- January 19, 2025
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Palm Coast is not very colorful — at least, not when it comes to the color of residents' homes. But City Council members are willing to at least consider changing that.
Palm Coast's Land Development Code lists the city's requirements: earth tones like tan and gray that are lighter than 25 on the light reflectance value scale, or LRV, are allowed, but other colors must be much lighter, with an LRV lighter than 80.
Residents sometimes discover the rule after painting their homes the wrong color — as happened to a local Sheriff's Office deputy last year — and have to repaint.
In a City Council workshop Sept. 8, Councilman Bob Cuff said that two organizations, the Flagler County Association of Realtors and the Flagler Home Builders Association, had suggested to him that the city look at broadening the allowable reflectance value for the non-earthen pastel shades.
"Their concern is the city of Palm Coast is beginning to look awfully beige, and if it’s not beige, it’s beginning to look gray," Cuff said. "They were hoping that they could work with the council and staff to perhaps propose some slightly more colorful standards — not that anybody wants our streets to look like Fraggle Rock or Whoville, but perhaps something a little more than the color pallet that we allow now under the current Land Development Code."
A light reflectance value that is lighter than 80, he said, "is essentially white — a very slight tint," and the organizations have proposed shifting the requirement to allow for a LVR lighter than 60.
"From what I have seen so far, it doesn’t seem like an unreasonable request," Cuff said. " ... I think this is something we need to follow up on."
City Councilman Nick Klufas said he'd heard similar calls for change in the color requirements over the years.
Cuff said he'd spoken to City Manager Matt Morton and city staff about coming up with a proposal.
“Looking at this overall, the advantages that I see are environmental. ... I have yet to see the specific benefit to Palm Coast."
— JON NETTS, city councilman, on a proposal to have the city provide water and wastewater service to areas south of State Road 100 along Old Kings Road and John Anderson Highway
