- April 18, 2024
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The City Council has agreed on revisions to its stormwater ordinance. The final vote is in two weeks.
The last two years of debate over the outdated Palm Coast stormwater ordinance came down to a single issue Tuesday, Feb. 15, at the City Council meeting:
Should owners of undeveloped, vacant land be required to help pay for maintenance of the city’s canals, even though they claim to receive no benefit and therefore cannot legally be required to pay a usage fee?
In a rare 3-2 split, the matter was settled, and vacant-land owners will receive a 95% discount. The portion they do have to pay may be redefined as a reservation fee, rather than a usage fee.
Previously, City Manager Jim Landon and his staff have recommended the vacant-land owners receive anywhere from 70% to, most recently, up to an 85% discount.
According to Finance Director Ray Britt, a 95% discount could leave the city’s stormwater utility with a reduction in yearly revenue of about $700,000 from its expected $5.4 million. Mayor Jon Netts and City Council member Bill Lewis argued that such a reduction would cut necessary services, leaving the city less attractive of a place to live. They voted against the change.
City Council members Mary DiStefano and Frank Meeker, however, said the city should find a way to cut costs further and still keep services at an acceptable level, including maintaining swales at the new-and-improved standards. The deciding vote was Holsey Moorman, and he supported the 95% discount for vacant-land owners.
Meeker said charging the vacant-land owners just to make up the deficit in the budget was unfair; he said the fee did not match the benefit.
“To take that need from those people who specifically benefit (i.e., residents), and to throw that out to people who don’t benefit (i.e., vacant-land owners), just doesn’t seem right to me,” Meeker said.
The single-family homes will continue to pay $8 per month — at least until the budget is revisited later this year.
Other changes to the stormwater ordinance include exempting developments that have their own stormwater systems, including portions of Grand Haven. Residents who have been paying will have the option of credits or refund checks. The amount is yet to be determined.
