It’s among Palm Coast’s more vexing issues–vexing for working laborers like plumbers, electricians, heating and air techs and the like, because they’re forbidden from parking their work vehicles in their Palm Coast driveways, or any vehicles with commercial signs. It’s been less vexing for city government, which from its inception has taken a hard line, banning those trucks (unless covered) in the name of neighborhood aesthetics.
It’s been nearly 11 years since local business’ last push to relax the rule, a push that went nowhere even at a time when the city had a functioning, broad-based chamber of commerce that mobilized businesses to lobby the council. The city council at the time was dead-set against change, as was its city manager. “I call it the tattoo society,” Jim Landon, the city manager at the time, who had a gift for the inelegant put-down, said back then. “We are tattooing our vehicles now similar to what some people do to their bodies.” A submissive council let him get away with the analogy unscathed.
Managers, councils and times have changed. The Palm Coast City Council’s two newest members, Ed Danko and Victor Barbosa, are interested in relaxing the rules. This time, the rest of the council is not as opposed, and certainly not as opposed as it is about relaxing the signage rules in the city’s rights of way. There’s an emerging recognition that banning work trucks and commercially-painted vehicles may send the wrong message about working people–the very same working people who keep the city’s dwellers enjoying their homes by keeping air conditioning units running and toilets flushing.
“This is a big shift, obviously,” Mayor Milissa Holland Holland said Tuesday during a workshop as the council went over its members’ latest interests and goals. “I’ve thought a lot about this as well. I hear input from a variety of business owners that reached out to me with an interest in seeing if this is an opportunity to change this.”
The matter came up immediately after the council discussed temporary commercial signs in rights of way, which are also categorically banned. That’s a separate matter. On that score, while Danko is interested in relaxing that rule, too, the council held firm: there will be no relaxation, no survey, no further discussion. (See the related story, “Citing Aesthetics and Law, Palm Coast Will Not Loosen Signage Ban, Whether for Realtors or Anyone Else.”) So the council’s shift on commercial vehicles is in significant contrast.
Holland said the city has 94,000 residents that chose to call Palm Coast home with the current restrictions. “I’m not sure they’ve ever been asked what they would feel about it, so asking them I think would be very beneficial to say–what are your thoughts about if the city were to address this issue,” Holland said, favoring a public survey. The idea was suggested by Councilman Eddie Branquinho. “And then put it out and advertise that it’s out to make sure we get enough feedback, and push it for 30 days to see exactly what the public input would feel about this.”
But she wanted clarity on the terms working vehicles.
“I think we’re talking vans,” Councilman Ed Danko said. “We’re talking just normal cars that might be bubble-wrapped in signage. I think we’re talking maybe pick-up trucks. We’re not talking dump trucks or anything of that nature, obviously, but I think that we’re a changing community. We’re no longer a retirement community. We need to be more business-friendly, and the only point I would make is if you don’t like the guy who has the AC truck parking his van in his driveway, you’re going to like his van in your driveway when your AC goes out, and and to me, it sounds simplistic, but it’s like, how can I be opposed to somebody who’s working for a living, who may come and fix something in my house? So I’m in favor of changing this to allow these vehicles to be parked there. We already allow signage on police vehicles, on city vehicles to park overnight. I think we need to extend this–and actually, political vehicles. I was driving around with my signs, my magnets on my vehicle. I could leave my car in my driveway overnight with my political signage. So I think it’s about time we change this.”
Currently the city code goes into details about working vehicles or vehicles with commercial signs. They’re fine, parking in a residential driveway because workers are on the job at that address. But if the vehicle is parked there overnight, or for reasons unrelated to a job site, then it’s prohibited. (See an illustrated list of types of prohibited vehicles here.)
“So what you’re saying is, if the guy that owns the air conditioning company goes to lunch at his house, that’s a violation,” if he parks his work vanin his own home’s driveway, Councilman Victor Barbosa asked Bill Reischmann, the city attorney.
