Members of the Flagler Home Builders Association have been writing Palm Coast City Council members to urge them to vote No on a construction moratorium Pontieri has proposed for 60 to 90 days on so-called “infill” lots in the city’s sections platted by ITT. Pontieri proposed the moratorium on Jan. 5, but agreed to delay such a proposal to Tuesday’s meeting (on Jan. 16), pending a procedural, legal step that would include a formal resolution, and additional information from city staff, including the completion of the rewriting of the city’s Technical Manual that builders are required to follow. The revisions are intended to minimize future flooding issues. Those revisions have already been enacted, but if the council ratifies them on Tuesday, the call for a moratorium could be moot.
“I have been inundated with emails regarding my motion for a temporary pause on new infill lot building until the City can update its Technical Manual,” Pontieri wrote today. “Unlike the emails I’ve received in the past, this onslaught of email came from the Flagler County Home Builders Association (HBA). “In the interest of transparency and clarity, I sent the below response, which I share with the public—not to discourage the HBA from reaching out to me in the future, but to shed light on the reasoning for my very strong stance on this issue and why I know it’s in our community’s best interest.”
The HBA’s executive officer, Annamaria Long, said an email campaign in response to Pontieri’s call started on Jan. 10. The HBA was invited today to more directly respond to Pontieri’s response. Long said there would be no formal response, but disputed some of Pontieri’s facts in a note.
What follows is, first, one of the emails from an HBA member (in this case, Garry Parks), followed by Pontieri’s reply, followed by Long’s note.
The Garry Parks email:
As a member of the Flagler Home Builders Association, I am contacting you today to urge you to vote NO on the Infill Lot New Construction Moratorium proposed by Councilwoman Theresa Pontieri at the January 2, 2024 Council Meeting.
This proposal would cause an immediate and direct effect on more than 9,000 lots in our city and will have a detrimental and resounding impact on the home building industry in our region. This moratorium banishes and impoverishes the people most capable of finding solutions for this issue: the builders.
While we understand Councilwoman Pontieri’s concerns with storm water drainage on each lot, holding new home construction as ransom is not the appropriate means to alleviate the need for the updates to be completed on the Storm Water Technical Manual.
Issuing this moratorium will not simply delay construction. This ill-conceived measure will impact the private sector, city employees with multiple jobs lost and future commercial development.
As our City Council Members I know that you are dedicated to making decisions that benefit our community as a whole, and I hope that you will be moved to do the right thing when this proposal comes before you.
Theresa Pontieri’s reply:
Thank you for your correspondence in the templated email outlining the HBA’s concerns regarding a temporary pause on new infill lot building while the City updates its Technical Manual for builders. I’ve greatly considered your email. Please allow this email to serve as a response in turn to each of your issues, as well as an outline of my concerns for my residents.
While your email states that my proposal would “cause an immediate and direct effect on more than 9,000 lots in our city and will have a detrimental and resounding impact on the home building industry in our region,” the actual facts are that in the City of Palm Coast, as of today’s date, there are 64 applications for building residential permits waiting to be issued for infill lots. By contrast, there are 126 open, unresolved cases for infill lot flooding in our City due to new builds constructed adjacent to these flooding properties.
To say that this pause would have a detrimental and resounding impact on not only our City, but also our region, is not only an exaggeration and an irresponsible statement that could actually do more harm in itself than the actual pause, but it also ignores the fact that nearly double the amount of residents are experiencing flooding to their most important investment than the number of current applications pending approval for permits.
Next, your email states, “[t]his moratorium banishes and impoverishes the people most capable of finding solutions for this issue: the builders.” The definition of “banish” is to send away or punish, and no one, certainly not our Council, is sending away or punishing any builders through this action. We are simply doing our jobs, which is to protect the members of our community while we update known deficiencies in our Technical Manual. Furthermore, we initially approached you, the builders, for your input to our proposed changes to our Technical Manual back on November 17. We did not receive a response to those proposed changes until three days after I made my motion, on Jan. 5. I asked repeatedly from the dais for both the City and the HBA to move quickly on this matter, as real people are feeling real negative effects daily—not suspected ones—due to infill lot building. My requests were not heeded until after my motion was made and passed.
Your email also accuses me of “holding new home construction as ransom” and states this is not the “appropriate means to alleviate the need for” updates to our Technical Manual. At this juncture, I have to vehemently disagree, as my motion has proven that it was the only means to get these updates to our Technical Manual finalized. Prior to my motion being made, it doesn’t seem there was any sense of urgency to get these updates finalized and instituted. But magically, after my motion was made, which could have an impact on the building industry, movement was made on the Technical Manual, which we will hopefully approve at Tuesday’s business meeting, alleviating the need for any pause to new infill lot building.
