- January 13, 2026
The 545-acre development Summertown has been approved by Flagler Beach for annexation, potentially adding over 3,400 people to Flagler Beach's population
The Flagler Beach Commission voted 4-1 on Jan. 9 to annex and rezone the land for the Summertown development, with just Commissioner John Cunningham voting against it. The development is approved for 1,640 residential units or 3 units per acres, whichever is less. It will also have 640,000 square feet of commercial space, including a 250-room boutique hotel, and 40% open space.
Summertown is one part of what was a 2,700-unit, 900-acre development known as Veranda Bay that has been undergoing the annexation process in Flagler Beach for two years. The Summertown development includes property that stretches from State Road 100 to two miles south along the west side of John Anderson Highway.
Thirty acres of the property is already within city limits, so the application to annex is for 514 acres, with supplemental applications to change the property's zoning and land use.
Developer Ken Belshe said Summertown represents an opportunity to “create a vibrant walkable town center that complements rather than overwhelms the unique character of Flagler Beach.”
“This isn’t just a housing development,” he said, “it’s a complete community with internal road system, trails and parks.”
Not only will annexing the development give Flagler Beach control over its future, Belshe said, it will also create tax revenue in perpetuity for the city.
But there are still concerns regarding the massive development: the future impact to traffic, infrastructure and city utilities, and questions on density, buffers between existing properties.
Flagler Beach resident and County Commissioner Kim Carney also questioned the city’s reliance on a submitted fiscal impact study, prepared by a company — Strategic Planning Group, Inc., — that is no longer in operation, according to SunBiz.
“According to SunBiz, this firm is currently inactive and has administratively dissolved,” Carney said. “Despite that, the city is relying on this study to support a major financial decision.”
Flagler County Attorney Sarah Spector said that while the developer has met some of the county’s concerns, there are still others that need to be addressed, including the demands on water and wastewater capacity.
As of now, she said, there are no specific plans to address capacity for water and wastewater beyond a commitment to do so in the future. Flagler Beach is currently financing an expensive expansion of its sewer plant.
There was also the question of what would happen to wetlands on the property.
Since the November approval of Summertown, Flagler County and Belshe agreed for Flagler County to purchase 153 acres of floodplain from Summertown. That represents approximately 70% of the development’s wetlands, according to Flagler Beach city documents, and is still included in the 540 acres of development.
If the sale is successful, the land will be a part of the county’s future Bulow Creek Headwaters Regional Park. The additional land will preserve wetlands and wildlife habitats that are vital to the health of Bulow Creek and the Halifax River estuary, expand recreational opportunities at the future regional park, safeguard the community from flood risks and protect open space in a rapidly growing area, a county press release said.
During the Jan. 9 meeting, Commissioners Rick Belhumeur and Eric Cooley asked about the density of the remaining property and if it would go down with the sale of the wetlands.
Belshe made the commitment to lower the development’s unit count by three units for every acre of land Flagler County purchases.
“That only makes sense, it’s only reasonable,” Belshe said. “So we’re willing to do that.”
Attorney Michael Chiumento clarified that with City Attorney Drew Smith in the meeting, to change the annexation agreement to reflect “1,640 units or 3.0 units per acre, whichever is less.”
If the county buys the 150 acres, for example, it would drop the number of units by roughly 450 units.
Cooley asked if there was any language that could be added to affirm the sale of the land, though he acknowledged there was no way to lock-in the sale. There’s a lot of variables, he said, but the public is looking for assurances.
“The public would like to see conservation,” Cooley said. “The public would like to see that land sale happen.”
Smith said Flagler Beach can not compel the two other parties to agree. Spector did reaffirm the county was working on the sale, and Chiumento confirmed Belshe’s commitment to it as well.
“I was taken aback by the fact there was a question of whether the county was interested in purchasing this property,” she said. “There is no question.”
Commissioner Scott Spradley said the community is wanting that good-faith assurance.
“These days there’s just a natural tendency to assume the worst,” he said. “So we’re looking for something to reassure the community that this sale will in fact happen.”
Belshe said he understood their concerns, but he, too, had concerns that the county could change its mind before the sale is complete.
“We’re one election away from maybe the appetite for ESL changing entirely," he said.
If they add in language that locks the sale in, he said, and the county changes its mind, that “would be a taking of our property,” keeping the developer from doing anything with the land.
“The knife cuts both ways,” he said.
Summertown's sister development Veranda Bay is still being reviewed.