“We have that come to Code Board on a regular basis,” Reischmann said.
“That’s pretty sad,” Barbosa said. Barbosa himself had been summoned to the code board for repeated violations of his own, as he parked his pick-up truck, emblazoned with his “Man Cave” insignias, in his Fieldstone Lane driveway in 2020 and through early this year. His hearing was cancelled when he finally brought himself into compliance. The experience rankled him, and he’s joined Danko in trying to loosen the regulations.
“I’m not trying to say it’s sad or it’s great or it’s wrong,” Reischmann said. “I am trying to address what was asked by this council, and that is: what is a commercial vehicle.” Reischmann then outlined the very specific guidelines, which ban agricultural, construction, industrial equipment and vehicles with advertising markings that exceed three square feet per side (making many commercial magnets on the side of cars permissible), among other regulations. Commercial vehicles are also regulated or banned. (See the ordinance here.)
“There’s nothing preventing us from rewriting this code,” Danko said. “The mayor’s concern about a giant dump truck or something, we could certainly prohibit that while allowing the AC truck or van.”
Council member Nick Klufas then waded into more discriminating territory. He gave the example of an AC workman with an elegant $65,000 van in mint condition. He doesn’t mind seeing that in the driveway next door. But if his other neighbor has a 30-year-old, decrepit van, that’s an “eyesore.”
“Do we have the ability, or capability as a city to actually make the discretion and the definition that basically says, I don’t want eyesores but I’m willing to accept commercial vehicles that are properly maintained,” Klufas said. “That’s the ambiguity that we’re going to have a hard time navigating.” Commercial vehicles or vehicles with prohibited commercial signs may still park in residential driveways, but must be covered with top-to-bottom tarps. “Honestly, some of the covers that people put on their cars are a worse eyesore my opinion” than what’s below the tarp, Klufas said.
“It’s kind of the same like if you have a neighbor who has a car that looks pretty ratty,” Danko said. “What are you going to do about it if it’s licensed, if it’s able to drive, if the police aren’t impounding it because it’s unsafe. That may occasionally happen from a business perspective.” Ratty trucks may not get as much business a well-kept trucks, he said, which would be a form of self-regulation. “We can’t solve every little aesthetic problem.”
Holland herself remains quite skeptical about loosening the rules. “Every time this issue has come up, I’ve received many residents emails by saying please don’t do this,” she said. “But I’ve also spoken to business owners that have asked, Can you please at least address this and look at this as an option, so I can certainly see both sides of the issue.” But the details of the survey questions are going to matter, she stressed.
So the survey’s honesty will matter: the city in the past would at times frame issues with predetermined outcomes, and as recently as this year, some council members criticized the latest citizens’ survey for posing leading rather than neutral questions. On an issue like work vans, the way the survey will be written will potentially define the sort of answers it will generate.
“We’re not talking about trucks,” Barbosa said. “We’re talking about regular vehicles as being as big as just a van. Cargo van. Not a truck, not a dump truck, not a semi. So it needs to be specified that it’s just as big as work van, not bigger than that. I don’t know how we’re going to be able to do that.” But that’s how he’d prefer it done.
The attorney at one point said that “anything of more than 1 ton is prohibited,” prompting Barbosa to say that that would exclude “most or all pick-up trucks.” But The attorney was misreading the ordinance, which states that “any motor vehicle having a carrying capacity of more than one ton” is prohibited. Still, estimating that carrying capacity is itself a vague part of the ordinance: a ton of metal can fit in the back of a Volkswagen Beetle, giving that vehicle the sort of carrying capacity that would place it in violation of the ordinance.
The council gave its staff direction to devise a survey, which will go before council before it’s disseminated to the public, giving the council a chance to hone it.
“That’s a good starting point,” the mayor said of the survey, “getting that feedback, continuing to include this in the city council discussion for prioritization. And then once we get that feedback we can as a council, discuss this, as far as the details go.”
