (Hammock Harbour would be private).
To go along with the magistrate’s recommendation and the settlement agreement, Pennington said, would mean that the county agrees with Hammock Harbour’s claim that its plans are consistent with Flagler County’s land regulations and the strictures of the Scenic A1A corridor.
“So I’m not willing to vote on record to that statement that’s in that agreement, I’m not willing to make a precedent for others to completely walk over the process and findings of other boards to get here to what they want,” Pennington said. “There was a finding, it was for a special exception. The owner has not been denied a development order. He simply needs to go forth with a special exception. And as to the attorney saying that a taking has occurred, we don’t know what’s occurred, because we don’t know the outcome of the special exception.”
Thomas, Million’s attorney, had repeated to the County Commission Monday what he’d said during the May mediation: that he’s a litigator, that he was hired to litigate, not to appear before county commissions. As in May, his repeated allusions to litigation were barely veiled threats that a lawsuit is coming, if Hammock Harbour isn’t approved. He claimed, and the special magistrate agreed, that while the planning board had spoken of a “special exception,” the special exception was not part of its official motion. If that had been gray area, however, Pennington and the County Commission made it black and white on Monday.
“This board is not bound by that special magistrate’s recommendation,” Pennington said. “As such, I would recommend that we render it back to the planning board to go through the process for a public hearing and a special exception.” Commission Chair Andy Dance noted that there’d never been a development order to start with–nothing for Million to take to a special magistrate. In other words, the county was all but nullifying the mediation process that had led the matter back before it.
See the full hearing starting at the 49-minute mark:
The commissioners in sum put more stock in the arguments presented by Dennis Bayer, the attorney representing the Hammock Community Association, and S. Brent Spain, an Orlando land use attorney representing some of Hammock Harbour’s neighbors, than they did in those of the special magistrate, of Thomas or even of Moylan.
The county came close to rewriting its land regulations to allow for marinas. But it was Million himself who rejected the proposed ordinance. The county had also previously approved the boat-storage facility, only to be sued by the Hammock Community Association, which has opposed the development, and lose: the county’s approval had itself failed to follow proper regulatory procedures, the judge ruled. An appeals court upheld the ruling.
“Special exceptions are not that complicated,” Bayer said. Had Million applied for one, his project would have been under construction by now, he said. Skipping the public hearing before the planning board would be a “lack of respect.”
“In Florida, the law is, you err on the side of the property owner,” Moylan had said. “We have very strong private property rights in Florida, any ambiguity in zoning law, you err on the side of the property owner.” Some of the Hammock residents who spoke in opposition to the special magistrate’s recommendation challenged the County Commission on that count: “I’m going to ask each one of you, would you like that right next to your house? Because I don’t understand how one property owner preempts residential owners when the majority of the structures are residential,” one resident said.
Dance stressed that the development itself is not in question. “I think it was pretty clear from the research that whether it’s a commercial, recreational use or others, the rezoning for the boatyard, that dry stack storage is reasonable, and that’s what the planning board basically came up with–with protections of a special exception.” The special exception “is appropriate within the scenic overlay, because we have that historical component to this, this parcel, it lives within the scenic overlay.”
“There’s a lot of a lot of people against this, and I don’t think it hurts to put it through the special exception process,” Commissioner Greg Hansen said, “get it everything aired public.” The 4-1 vote in favor of Pennington’s motion drew a dissent from Dave Sullivan, which he did not explain. It was Sullivan’s and Commissioner Donald O’Brien’s last votes on the commission as their two terms came to an end.
HayRide says
For the people dragging their feet on this, you’re wasting your time. And for the article to say ‘scenic A1A,’ let it go. Most businesses in that area are in the woods, and the average traveler doesn’t even know what businesses are there now. Go be scenic somewhere else!
Let them continue, after the fact in several months later, you won’t even remember what you fought for.
only concerns would be an environmental impact, fix that and continue
Dennis C Rathsam says
As I look down at the photo with 43 on it. There are houses on both sides, who wants to live next boats in dry dock? Talk about killing the nieghborhood! This is a bad idea period.
Michael says
Agree stop giving all these developers what they want and ruining neighborhoods.
Think about existing property owners rights.
No more zoning changes. When you bought the land you knew what the zoning was. Stop using your money and influence to bribe the politicians.
JimboXYZ says
It just wouldn’t be a growth & Vision of 2050 approval without no value added for unnecessary litigation. Sometimes you have to just say “No” from the beginning to avoid this later. Never wavering from that position. The special exception thing, that’s probably been in existence from day 1 of the Hammocks existence.
As for the litigator, put your lawyer away and fill out the special exception form already.
“Thomas, Million’s attorney, had repeated to the County Commission Monday what he’d said during the May mediation: that he’s a litigator, that he was hired to litigate, not to appear before county commissions.”
““Special exceptions are not that complicated,” Bayer said. Had Million applied for one, his project would have been under construction by now, he said. “
Hammock Huck says
I’m curious, and not that it matters to the county commission, but is Bob Million a Hammock or Flagler County resident? If not, why is he making all this effort to destroy our community? It’s clearly monetary. This will be nothing but an eyesore to the area and open Pandora’s box for future commercial development on the barrier island. Go away and build your eyesore somewhere else. The Hammock doesn’t need this.
Billy B says
Hammock Huck you are absolutely right – the Hammock has enough eyesores.
Hammock Huck says
Yep, Hammock Dunes, Ocean Hammock, Hidden Hammock, and every gated community in the Hammock.
