With grave concerns about its traffic impacts on already-congested State Road 100, the Palm Coast City Council on Tuesday approved on first reading the rezoning to commercial uses of a 39-acre parcel just west of the BJ’s Wholesale shopping center.
The rezoning is ahead of the development of that tract into a companion shopping center called Flagler Landing, with a “170,000 square foot big-box discount superstore,” in the description of the developer’s attorney–that is, very likely Walmart–and a half dozen satellite businesses.
Flagler Landing will add further traffic to State Road 100–and to worries about congestion–worries council members voiced on Tuesday–though the proposed development includes measures to ease traffic’s impacts. The city’s planning board recommended approval of the rezoning last month. (See: “Despite Rezoning for New Commercial Strip Near BJ’s, Live Local Act Could Still Bring Apartments There.”)
“A lot of people talk about diversifying the tax base. I think this is a great opportunity for us to do this for our city,” Council member Charles Gambaro said.
The undeveloped property paid $17,700 in total property taxes in 2023, and $25,700 in 2024. Now that it has been developed, the BJ’s Warehouse property alone, without the satellite businesses, is expected to generate about $200,000 in property taxes this year. Flagler Landing is expected to generate well above that.
“My one concern about this project is the traffic that it will create,” Council member Theresa Pontieri said. “We’re right here on 100 we already know this is a severe pain point.”
The parcel is half a mile west of Seminole Woods Boulevard on State Road 100, and is part of a trio of parcels that Flagler Pines Properties–a company owned by Jay Gardner, the property appraiser–has been selling to commercial developers over the last several years. The Airport Commons shopping strip nearer Belle Terre Parkway was first to develop. The BJ’s Wholesale strip was second. The property the Council approved for rezoning Tuesday is third.
All three properties were on Flagler County land, and have been gradually annexed into the city. In February, the council approved on first reading the annexation into Palm Coast of the 39 acres, but delayed a vote on second and final reading. That second reading will be concurrent with the final reading of the measures approved on Tuesday. (An amendment to the city’s comprehensive plan, the long-term blueprint of the city’s development vision, is a companion measure.)
The current zoning designation of Flagler Landing is about 10 and a half acres of commercial zoning and 28.3 acres of residential high-density, or apartments. The change would eliminate what could have been a 255-unit apartment complex.
“Back at the county,” Council member Dave Sullivan, a former county commissioner, said, “the original idea for this area was to put in a combination commercial, residential, kind of like the Promenade, where you have people being able to live and work, walk to work, things like that.” The Promenade is the six-building, 233,000-square-ft. Project under construction in Town Center, with shops on the ground floor and 204 apartments above them. (See “Promenade at Town Center’ Will Add 204 Apartments Atop Shops in First Development of Its Kind There.”)
“It made a lot of sense to me at that time,” Sullivan continued, “kind of maybe a vision of what we would like the city to be in the future. I think what happened is that the people who are going to invest in this decided that it just wasn’t going to work, and that the only way to make this land profitable was to essentially go commercial, which is okay with me.”
Pontieri said that the traffic counts will go “way up” with the commercial development. She wanted measures now to ease that.
“The concern relating traffic can be addressed,” Senior Planner Phong Nguyen told the council. “The applicant is aware of the impact to the roadway system. But part of the state statute allows developments to move forward and to mitigate for their impact.” In simpler terms: state law tells developers: plan to build first. Worry about traffic later, as long as money is paid toward traffic improvements. Flagler Landing is expected to generate $4.2 million in development impact fees that will help the city “mitigate” for its impacts on traffic.
The payments are concurrent with the plans. The construction of the improvements may not be. Pontieri wants to use the leverage of annexation to move up that worry to now, especially with Exhibit A in front of her (and Palm Coast residents): the BJ’s Wholesale property was developed and some turning lanes added, but the state’s plan to widen SR100 to three lanes in each direction still lags.
Based on the city’s calculations, traffic generated by Flagler Landing would exceed a “cap” by 201 trips in a single peak hour. (The new development would generate an overall increase of between 2,400 and 3,100 daily trips, depending on where you look in documents.) To ease that issue, the development will have a parallel traffic corridor south of SR100 from Airport Commons to Seminole Woods, Nguyen said. But there’s a risk that the corridor will be held hostage to a 200-feet portion by the RaceTrac property, which has resisted allowing a continuous secondary corridor to cross its property.