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Janice Catoggio says
Business vehicles come in all different shapes sizes and good poor excellent condition. I feel that if you allow it to happen how can you leave out vehicles that are broken down looking I see many business vehicles driving around that are in poor condition 5 star pizza has 18 vehicles so are people are going to see these trucks parked in driveways. Please don’t change the code enforcement We take pride in our homes we don’t want to see these vehicles parked outside our home
Chantal Devane says
Agree 100%. Well Said.
Joe says
Palm coast is a dump and the rules are ridiculous which is exactly why I live in the country with a bunch of property so I dont have to deal with nosey neighbors and ridiculous rules. Unbelievable.
Shark says
Then why can’t I keep my boat in my driveway. All of the storage facilities in town are ripping us off. Palm Coast should open up a storage facility where we can keep our trucks and boats. The town has so many white elephants maybe this could be a way to finally have something profitable in this town. Just have one of the weed pullers switch over to a real job.
Judy says
What about cars parked in the back yard. And broken down cars sitting in driveways
citizen says
are you really worried about someone else’s BACK yard?
A Concerned Observer says
Good. This was a long time coming. Baby steps to be sure, but steps in the right direction.
Jimbo99 says
I’ll be clear about this, I’m against this. This is about those business people competing against each other and making the rest of us have to tolerate the eyesore. Anyone can go on to a search engine and get the top hits for businesses in the area that provide these services. So where does this ever end. How many vehicles will be parked like the photo. Let me guess, they’ll park yet another vehicle in the swales too. Give them these relaxations, they’re going to take over and just turn every residential into a strip mall. Might as well live in a commercial district. When would it escalate to signs on the side of the house or out in he yard. Watched an Ed Danko interview on this, he seems to have a strong opinion on it and it’s always Pro-Danko, with no regard or concern for anyone else in the residential. This is the same nonsense the whole Barbosa thing is about. At what point does anyone’s residential begin to look like the main Parkway(s) for commercial. Park it in the garage, continue to cover a certain size limitation of a vehicle. That message about working people, stop empowering that excuse, the one’s selling that perspective & line ? Well, you’ve seen Barbosa in action, one of the grossest offenders of any & every ordinance he can stretch to impose himself on his neighbors. These ordinances must remain in effect & in place, our neighborhoods are at risk here. You do business in Palm Coast, that’s fine, drive around with the signage, but enough is enough forcing the neighborhood to look at a 2500 sized commercial vehicle covered end to end with advertising & promotion. If this is relaxed, they might as well let trailered boats & any other RV be permanently parked in the residential. And you know corporate America is going to compete like this as well. So people that work at Publix, Wal-Mart, they’ll be keeping larger vehicles at their homes too. Hey, if Barbosa can do it, what stops Anheuser-Busch or any other larger operation commercial business from doing this ? The rules are relaxed, if a neighbor doesn’t complain to code enforcement, it obviously doesn’t get a warning or citation. That’s what Barbosa & Morton were arguing with each other over. A resident that owns property, a home, even rents, shouldn’t have to tolerate being bombarded with the onslaught of 24/7 advertising & promotion. The FTC has “Do not call, text & email” otherwise corporations & smaller business would constantly spam your smartphone. This commercial vehicle parking isn’t far removed from that concept.
citizen says
this is America, why are you telling your neighbors what they should or shouldn’t have in their own yard?
Ed says
Because its ugly and we want to live somewhere that is not ugly.
JACK WITTWER says
PLEASE don’t allow truck signs in neighborhoods. I already have to tolerate POLITIAL signs and that’s only because POLITICIANS control the rules. If those in politics weren’t in politics we wouldn’t have these DAMN signs. If you allow these signs it will only be one more thing that isn’t controlled or enforced in Palm Coast.
John Stove says
NO commercial vehicles, Absolutely NOT!
