Bob Million has been trying to build a 240-boat dry-dock storage facility next to Hammock Hardware on State Road A1A for over two years. His project, called Hammock Harbour, has had the backing of the County Commission, but not the Hammock Community Association or the courts. They twice thwarted Million’s and the county’s contention that the immense, warehouse-like building he’s planning don’t clash with the Scenic A1A overlay district.
Million, an assiduous lobbyist behind the scenes, now appears close to getting his way. The 57,000 square-foot facility he’s proposing–6,000 square feet larger than the Sheriff’s Operations Center going up in Bunnell, and 2,000 square feet larger than the White House–could not win approval as a warehouse, since warehouses are not allowed in the scenic district. But it could as a marina.
And so it will be. On Monday, the Flagler County Commission will hold the first hearing of the amended ordinance that will include the new definition of marinas and the permitted construction of marinas in the district, if permitted as special exceptions. As such, a project would have to go through the regulatory process, its site plan having to win commission approval. Absent a surprise, the commission is expected to adopt the change, and in turn potentially open the way for the further large-scale commercialization of the Scenic A1A Corridor.
Earlier this summer the planning board, with one dissent, approved adding marinas as an accepted use in the scenic overlay. It did not, however, define “marinas.” That took place at its September meeting. The board approved a three-tiered definition of marinas, one of which would fit the plan devised by Million for the boat-storage facility.
The rewriting of the ordinance, in sum, is all but specifically designed to accommodate Million’s project.
Million disagrees. “The proposed amendment does not create a new land use, it further defines marina use previously permitted in Flagler County,” he wrote commissioners.
For all the county’s backward-bending to accommodate Million, he is still dissatisfied with the result. He contends the proposed amendment still fails to meet certain criteria, such as differentiating between “marina” and “boat yard” or specifying parking regulations. He sent in a list of recommended changes to the ordinance.
Million remains critical of the process. “Creating a code amendment outside of a workshop format results in debating proposed code amendment within 3-minute soundbites in a public hearing without opportunity for rebuttal or fact check,” he wrote commissioners. And in a statement explicitly contemptuous of public input, he added: “Public testimony is confusing and leads to an emotional decision.”
The statement is a not-too subtle criticism of the Hammock Community Association, Million’s chief obstacle. Association members are expected to be at Monday’s commission meeting in substantial numbers.
Like Million, the association submitted a set of its own recommendations to be added to the proposed ordinance amendment. None were added when the planning board discussed them, saying they belonged more properly to a different step in the process: when a site plan is submitted for a specific project, then they could be considered. But Dennis Clark, a member of the association, says that’s a way to prevent standard regulations, leaving actual site plans vulnerable to hot-and-miss propositions.
Among the recommended amendments: limit building footprint to 30,000 square feet (the Hammock Publix, for instance, is just below that), more specific parking requirements, limits on above-ground gas storage tanks and other fueling rules, , limiting wet boat slips to a protective cove (impossible in the area of Millipon’s project), and many other regulations addressing environmental matters and industrial-equipment issues.
“Marinas are not lining up to be allowed in Flagler County,” says Dennis Clark, a member of the Hammock Community Association. “A small marina like the one in Marineland would probably not be a problem, but no marina would want to be located on such a narrow strip of the ICW where there is no speed limit and large wakes prevent any kind of boat docks.” (The ICW is the Intracoastal Waterway.) Clark has no illusions and hopes the commission will have no illusions, either: “This is an industrial operation being shoehorned into a so-called ‘Marina’ definition so that one builder can construct and operate this monstrosity in our beautiful Hammock. It does not belong in C-2 zoning and especially not in the [scenic overlay], next to residential districts.”
Walter Fufidio was Flagler County’s prior Director of Planning. Thad Crowe was a member of the county planning board and previously a planning director in three other counties. Both were among the authors of the Scenic Corridor Overlay. Both, Clark said, “agree that dry stacked storage is very similar to commercial warehousing, which is prohibited in the SCO along with boat repairs and sales.” The storage facility will be using a forklift potentially running from dawn past dusk.
