Tuesday, March 18th, 2025, during the morning business meeting, Mayor Mike Norris passed the gavel to Vice-Mayor Pontieri, to make a motion for a building moratorium in Palm Coast. Last year, Councilmember Pontier had previously made a motion to institute a building moratorium on two separate occasions.
During the meeting, while the city council was considering the options for a Utility Rate Amendment, Mayor Norris passed the gavel to Vice-Mayor Pontieri, allowing himself the ability to make a motion to put a moratorium in place for Palm Coast. The Moratorium he proposed would stop all future buildings for an undetermined amount of time, except for commercial and industrial, and infill lots within the City of Palm Coast. The motion died due to no second.
Many questioned why Pontieri did not speak up and second the motion, so we reached out to her to find out the reason behind the silence. In a call with Pontieri, she explained that due to legal reasons, and Robert’s Rules, because she had the gavel, she was unable to second the motion on the floor. Pontieri continued explaining that she had no idea what Mayor Norris was going to make a motion for until he made the motion. “I wanted the motion to get a second because I believe that it needed to be discussed,” Pontieri said.
“I would have seconded the motion if possible to allow for discussion on the dias. It isn’t builders vs residents, we all need water,” Pontieri explained. She continued explaining that things do have to change, and the discussion on a moratorium does need to happen, but it can only happen if the motion is seconded. There are pros and cons to a building moratorium, and the only way to determine whether it is the right decision for the city is through discussion.
