- December 15, 2024
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The controversial annexation of the 899-acre Veranda Bay development will wait until the New Year after the Flagler Beach City Commission received a legal letter stating the annexation would violate state statutes.
On Dec. 11, the Tallahassee and Orlando-based law firm Theriaque & Spain sent the Flagler Beach City Commission a letter stating that adding the 899 acres to Flagler Beach would create an enclave — or “pocket” — of unincorporated Flagler County land within Flagler Beach city limits. Florida law prohibits the creation of such pockets through annexation.
Theriaque & Spain attorney Steven Brent Spain, on behalf of his client — the nonprofit Preserve Flagler Beach & Bulow Creek, Inc. and Stephen Noble, a Flagler Beach resident and member of the Preserve — requested the commission deny the Veranda Bay application.
Flagler Beach City Commission Chair Scott Spradley asked the board at its Dec. 12 meeting to postpone their final votes on the Veranda Bay annexation until after the city attorney has had more time to review the accusation. The commission had just received the letter the day before.
“We haven't had a chance to study it, to determine whether there's merit to it, whether it will be an actual lawsuit,” Spradley said. He said he felt "it would be unwise for the city to move forward" until it does.
The Veranda Bay developer is simultaneously applying to annex the 899 acres into Flagler Beach as well as to change the acreage to an appropriate land use and zoning application. Each application requires two majority votes from the commission, and the final votes were set to be made at the Dec. 12 meeting.
Instead, the commission unanimously voted to table all three Veranda Bay items until its Jan. 23 commission meeting.
According to the map provided by Spain in his letter, if the Veranda Bay development were annexed, it would create a pocket of eight properties in unincorporated Flagler County’s jurisdiction amidst Flagler Beach’s city limits. These eight properties are listed in the letter by their parcel identifications and, according to the Flagler County Property Appraiser’s website, all eight do belong under Flagler County’s jurisdiction, despite having a Flagler Beach mailing address.
Florida State Statute 171.044 requires a property to be “contiguous to a municipality and reasonably compact” to be legally annexed. Section 171.031(2) defines “compact” as a property that does not “create enclaves, pockets or finger areas in serpentine patterns.”
Spain also states in his letter that his client and its members believe “they will suffer material injury” if the city were to approve the annexation of such a large development. He writes the annexation will have “an adverse impact on utilities, school facilities, transportation facilities, stormwater management facilities and floodplains” and more.
Flagler Beach has been working to annex Veranda Bay since the beginning of 2024. Originally, the Veranda Bay was planned to be over 2,700 residential units — a mix of single-family home, townhomes, apartments and condos — and 472,000 square feet of commercial space.
At the Nov. 14 city workshop meeting, developer Ken Belshe agreed to increase the amount of commercial to 600,000 square feet and reduce the number of residential units to a maximum of 2,400 units.
The Flagler Beach community has been very vocal about the Veranda Bay annexation. Regularly, residents fill out the commission meeting rooms when the items come up on the agenda, and the Dec. 12 meeting was no different.
Spradley said he hoped everyone who showed up on Dec. 12 would alos return in January.
“I do appreciate everyone who has shown up,” he said. “I appreciate your interest in the community, whether it's support or oppose Veranda Bay.”
