Palm Coast held their last business meeting for the 2023 year on December 19th, 2023. The meeting opened with public comment; with a myriad of residents getting up to state concerns, issues, and requests to the council regarding many different issues. Residents spoke up about cell towers, keeping Palm Coast visually appealing, preserving the historic Old Kings Road, notifications of zone changes, resident flooding, lack of representation, conflicts of interest regarding the mayor, among other issues.
Kicking off the meeting agenda was a proclamation making December 19th, 2023 as World Polio Day in Palm Coast. The proclamation was presented by Mayor Alfin and received by the Flagler County Rotary Club.
The Council continued on to hear a presentation on the request for rehearing on the Cascades. Mr. Chimento came to state his request on why the developer is requesting a rehearing on the Cascades. Mr. Chimento stated that the council did not have the authority to change the comprehensive plan. They request the hearing again in January, since JTL was not present during the meeting. Staff stated there was an error in the information that was presented to council. Alfin passed the gavel to Danko, to make a motion to rehear the Cascades, which was seconded by Klufas. Pontieri stated that the council made their decision based on the information presented by the applicant. Pontieri objected to the statement by Chimento that there was an error by staff or council. Pontieri listed email correspondence between staff, Chimento, owners of the land, and other parties involved regarding the hook piece; which is the main point of the rehearing request by the applicant and their representative. Pontieri said she was not opposed to a rehearing, but staff and council did not err on this; this is why she is against rehearing without looking at this closer. City attorney attempted to interject, but was shut down by Mayor Alfin who stated that he made a motion and it was seconded. The motion for a rehearing passed 3-1.
Council moved on to hear an ordinance regarding an amendment to the future land mass use map for 6 acres on Belle Terre from greenbelt to mixed use with limit on 30,000 sq. ft. Pontieri stated her excitement to see more commercial space being used. One resident stated her concern that this was taking away greenspace and turning it into commercial space. She was concerned with whether residents in that area would be happy with the change or not. Council approved the amendment to the land use map, then moved on to hear the rezoning application for the same parcel. Currently, the area on Belle Terre and US 1 are zoned for single family homes. One resident was deeply concerned that the rendering may not be accurate leading to confusion on residents part. Another resident stated she felt this was an appropriate change for the land in question. The zoning ordinance was passed 4-0. This was the first read of this matter and it will be added to the agenda in the future for the second read.