Your email then goes on to accuse my motion of being “ill-conceived,” as it will not only delay construction, but will impact the private sector, city employees, and multiple jobs lost, as well as future commercial development. I’d like to see the research and statistics behind such a statement, as this pause would have minimal effects, strictly limited to new infill lot building for a limited period of time. Our city employees have plenty of other inspections and work to do.
Therefore, I am very skeptical that such a statement has any validity, and if multiple jobs and commercial development will be impacted by a (maximum) 90-day pause on new infill lot building, then we are doing something else wrong and have industries in this City with a foundation built on twigs, rather than cement. I’d say larger issues are at play that need to be focused on rather than my motion.
Your email concludes by stating you recognize that I am dedicated to “making decisions that benefit our community as a whole,” and you hope I’ll be moved to do the right thing. You can rest very easy, as you’re correct. I do base all of my decisions on what I think will benefit our community as a whole, and I will be moved to do the right thing. For that reason, if the proposed changes the City has made to the Technical Manual will not—in the opinion of City staff—alleviate the flooding that our current residents are experiencing, I will be in favor of the 90-day pause on new infill lot building until those changes are implemented.
If you do not think this is good for the community as a whole, ask yourself this question: “How good is it for future building, growth, and commercial development if our City earns a reputation of flooding due to poor building practices and outdated stormwater regulations?” I would gather that the long-term repercussions of such a reputation is what you, as the HBA, should be focused on, rather than a motion that would impart a 90-day pause in order to protect the current stakeholders of our great City—the residents.
Thank you for your engagement.
The Note by the HBA’s Annamaria Long:
In an email Monday evening, HBA Executive Officer Annamaria Long disputed Pontieri’s claim of “64 applications for building residential permits waiting to be issued for infill lots.” In the past 90 days, Long wrote, “permits were issued for 357 SFR (single family residential) homes, the majority of those being infill lots.” The monthly average has been 429 in 2023, and 492 in 2022, Long wrote.
Long noted: “For ease, we will utilize the most recent data – 357 single family residential units for the sake of the following calculations: According to The National Association of Home Builders Local Impact Report, those 357 homes will generate $72.5 million in local income, including local business owner revenues of $21.5 million, support 1210 jobs, and $51 million in local wages and salaries. Those 357 homes will also generate the collection of $13.3 million in local taxes and fees.”
Long also provided a timeline of the HBA’s collaboration with the city’s Stormwater Department on the Technical Manual over the last six months. The timeline Long provided goes as follows:
May 23rd – Construction Forum at City Hall, at the request of the Flagler HBA
September 19th – Stormwater Roundtable at Stormwater Department at the request of the Flagler HBA
November 8th – Review of proposed Technical Manual changes during HBA Government Affairs meeting
December 21st – Review of Draft Technical Manual Changes
“At the meetings pertaining to the Technical Manual, we provided The Stormwater Department with our verbal feedback and input and were told it would all be taken into consideration,” Long wrote.
Gina Weiss says
Their whole petition is in BAD FAITH and is laughable at the very least,
we really need to clean house of these predators and their gaslighting ,
this is the very reasons why Palm Coast and it’s citizens are in trouble
to begin with, greedy, self entitled ,money hungry , not one word was
mentioned about those home owners who are at risk of losing their
lives fortunes, shame on all who has allowed and continue to allow
this travesty of justice. Shame on all those elected officials who turn
a blind eye!
Dennis C Rathsam says
Thats the best news in Palm Coast history!!! For the first time someone in the city council is finally sticking up for we the tax payers. Not only is it warrented, its the right thing to do. We worked hard, we bought a home, we are apart of a community. Why should you let builders flood out pre existing homes, for the o mighty dollar. Thanks Ms P. Dont let them scare you, do whats in your heart for the people who gave you this voice.
troy says
articulate, well thought out, and professional response to an email trying to bully and intimidate.
“Bad things happen when good people remain silent.”
– Randa Abdel-Fattah
KMedley says
I’m a Native Floridian. In my six plus decades, I’ve lived through Category 5 hurricanes and countless rainy seasons. My family and I moved to Palm Coast in 2004, the day before Hurricane Frances hit and the year four hurricanes ripped across Florida. We rented a home on the canal in the “B” section. Prior to purchasing our home in the “W” section, we rented in the C, R, and L sections of Palm Coast. The only “inconvenience” we experienced, in any section, was a loss of power for a few days. The flooding taking place today, twenty years after we decided to call Palm Coast home, is worse than anything Mother Nature has hurled at me as a Floridian. Sadly, it appears to not only be man-made, it was also predictable and preventable.