The mere fact that they are discussing what type of van/truck is “acceptable” and whether or not it is a “mint” truck or a used/rusted out truck means that there will be no way to enforce this. What about landscaping trailers, enclosed box trailers that typically are attached to these vehicles?
The Code Enforcement staff dont make late evening or weekend inspections which further complicates the issue as this is when these vehicles would be parked the most.
Why dont the business/commercial vehicle owners buy the magnetic door/side panel advertisement signs and when they park at night they simply remove them until the following morning? I dont want to see DISH TV, Spectrum, AT&T, Pizza, ManCave, A/C Repair, Plumbers, Landscaping trucks parked all over my neighborhood. I purchased property in Palm Coast BECAUSE of these code restrictions.
With the internet and social media advertising presence, business’s no longer need to blare out advertisement via a van/truck with signs plastered all over it. People dont make decisions to employ these businesses because of the sign on the van/truck!!
PC Tim says
Don’t let them remove it
Jim059 says
I have been a resident for over 20 years and own two homes in the city. One I live in and one my son and his family live in. I understand the issue for someone having a business and trying to figure out where to park his work vehicle. Especially for a business just starting out.
I really like the fact that these vehicles aren’t parked in neighborhoods overnight and on weekends. I don’t want to see a huge MAN Cave sign when I come out my front door. I think this is one of the better restrictions the city has. Just like the commercial signage on the side of roads. I enjoy not seeing billboards along our streets. I don’t want this to turn into Daytona Beach where there is no way to read all the signs when driving down the street because there are so many and with graffiti all over them.
I use many local businesses in town for a number of services. I want to support them. But I don’t want to take a walk around the block after work and have it look like every driveway is a billboard. For those who don’t have a place to part them or can’t afford parking at one of the numerous storage places in town, how about the city provide a computer-type parking lot for them. A couple of locations in commercial areas around town in each section that can be used that are safe and secure.
JimB says
It’s a shame the city, just to look good, penalize the hard working men and women trying to make a living for their families. If this is going to be enforced let’s get those Flagler county sheriff vehicles out of driveways. There’s no difference; people trying to make a living.
John Pasternak says
It’s way over due for this change. If my memory is still awake, in the beginning of PC, there was a certain member of the legistature that had a lot of property zoned so as to be used for vehicle storage. Low and behold, new ordinance for ‘commercial vehicle’ restrictions appears on the books. The city has made thousands and thousands of dollars from this error, which has also led to the most expensive storage rates and lowest availability of parking for such vehicles in the state. Time for a change!
Inthenameofunity says
These clowns don’t know what a 1 ton truck is and they make the decisions! They have no idea what working men know or do. Is there a bully barber in the house?
Mark says
Wow this would be a disgrace to the city. Might as well start calling Palm Coast ,Walmart. If companies dont want to pay security to watch their vans in a lot at night , the rest of us shouldnt have to suffer these eye sores. Also people wanting to get away with not druving theor own vehicle to work should jus suck it up and drive your car to work like the rest of the world. STOP THE MADNESS!
Watson says
A lot of us need our vehicles at night to take care of people like you, who call for a repair at 10 pm
citizen says
or just look at your own house and not impose your opinions of what an “eyesore” is on our neighbors. start a garden?
tulip says
I’m sure the business will love to have their business vehicles in their home drive way and won’t care if it makes the neighborhood look junky. I’m sure many of us will not enjoy seeing all kinds of trucks with stuff piled in them, and signage of all types. etc. Just think of all the distracting signage they will have, Instead of seeing landscaping, we’ll see trucks and ads.
We will also wind up with vehicles parked on the side of the road because their drive is full. This will make the roads somewhat impassable due to how narrow they are. There will be many phone calls to the city about that. Also because of the roadside parking, it will be very difficult for fire engines, ambulances and the like to navigate the roads and park in order to handle an emergency.
