At the suggestion of Scott Spradley, its chair, the Flagler Beach City Commission this evening voted unanimously to table the proposed annexation of Veranda Bay until next year so city officials have time to study the merits of what Spradley described as a threat to sue the city if annexation went ahead.
“The city received a letter yesterday threatening a lawsuit having to do with what I’ll call the enclave issue,” Spradley said, referring to the central claim in the letter by the attorney representing opponents of the annexation: that if the measure went ahead, the new city boundaries would create an enclave of eight privately-owned properties that would remain in the county’s jurisdiction. State law explicitly forbids annexations if they create enclaves, though challenges are rare, and enclaves are frequent: the Flagler County airport is all but a vast enclave surrounded by Palm Coast boundaries.
Nevertheless, annexation creating an enclave provides a cause of action, if opponents want to take it. FlaglerLive reported on Wednesday on the letter tha prompted the delay. (See: “Threat of Lawsuit Over ‘Enclave’ Is New Snag on Eve of Flagler Beach Vote on Veranda Bay Annexation.”
“Because of that, in my opinion, not only as a member of the board, but as a lawyer, that requires us to study it,” Spradley told a full house at City Hall. “I think it would be a disservice to the community, and I’m speaking my personal opinion here, to have a written threat of a lawsuit if we approve the Veranda Bay annexation before we have an opportunity to study it.”
The commission tabled the items to the Jan. 23 meeting at City Hall. It took no public comment, though during the segment of public comment for matters not on the agenda, a resident had suggested that the next meeting addressing Veranda Bay take place in a larger venue, so as to accommodate the larger crowds. The commission was hesitant.
“There are all kinds of rules about what has to be available at that meeting site,” Commissioner Jane Mealy said. In all the 19 years she has been on the commission (Mealy is now the second-longest serving elected official in Flagler County, after Bunnell Mayor Catherine Robinson), the commission had held only one meeting offsite.
The commission had three related items on Veranda Bay on this evening’s agenda, and tabled all three. It had no choice, since the controlling uiutem was the annexation.
The large crowd, likely dominated by opponents, could not very well have been disappointed: the letter by S. Brent Spain, the Orlando attorney retained by Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek and by John Anderson Highway resident Stephen Noble, who form the coalition opposed to annexation, had at least won a tactical victory, if not quite a strategic one.
“We didn’t know that we would be moving to table these ordinances until last night, early today,” Spradley told the assembled. “So that’s why you didn’t know about it till now, because we didn’t know about it till now.” Ironically, many of the opponents knew that–they knew what was coming before Spradley and the rest of the commission learned of it, since they had authored this latest setback in Veranda Bay’s long regulatory roller-coaster since it reappeared on the development scene as The Gardens in 2020.
The commission’s decision cleared the chamber of most of those who’d turned up.
Spain’s letter makes convincing and seemingly irrefutable arguments. The Spain letter may well be an effort to gain leverage to impose conditions rather than necessarily stop the annexation outright. But absent a settlement, the city is not without alternatives that County Attorney Sean Moylan has already outlined before the County Commission, in emails to officials and in an interview.
If it so wishes, the city may ask for a joint agreement with the county to force the annexation of the eight private properties into Flagler Beach. Neither the county nor the city want to do that. But nor does the city want to have its annexation of Veranda Bay held hostage by the threat of a lawsuit. Annexing those properties in the enclave would be an end-run around the potential lawsuit, disarming its central (and only) tenet.
But it would be at the price of the eight property owners’ autonomy and lower taxes, in the county’s jurisdiction–the sort of autonomy some of the people opposed to annexation currently enjoy in their own properties. In essence, the opponents’ gambit may result in the loss, for those enclave property owners, of the very benefits some of the opponents advocate. And annexation would still proceed.
Jane Gentile Youd says
Global warming is here and the rise in sea levels in South Florida should be enough to stop any and all new residential development on the barrier islands other than a property owner of a single family lot who ( whom) should be grandfathered. Flagler County enforces nothing; county attorney recently admitted at a public meeting ( on YouTube) that Special Exceptions never were given ‘time limits’ despite the rules requiring time limits. Leanne Pennington said ” But that is the rule – so you are saying that its okay to break the rule because its always been broken”. Bravo for Leanne.
My plea to Flagler Beach – stay as far away as you can from the Flagler County Administration – deal only with the commissioners in a joint open meeting. Do not please do not take any advice from either Heidi Petito, Al Hadeed or his trainee in incompetency ( my opinion) Sean Moylan, Deal only with the commission at an open meeting for all county residents and Flagler Beach residents.
I don’t want my obituary to say ” she warned us’…..
XYZ says
Therefore the annexation should not be done using Flagler
Executive Airport as a prime example of what FB should NOT do
to its homeowners, just look at all the problems the past county and
city officials have created without having the proper foresight
of the building of homes with no buffers, those officials did not
care nor think about the safety , welfare and quality of life for
their citizens expecially when the county so cunningly and secretively
invited in the worlds student flight schools which hammer over
communities, businesses,high school and hospital all day and night,
The homeowners of these FB properties will never know the full consequences
of this annexation once its done, Spradley is smart, finally a smart official.