Drainage issues, or lack thereof, prompted a very determined and organized woman to sound the alarm. Her civic action has brought the flooding issue to the forefront through the formation of a Facebook Page, Flooded in Flagler County. Hundreds of photos of flooded yards have been posted to the page. This sea of citizens, approaching more than 600 members, have created more waves and brought about more movement within the City of Palm Coast than I’ve seen in twenty years.
Consider the numerous Palm Coast City Council meetings wherein flooded property has been raised and heard since October of 2023. Further consider the degree to which this concern has been accelerated at the council and city staff level. If the December 5, 2023 meeting was equivalent to the boy plugging the hole in the dam with his thumb, i.e., 26 flooding cases were reported, then the January 2, 2024 meeting was the dam giving way with 125 reported cases. Much information has been presented since the December 5th and December 12th meetings.
According to Carl Cote, Director of Stormwater & Engineering, the ITT Master Plan originally designated 47,500 lots. Of these, less than 10,000 lots, known as infill lots, remain. As one meeting speaker pointed out, should an infill lot be developed and if two of the three existing homes in direct proximity to the new build are impacted, then at least 16,000 existing homes could face these same flooding issues. Residents now know the minimum height above the crown of the road is twelve inches. Currently, there is not any maximum height, an oversight the City hopes to correct with its new technical manual, one that has not been updated since 2005.
An internal task force was formed to address the rising flood water cases. Now, call me skeptical, but the last time citizens were discouraged and excluded from a citizens’ advisory committee, the City Charter was to be reviewed. An outside “expert” was hired, paid for by the City, and presented minimal changes to the City Charter. Similarly, the internal task force has developed updates to the Technical Manual and presented the same to stakeholders identified by the City as the homebuilders’ association, realtors, and construction companies. Once again, residents of Palm Coast are not considered stakeholders. This oversight has not gone unnoticed by those speaking at the meetings. Homeowners impacted by the drainage design, height levels without a ceiling, and miles of unmaintained swales have attended multiple meetings, sent emails to city council and staff members, and completed multiple comment cards. All have received the same reply, S I L E N C E.
Data presented at the December 12th meeting found of the 83 cases reviewed, 14 of the homes were built from 1980-1989; 25 from 1990-1999; 22 from 2000-2003 and 22 were built from 2003 to present. As one speaker outlined, a home on Seagul Place was built in 2017 next to a home constructed in 2005. In 2018, a new build went up next to the 2017 build. Water now intrudes into the interior of the 2017 home. Upon hearing the estimated repair cost of $7500, our mayor asked the speaker to complete a comment card. I guarantee you if the mayor’s horse stables were flooding, he’d mount his trusted steed and ride the streets like Paul Revere to warn the stables are flooding! By the way, let’s not forget the mayor is elected, not anointed, and is given a gavel, not a scepter.
At the January 9th meeting, the number of reported cases through the new tab at Palm Coast Connect had risen to 148. Presuming the percentages remain consistent, 25, 45, 39, and 39 homes, from the aforementioned time periods, will experience flooding issues. It’s easy to see the numbers will grow. As the City fiddles while Palm Coast floods, many speakers, including the Executive Director of the Flagler County Homebuilders Association, Annamarie Long, have addressed the flooding and drainage issues in order to protect their property from further damage, yet Long cautioned the City Council by urging against legislating for the few. She reminded me of Mr. Spock, “the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few.”
Homeowners have spent thousands of dollars to install drainage pipes, sump pumps, added fill to regrade lots and re-sodded areas in order to restore their yards to what they were before the flood gates from new builds were opened. Finally, one City Council Member, Theresa Pontieri, had heard enough and called for a moratorium for new builds. Her motion received unanimous support from City Council, and as if a magic wand had been waved, the updates to the Technical Manual are scheduled to be presented at the January 16th meeting.
In a last ditch effort to sink City Council members sympathetic to its citizens, Greg Blosé, President of Palm Coast Regional Chamber of Commerce, sent an email to Chamber members. Mr. Blosé expressed his vision for the new chamber as ‘less ribbon cutting and more governmental affairs’. His email asks members to “click here to send a letter to Palm Coast City Council”, share the email, and attend the January 16th meeting to oppose the proposed moratorium. Mr. Blosé is the first president of the chamber formed in the wake of the demise of the Flagler County Chamber of Commerce. As I recall, the Flagler Chamber had to sell its building due to rising debt. The decision to sell occurred while Rebecca DeLorenzo was the chamber’s president. She is the wife of City of Palm Coast Chief of Staff, Jason DeLorenzo, a former Governmental Affairs Director for the Flagler Homebuilders Association, former City Council member, and former candidate for Flagler County Commission. Suffice it to say, Jason DeLorenzo, along with many council and staff members, knows all the players seeking to oppose the moratorium. Given the revolving door of players, I must ask, are we as residents witnessing gentrification in the name of progress and development, or is it a simple case of incompetence?
