- January 7, 2026
Dear Editor:
Kudos to Isabella Herrera for her insightful take on all the wanton development around us (Dec. 4, "Flagler County is developing to its own demise"). It's also killing the golden goose. One says "wanton" when a situation doesn't configure with the City of Palm Coast's original character and design, which put a premium on the natural beauty, an aesthetic that foundationally defined this place.
Where are all the trees buffering new homes and apartments from roadways? Where is code enforcement when it comes to the mandate of at least minimal front-yard landscaping? When will the public take action against elected officials who have betrayed the place and those of us already here, making us foot the bill for all the asphalt worn down by cement trucks?
When we moved here 22 years ago, it's the first thing you noticed and cherished: the green canopy. Now all we seem to observe are truck trailers filled to overflowing with vegetation mowed down with no thought to strategic replacement. The vision of Palm Coast's true founders (such as Lewis Wadsworth, not ITT) was one with a verdant background. It was also what the first mayor, the late Jim Canfield, fought for.
Now? If at all, nature is preserved grudgingly. Slash and trash, in the name of the Almighty Dollar. This isn't just a contravention of the city's original formulation, but a near-disdain for God's Creation. This is also a "last call": either the city reawakens to the beauty still remaining or count itself as just another buzzing, littered series of exits on I-95.
Michael H. Brown
Palm Coast