I don’t know who owns the lots that the trucks can park in but, if it’s the city of Palm Coast then the city should be considerate of it’s businesses and keep the parking charge to a very minimum.
Dennis says
No way. My neighbor runs several business and I’m sure there will be multiple vehicles advertising his business parked in his drive and swale. People will only be happy when they destroy the character of Palm Coast
Tj Miller says
Palm Coast has destroyed the character of Flagler County.
Watson says
I don’t get the negative views on a work van, most are kept in good condition. The way some people on here talk,, its as if they look down on working people, and if we have a work van we should be banished from city limits. There are plenty of run down cars parked in driveways, no complaints about them. The town is not going to look like I ke a strip mall because 1 driveway on every street has a work van parked in it.
Can't believe it says
Let’s turn it into a shithole, where ya’ll come from. Where does it end? People ‘have the right to peaceful enjoyment of their property” and should not have to drive by or look at commercial vehicles as they pass through their neighborhood, or try to enjoy their front yard. Next, they’ll be working on them in their driveways, changing transmissions, with parts scattered all over, or storing HVAC units in the driveway. If they don’e like the rules, they can move to unincorporated Flagler County. On the road to Mondex.
George Washington says
“Right to peaceful enjoyment of their property” AKA parking my work truck in my own driveway. Maybe you should close your eyes while you drive by?
blondee says
Strongly opposed!!! If you must bring these vehicles home, park them in your garage.
Mythoughts says
NO…. stop trying to change something that isn’t broken. I do not want to see work trucks and we know some of them will not be appealing to look at. It is going to trash our neighborhoods. Leave well enough alone.
Next thing it will be RV’s, boats, motorcycles on trailers, ATV’s. NO stop with even considering this.
Charles Montgomery Burns says
All of this beauty comes at a price. You don’t want your working neighbor parking a company vehicle in their own driveway. Okay. So they work around it. They pay storage lot fees. Or they pay for commercial space that accommodates parking of their vehicles. Or they simply commute into the county. All of that comes with extra costs for the businesses, and those costs get siphoned right out of your own wallets.
We all pay easily 10-20% more for services in Palm Coast than in surrounding communities. We pay more for gas. We pay more for food. We pay more for water. We pay more for electricity. We pay more for cable. We pay more here for pretty much everything. We stifle competition. We shun all business, small and large. Get off my lawn!
Palm Coast is a wanna be affluent retirement community, masquerading as a small beachside town. It is a quintessential conglomerate of having the cake and wanting to eat it all too. So okay. Want to live and work here? Get out your checkbook. Let’s call the spade a spade and stop pretending it’s not.
The alternative? Palm Beach versus West Palm Beach. Pick your poison or passion. Make I-95 the delimeter.
Ed says
Well I’m already here and I don’t think the prices are going to drop once commercial vans can park in the neighborhood. I’d rather pay the extra money and keep it looking nice.
Mark says
If you want to drive a work van or truck to your house and leave it parked ,advertising for free than move to the Mondex with the other worker people
YouHateTheWorkingClass says
this is called Classism. disgusting…
TimG says
As a new resident, moving into Palm Coast this month, it’s shocking to hear that an ordinance like this is even legal/constitutional to begin with. It’s even more shocking that the residents tolerate it, and based on the commentary vehemently support it.
What’s painted on the side of a vehicle parked in someone else’s driveway is no concern of anyone besides the owner of the driveway. This includes political statements, pro/anti religious messages, support/opposition for causes, and business branding. So long as the vehicle is legal to drive in the condition, it should be fine to park on your own property. And if it’s stupid/offensive, then that’s fine, you’ve informed your neighbors that you’re stupid and offensive.
Now… if it’s an attached sign that won’t stay on when you start driving down the road, then I can see an issue… if Joe down the street puts up a four foot plywood sign on top of his car when he gets home, that’s something totally different than having “Joe’s paving service” branded on his pickup door. But if you can drive with it, you can park it anywhere you have permission… and in your driveway, *you* give the permission.
