- August 14, 2026
The Palm Coast City Council is moving forward with an expanded historic preservation ordinance designed to better protect the city's historical and archaeological resources and position Palm Coast for state certification and potential grant opportunities.
City Attorney Marcus Duffy walked council members through the proposed ordinance during the council's Aug. 11 meeting. Duffy said he drafted the changes at the council's direction, building on the city's existing historic preservation regulations and researching ordinances used by other cities and counties. The proposal will next go before the Planning and Land Development Regulation Board before returning to the City Council for two readings.
The ordinance states its purpose is to protect the city's significant historic, cultural, archaeological, aesthetic and architectural resources "to a maximum extent feasible." Duffy said the city's existing rules already require certain properties to undergo review by a certified professional and the state to determine whether historical resources need to be protected.
One issue council members asked Duffy to address is how long a previous cultural resources survey should remain valid.
Vice Mayor Theresa Carli Pontieri said advances in technology could make decades-old surveys outdated. She said she did not want a property surveyed years earlier to remain permanently exempt from another review when newer technology could reveal resources that were previously missed.
"What I don't want is 30 years from now or even 10 years from now, land that may have done a survey 10 years prior is now exempt from this, even though there could be incredible technology improvements," Pontieri said.
She pointed to information local historian Preston Zepp has brought to her about properties where more has become known since earlier surveys were completed. Duffy agreed to research whether the ordinance could establish a time limit requiring older surveys to be renewed. Council members Charles Gambaro and Ty Miller supported considering a time threshold.
The proposed ordinance would also establish a historic preservation officer appointed by the city manager and create a Historic Preservation Board. Duffy initially proposed seven board members and two alternates, but council members favored reducing the board to five members with two alternates. Members would be sought from fields including architecture, history, archaeology, planning, landscape architecture, real estate and contracting, while other residents and businesspeople could fill remaining positions.
Miller said finding seven volunteers could be difficult, particularly because Palm Coast is still a relatively young city and may not initially have a large volume of historic preservation applications. Duffy said state certification would require the board to meet at least four times per year.
The board would primarily make recommendations to the City Council on designating historic resources, districts and archaeological sites. It would also review proposed changes to properties that have already received historic designation. An applicant denied by the board could appeal to the City Council.
Duffy said another goal is to qualify the city under state requirements that could help Palm Coast pursue grants and nominations to the National Register of Historic Places. The ordinance also establishes procedures for altering or demolishing designated historic properties and for handling discoveries of archaeological resources or human remains during construction.
Gambaro praised the proposal, saying it accomplishes what the council requested."I think this meets our intent," Gambaro said. "Plus it adds another layer of protections to these potential sites and also puts us in line with the state requirements" for grants and the federal historic registry. "This really postures us in a better position to really take care of our historic sites," he said.
Zepp told the council that the need to revisit older surveys is not theoretical. He cited the Hewitt Sawmill area, saying historic sites were lost when Sawmill Estates was developed because information about them was not included in paperwork from an earlier survey.
"Technology's changed," Zepp said. "We're always looking up new information and new stuff's coming up."
Zepp said the survey associated with the property dated to 2002, while development did not begin until 2023.
"Because of that, we lost some significant sites," he said.
Zepp also pointed to potential historic resources still standing in Palm Coast. He said 3 Casper Drive, which he described as the city's first house, could be eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. He also said Palm Harbor could potentially qualify as a historic district as more of its homes reach 50 years old.
Before sending the proposal forward, council members also asked that historic designations be recorded so future property buyers are aware of restrictions attached to a property. Duffy said he would make sure that requirement is included in the ordinance.
The council reached consensus to move the ordinance forward to the Planning Board. It will then return to the City Council for two readings.
