- April 25, 2024
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In a Planning and Development Board meeting that drew an audience of about 50 and included almost an hour of public comment — a rarity in a form of government meeting that almost never draws a crowd — the county’s Planning Board voted 6-0 July 14 to recommend that the county approve a zoning change to let Sea Ray boats build a new employee parking lot.
One board member, Michael Boyd, was not present at the meeting. The unanimous vote in favor or Sea Ray is a turnaround from a previous Planning and Development Board vote on the parking lot proposal, in which the board decided unanimously against Sea Ray.
“I too couldn’t support it in the beginning,” Board Chairman Russ Reinke said before the vote. “I think I’ve heard enough evidence supporting this application tonight.”
The proposed parking lot on a 24-acre parcel of conservation and residential land adjoining Sea Ray’s property off Colbert Lane has divided residents of the areas near the Sea Ray plant — who fear the parking lot proposal is a cover for a planned industrial expansion that would affect their quality of life — from other county residents who've worried that denying Sea Ray's proposal might cause the company to move, costing jobs.
The Planning Board had earlier this year opposed a land use change to allow the lot. The County Commission — whose vote, unlike the Planning Board's, was binding — disregarded the Planning Board's recommendation, voting in March in favor of the Sea Ray land use proposal.
The Planning Board vote July 14 registered the board's support of Sea Ray’s application to change to land’s zoning from conservation and low-density residential to high-density commercial, the zoning that would allow the lot, and potentially an office building in the future. It isn't binding. The issue goes before the County Commission at a meeting 5 p.m. Monday, July 20, for a final decision.
“We need a parking lot for the convenience and safety of our team members, and to improve the operational efficiency at our plant,” Sea Ray Operations Manager Craig Wall said in a presentation before the board. “No manufacturing increase," he said.
Wall explained why the new lot is needed: Sea Ray has gone from producing three different luxury boat models to producing 17 models — each 37-65 feet long — which require large boat molds and the equipment to move them around the property. The molds and equipment are now taking up the company’s employee parking lot, forcing employees to park along the entrance road.
The crowding is also causing other problems, Wall said. “Congestion … is driving inefficiencies,” he said. “We spend a tremendous amount of time moving parts and fixtures around the facility just to get to what we need next.”
Much of the opposition to the zoning change has come from residents of Lambert Avenue, which borders the plant on the east across a barrier of marshland.
“If you need a bigger parking lot, you’re expanding,” Flagler Beach City Commissioner and Lambert resident Jane Mealy said during the meeting’s public comment period.
Mealy echoed complaints voiced at previous government meetings on Sea Ray that the plant emits styrene, stinking up the area. “Increasing the amount of styrene in our atmosphere is not increasing the quality of life,” she said. “Imagine sitting at Finns or the Golden Lion deck and smelling the styrene.”
Mealy said County Planner Adam Mengel, who’d presented a presentation supporting Sea Ray’s proposal, sounded like he was “talking out of both sides of his mouth” when he described the boat manufacturing company’s plans.
Lambert residents Roseaanne Stocker and Don Deal, both planners in the city of Flagler Beach, also spoke against the change, with Stocker saying the proposed lot was “two-point-five times the size of Walmart’s parking lot” and that it would harm local property values and violate the county’s Comprehensive Plan.
About a dozen Sea Ray employees showed up to the meeting wearing tan Sea Ray T-shirts in support of their employer.
Ken Fonte, a 22-year Sea Ray employee, asked the board to vote in Sea Ray’s favor “so I can keep my livelihood, keep my family here, and hopefully retire here.” He compared upset Lambert residents to people who move in next to an airport and then complain about the noise, noting that Sea Ray’s industrial site existed long before the homes on Lambert. “I’ve been here longer than most of you people,” he said, turning toward the audience. “Now people are trying to take my job. I don’t think that’s right, so please vote yes,” he said to the board.
Rebecca DeLorenzo, president of the Flagler County Chamber, said Sea Ray was one of the county’s oldest employers, employing about 675 people. “Let’s not miss the opportunity to show that Flagler County can get past the noise and support reasonable business requests,” she said to the board.
Before the unanimous vote, several board members noted their previous opposition to the land use change, but said they couldn’t justify denying the zoning change that came before the board July 14.
“I did not support the land use change,” Board member Laureen Kornel said. “Now, by law, I understand it needs to have a zoning applied to it. … I’m conflicted, because I know that this board, by law, does need to make a recommendation as to what the zoning will be.”
Board member Michael Duggins said the proposal before the board July 14 included more of a protective buffer between the proposed lot and Lambert than the one the board had voted against before.
Reinke said he felt Sea Ray’s current proposal had taken care of buffer issues, and that the company is “being good citizens.” And, he said, “Our job is not to have subjective opinions, but objective opinions based on the law."