The one planning board member who voted against the addition of marinas to the overlay district earlier this summer was Mike Goodman, owner of Captains BBQ. He was not at the September planning board meeting but wrote a letter to the members of the board to note that “we are on the right track with the tiered approach because it recognizes that marinas are not one size fits all.” But he cautioned against sending the amendment on to the county commission, finding it premature.
“I am mostly concerned about the criteria for siting marinas, especially Tier 2 and 3 marinas to ensure they are compatible with surrounding uses,” Goodman wrote. Tier 2 marinas are the kind of non-commercial docks you might find at waterside restaurants, where boaters can dock to spend time at the restaurant or entertainment venue. Tier 3 are the sort of commercial enterprises Million is planning. Goodman continued: “I also think it would be irresponsible to adopt any revision to the code allowing dry boat storage without a thorough review and consideration of the standard fire code and additional requirements that may be needed to address this significant risk.” Current language in the code about marinas, he said, does not protect surrounding residential properties and marina uses may be not compatible with them.
“The proposed revision is silent on too many issues to safely allow marinas,” Goodman wrote.
The Marinas Ordinance Amendment and Background Materials:
Click to access marinas-hammock-harbour.pdf
Jan says
I was at a restaurant in St. Augustine, Culinary Outfitters (now closed) about a month ago. There is a large boat storage facility close by, with the forklift noisily lowering some boats into the water, and lifting other boats up to slot them into the warehouse for storage.
Just for fun, I asked the boaters how they liked their “marina.” They looked at me like I was crazy,and told me it wasn’t a marina, it was a boat storage facility.
Just sayin’….
James Bond says
I can already hear the “Beep Beep Beep” of the forklifts blowing softly across the Intracoastal, all day long. Weekends will be a treat for the people that live within earshot of that nightmare.
Denali says
This is insanity. What we really need to know is who, besides Million, will benefit from this latest scheme. Or, to be a bit more blunt, who has Million made financial promises to in order to get what amounts to nothing more than spot zoning for his project. As was stated – there are not dozens of developers beating a path to the Hammock to build marinas. There is only one and he has been told no on several occasions yet he persisted and is being rewarded with a special ordinance for his business. Again, who did he put in his pocket to make this happen? No rational administration would so blatantly go against the will of the area residents and common sense. Send this guy packing. Flagler County needs to quit bending over for special interests and become stewards of the land for future generations. Enough of the money grabbers. When will they sell off the county property along the beach for high rise condos? You know that is in the back of their greedy little brains.
Tired of the corruption says
Follow the money. Remember who votes in favor of it.
cgm says
Follow the money!
Who has a fatter bank account now?
Kj says
Good!! Now let’s dredge matanzas inlet so it’s navigable and bring some money to our waterways for a much need economic boost!
JLS says
The headline is misleading. This is not a Hammock issue. Nor is it a NIMBY (Not-In-My-Back-Yard) issue, which some members of the public and Commissioners frequently accuse Hammock residents of. This is a “Not-On-Our-Scenic-ByWay” issue (the Scenic ByWay runs through the Hammock so residents work to protect that particular portion of the ByWay.) County Staff, Committees, and Commissioners appear to go to untold lengths to avoid implementing any additional, special protections that are in place for the Scenic ByWay. The Beachwalk development in the Hammock should have been 36 homes instead of 50, but County Staff changed Webster’s definition of “between” in order to allow the 50 homes. The development at hand, Hammock Harbor, should be disallowed, as, regardless of what they call it, it will be a WAREHOUSE full of boats. But as warehouses aren’t allowed on the Scenic By-Way, Staff was once again creative and came up with the idea of calling Hammock Harbor a “marina”. But the County doesn’t have any definition of marinas, so we are now being dragged down that rabbit hole. As I have sited here, and as another current http://www.FlaglerLive.com article about the School District indicates, County Staff, Committees and the Commissioners seem to favor developers at every turn, resulting in harm to this exquisite place we live, and now, to the future of our children by not implementing appropriate impact fees. A majority of the Planning Board members are developers. Terms expire in 2021 for three members of the Planning Board. https://www.flaglercounty.gov/government/board-of-county-commissioners/advisory-boards-and-councils/planning-and-development-board. If you meet the requirements, submit your resume to be on the Planning Board. Two County Commission seats will be up for election in 2022—Joe Mullins and Greg Hansen. If you live in either of those two Commission Districts, run for the County Commission in 2022. We need to change this trajectory. The County needs you.
