- December 4, 2025
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Palm Coast Mayor Mike Norris. Photo by Brian McMillan
Mayor Mike Norris’ 25-year-old son is currently serving in the Navy. If he wants to return and live in Palm Coast in the future, could he? With rising costs and not enough jobs, Norris doesn’t believe so.
“I don’t see my kids being able to come and live, work, and play, to live here,” he said to a packed crowd of about 200 people during his town hall event July 28, at the VFW on Old Kings Road.
The event was held privately by Norris, as he was the only City Council member to decline to participate in the city-sponsored town hall series.
Norris spoke about most of the most pressing issues in the community, with growth leading the way. Entitlements to build 19,000 new homes have been approved over the years (including about 7,000 ITT lots that were approved decades before the city was incorporated), and residents are worried about more cars on the aging roads.
And yet, affordability is also a concern. One resident asked Norris: “What is being done to help young people in our community? … Where do they find housing that is affordable?”
Despite the criticism of new home construction, Norris placed some hope in the homes that are being built, including apartments on Whiteview Parkway and, in the future, on Belle Terre Parkway. If “corporations” don’t prevent it, he suggested, housing prices could go down.
“They keep flooding the market, it’ll bring the prices down, if we’re lucky,” he said.
A teenager spoke up, saying how he likes Palm Coast, but doesn’t see how he can afford rent. “How do young people live here?” he asked.
Norris said: “Go to college, get a good education, and hopefully we’ll have industry in here when you’d decide to leave college.” Right now, he acknowledged: “It’s not here.”
Norris’ first priority, as far as policy is concerned, is to attract industrial jobs to the city. He said he supports more tax incentives to accomplish that. He also said he is optimistic about the Google-DC Blox data center coming to Palm Coast; it could help attract tech companies to the area.
“We need to push for industrial growth and well paying jobs,” Norris said.
INFRASTRUCTURE IMPROVEMENTS
Water and wastewater infrastructure are still a concern, but Norris claimed progress in that area, as the city recently approved $500 million of improvements. Wastewater Treatment Plant 2 has doubled its capacity from 2 million to 4 million gallons per day; the ribbon cutting ceremony is 8:30 a.m. Aug. 4, at 400 Peavey Grade off U.S. 1.
“I’ll be there as mayor,” Norris said. “The money that’s causing our rates to go up — we’re investing the money.”
He added: “It’s not going to be cheap for water, so you have to be conservative with your water usage. You certainly don’t want to be using city water to water your lawn.”
POLITICAL STRIFE
Norris also criticized his fellow City Council members for censuring him. He said others plan to take up his fight to remove City Councilman Charles Gambaro, despite Circuit Judge Chris France ruling that the appointment was appropriate.
Norris has withdrawn in many ways from his ceremonial roles in the city, after being censured, and after the City Council gave him a vote of no confidence. Some of those appearances were due to a sciatica issue, or due to travel plans. But he also said he avoided the July 4 event at the airport because he doesn’t support the Flagler County airport director.
SUPPORT FOR NORRIS
The crowd at the VFW was supportive of Norris. Many asked him how they could help him. One man encouraged others to write to Gov. Ron DeSantis to support Norris and prevent him from being removed from office — and to sign a petition to remove Gambaro.
Norris thanked the crowd.
“It does my heart good to know I’ve got people that support me,” he said. “I’ve been beat down since May, and I’m just trying to do the right thing.”