I suppose it would be easy to type and submit template emails and letters to the editors, but, to what extent? What is the outcome? A few of the City Council members view this as a gnat which needs to be swatted away to further the ambitions of westward ho!. Many are hesitant to offer any solution as that acknowledges responsibility by the City, which leads to insurance and legal inquiries. I do believe the overhaul of the Technical Manual was long overdue. From 2005 to 2024, that’s 19 years too long and now damage has been done. Going forward, I would like to see the City consider:
1. Enforcement of building codes – A rocket scientist is not needed to see elevations higher than existing homes. The new build next to us failed inspection for swale issues 16 times from Nov. 16 to Dec. 15. How many jobs were affected by this self-imposed moratorium?
2. A yearly maintenance plan for all of the swales, including a plan to make the 4 different drainage systems cohesive. Imagine the jobs that could be added if annual swale maintenance was implemented.
3. An application process for homeowners impacted by the flooding due to drainage issues allowed to fester since 2005 and new home builds with elevation height issues:
a. A case must be filed through Palm Coast Connect
b. A deadline for submitting all cases must be set
4. A determination of the flooding must be issued and an appeal process must be established
5. Solutions will vary:
a. Drainage systems based on the lot and its proximity to swales
b. Re-Grading of yards
c. Re-Sodding of yards
d. Reimbursement to homeowners who already addressed drainage issues
e. Develop a list of locally approved contractors to keep the repair process local
6. Audit the books. Where has all of the storm water fees gone?
My house was built in 1988. The houses to our right and immediate back were built in 1986 and 1990, respectively. We have a new build, a two-story home, now under construction to our immediate left. The house next to it was built in 2016. The inspection for drainage for the new build first noted issues on November 16, 2023. The builder was threatened with a stop work order from November 16th to December 15th, the date swale issues and silt fence installation requests were finally approved. A total of sixteen fees, at $20.00 each were assessed. That’s $320.00. Perhaps this is why enforcement is lacking. Two days after the swale was cleared and the silt fence was installed, Palm Coast experienced a torrential down pour. My back yard turned into a lake. I have filed a Palm Coast Connect case and am awaiting additional work to be scheduled.
It’s the middle of January. As they say, March weather “comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb..” After March, April showers bring May flowers and that takes us close to summer rains followed by hurricane season. Regardless of the month, rain will impact existing homeowners as long as new builds proceed and solutions for existing homes remain out of reach. That’s why a moratorium is needed! It is the last life preservers homeowners need to prevent further damage, and prepare for sustained downpours Florida experiences each year. Those who can will continue fight to protect their homes. Those who have lost hope will sell, and in my opinion, lose money as the flooding issue will have to be disclosed. Again, I ask if gentrification is part of the plan or is it incompetence? The answer to either is not good for those trying to stay afloat in Palm Coast, yet it can and MUST be addressed at the ballot box. I urge ALL residents to know the candidates and more importantly, know who supports and contributes the almighty dollars to their campaign.
If you haven’t already filed a case through Palm Coast Connect, please do so. If you are able, please attend City Council meetings. The next is scheduled for Tuesday, January 16th, at 9:00 am. Write your City Council members and County Commissioners, after all, this is Flagler County.
Gina Weiss says
KMedley: Your words are perfection and very eloquently stated.
And yes you are right the County Commissioners need to get involved
as they too vote on growth. No more of this finger pointing
as they can come out with a letter of support to the City
Council members and Mayor for the flooded victims. It will be
interesting to know where they stand, to just say that they feel for
flooded citizens is one thing but to put it in writing is another. Time for
all of them to practice what they have read.
DFrancis says
@ KMedley
Outstanding comment. Well thought out and full of good information.
jeffery cortland seib says
The Homebuilders strategy of flooding the city council with emails asking that the city not declare a moratorium on new home construction is a typical ploy by that group which may have worked in the past, but I hope is going nowhere today. They can send all the emails and protest anything but with this issue they should have jumped on it right at the start, and we would not be in this position today. My thought is that finally the ‘sleeping giant’, the Palm Coast public, have recognized the importance for us all of having standards that builders must comply with. They, the builders, have done whatever they wanted for so long they think that is the ‘normal’. No, sorry to tell them the residents of Palm Coast should have been, and I hope now are calling the shots. The problem of drainage and flooding and new home foundation height needs a drastic fix. Sounds to me like council member Pontieri is on the right track. The late Tom Petty said it; ‘don’t back down’.