JohnX says
Probably doesn’t help that those thousands of houses and commercial properties would be situated in what appears to be a flood zone. It beggars belief that cities in Florida continue to allow building in obvious flood zones that cause huge losses. Why? When it’s only going to get worse. Doesn’t seem to help anyone. At least require stilt houses. Not only there but in areas under 10 feet above sea level
It's not really about Bulow Creek says
This is yet another action by a group of half acre and larger property owners who reside down John Anderson and may become residents of the City of Flagler Beach. The majority of property owners in the City measure their lot size in square feet, not acres like those folks. With every meeting this becomes less about zoning and more about this small groups efforts to ‘preserve’ property that they don’t own. They don’t like the developers lawyer. They want to preserve ‘ old Florida’. These folks want to dictate terms about how close to Bulow Creek the developer can build . The developers already created a wide undeveloped buffer that meets state requirements. That’s not enough for these ‘preservation’ phonies . They are using social media to bring in people who don’t live here. How many people that showed up for this meeting were City of Flagler Beach tax payers? Very few because the people who pay taxes want to grow the City to make sure there are no more tall Aliki like buildings in view. Taxpayers in the City of Flagler Beach are looking for growth to help modernize and expand services over a larger group of tax payers.
surrounded by idiots...... says
The ordinance proposed clearly states NO ENCLAVES….?
ORDINANCE 2024-17
3rd Paragraph:
“WHEREAS, the City Commission hereby finds that the property described hereinafter is
reasonably compact and contiguous to the corporate areas of the City of Flagler Beach, Florida,
and it is further determined that the annexation of said property will not result in
the creation of any enclaves, and it is further determined that the property otherwise
fully complies with the requirements of State law”
I beg to differ says
Your assumption (opinion) of the few ‘preservation phonies’ & homeowners down the street on JA, even with .25 acre lots is far from from the issue here. They aren’t trying to ‘dictate’ a damn thing. Just trying to bring awareness to what the destruction of land will cause & will FOREVER change everything around this development. It does not belong in this specific area. Even half intelligent people from the rest of the county and Volusia and even St. Johns can see what a tragedy this would be. If they the developer & the city would just stick with the terms, conditions and the scale & size of the project that the county agreed to last year, the I think it would be accepted. BUT, the greedy developer wants to turn it into a MEGA city. That’s the issue.
Callmeishmael says
Agree. I don’t understand why all the homes around here continue to be built on monolithic foundations. They’ll bring the land up 3 ft. with fill, which floods existing homes. Why not lift the house instead by requiring that in flood zones they be built with a minimum 3 ft crawl space?
c says
you said : “That’s not enough for these ‘preservation’ phonies . They are using social media to bring in people who don’t live here. How many people that showed up for this meeting were City of Flagler Beach tax payers?”
Excuse me, but how many of the Veranda Bay developers live and work in Flagler Beach? If your complaint is that
only homeowners and taxpayers are to be allowed a stake in the situation – then why allow Veranda Bay to bring in outside consultants, advisors, etc?
La la land says
Didn’t realize how ridiculous you sound right now? I guess you work for the Developer then. If you do, Tell him to stop lying about Trader Joe’s. He’s just doing that to quiet a few people. We all know Trader Joe’s isn’t coming here.
UH HUH says
And the new “boutique hotel” (Margaritaville) wasn’t going to violate the 35 foot building restrictions either. Will we hear “Oops, we did it again”?
XYZ says
I beg to differ: You hit the nail on the head, most likey a BS comment
from a greedy developer , just look how the previous PC city officials
singlehandedly ruined PC, still building and flooding out existing homes
and now offering the flooded victims: here’s some dirt for you guys
fix it yourselves still leaves them in nowhere land with the added expense
of fixing. Learn form what they did to PC and sue the pants off of them
if they intend to go through with this bogus greedy nonsense of theirs
as it puts more money in their pockets, FB is looking for RESPONSIBLE
GROWTH and the homeowners are being cautious now that they see
the ruination of PC with its overwelming problems that are not easy
fixes when these developers pack up and leave. Decades of problems that
were purposely and stupidly ignored!
Joe D says
In reply to “callmeishmael”: I fully agree about your comments about elevating the house and not just creating a “fill mound” that will drain/flood onto neighboring properties ( without a buried drain to divert it). My original home state of Maryland has had coastal construction requirements since the mid 1980’s to elevate new homes 8-10 ft off the ground (except for parking areas and storage only areas and patios). I was truly surprised when looking to purchase in Flagler beach, the LACK of elevated homes available. I did find town homes elevated 8 ft off the ground (20 ft above sea level) which creates a 2 car parking area under my home (and a storage/utility room). These town homes have been there since 1979, any potential flooding water would flow right under the home, and rain water uses drains. Even if the storm waves did breach the dunes, water would flow under my home. Since they were built, to my knowledge, they have NEVER had significant storm damage due to the additional feature of poured concrete walls inside and out, and concrete slab floors and roofs.
If this new proposed development IS TRULY in a FLOOD ZONE, why are the Commissioners considering it at all. I would very much like to see the City’s documented responsibilities for roads/lighting/ storm water management, since after the developers drop these homes on the site…they are going to exit stage right, and leave any long term issues for the city to resolve
celia pugliese says
Hooray for Brent Spain our shinning star attorney. Its time that we the residents affected by greedy ill planned growth get the representation needed after pleading to our elected with No Success!
Just a suggestion says
Just as an observation I would offer the following:
The taxes brought to Flagler Beach city coffers may help to stabilize and even possibly reduce a bit the current and sometimes overbearing taxes residents currently pay.
While expanding need, the new money coming in can be used to enhance public safety for all.
Finally and in some ways the most important point is that if the annexation to Flagler Beach does not occur the developers will approach and be annexed into Palm Coast. From the above comments one can assume that this is also an outcome which would not please many FB residents. FB annexation would help the city to control the property development.