Stop trying to control everyone else says
Agreed. I felt extremely upset looking at Trump signs all over people’s vehicles, in their yards, etc. Still see them. However, it’s none of my business if someone wants to drive around like that. It’s their vehicle, their yard, and if everything is legal, I just have to deal with it. Same thing here. No one has the right to say a business owner can’t have their vehicle in their own driveway as long as it’s legal. If you don’t like it, close your eyes or move where you have enough land you can control everything about your view.
Young Buck says
Facts. Old people are always worried about everyone but themselves. Mind your business neighbor!
Fernando Melendez says
Keep Palm Coast 🌴
BEAUTIFUL!
So, here we are again, with the same argument about loosening up our enforcement codes. I’m proud to say that I’m one of those 94000 residents in Palm Coast that chose to call Palm Coast home with the current restrictions.
Why? Because they ensure an attractive, lawful and safe community. Here are just some of the trickle down effects from loosening up our enforcement codes, Here are a few common code enforcement areas of interest: unsightly lawns, excess signage, nuisance and even neglected animals, illegal dumping and parking. Is this is the direction where we want Palm Coast heading? It’s time to shut Barbosa and Danko down with this ridiculous proposition and let them know how we feel. Take the survey and say NO!! To turning our city into a dump.
WTH Palm Coast Residents? says
While I agree with people being able to do what they want with their own property (overall) the fact is that when Palm Coast was founded and developed these regulations were put into place for a variety of reasons, among which are to maintain property values. Think about it, you are here to buy a house and love the area because the surrounding homes are well kept and have neatly groomed lawns. Some people actually park in their garages (gasp!). We have 2 vehicles, a small SUV and a small four-door Subaru. Unfortunately, we also have things in the garage that make it impossible to park both (like a chest freezer and extra food storage shelving). But our cars are well maintained and not an eyesore when left in the driveway. Unlike a neighbor who has so much in his garage that all FOUR of their vehicles are parked in the driveway. But that’s another whole issue.
We knew when we moved here that there were things you could and could not do. We accepted that. There are areas in Flagler County that look like something out of an episode of Green Acres. You’ve seen them – old furniture in the yard, broken appliances, rusted out cars … Do I want that next to my home that I work so hard to maintain, constantly weeding, trimming bushes, making it have “curb appeal” like all my nearby neighbors do? No, of course not.
I think it’s great that we have (what I consider to be reasonable) regulations to protect our property values and the beauty of the city. There are days that those regulations are annoying (like when a new neighbor next to a lot we own decided he didn’t like the natural growth near his property and we were forced to do a cut back). You think some of these comments are uppity? You should have that guy next to your property. He tried to force us to cut down a tree (that is on OUR property) because he didn’t like it close to his house.
In the big picture, why not just cover the commercial vehicles at night with a tarp that is custom sized? They also help protect the paint job. I’ve seen several of them, including on my street, and they are not at all visually offensive, are not any type of burden on the vehicle driver/owner (other than occasionally trying to cover it in a thunderstorm), and both sides are happy. The vehicle owner gets to park, the neighbor doesn’t have to look at the advertising, and everybody can kick back and have a beer without getting their panties in a knot.
Summary – let them park in their yard as long as the advertising is covered. Then think about having a neighborhood cookout where everyone can make nice and get along.
Ed says
Another issue where Danko is trying to turn our community into a dump. Keep commercial vehicles parked in a commercial lot. Nobody wants to see these eyesores parked on their street, where most of the time they end up in the swale.
If they turn PC into a ugly town people will move somewhere else, home prices will drop, and we’ll just end up going downhill.
