- April 25, 2024
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The Flagler County Commission gave its initial approval for a boundary change between county and private lands in a unanimous vote on Feb. 6.
The boundary is between county conservation lands and the property that is slated to become the Cascades at Grand Landings development, which is set to have 416 age-restricted homes.
The land is in the south of Flagler County off U.S. 1, between Belle Terre Boulevard and Seminole Woods Boulevard.
In the land swap between the county and the Cascades at Grand Landings Planned Unit Development, around 12.12 acres will go to Flagler County for conservation, while around 7.66 acres will go to the applicant.
The county would receive 2.94 acres in wetlands and 9.18 acres in uplands.
Wetlands are important, but associated uplands ... are just as important as well. — Andy Dance, County Commissioner
Commissioner Andy Dance said he understands the applicant’s reason for the give and take, but is also glad to see some uplands returning to the county for preservation.
“Wetlands are important, but associated uplands — from a wildlife habitat — are just as important as well,” Dance said.
Flagler County Growth Management Director Adam Mengel said the exchange will smooth out and straighten the boundary, making maintenance easier.
In the swap, the county will also receive dedicated easement access, Mengel said. One section of the county’s conservation land is functionally an “island” inside the developer’s land, and the easement would let county workers access it for maintenance and emergency response.
“From a management standpoint, I think it’s advantageous for us to have that,” Mengel said.
The Cascades PUD was created in 2005, but development was delayed because of economic issues, with the Great Recession starting in late 2007.
The owner of the PUD, Byrndog PCP, LLC, conducted wetland and environmental studies along the parcels’ boundary in 2022 and found that a “true-up” would be needed to accurately reflect lands that should be within the county’s ownership, according to meeting documents.
A 266-acre "conservation parcel" had been conveyed from the developer to the county in 2005, but Byrndog's recent surveys found that the conservation parcel “did not accurately convey ‘sensitive lands’ as intended" to the county, since wetlands and other sensitive lands had remained within the Cascades PUD parcel while less sensitive uplands with planted pines were included within the conservation parcel, according to commission meeting documents.
Mengel said the county's Land Acquisition Committee had reviewed the request and approved it.
The Flagler County Commission on Feb. 6 agreed to shift the boundaries of the Plantation Bay Development of Regional Impact to incorporate a 40-acre parcel that abuts the community and is owned by the developer, but had not previously been part of the designated DRI.
The commission also agree to change the parcel's land use designation from "Agriculture & Timberlands" to "Mixed Use: Low Intensity," matching the rest of the DRI.
The land use change will not increase the development’s density because the developer is not building homes on the 40-acre parcel, Flagler County Growth Management Adam Mengel said in the Feb. 6 commission meeting.
The developer’s representative, Jerry Finley of Finley Engineering Solutions, told the commission at the Jan. 9 meeting that the applicant plans to use the land for recreational use only.
The commission unanimously approved the request.