“If this council does not look out for the safety of 100 and the traffic of 100 we are going to be in even more dire streets than we are now,” Pontieri said. She is asking for more precise plans from the developer addressing those concerns. Jay Livingston, the land-use attorney representing the developer, did not necessarily reassure Pointieri when he said that traffic analyses show that portion of State Road 100 failing traffic standards, whether or not the project is built.
“I would be remiss if I did not express my very grave concerns about what this development will do to 100,” Pontieri said.
“I share this concern,” Livingston said. “I think everybody, even the people working on the project and trying to sell the project, share those concerns, because everybody has to drive on 100, which obviously has gotten congested.” The discussion veered onto turn lanes as a potential help, but the state Department of Transportation would have to approve. “Theer are problems obviously on 100 that need to be addressed. We will do our part,” Livingston assured the council.
The council had also worried that he developer would invoke the Live Local Act and build affordable housing tracts there. Live Local’s intentions are less onerous than its execution. The law is intended to ease the housing crunch and spur the development of affordable housing. But it allows developers to bypass local oversight, including public participation and transparency before local boards, hampering local governments’ abilities to regulate the developments as they would projects built outside Live Local.
Live Local was barely an issue during the council discussion as it had been at the planning board last month, based both on the developer’s stated assurance that there would be no residential housing, and on the airport’s proximity, where a new zoning overlay makes residential construction nearby problematic to impossible.
Second and final reading of the annexation and the rezoning are scheduled for Nov. 4.
John says
I would’ve never retired in this area If I knew it was going to be turned into a zoo. This is definitely not a retirement area , with all the traffic and heavy congestion and over commercialized stores. I think it’s time for me to pull out of here and head up north a few states.
Cmon' man says
If you plan for the traffic ahead of time it will be easier. Go ahead and add more lanes for traffic to travel now to help ease the burden this will cause.
Really annoyed says
Nothing ever gets voted down when a politician is involved. This city has a Walmart already which is a trashy company to begin with. This city council is very one sided where they can care less of the residents,traffic congestion,and infrastructure needs. This I’m sure is another money in the pocket project!
Keep Flagler Beautiful says
I wonder which former or soon-to-be-retired government officials are involved with this deal? Every other disastrous real estate deal of the last few years has involved profiteers who previously worked in some government role and whose only talent is setting themselves up for a fortune, at the expense (both financial and otherwise) of taxpayers and the environment. I’ve never seen a more poorly planned road than Route 100. If you’re traveling westbound, it’s a Rubik’s Cube of twists, turns and long traffic lights to get to businesses and restaurants south of the road. Can’t wait to see what the Del Webb extravaganza will add to 100 on the east side of 95. Central Florida’s answer to West Palm Beach is pushing full steam ahead.
Nephew Of Uncle Sam says
“If this council does not look out for the safety of 100 and the traffic of 100 we are going to be in even more dire streets than we are now,” Pontieri said. ”
Well this Council should be on the phone and meeting with FDOT asap. They knew projects would be happening down there quickly as the population grew fast and should have pushed FDOT for 6 lanes in that area to 95 when 100 was scheduled for work last round. At least if it’s another WalMart that will alleviate some traffic on the North end of town.
Larry says
Glad to see Walmart coming to SR100. Palm Coast badly needs a 2nd Walmart. Hope they build it fast.
bill says
nice, keep on building , building and building screw everything up , well, i will move again thanks to all the intelligent people who are runnng the city government, take you degrees and stick them where the light doesn’t shine
TR says
Wal-Mart is going in on Old Kings Road somewhere behind the RaceTrak gas station. Years ago it was slotted for that area and finally no it’s moving forward. However from what I heard it’s not going to be a supper store. So someone has the wrong info as to where the Wal-Mart is going. I guess we’ll all see when it’s either under construction or finished.
