FLAGLER BEACH — The Flagler Beach City Commission voted 4-1 to approve on first reading the annexation of approximately 545 acres of land west of John Anderson Highway, where the Summertown development is proposed.
Summertown is part of the Veranda Bay project, which also includes approximately 234 acres east of the highway.
Chairman James Sherman, Vice Chairman Rick Belhumeur, and Commissioners Eric Cooley and Scott Spradley voted in favor of the annexation; Commissioner John Cunningham opposed.
The development team, city officials and dozens of residents packed the City Commission chambers Thursday night, Nov. 13, to discuss Summertown’s annexation.
Neither Summertown nor Veranda Bay have received final approval from the city. The second reading and final vote for Summertown’s annexation is set for Jan. 8 and, if approved, will give way for developers to propose the project’s PUD.
After a resident’s suggestion at the end of the meeting, the board agreed to meet for a workshop session to discuss pending issues related to the proposal before January’s vote.
City commissioners asked questions about the project’s density, traffic impacts and buffers around John Anderson Highway, buffers for development areas proposed near Bulow Creek and more.
Residents’ feedback included a mix of opposition to some elements of the project, support for its potential economic boost to the city, and pleads for city officials to continue to demand that Summertown and Veranda Bay not affect the residents’ quality of life.
What is Summertown development proposed in Flagler Beach?
The 545 acres proposed along the west side of John Anderson Highway would be called Summertown — a mixed-use development of residential and commercial space. The developer is Ken Belshe of Sunbelt Land Management.
It would consist of a maximum of 1,640 residential units, averaging about 2.6 units per acre, which would make it a low-density development; a maximum of 840,000 square feet of nonresidential uses, including retail, commercial, restaurants and offices; and a maximum of 250 rooms for a proposed boutique hotel.
Veranda Bay, on the other side of the highway, would bring in 377 residential units, a maximum of 16,200 square feet of nonresidential uses and a maximum of 150 marina berths.
The entire project could more than double the city’s 5,500 population.
There is also a spine road between the south side of State Road 100 across parts of Summertown to connect it to John Anderson Highway.
The project’s master development agreement also requires developers to keep 40% of the land as open space — more than 200 acres.
“We are clustering the homes,” Chiumento said, “so that we can really move forward and preserve trees, natural fauna and provide open space.”
He also highlighted that city staff asked, and the developer agreed, to make 50% of the landscape throughout the subdivision to be Florida native. He also mentioned that buffers along John Anderson have been increased at the request of the county.
Flagler Beach still concerned about Summertown’s potential impacts to Bulow Creek
A major concern for many residents and city officials was protecting a northern section of the Bulow Creek that is closer to the Summertown property boundary.
The development team showed a map that illustrated how the maximum distance between the creek’s water bank and the property line is 100 feet. That distance is several hundred feet greater throughout other points of the Summertown boundaries.
In addition to the 100-foot natural buffer, developers are proposing an additional 75-foot setback that will run along the entire project boundary.
Chiumento addressed a question from Commissioner Eric Cooley about the possibility of the developer working with the county to negotiate purchasing of floodplain land around the project to protect the Bulow Creek watershed and, consequently, residents who could see increased flooding.
County Chair Andy Dance said he met with Belshe, the developer, and Chiumento to discuss the matter.
“And the commitment from them was ‘somewhere between zero and 100%,’ yes,” Dance said. “With that I felt good to take it back to the (Board of County Commissioners) in order to get consensus on moving on that direction.”
His ask is that “100% of the floodplain be retained, which is about 215 acres,” he told his board during a Nov. 3 meeting.
Chiumento clarified that that is a possibility.
“We are willing to work with them,” Chiumento said. “If they find land that they think is environmentally sensitive that meets the requirement of their purchase, we are all ears.”
County Administrator Heidi Petito earlier this month said staff was looking at potentially partnering with the North Florida Land Trust, the Wildlife Corridor and the St. Johns River Water Management District to help secure funds for acquiring the land, as well as the county’s own Environmentally Sensitive Land (ESL) program.
Residents call on officials to continue scrutiny of proposed Summertown, Veranda Bay projects
Flagler Beach resident Jay Gardener said he has been a resident for 23 years.
He emphasized that Thursday’s decision was not to approve the project, but whether the city wanted the chance to help shape the project to its advantage.
“We are talking about permit fees, impact fees, tax dollars, getting rid of our wastewater,” Gardner said. “If it is going to happen, I surely don’t want to see it in the city if Palm Coast. This is really the last opportunity we have to annex something for the tax benefit … . It is under your control.”
The city’s limited revenue from property taxes poses a constant challenge for its annual budget, Gardner added.
“The residential that we have now doesn’t carry its own weight,” he said. “We struggle for money in our little town, and if this is going to be here, and it will be here, we might as well take advantage of it.”
He also said it is important that, in that process, the city works to ensure environmentally sensitive issues are addressed — something other residents also touched on.
Matt Hathaway, a resident of John Anderson Highway, said he, like many Flagler Beach residents, aren’t necessarily opposed to the annexation but want city officials to “be smart about it.”
He was encouraged to hear about the county’s intention to acquire floodplain land in the area, which would help preserve Bulow Creek and its watershed.
“We have a solution right here — the county,” Hathaway said. “The county wants to buy 200 acres. Two hundred acres of area we don’t need to build on … . Anything building in a floodplain nowadays, five or 10 years from now, that will be gone. It’s not sustainable.”
He encouraged officials to “talk and listen to folks who have lived in this area generationally.”
“I need development to be sustainable for my business, but we can be smart about it,” he said. “And now we have a solution.”
With the first reading approved, state agencies will have a chance to review the proposal to raise any potential problems with Summertown before it comes back to the city’s second reading and final vote.
A date for the proposed workshop has not yet been set.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler Beach approves 1st reading of 545-acre annexation for Summertown development
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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