BUNNELL — The Flagler Board of County Commissioners April 20 vehemently expressed its opposition to at-grade crossings on the historic Old Brick Road as negotiations between Palm Coast and land developer Rayonier, Inc., continue.
The Jacksonville developer has proposed “Old Brick Township,” a mixed-use development with a residential population of more than 10,600. Located between the Espanola community and the county line, it is part of Palm Coast’s overall westward expansion, in an area where the city has already annexed lands west of U.S. Highway 1 and up to and past Old Brick Road.
The development would require access roads that would cross the historic road.
The Commissioners, arguing for the historic preservation of the road’s county-owned 8-mile segment, did not support the idea of limiting crossings at Old Brick Road to four. That idea was one of several in an interlocal agreement between the city, the county, Rayonier, Inc., and its development subsidiary arm, Raydient.
The county board also voiced its wish for 25-foot buffers on each side of the road as part of the agreement, and commissioners discussed the possibility of turning the 8-mile stretch into a linear park, as Rayonier’s logging trucks have for years used the road for the company’s operations.
With the interlocal agreement set to come before the Palm Coast City Council at the beginning of May and then return to the BOCC for ratification, negotiations will continue over the next few weeks.
Concerns over logging truck traffic at Old Brick Road remain
At an April 20 BOCC meeting, Deputy County Attorney Sean Moylan gave a presentation about the agreement’s status and what it proposes.
Part of the agreement states that the 21 “existing connections to logging roads will remain” until viable alternative routes are developed.
“Right now, they don’t have another access,” Moylan said.
That traffic has been a county concern in terms of maintaining the road’s integrity. County crews have buried many sections of the road under topsoil to “protect bricks from logging trucks.”
Moylan also said that, because of the road’s remote rural location, theft of historic bricks and occasional garbage dumping in the surrounding area have also become issues.
The current interlocal agreement also requires that the city notify the county on any “development applications for adjoining lands,” and give county staff the opportunity to review them.
In a memo from Moylan to the board, he emphasized that Old Brick Township “may take several decades,” and that its developer has expressed the wish to preserve the county road’s historical character.
“It is anticipated the (interlocal agreement) may need modifications or supplementation as development plans become more detailed,” Moylan said in his memo.
Commissioners, residents want Old Brick Road’s historic character preserved
Old Brick Road, often referred to as Old Dixie Highway, is the “longest stretch of rural brick highway in the United States,” according to Moylan.
Completed in 1916, approximately 8 of its 10.6 miles between State Road 204 and Espanola are located in Flagler County, according to the Flagler County Historical Society.
The 10 miles of Old Brick Road are “recognized on the National Register of Historic Places and still invites visitors to travel back in time,” according to the Florida Department of Transportation.
Commissioner Pam Richardson voiced support for the road’s historical preservation, saying the idea for a four-lane crossing highway intersecting with Old Brick Road “is disturbing to me.”
“Part of Flagler is Tree City USA, Palm Coast, and the beauty of where we live,” Richardson said, acknowledging the developer’s right to develop the land around Old Brick Road but suggesting the road be protected from its potential impacts.
Ed Siarkowicz, president of the Flagler County Historical Society, praised the board’s decision to push for the road’s historic preservation, adding that more than 1,300 people have signed a petition, led by the nonprofit organization, in support of the road’s preservation.
“We have many people who come to this community as history tourists, specifically to drive down that uninterrupted stretch of Dixie Highway,” Siarkowicz said.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: Flagler commissioners back Old Brick Road’s historic preservation
Reporting by Brenno Carillo, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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