- April 19, 2024
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Marinas should be allowed in Flagler County's general commercial zoning areas, but the county's planning board should review each proposed marina's impact on the surrounding area before deciding whether to approve it, planning board members decided at a Sept. 14 board meeting.
"Let’s be honest, this amendment is a thinly veiled attempt to approve a single, massive boat warehouse in a specific location."
— DENNIS CLARK, local resident
The Flagler County Planning and Development Board voted unanimously to send to the Flagler County Commission a proposed Land Development Code amendment defining different intensities of marinas and detailing how they could apply for approval through a special exception application.
The County Commission will have the final say on whether to approve the code amendment.
Although the proposed amendment wasn't supposed to be about a specific facility, its creation was precipitated by developer Bob Million's proposal for a 57,000-square-foot, 240-boat storage facility on his property on North Oceanshore Boulevard, near the Hammock Hardware store.
This is the second time the proposed boat facility has worked its way through local government boards.
Million had initially proposed the boat storage facility several years ago, immediately facing opposition from Hammock residents who showed up at public meetings to say they thought the project would degrade the quiet charm of their community.
"People are asking to protect the environment and protect the look of the Hammock in particular, but… people are moving here, and ... when they come here, they want amenities."
— MARK LANGELLO, planning board member
They argued that the storage facility was, in essence, a warehouse. Warehouses are prohibited in the A1A Scenic Overlay District. Therefore, the boat storage facility should be prohibited as well, they said.
Although the County Commission approved the boat storage facility, it was overruled on appeal by a judge, who vacated the commission's decision after finding fault with the manner in which it had evaluated the case.
That sent the matter back down to local boards again. This time, Million is calling his proposed facility a "marina," although it would consist of dry storage rather than wet slips.
The proposed ordinance presented to the planning board by county Growth Management Director Adam Mengel on Sept. 14 would have allowed marinas in county's commercial-2 general commercial/shopping center zoning district without a special exception process, but Mengel told the board they could opt to revise the proposed amendment to add one.
Million's opponents showed up again at the Sept. 14 planning board meeting.
"Let’s be honest, this amendment is a thinly veiled attempt to approve a single, massive boat warehouse in a specific location," resident Dennis Clark said during the meeting's public comment period. "Publix Super Markets agreed to limit their building size ... to abide by Scenic Corridor guidelines. Why shouldn’t that be a requirement for the marina?"
Clark thought the proposed ordinance needed more work.
So did local resident Jennifer Pickett, who said she'd recently moved down from North Carolina and had chosen the Hammock because of the Scenic A1A area.
"That is the sole reason that I picked this area — that it was quaint, it was not overgrown with commercial buildings, it was nostalgic; it was beautiful. It’s called scenic for a reason," she said. "There’s nothing scenic about what is being proposed for this area. It steals everything from such a quaint area that people love."
Local attorney Dennis Bayer, representing the Hammock Civic Association, suggested that the planning board require a special exception process for marinas in the commercial-2 designation area if the marina would be in the Scenic A1A Overlay or next to a residential property.
Board members opted to require the special exception process for any commercial marinas — which, under the definition of marina used in the proposed amendment, could consist of wet slips and/or dry slips.
The special exception requirement would ensure that each such proposal, including Million's, would come before the planning board for a detailed review.
That would give the board a chance to review each proposed marina for the issues that had most concerned locals — noise from loud vehicle backup alarms, parking spilling over onto A1A, and safe storage of fuel, among others. Members of the public would also have opportunities to comment.
"There’s a balancing act here, if you ask me," board member Mark Langello said, explaining why he supported a special exception requirement. "People are asking to protect the environment and protect the look of the Hammock in particular, but… people are moving here, and ... when they come here, they want amenities."
Other board members agreed, voting unanimously in favor of the Land Development Code amendment with a special exception process for commercial marinas.
The proposed Land Development Code amendment is expected to go before the Flagler County Commission for a first reading vote at a meeting at 9 a.m. on Oct. 4, and for a second-reading vote at a meeting at 5 p.m. on Oct. 18.
