Palm Coast’s City Council voted unanimously Nov. 4 to annex about 38.8 acres owned by Flagler Pines Properties LLC and to approve associated future land‑use and zoning changes after extended discussion of traffic impacts, utility capacity and mitigation options.

The council adopted the voluntary annexation during its business meeting at the John Netz Community Wing. Jay Livingston, attorney for the applicant, told the council the annexation would place the property under the city’s land‑development code and concurrency process, allowing the city to require mitigation if proposed development would lower the level of service on State Road 100. "You can deny the development order or condition the development order on traffic mitigation being addressed," Livingston said.

The vote on the annexation, the future land‑use map amendment and the zoning map amendment was unanimous. Council members and staff emphasized that final approvals for portions of the proposed development still will be subject to technical site‑plan review, concurrency testing under Chapter 7 of the city’s land development code, and permitting. "Section 7.0404(a) — the city shall not issue a final development order unless there is sufficient available capacity of public facilities to meet the established level of service," Livingston quoted to explain enforcement options.

Why it matters

Council members said the project could add substantial vehicle trips to a stretch of State Road 100 that already experiences congestion. Staff and the applicant estimated transportation impact fees tied to the project at about $7,400,000; Livingston said that amount would be collected at the building‑permit stage and could be used to fund mitigation. Livingston also described the site’s theoretical maximum commercial entitlement — "676,000 square feet" — as a planning cap rather than an expectation for immediate development, and said development typically proceeds in phases.

Council debate and public comment

Council members pressed the applicant and staff on short‑term traffic relief, whether a parallel connector road could be required, and whether pre‑annexation agreements should be used to lock in mitigation measures. Council member Miller and others said they remain concerned that annexing the land without additional, binding short‑term mitigation measures could leave residents facing worse traffic before long‑range improvements are built.

Public commenters raised separate but related concerns about wastewater and potable water capacity. Kent Seifert, attorney for nearby developers, said unresolved sewer capacity had harmed development prospects elsewhere in Flagler County and warned that property values and the ability to develop depend on reliable utility capacity. Applicant’s engineer Kimberly Buck told the council the team planned a package‑plant contingency in the site plan "if there is no capacity available," and testified the project team aimed to break ground in the first quarter of next year if approvals and utility capacity align.

What happens next

The annexation does not vest any particular site plan; future development proposals will trigger the city’s concurrency review. If a proposed development would cause the roadway to fall below the established level of service, staff and council may deny or condition approval until mitigation is secured, per the city code cited by the applicant. Council members asked staff to treat large technical site plans as matters that could come to the council rather than be handled entirely administratively.

Votes at a glance

- Voluntary annexation (Flagler Pines Properties LLC): motion approved unanimously (5‑0).
- Future Land Use Map amendment (county commercial to Palm Coast mixed use): approved unanimously (5‑0).
- Zoning map amendment (county C‑2 / R‑3B to City C‑2 / mixed use as proposed): approved unanimously (5‑0).

Ending

Council members and staff said they would proceed to technical site‑plan review and concurrency analysis; the developer and staff identified impact fees and the city’s concurrency process as the primary mechanisms for funding and enforcing any required traffic improvements.