- April 25, 2024
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Plantation Bay's clubhouse, the Club de Bon Mont, is in Volusia County. But it won't be for much longer.
The community plans to build a new clubhouse just north of the Flagler-Volusia County line, then demolish the existing Club de Bon Mont.
Flagler County's Planning and Land Development Board voted unanimously at a Nov. 9 meeting in favor of a site plan for the new clubhouse building.
"It's back again, but it certainly is not a new thing. It was going to happen a long time ago and is moving forward now."
— JERRY FINLEY, engineer
The new clubhouse will be approximately 28,314 square feet under roof, and three levels, including a golf cart storage area beneath the main level. It will be constructed on a parcel of land at the intersection of Bay Drive and Plantation Bay Drive overlooking a lake, southwest of the current Club de Bon Mont property.
"The aesthetic that they're providing here is consistent with the overall theme of Plantation Bay," Flagler County Growth Management Director Adam Mengel said of the building's architecture.
It will have a golf cart storage and loading dock on the lowest level, amenities on the main floor and staff areas on the top floor, Mengel said. The land is currently part of the golf course's putting green.
Project engineer Jerry Finley said that the proposal to replace Plantation Bay's clubhouse isn't new: Discussion of replacing the club building began around 2004 and was moving forward in 2006.
"Then things crashed, and it got put on hold," Finley said. "It's back again, but it certainly is not a new thing. It was going to happen a long time ago and is moving forward now."
Replacing the clubhouse building will benefit the community in a variety of ways, Finley said.
"It gets rid of a very outdated facility over there that has several accessibility challenges," he said. "It's a long walk from a shelled parking lot, now, up the hill to get to the clubhouse, that has a lot of stairs and difficulties."
Resident Tim Crawford told the planning board that the current building is challenging for people who use a wheelchair.
"It's very, very difficult for anyone who is challenged," he said. "My father came to dinner one night — he's in a wheelchair — and at the old clubhouse, you have to come up a ramp, go to a lift that takes you down three steps, then you go to another lift that takes you down three more steps to get to the main dining room, and it's just — it's just too challenging. And the new clubhouse is desperately needed."
The new clubhouse's parking will also be much closer to the building, Finley said.
The county's planning staff had urged the designers to add additional parking within walking distance of the clubhouse as overflow parking for large events, and they did so, Mengel said.
"This would likely be in a very rare instance, but we wanted to make sure that there was some provision for that so we don't have parking, effectively, overflowing the site," Mengel said.
Russ Reinke, the community representative for Kingsley Circle, said the planned clubhouse will affect Kinglsey residents' views, and suggested adding a barrier wall or a vegetated buffer of mature landscaping.
Without it, "We're going to have to look at a parking lot, from our current entrance of looking at a green forested area," Reinke said.
Finley said there are plans to add vegetation.
The proposal will ultimately go before the Flagler County Commission for final approval.
The parking and access area will be in Volusia County, and will be reviewed by the Volusia County government.