Land of no turn signals says says
Opening the flood gates.It has already started here,well if commercial vehicles are allowed why can’t boats? then it’s trailers,campers motorhomes.Where does it stop?Crap is already parked in swales that millions of dollars of taxpayers money spent to maintain.Plan on doubling code enforcement.
palmcoaster says
Leave our current city ordinances the way they are as is the reason we bought our homes in Pam Coast because looks beautiful as still is now. We do not want to come out the front door to endure the view of commercial bill boards on wheels we have our homes in “residential communities” not in commercial strip malls. People moves here because is beautiful and then wants to change it into a dump. Enough that we have to endure cars parked overnight in the street or the swales against the city ordinance because when we call lately the responding sheriff officer do not want to address the owner as he/she says they are not disturbing the traffic. Oh yeah in these narrow residential winding roads dark without lightening at night? Those parked cars are a hazard to all besides an eyesore all the time that even hinder our garbage pick up as the big Waste Pro hauler lacks the sufficient space to properly maneuver and then are blamed for bad service. To that current limited parking space in a small single family home were 5 reside and drive 5 cars we are also to approve now on top, the commercial vehicles too? Can someone tell me where are they going to park then the additional commercial vehicles in that small single family home with a small already insufficient family vehicles parking as is now? Maybe in front of us neighbors homes or will be more cars on the swales or street than now overnight and day? Why we all have to endure a new eyesore to be approved? Please stop the nonsense just to get votes. What about Danko and Barbosa get busy trying to resolve instead the increased litter out of the window in all our roads and right of ways as also has increased lately? No changes please…enough that Tallahassee is coming with deregulation of the color that houses can be painted in Florida lest be ready to see a red, black or polka dot house next door, or just one house covered with black mold or sprinkler rust as a fashion color enjoyed by owner, so lets get our blinders ready. Majority of us like our residential parking as is now as much as we like our Waste Pro excellent trash collection!
Watson says
Nobody said anything about changing the swale parking ordinance. This is about parking a normal size work van in your own driveway. I think we will find that a majority of people don’t care if a workvan is in someone’s driveway.
pc worker says
I can not wait to see dump trucks parked all over Palm Coast, then it will be boat, then trailers and next thing you know it will look like Daytona Beach
deb says
the whole thing is hilarious , I say fix the houses that look like dumps then worry about the cars and trucks and then worry about commercial cars and trucks. So I guess the police cars are not welcome
Local Resident says
My old neighborhood up north went down hill when neighbors starting parking electrical, plumbing, and HVAC work trucks and vans all over the neighborhood. Initially there were no trucks. Initially no one parked a commercial vehicle in the neighborhood, even though there was no code regulations against it. During one of the recessions, folks started cutting corners and moved the commercial vehicles to their driveways, presumably to save money. Some households had up to 4 commercial vehicles in their driveways. If you change the code in Palm Coast, folks will flood many driveways with commercial vehicles. It will look like commercial real estate rather than a residential community. Wake up Palm Coast. If this proposed change takes effect, the character of Palm Coast will drastically change and property values will drop like a rock because no one will want to reside in a quasi commercial district.
Chattahoochee says
You mean there IS a restriction on parking in the swales??? Well whomever is in charge of enforcement is blind or on the take.
Celia M Pugliese says
Mayor Alfin, Council, Board of Realtors and residents about to be affected if the city ordinance regarding commercial vehicles in driveways will change, should know that the curb appeal of a home is very important .
https://magazine.realtor/daily-news/2020/01/27/how-much-does-curb-appeal-affect-home-value
“Researchers examined Google Street View photos and sales data from 88,980 properties in the Denver metro area to find how much curb appeal matters to a home’s value. The researchers found that the curb appeal of neighboring properties also has an impact on a home’s value. The appearance of the yard next door accounts for about a third of a home’s overall premium, the study notes”.
Are we ready to take this financial loss in the value of our homes by giving in to the minority residents demand when the majority says NO? No to changing our city ordinances starting with the commercial vehicles to be allowed to park in homes driveways.