Linda Morgan says
Everything about this project is wrong, starting with the location and ending with the safety of residents being able to evacuate during a Hurricane! In between, you will have large construction equipment traveling the road along with all the delivery trucks for material and don’t forget the big semi trucks delivering food and merchandise to all of the businesses. Are you trying to kill us on Hwy. 100? You are making it a death trap!
Just a thought says
Let me fix your headline: “With ZERO Concerns About Traffic, Palm Coast Approves Shopping Rezoning That’ll Add 1,000s of Cars to SR100”
MM says
JUST PROVES HOW BADLY WE NEED THESE STORES, IF THE PEOPLE HERE WOULD ALREADY MAKE ANOTHER 3K CARS AS STATED. I’M FROM NYC. THIS SUPPOSED TRAFFIC IS A JOKE. IF THEY WANT COUNTRY, MOVE OUT OF PALM COAST AND BUY A HOUSE IN THE WOODS, MAYBE IN BUNNELL. THIS IS A GROWING ‘CITY” AND IT NEEDS SO MANY MORE CONVENIENCES FOR US. STOP COMPLAINING, AND LIKE YOU ALL TELL US NORTHERNERS IF YOU DON’t LIKE IT ‘MOVE’.
‘
Poor planning says
Have they not learned anything yet? Build up the supporting infrastructure before adding additional traffic. 100 is already a nightmare for drivers, it got much worse with the too late additional lanes/turn lanes. And what to you think is going to happen when the next shopping plaza opens up. What Palm Coast/Flagler County needs is a REAL planning commission, that maps all these things out and puts them into place before adding thousands of more cars to the already undersized road infrastructure. I don’t even want to imagine what traffic on Town Center Blvd will be like when all of those new homes/apartments/condos are ready for people to move in. At times it is already impossible to get onto Town Center Blvd from Royal Palms Pkwy to Old Kings Road and from Royal Palms onto Belle Terre because of existing traffic. Now mirror that throughout Palm Coast. I moved here because of all the towns in the area, Palm Coast was the only one that was not already congested and that was almost 20 years ago. Nothing has been learned since then, it has been said that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks, well same with our supposed Palm Coast and Flagler County Planning boards. They are taking the statement, build it and they will come to literally, screw everyone that gets stuck in traffic because of their lack of planning skills.
Jane Gentile-Youd says
We will shop in Ormond Beach..Daytona and St Augustine just as we did 23.5 years ago .less traffic.wider roads..lots of stores without driving bumper to bumper.
You jackass officials have just totally turned SR100 to a 24/7 bumper to bumper roadway. You are an effing joke to the businesses as well as the residents who have no intention of spending 2 hours in traffic for a Chinese..Mexican..whatever take out meal !
Toodle loo SR100 ( except county building and the Flagler Association of Realtors I belong to…..
NJ says
More Traffic=More Accidents=BIG Increase in Vehicle Insurance Cost!! SR 100 Needs to be Widen BEFORE this project moves forward! What about Common Sense Development?? LOL-NOT in Palm Coast/Flagler County!!
Thank you mart cart ville says
I for one am greatly excited for this! Our town is poorly planned at best. Walmart single handedly just moved 1/2 of the traffic from palm coast north to sr 100, what we should call palm coast south. I am friggin thrilled! Can I help lay some brick to get this moving a little faster???
JimboXYZ says
Alfinville strikes again. The Vision of 2050. Let’s be honest with each other. What drives the Commercial vs Residential ? All those new construction residential that was approved for Seminole Woods Parkway (south side of SR-100 to US-1) that becomes Town Center Parkway on the north side of SR-100 to Royal Palms Parkway & Old Kings Road. And there’s anything that was approved on Belle Terre (south side of SR-100 to US-1). Bunnell approved 6K of the 8K homes at last report ? Anything East of I-95 (primarily Colbert Lane & John Anderson) for residential & commercial zone/rezone for approval ? SR-100 is turning into ISB in Daytona, it’ll become something more like Granada, LPGA or Dunlawton, Blvd. over time, even SR-44 (NSB). That much is inevitable for growth. Otherwise every contractor & the HBA sues City of Palm Coast post-Alfin, post grossly underfunded/unfunded Biden-Harris “Ruin Rural America” as “Build Back Better” of the last 4 of almost 5 years now. I said it before, we’ll all be paying for Biden-Harris era for decades to come. The vision was rampant inflation & growth with no money to pay for it, hence the debt & inflation. Just me, I wanna hear how the STF debt & facilities are going handle capacity as it creeps closer to being beyond capacity ? SR-100 has the potential to be a more modern & shift from Palm Coast Parakway as the Commerce & Residential Center. Conceptually old Palm Coast vs New Palm Coast, similar to Bunnell, FL, Bunnell is a town of +/- 1,200 houses, they approved 6K new construction residential, that population has to shop somewhere. And it may be eventually US-1 in Bunnell, but for now it’s going to be SR-100.
