- October 10, 2024
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KB Homes will replace 204 trees and pay $28,700 to a Flagler Beach tree fund after the developer removed trees before it was authorized to do so.
The trees were in the Beach Park Village development. KB Homes had removed 8,689 inches of trees but was only permitted to remove 5,034 inches of trees. The developer must replace the difference, 3,655 inches of trees, as part of the mitigation plan. KB Homes will also add 204 trees to the development at a cost of $130,480 according to commission meeting documents.
The Flagler Beach City Commission approved a preliminary plat for the development in January on the condition that a tree mitigation plan would be submitted and approved by the city before any residential building permits were issued.
At a Sept. 28 commission meeting, the City Commission reviewed and unanimously approved the mitigation plan.
But Commission Chair Eric Cooley said there has been a lot of concern in the community about the development not acting as a "good neighbor."
“I’m going to say this as a generality,” Cooley said. “Since the moment you’ve arrived, you have not followed the rules. And that’s not okay.”
The number of tree inches is calculated by taking the number of trees removed multiplied by the trees' height and, separately, the number removed multiplied by the trees' diameter, and adding the two figures together.
The city’s land development code also allows a developer to pay a fee into a tree bank fund if it is “impossible or impractical” to replace trees, according to the meeting documents. To that end, KB Homes will also pay $28,700, including an after-the-fact permit of $500, to the tree bank fund.
The trees planted will include 49 southern magnolias, 20 Eagleston hollies, live oaks, crape myrtles, bald cypresses, slash pines and a mix of different palm trees.
After the plan was approved, City Manager Dale Martin said the city has received several complaints from residents about the development's drainage. The city also discovered that one subcontractor's work is not up to code.
A KB Homes representative said the developer was working with the subcontractor and inspectors to resolve the code, drainage and other concerns.
