We’re here because of poor leadership, greed and a desire by some to build a legacy.
“How did we get here?” That’s the first question Rayonier/Raydient asks in its PowerPoint for the Master Plan Development pre-application meeting. Here’s what has truly taken place since late 2022.
We’re here because of poor leadership, greed, and a desire by some to build a legacy.
It started in October 2022. The previous City Council decided to rewrite Palm Coast’s 2035 Comprehensive Plan, 13 years before it was due to expire in 2035. Ask yourself why. It’s simple: They had to rewrite the plan to maximize houses per acre on the west side of the city and release developers from commitments they made years ago.
Those commitments were in the form of two developments of regional impact, or DRIs. In the DRIs, developers agreed to build a loop road and a sports facility; I think the legal jargon used in the DRIs is “make happen or cause to happen.” Those DRIs don’t expire until 2036, a year after the 2035 Comprehensive Plan expiration date. By rewriting the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Development Code to match, the city could allow the developers to abandon those terms. Note: There’s no precedent in the Florida Statutes for not allowing abandonment of a DRI and replacing it with a Master Planned Development (MPD).
The follow-on is annexing the “doughnut hole,” unincorporated land west of the city owned by Rayonier/Raydient. Combined, these moves let developers jump from 12,000 entitled houses to 22,000 houses. That’s 10,000 more homes, approximately 20,000 more cars, and 10,000 more water bills than originally entitled in the two DRIs.
From 2022 to 2024, as part of their legislative priorities, the council lobbied Tallahassee for $126 million in taxpayer funds for the loop road. On Nov. 14, 2023, then-Utilities Director Steve Flanagan briefed the council on urgent needs for water system repairs and upgrades. Rather than shift lobbying efforts to fix the water infrastructure we already have, they pressed on for road money. They kicked that can down the road for this current council. My guess: They didn’t want to raise utility rates in campaign season.
During the 2024 state legislative session, which was the last year of the previous council’s tenure, the city received $82 million of the total $126 million in state funding for the loop road. When the previous council finally realized water impact fees needed to increase, only the mayor at the time voted no. That vote was held on February 20, 2024.
I fought to stop the Comprehensive Plan amendment approval, because I saw this coming. I said it at the podium as a candidate and from the dias as the mayor: Developers will use your Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code to get what they want. I specifically took the step of asking the council to completely table amending the Comprehensive Plan until a date uncertain, meaning leave it alone and wait until the after the deadline of the two things holding the developers accountable, which were the 2035 Comprehensive Plan’s expiration date of 2035 and the DRI’s expiration date of 2036.
Now Rayonier/Raydient is here, PowerPoint ready, asking “How did we get here?” We got here because the last council changed the rules to benefit developers instead of residents.
Now the push is to approve Rayonier/Raydient’s MPD, and annex what is essentially swamp land before the current council term ends in November. Two appointed officials will have a say in that vote. One took a campaign contribution from a direct representative of the developer. It’s legal by Florida standards, but it ought to be a concern for residents.
Staff and the city manager know the city isn’t ready. They’re on version five of Rayonier/Raydient’s plan. I personally refuse to support both it and the annexation.
There’s a reason Rayonier/Raydient didn’t annex the “doughnut hole” years ago: It’s swamp land, and they had no use for it. Palm Coast residents do have a use for that land. Our wells run parallel to the East Coast Railroad, which bisects Rayonier/ Raydient’s property. Those swamp lands recharge our aquifers and feed the headwaters of Pringle Branch. That area is a vital natural resource that can’t be replaced with retention ponds. Technically, that land was designated by the State Department of Environmental Protection as “lands worthy of protection” for water resources, wildlife, and aquifer recharging.
We don’t have, nor will we have, the water capacity to support 22,000 additional equivalent residential units. Even with the water utility capital bond and the improvements that are coming with that commitment, it’s estimated that those additional 22,000 units will require, at minimum, 5 million more gallons per day. Our consumptive use permit (CUP) allows 11.9 million gallons per day at this time, and we are currently producing around 9.3 million gallons per day on average. Not to mention the remaining units that have already been approved in Palm Coast proper, which was estimated at 19,000 units just a year ago. So, the city of Palm Coast will have to increase its consumptive use permit and water production up to approximately 20 million gallons per day to sustain those housing units.
I have no intent to make current residents pay for more development.
Economy of scale says more users should mean lower prices. That hasn’t been Palm Coast’s reality. Our rates and service fees have increased dramatically to the breaking point we are at now. We, the residents of Palm Coast, have learned the hard lesson that development does not pay for itself.
Palm Coast deserves leaders who fix water lines before building loop roads, not leaders who bow to developers and special interests. The current council inherited this mess. Voters need to know how we got here and how we can stop it from going any further.
Lobby your representatives to "Just say no!" We have every right to refuse approval if a project will put undue financial burden on our community.
In closing, I hope that everyone has a safe and wonderful holiday celebrating the 250th birthday of the greatest nation on earth. May God continue to bless you and your family, the City of Palm Coast, Flagler County, the great state of Florida, and the United States of America.
Mike Norris as elected as the mayor Palm Coast in 2024 and is a retired Army captain.
For other perpectives on the westward expansion, see the Observer's interviews with Dave Sullivan and Charles Gambaro and statements by Theresa Pontieri.