- May 5, 2024
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The moratorium, which will expire on Nov. 6, will allow city staff to review options on the future of Internet cafés in Palm Coast. The Sheriff's Office said very little crime occurs at the cafés.
The Palm Coast City Council, on June 7, unanimously approved a six-month moratorium on the opening of any new Internet cafés in the city.
The Internet cafés sell Internet phone cards for credits or points to be used with online casino-style games.
Palm Coast currently has seven Internet cafés open, with four more going through the approval process.
The City Council approved an interim resolution May 17 by a 3-2 vote to allow city staff to conduct more research.
However, after more research, all four City Council members and Mayor Jon Netts agreed that the city should have six months to determine one of three options: Impose a land-use regulation, which essentially would allow the city to specify where new establishments could locate or the hours in which they can operate; the second option is to take the stand that Internet cafés are gambling establishments, which is illegal, and outlaw them altogether; and the final option is to look at the progress by the state Legislature and encourage a statewide regulation rather than on a county-by-county or city-by-city basis.
City Attorney Bill Reischmann cited several counties and cities that are also facing the wave of Internet cafés, including Seminole County and the city of Jacksonville.
City Council member Frank Meeker voted “no” on the May 17 resolution because he didn’t want the four pending establishments to be able to open. Meeker also said the Internet cafés currently in the city are clustered in one portion of the city, which could make it easier for criminal activity to proliferate.
“I’m not finding problems in the short term, I’m finding problems in the long term,” Meeker said.
Mayor Jon Netts said it is “abundantly clear” that the state needs to take action.
“My position has remained the same,” Netts said. “If it’s gambling, then we need to regulate it, and we need the state to tax it. If it’s not gambling, then we need the state to say so.”
The next legislative session will take place January 2012.
Carole Hinton, a Palm Coast resident, said she was shocked that any Internet cafés were allowed to open to begin with.
“(Internet cafés) are businesses that would draw crime to the area,” she said June 7. “I have felt very safe in the last 15 years, but when I read about these seven Internet cafés, I was shocked. And that four more are waiting to open — I am appalled that this was allowed.”
According to a report by Capt. Mark Carman, of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office, there hasn’t been much criminal activity at the Internet cafés found around town.
Carman made contact with the seven establishments currently open, and from Nov. 1, 2010, through April 30, 2011, the Sheriff’s Office has only received three phone calls related to complaints or services.
Most of the Internet cafés have not made calls regarding safety concerns to the Sheriff’s Office.
The moratorium will expire on Nov. 6; however, the City Council could extend the moratorium if needed.
