- June 26, 2024
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A developer has received restricted approval from the Flagler County Commission to continue with its planned future shopping plaza, despite having unknown plans for over half of the lot’s 38 acres.
Originally, the development — located on State Road 100 on the west side of the new BJ’s Wholesale plaza and called Flagler Landing — was meant to be split into 11 commercial lots over almost 10 acres that would line S.R. 100, with an apartment complex planned for the rear 23-acres tract, called “Tract D.” Development representative Kimberly Buck, with Alann Engineering Group, said the apartment owner has since walked away from the plans.
The commercial landowner, though, is happy to continue, she said. County Attorney Al Hadeed said that the developer did not fulfill requirements to identify how the developer will handle wetland mitigation plans for the property.
“Specifically, that the areas that were going to be preserved are not identified,” Hadeed said.
The commission voted 3-2 to approve the plat, with Commissioners Leann Pennington and Greg Hansen opposing. The following restrictions were attached: the wetland mitigation requirements for the entire 38-acre lot will be met in the future development plans for Tract D, no construction can begin on the site until a land development permit is issued and potable water and sanitary sewer extensions are installed, and, to mitigate the loss of tree canopy on the site, the developer will meet tree replacement requirements with 2.5-inch shade trees, larger than the standard requirement.
The original plan, Buck said, was that the wetland mitigation was going to be on the residential portion of the development — designs for the lot from a May 2023 Flagler County Commission meeting showed a large pond in the center of the apartment complex, and a smaller one behind some of the commercial buildings.
The developer does plan to keep the retention to Tract D. When the developer is ready to develop that lot, Buck said, the tract and plans will need to return to the commission for approval anyway to change Tract D from its residential designation to commercial.
Ken Atlee, one of the development’s partners, said they have decided to eventual develop Tract D as more commercial, instead of residential.
“I'm asking you to show us favor, to start the completion of these 11 lots … knowing we still have to come back to you for that Tract D,” Atlee said.
Commission Chair Andy Dance said he has been concerned about wetland mitigation on the lot from the beginning. In this development, he said, “there's plenty of wetland impacts that could have been avoided in the original concept design.”
“I don't know that I'm following that all of a sudden we're going to be sensitive to wetlands in the back,” Dance said.
Atlee said that not all of the water mitigation issues on the lot is from the Flagler Pines Property’s lot. The raised lots of developments surrounding this lot, including BJ’s, Atlee said, sends runoff onto their lot.
“We’re in a bowl,” he said.