Wobie says
I filed my case on October 3rd 2023. All I want is for someone to respond to my issue. Palm Coast connect still shows my case as pending – assigned to department. I’ve pumped thousands of gallons of stormwater from my yard after each rain we’ve had since last summer. It sucks having to drag out the hoses and pump every time it rains. If I wanted a lake in my backyard I would have purchased lakefront property when I move here in 1998. Enough is enough. Time for the city to get off their azzes and get busy assisting residents and stop the builder butt snorkeling. ‘Nuff said ….. for now.
tulip says
I thank Ms Pontieri for her sincere diligence. At last a real person that really cares. The builders think new rules would inpact us badly on the financial side. If things keep going as they are it will surely impact us badly because the people that have the new elevated homes will lose their value when trying to sell it to someone else as well as being miserable because they are being flooded at an expense to them for a reason that’s not their fault. The city has spent millions on a splash pad that turned out to be a disaster and more millions to fix it. They can come up with that kind of money for that, then they could come up with the money to fix the existing flooded homes by installing proper drains and re quiring builders to re excavate their lots to a lower level, including the one that have already been graded and are ready for the pad or already have the pad put on.
It is absolutely abhorrant how the city council peoples, with one exception, can treat its residents that way. Let one of them get flooded and watch how fast one of them gets the problem fixed. Keep up the good work Ms Pontieri
Chris says
Now if the city would stop building, and save the woodlands which would also help air quality and flooding, the city might be on the right track finally.
Wow how creative.... says
Flood of emails, well at least the builders association is consistent with flooding.
Between the builders association and the fake And very nasty when they don’t get their way Chamber of Con-merse they run the City as you can see that Councilwoman Pontieri has to be attacked for doing her job.
Thank you Councilwoman Pontieri! Don’t back off!
TR says
Of course the builders don’t want to put a stop to construction. They are passing the blame onto others for this problem. the way I see it is the city and the builders are at fault for this mess. The builders because they aren’t grading the side swales properly and the city inspector for not making sure it is done correctly. Not to mention, If I understand this correctly, the side swales are suppose to drain into the front swale of ones property. This will only work if the front swale is working properly, which in most cases they are not. Besides the front swale can’t handle just the water coming down in front of peoples homes and now they want the added water from the side swales to go into the front swale as well. Talk about flooding. That’s like filling a bucket with water until it over flows with one garden hose and then have someone else with another garden hose add more water to the same bucket. It’s just going to keep overflowing. This entire drainage system in PC is a cluster mess.
Greg says
I went through the same crap with the city 5 years ago. I should had been fixed years ago, but they need the tax dollars to survive. Don’t trust the city to do the right thing.
Toto says
I don’t know what the big surprise is concerning flooding, aside from poor planning. The way these “developers “ rape the land, leaving no trees or space between homes is the result of incompetence, but they go along their merry way not accountable for any of this so the poor homeowners have to deal with it. Florida is pretty much a swamp so drainage is poor. Native trees take care of many of heavy rains. Losing oaks and many other native trees is a detriment, leaving us in this situation. Will a moratorium solve this? It sure doesn’t fix the situation.
Mark says
I’d like to see Theresa run for Mayor of Palm Coast, she has more guts than any other Council Member or the current Mayor. Yes we can have growth from one end of town to the other, yet only with thoughtful planning and a real eye at the future can it be good growth that benefits all of Palm Coast.
Land of no turn signals says says
Come on that’s a hit to Alfins bottom line.Teresa Pontieri has more balls then the all of them combined.
Celia Pugliese says
Lets remember they were 4 against 1, when the ballot box comes around soon. And this was just one of many same vote on issues that affect over 102,000 Palmcoasters. Thank you councilwoman Pontieri…We need a Ray Stevens in district 3 to vote with you!
Celia Pugliese says
We also need like Theresa Pontieri requested and got a yes vote after much heated argument. at the end of the 1/16 meeting about that council is informed about the enforcement by city staff of city ordinance 24-156(c) thru (e). At minute 4.48.07 (Danko in a hurry to adjourn) watch our Pontieri common sense request passed after some opposition: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pmqy0gZMFw8. Something that should have been done in the last years to avoid the current floods disaster to our residents.