John Stove says
YES!
Finally a local area to store boats and ease the truck/boat trailer traffic on AIA…..this will be a very popular business and I am sure that their available spaces will sell out quickly. Would be interesting to see how many “residents” of the Hammocks (who oppose the facility) actually keep a boat there!!!!
The dude says
So… change the name, but not the purpose or actual implementation, and it’s suddenly within code?
Follow the money here. Have any of the Flagler commissioners been seen driving around in a new Bentley recently?
They let this warehouse in and Starbucks and McDonalds are not far behind. If this one dude had deep enough pockets to purchase this zoning carveout, you won’t be able to stop the behemoths.
deb says
Yep follow the money and I can hear it now, beep, beep, beep, beep , beep beep a nonstop sound that will be heard over and over and over
JoB says
When I expressed concern about the noise of the forklift to Commissioner Hansen,
he told me he is in discourse with Mr. Million and could probably get that taken care of. What does that tell you!
In a newspaper article from January 2020, the commissioner is quoted as saying, “We want that whole north Hammock area to be developed.”
Goodbye Scenic A1A.
Can't believe it says
When you run a shit show, you must have flies. And that’s where the Flagler County Commissioners and a few greedy developers come in. Because flies eat shit and bother people. They can’t let a day go by until they f*#k up a beautiful area, even more than they already have, with their greed.
Knows Jack says
Florida
With a year round warm climate and thousands of miles of shoreline, it is not surprising that Florida continues to be ranked number one in the top ten boating states in the U.S.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
JLS.. My heart goes out to everyone whose quality of life will suffer with a noisy ugly commercial warehouse. We kept our 30 foot Chris Craft at Halifax Marina for 2 years before we sold it. No DRY STORAGE – no noise… We spent many a weekend sleeping quietly on our boat. You are all getting shafted big tine and you bet if GOD keeps me alive I am running to replace Mullins. I hope you an get a big crowd of v o t e r s to show up at Monday’s Commission meeting because the head count of objectors will be, in my opinion, will affect the decisive final vote of the commissioners..
My go on this is SHOW UP in numbers ( headcounts do affect final votes) Monday and tell them Marinas are not warehouses ; bring Webster’s unabridged dictionary to confirm this fact and read the definitions to the Commissioners- it might be your only hope without going to court.
Don't Cull Me says
Are the boats in storage being put in the water at the WAREHOUSE? If so, what does the Army Corp of Engineers have to say about this?
If boats have to be trailered elsewhere to launch, what are we going to do to address the increased traffic along A1A and all the trailered boats pulling in and out of the WAREHOUSE on the weekends? Are we getting a traffic light ?
The increase in boat traffic in that area will be be harmful to our wildlife and residents who swim and canoe in the area. Are we going to actually get an enforceable No Wake Zone?
Will a noise ordinance be enforced or will we all have to accept the decrease in our property values because of the noise from the WAREHOUSE ??
I would think our county would be wanting to keep our beautiful Scenic Highway as it is. Not looking forward to having our beautiful county turn into Miami North!
Brad West says
I guess we should remove the Scenic from the highway designation, its more like welcome to Junkyard alley….