Greg says
Keep building until traffic is so bad. You head to Daytona or StAugustine. I’m so glad we are getting out of here in three weeks. Never wanted to live in a rat race that Palm Coast has turned into wow, how things have changed in the 15 years we lived here.
Denise Wilson says
Linda Morgan You are 100% CORRECT. We should all keep these documents handy and keep a good attorney in mind, so when that something happens (traffic accident) be sure to attach all of these documents to your lawsuit, showing the need for CORRECT INFRASTRUCTURE to accommodate the thousands of cars at capacity now.
Frustrated says
Aside from this development it seems the planning board also grants the builders zoning changes to reduce lot sizes to 40 feet and narrower roads in the new developments.
Dennis C Rathsam says
The water in Cityhall must be contaminated! The fools that govern our city must all be blind as a bat. I know you folks have been caught up in the parking lot call SR 100! You sit & sit, then move up to the next red light! Leadership in P/C is a joke, a bunch of wingnuts that are leading this charge.We got one big box store, prices are not cheaper than stores. We wanted a Cosco the Cadillac of big box stores, in stead we got the Rambler of stores.Now we are poised to get another CHINA retail outlet! Come summer when folks are headed to the beach, your gonna have a clusterfuck on your hands.
melly says
“But there’s a risk that the corridor will be held hostage to a 200-feet portion by the RaceTrac property, which has resisted allowing a continuous secondary corridor to cross its property.”
“Cross its property”? Cross it’s property WHERE, exactly? Something doesn’t add up here. Part of the reason it’s so bad over there is because the city has insisted on building around RaceTrac, instead of putting their foot down early. I pass this every day on my way to and from my home in Seminole Woods; how far back does their property extend? If they own a huge chunk behind it, what are they trying to do? Why does RaceTrac have so much sway? They’re not “local”. This should not be allowed, if the city ever granted any “special favors” to RaceTrac at all, to be installed on that corner. Unless RaceTrac is building something else behind their corner store/gas station, they need to back off and let the pass through road happen. It’s a JOKE on that corner at 500 in the afternoon, an absolute joke.
melly says
Also, don’t even get me started on Chik-Fil-A, nobody is going to be able to get in and out of it, the way it’s boxed in. That whole row of business in the front of BJs is a JOKE, as far as access. Nobody planned a damn thing in there. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was laid out by the same people who laid out the interior of BJs and their parking lot. Completely clueless from top to bottom, the absolute worst shopping experience ever, starting with their placement of 20 handicap spots, where 14 of them are farther away than the closest parking spaces out front–inexplicably taken up by cart enclosures. Getting around inside is even worse.
Paradise Lost says
They’re literally destroying this place by cramming us in like sardines. They better start thinking about mass transportation because it’s going to be difficult getting around by car pretty soon. Six or eight line highways aren’t going to be enough.
Jay Tomm says
The goal here is not to develop PC. The goal is to create a I95 shopping paradise for travelers! Now you will have tons of stores major & small within 2 95 exits going in & out of the state. They expect these stores to make PC much money from travelers.
Just wait for it….the development of the EAST side of 100 past 95 will be coming!
Jay Gardner should be help liable as well. He’s the one selling these to developers, getting rich & as the Property appraiser for the county…..I think he should be investigated!!!!!
Ross says
Palm Coast is sent out to destroy the city as fast as possible with no planning adding thousands of homes and businesses , traffic with no plans at all. It is just going to be a big cluster F of a mess which it already is. The city is destroying itself as fast as possible.!
