LETTERS: Your neighborhood could be next ...

Palm Coast Observer
Opinion

Grand Living approval in the Woodlands shows inconsistent City Council

Dear Editor:

A few weeks ago, I attended a City Council meeting and watched a young woman battling cancer ask for permission to bake cookies and other baked goodies at home and sell them.

Her request was denied on the basis that we could not make exceptions to local law regarding commercial entities in residential neighborhoods and that the traffic would be a nuisance and unfair to the neighbors.

Then, at a recent City Council meeting, I watched the council unanimously vote in favor of allowing a builder to build a senior living facility on Colbert Lane, across the street from Daytona College, over the objections of the entire neighborhood of the Woodlands, which is located directly behind the proposed development.

These people objected to the proposed heights of the buildings, four to five stories, as well as the increased traffic that would flow through their neighborhood of young children, and no sidewalks. Eventually, Councilmen Meeker and McGuire asked that the Woodlands not be used for flow through traffic and requested an entrance and exit onto Colbert Lane.

Think about that: seven buildings, four to five stories each for 216 people. There is no structure this side of Interstate 95 this tall, other than one of the two new motels. Multiply one of them times seven in this area of sensitive wetlands.

The entrance to the Woodlands is at Blair Drive, which also intersects with Colbert Lane. I watched a traffic expert say with a straight face that there would be no increased traffic in spite of the fact that this facility will hold more than 200 people and will employ twice that, in addition to any delivery vehicles to the site. Now keep in mind all this is directly across from Daytona College.

It should be noted that nobody seemed to object if the builder were only allowed two stories. Why are we allowing high-rise construction on Colbert Lane in an area designated as sensitive wetlands?

Why is this project not being built at Town Center, near the hospital? Jim Cullis, the builder, does not have a buyer yet. With so many unfinished and vacant multiple dwellings in Palm Coast in this particular area, why are we allowing any more? Why can’t the residents of Grand Haven drive to Town Center to visit their relatives?

A woman fighting cancer will create too much traffic to her neighborhood because she wants to bake, but a developer with big plans to permanently eliminate our wetlands will not?

This project will come up before the council again on Tuesday for final approval. If you care about your community, you need to be at that council meeting. Your neighborhood could be next.

Linda Hansen
Palm Coast

State should fund more judges before jail is built

Dear Editor:

Build it and they will come. More specifically, build a larger jail and the judges will fill it. Therefore, it is important to determine the reasons why each defendant is being held. Is he or she unable to get a speedy trial due to the heavy case back log? Is he or she able to post bail? Are they making the best use of home detention and electronic monitoring? Or is the defendant being held for the theft of $2 worth of candy?

The state has already agreed to fund two judgeships to reduce the heavy caseload. A far better idea would be to provide magistrates for each of the four courtrooms for the same cost of two additional judges, thereby expediting the court's docket and reducing the number of defendants incarcerated for minor offenses which could be dealt with by a magistrate.

Before the county spends millions of dollars for a new jail, the state should at least provide the judgeships promised to relieve the pressure to build a jail that may be oversized or unnecessary.

John Noble
Palm Coast

Address the standing water in the swales, not garage sales

Dear Editor:

One would think the city of Palm Coast would be more concerned with the standing waters in the swales and/or easements along our streets than they would be about garage sales.

Then again, one would think the residents of Palm Coast would consider replacing our city officials with some people with common sense!

Donald Farron
Palm Coast

Stop home delivery of The Observer throughout Palm Coast

Dear Editor:

People don't like to see newspapers sitting on the driveways.

I know you like to provide us with free home delivery. However, many people are not interested and leave these papers sitting on their driveways for days. It is so frustrating to see this. It brings down the looks of your neighborhood.

Palm Coast has deteriorated with the foreclosures and homes/lawns not kept up. Let's not add more to this. If people are really interested, they can pick up the paper at one of your locations or come to your office.

Sharon Veysey
Palm Coast

Editor's Note: If you know of vacant homes with the Palm Coast Observer on the driveway, please call 447-9723. We do our best to keep an accurate list of homes where the paper should not be delivered, but we appreciate any help in keeping it updated. Also, despite a circulation of 25,000, we have many requests from people who do not receive the paper and would like to. So we will make good use of the extras.