- December 13, 2025
Palm Coast Code Enforcement Officer Bruce MacDonald is one of 11 officers patrolling the streets of Palm Coast. If the city cuts into the code enforcement budget, he says, more yards will be overgrown and property values could decrease.
Monday through Friday, after doing some paperwork, Palm Coast Code Enforcement Officer Bruce MacDonald climbs into his mobile office — his city-issued Ford F-150 pickup truck.
He locks his laptop into the mount and thumbs through the day’s action items. “The actions items are priority items,” he says. Those are complaints that have been called in by residents. This is his job. He will leave the security of his job to the City Council, which is considering up to $1.9 million in cuts that could slice into code enforcement in the next fiscal year.
There are many difficult decisions ahead in this budget season, but the City Council knows that everything MacDonald is about to do today could go unchecked if boots on the street are reduced. On the other hand, if cuts are not made here, they will need to be made elsewhere or the tax rate will need to be increased.
Into the R-section
MacDonald says code enforcement is similar to law enforcement, a field he is familiar with (he is a retired police officer).
“The majority of people will like you because you’re trying to keep the city beautiful,” he says. “But the others won’t because you’re authority. They don’t like authority.”
A veteran of five years on the streets, MacDonald is one of 11 code enforcement officers for the city. Recently, his zone was switched from the L-section, to the R-section.
As MacDonald pulls out of City Marketplace and heads south on Belle Terre Parkway toward the R-section, he points to the GPS unit mounted near the driver’s side door.
All code enforcement trucks are equipped with GPS units, enabling Code Enforcement Manager Barbara Grossman to track all the units. She can tell how fast they are driving, too.
The first stop for MacDonald is a home off Raemoor Drive. But before he gets there, he notices a garage sale sign left on the corner of Rymfire Drive and Belle Terre. He pulls over, puts on his flashing lights, and snags the sign.
The first official action item is a complaint about an above-ground swimming pool. According to city ordinance, all swimming pools must have the proper permits and must be fenced.
MacDonald observes the pool at the home and then pulls over. He grabs his stack of notices from a manila folder.
“I’ll give him three days to get a permit for the pool and secure the pool,” MacDonald explains as he rips off small pieces of blue duct tape to post the notice on the home. “If (the resident) can’t do anything within the three days, (he or she) must dismantle the pool so it’s not a safety issue.”
If the resident doesn’t comply, the matter will eventually be taken to the Code Board within about 45 days, when the resident will be required to pay at least an administrative fee of $150 for the process.
The next action item is a vacant house at 65 Raemoor Drive.
He taps on his computer keys and determinse the homeowner lives in Eustis. According to MacDonald, the house had other code cases in 2004 and two in 2009. Foreclosure, MacDonald says.
He then walks up to the house and observes a broken window, the unsecured porch and the unlocked sliding glass door. Junk is scattered on the floor in the home.
He writes up a notice of remedy, which gives the owner 10 days to mow the lawn. If the owner doesn’t comply, the bank is notified and it has 10 additional days. If nothing happens, the city will mow the lawn — on the taxpayers’ dime — and a lien is placed on the home.
Two action items for the day are completed. But there’s a lot more than just the action items. Driving up and down the street, MacDonald observes more houses not in compliance. One home has overgrown grass; another has a vehicle parked in the grass; a third home has an inoperable vehicle in the driveway.
“You could literally spend hours on one street,” MacDonald says.
This is why any potential cuts to code enforcement are a concern to MacDonald, as an employee but also as a taxpayer.
Code cuts?
According to a budget presentation by Palm Coast Finance Manager Ray Britt, code enforcement was budgeted at $2.22 million in 2011 and is scheduled for $2.15 million budget in 2012. That translates to a decrease of $68,766, or a 3.1% drop.
Addtionally, one option City Council members have to cut code’s budget is dropping one team, which comprises two officers and an administrative support person. That would result in a 20% reduction in code enforcement activity.
One team, according to data provided by the city, oversees about 5,358 cases, lifts 2,066 signs and reviews 5,105 red-light camera violations.
Cutting one team would save the city about $144,000.
MacDonald, who is also tasked with reviewing the red-light camera violations, says cutting code could hurt the city.
“If we’re not out here, unfortunately, people slack off,” MacDonald says.
MacDonald also says the economic downturn has forced code enforcement to deal with more cases.
“We do our jobs and (the residents) know we do our jobs, but we can’t be everywhere,” he says.
TOP CODE ENFORCEMENT VIOLATIONS
*The following is extracted from the Palm Coast Code Enforcement Top Violations brochure.
For detailed descriptions, read the brochure in its entirety online at www.palmcoastgov.com.
Property & yard maintenance
Grass must be mowed in keeping with the neighborhood, landscaping bushes must be trimmed and flower beds weeded.
Trash
Garbage cans must be hidden from street view. Waste containers may be placed out for collection no earlier than 6 p.m. on the day before a scheduled collection day and must be removed no later than 6 a.m. on the day after the containers are emptied.
Parking
Parking on the street or on a lawn is prohibited. Parking in the swales is prohibited 1-6 a.m.
Irrigation
Palm Coast water users are required to adhere to the Palm Coast Water Conservation Policy.
Outdoor storage
Portable temporary moving or storage structures may be parked temporarily (not to exceed seven days) in the resident’s driveway, but only one unit shall be used once in a calendar year for a location.
Swimming pools
Swimming pools require a permit prior to construction or installation that ensures compliance with all codes. Above-ground swimming pools must be fenced in and also require a permit.
Signs
All signs are regulated by the Land Development Code as adopted by the referenced ordinance. Code enforcement is empowered to remove any prohibited signs placed on public property or rights of way.
Garage sales
Up to two garage sales per year may be held at the same location, and up to four families may join in a garage sale. Sale hours are restricted between 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. All offsite signs are prohibited.
Trailers
It is prohibited and unlawful to park or store a utility trailer at any time on any improved or unimproved lot in a residential district, unless at a residence for a residential service call.
They must be stored in the garage or in an offsite storage area.
Commercial vehicles
It is prohibited and unlawful to park or store a commercial vehicle at a residence anywhere in the city limits at any time unless for a residential service call.
Noise
It is unlawful for any person to willfully make, continue, or cause to be made or continued, any loud and raucous noise, which term shall mean any sound which, because of its volume, duration and nature, annoys, disturbs, injures, or endangers the comfort, health, peace or safety of reasonable persons of ordinary sensibilities within the city.