Ed P says
It has been suggested that with improved traffic light timing, green lights pass through instead of stopping at each intersection and a few turn lanes, FDOT might be able to reduce congestion by 30% during peak travel periods.
Only question is why hasn’t it happened yet?
Ai says existing studies indicate it is a viable option and possible???
If true, someone needs to implement the tweaks.
Land of no turn signals says says
Upon the completion of this building rest stops on either side of Rt100 are needed to give drivers a break from the traffic.
Skibum says
Florida is so bass ackwards!!! Everywhere I have previously lived in multiple locations throughout my entire life out on the west coast prior to retiring here in FL, traffic considerations, utilities, street lighting sidewalks, etc. were put in by local governments BEFORE slamming business areas with tons of development… but oh, NOT here in FL.
Nope, all the businesses go in first without a thought about what they might adversely do to vehicle, bike and foot traffic, as if grade schoolers were in charge of local planning development. Traffic has to get so congested, pedestrians have many areas where they must walk in the busy roadways or wade their way through the undergrowth along the roads because pedestrian access is an aftertthought if at all.
There are no dedicated bike lanes on busy roads with limited or no sidewalks or bike paths, so riders have to take their chances “sharing” the roads with aggressive and elderly drivers who have poor reaction times and don’t see well, and on top of all that, yes, why don’t we just give every Dick and Harry guns to pack around on their persons and in their cars while they get so pissed off about the traffic gridlock on our poorly planned and designed roadways.
Yikes! What could possibly happen? Oh, one last huge pill for all of us to swallow is how much taxpayer money these government planning officials get paid to do such a poor job for the citizens. I think I speak for more than just myself when I say we expect and deserve much better!
Surrounded says
I guess they are banking on ‘flying cars’ to get to these stores & businesses, as there isn’t any more room for more ground traffic to get there.
Hell, they can’t even fix the daily accidents that occur when cars don’t stop or look when ‘yielding’ heading west on RT100 when getting off at the 95 exit ramp. I guess I gave FDOT too much credit.
Most of the road & direction lines in this county need repainted.
Just adds to the danger when people already don’t know how to drive safely.
Marco Simone says
The government isn’t interested in the will of the people. Never has been. Never will be.
Pogo says
@One serious comment:
Thank you mart cart ville says
October 22, 2025 at 5:50 pm
I for one am greatly excited for this! Our town is poorly planned at best. Walmart single handedly just moved 1/2 of the traffic from palm coast north to sr 100, what we should call palm coast south. I am friggin thrilled! Can I help lay some brick to get this moving a little faster???
Thank you, when can you start (and I’m not talking about buttering bricks, and you no doubt know we’ve plenty of those shitting them) leading full-time?
Laurel says
Oh my goodness, Palm Coast and Flagler County are just so clueless! Urban sprawl. Can’t go anywhere without a car. This county had so much time to look and see what other cities and counties have done, and how they have planned their areas to make businesses more accessible, and enjoyable. To me, it looks like the people involved in all this “growth,” or actually, urban sprawl, its eternal storage buildings and car washes, have never, ever left the county. We’re in a bubble of stupidity, oh, and greed. The problem with the greed part is, so many smaller businesses could have done so much better had there been real planning.
Sidewalks to nowhere; timed red lights at every corner. Drive, stop, go, stop, go, drive, congestion, congestion, congestion, and then, try to maneuver around *Island Walk* parking lot! The only things this area has going for it, are the trees and wildlife, but…
Jane Gentile-Youd says
To Jay Tomm
Jay Gardner is mot doing anything illegal. Poor planning on infrastructure, roads, lighting, etc should come BEFORE development – not after. Should Jay want to build apartments instead and crowd roads even more?
Hammock Bear says
We should be reading about a new public swimming pool that is heated in cold months and cooled in the hot months. Last I knew this is Florida and not northern USA. We should be able to swim year round in a pool that our taxes pay for. Instead we read about the future of traffic congestion on Rt.100 as more big commercial businesses are built. Palm Coast has grown so much that we also need more doctors to eliminate a 3 plus month wait for an appointment especially if you are new to the area. Wake Up Residents. We need to have a say.
YankeeExPat says
Que the $2000.00 dollar Meat Wagons rides and the Ambulance Chasers in tow.