Backslapping Commission says
BRAVO LEANN PENNINGTON! for speaking up for the residents
of Flagler County, such a unique and beautifu little strip of land
the developers want to destroy that too. It’s about time that Sean
Moylan is put in his place with his use of old land use maps he
conveniently used for past projects, time he starts working for the
citizens who pay his salary in our county instead of developers.
We are looking forward to a whole lot more of B**ch slaps to
go around in the near future with 2 other powerful newly elected
women on board. Adios Sullivan, you could have at least left on
a good note instead of your sour self.
Florida is beautiful says
The Chinese have an old and wise saying “THE FISH SMELLS (STINKS) FROM THE TOP” , Moylan is just a “TOOL” of the counties administration, who will argue any point he’s ordered to. In the end for all of you praying the new commissioners will suddenly and intelligently answer all your prayers you are sadly mistaken. The commissioners know full and well that the developers and builders control this count and its economy.
This project will go forward, there’s to much money involved and the immortal words of Sam Cooke, “Change is going to come”.
So this to the residents of the Hammock, you cannot “cherry pick” what goes and comes anymore.
BLINDSPOTTING says
Florida is beautiful: Sean Moylan NEEDS TO DO HIS JOB AS WE
THE TAXPAYERS PAY HIS SALARY ALONG WITH PETITOS AND
HADEED. Stop with the “brainwashing” and gaslighting to make people
believe that they have no rights, they are misrepresenting the people
of the county and the people’s rights, that’s right we have rights, it’s
not all about the developers we have had too many of the wrong players
past and present elected officals who did not do the right things with
their purposeful use of vague language in ordinances, developing
agreements and zone changes, to represent”We the People”. We all need
to storm commissioners meetings as well as city meetings to have our
voices heard. As Pontieri had discovered reading the 250 pages or so
in a DRI document of a decade or so, PROMISES MADE AND NEVER KEPT!
Since the other past city officals conveniently skipped reading those
documents!
Palm Coast Council’s Pontieri Issues Warning to Rayonier and City
flaglerlive.com/pontieri-rayonier
Nostradamus predicted says
Now who’s GASLIGHTING ?
BLINDSPOTTING says
Nostradamus: Nostradamus made his predictions based on the pain
in his BIG TOE and soon after died which they say
from GOUT, but I think it was really a bad bout
of diarrhea of the mouth! “And that’s the rest of the story”,
as Norman Vincent Peale once said
Jane Gentile Youd says
But it was okay for the commission to approve a ‘special exception’ for an RV ad BOAT parking with bright lights behind single story wood frame homes in Plantation Bay because the property owners were discouraged from appealing to the courts. One of the members of the Planning Board wears THREE hats and voted to ‘recuse himself from the first vote for ‘special exception’ to allow this inconsistent, incompatible and unnecessary use of land adjacent to residential. It is not normal to recuse yourself unless you have a FINANCIAL INTEREST in the zoning issue. So Jack Corbett admitted that he had an interest in land abutting ‘one’ of his Treetop properties. Then when a time limit was never given to the illegally granted – my opinion – special exception – the issue was sent back to the planning board and lo and behold!!! Jack Corbett was not only allowed to unrecuse himself he proposed giving the property owner 18 months to APPLY for a PERMIT to pour concrete for an open parking lot and another 18 months to pour the concrete to get a CO… That give him and his cohorts ( my opinion) 36 months – 3 years to FLIP the property for more than they paid.
Corbett needs to be removed from the Planning Board
Sean Moylan and Al Hadeed need to be F I R E D as the county attorneys.
Special exceptions are not granted as Sean stupidly said at the commission meeting Monday that Special exceptions are ‘common’ when the original planners just skipped over a use.
He needs his law license revoked in my opinion for such a stupid remark.
Special Exceptions are for N E C E S S I T I E S whose proven needs are provided to the voting members via Substantial, Competent Evidence of the Necessity. And who in their right mind grants a ‘use for necessity without given a strict and prompt time line to get the necessary work done?
The law department is a sick waste of our taxpayers money. Over $40,000 spent and wasted to keep the Old Dixie Hotel still standing and making Abe NcKinnon and Al Hadeed rich. Not one motion to knock the POS down with a Summary Judgment and now two CONTEMPT Orders.
I hope the new commissioners open their eyes and fire these two disgraces to the legal profession ( my opinion) It is a shame that it has required a large group of taxpayers who dip into their personal pockets to undo stupidity of those county officials who put them in this spot. Diaguting incompetency in the legal department which is the most overpaid and useless department in the county in my opinion and personal experience dealing with them on legal grounds.
Celia Pugliese says
Lets rejoice as county residents witnessed our triad ladies (two just sworn in) county commissioners with LeAnne Pennington leading the charge against the boat storage project demanded by developers now under the excellent scope of star Land Development “Attorney Mr. Brent Spain” defending the opposition of the Hammock Harbor neighbors, Mr. Spain already successfully engaged by us members of Protect Palm Coast since 2021. Keep up the good work. Finally the residents entitlements will also stand. Thank you LeAnne, attorney’s Spain and Bayer and those brave Hammock residents willing to invest in legal fees to protect their quality of life! To us all as community defending also our rights isn’t worth few hundred to a thousand dollars to spend to preserve the properties worth several hundreds thousands? Was for us monies well spent and maybe could be recovered…because why been enduring in PC and County the skewed impositions of their planners? They always tell us the vacant land owners have rights and what about the residents land owners rights? Why these developers always allowed to supersede our rights? Well done Hammock Association, Hammock Neighbors as Protect Palm Coast did.