Attorney’s have to eat to you know !
Ed Danko, former Vice-Mayor PC says
“Tax & Spend Theresa” is so so so very concerned about all the traffic this will create, as she then votes for approval without hesitation. Me think she speaks once again from both sides of her mouth!
FYI says
@ Jay Tomm, there is something to be said for Jay Gardner Jr. His dad was the President and CEO of ITT, which is the company that developed Palm Coast. Their family has been making millions off of Flagler County since the 70’s!!
Jane Gentile-Youd says
Jay Gardner’s dad was a very smart man; so is his son. Maybe we don’t like how their decisions based on a lot of wealth does not make them crooks. Good businessmen with vision and blind people who didn’t. have any real alternative visions.
Are You Kidding Me! says
I gotta say, I’ve always defended the city council on most matters, but the traffic issue here is almost negligence.
Anyone who voted for this should drive on 100 from the 95 exit west to Belle Terre at 4:45 PM for a full week to get some perspective.
Same thing on Town Center to Belle Terre. I literally read books to my son while we sit parked on the road.
Rule #1 to getting out of a hole is to stop digging. Address the congestion before piling on more.
Frustrated shopper says
I can’t understand, with the need this area has for better shopping, that any Country official who has an ounce of intelligence would approve yet ANOTHER Walmart!!!! Let me guess, the shopping strip will also include some form of a dollar store! What this area needs is something we don’t already have. I’m tired of having to drive to Lake Mary, Altamonte Springs, Winter Park, St John’s County…to get diversity and variety in my shopping experience!! Think people, think!! That’s what you were hired to do! Bring SOMETHING DIFFERENT TO THE AREA!!!!!!
The dude says
Liddle Eddie Danko knows a thing or two about talking out of both sides the mouth… so when the liddle fella calls it out, we should all sit up and pay attention.
How’s that FBI investigation of Mayor Holland coming along Eddie? You stood on someone’s front porch and promised an arrest was imminent what, like 4 years ago now???
All you MAGA morons on here bemoaning the direct results of YOUR decades of voting… well, this is peak MAGA. Unable to take responsibility for your choices and blaming all your woes on others. It just doesn’t get any more MAGA than that.
poli sci says
Why are they moving ahead with this if they have grave concerns?
Steven LeBlanc says
Everything in palm coast is done ass backwards. We are constantly trying to correct previous mistakes instead of having a well thought out plan for what we want the end result to be. You approve this plan but make it contingent on the roadways being widen FIRST before construction can begin. The current plan makes the situation worse with I assume the hope that it would push FDOT to address. Not smart
Ramone says
I think this is wonderful. More shopping opportunities close to the beach. I can’t wait. All you people complaining about the traffic, just slow down take your time. You’ll get there soon enough. The only safety danger is you guys driving like maniacs this can’t come sooner I love Walmart
Paul says
Walmart is not allowed in Germany they threw them out many years they made them unionize Walmart of course is a scab trash country company and they told him they couldn’t under bid mom and pop Corporate America sucks and he dance sucks they all suck it’s all about the Kickbacks it’s not about you and me it’s about turning down a project getting the kick back and then approving it we all need to call the FBI and put a complaint in they all need to be arrested I’ve been saying this for years thank you
Paul says
If you love Walmart then you’re a scab
Mischa Gee says
The frontage on the BJ’s side of RT 100 is not wide enough to add a much needed 3rd lane in each direction, and down by the Target and adjacent area the problem is the same.
It seems ridiculous to put a Walmart less than 6 miles from an existing one. Build one on the other side of Seminole Woods Rd on Rt 1, not on 100.
Unless the roadway is widened properly, this nightmare will compound itself and will never be corrected because you will actually have to knock down the buildings that were just completed and go behind the ones set back from 100 to add additional parking and an ancillary access road to ease traffic.
A little thinking goes a long way, and unfortunately, the town and county council members don’t seem to think at all.
And for idiots from up north, I came from there myself. We should learn lessons from our past and not repeat them. Traffic should have been anticipated and space to widen the highway taken into account before adding buildings so close to the existing roads. Seems pretty obvious, but, duh…