- January 21, 2025
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Valerie Clymer, vice chair of the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, spoke at the Jan. 21 Palm Coast City Council meeting. Screenshot from meeting video
Presented with 11 recommendations by a Flagler County board to promote affordable housing in Palm Coast, the City Council declined most of them. Instead, the council is keeping its options open as it prepares for an intensive review of the Comprehensive Plan and Land Development Code.
While opposing multiunit affordable housing and “accessory dwelling units” such as mother-in-law suites, Palm Coast City Councilwoman Theresa Pontieri said she is, however, in favor of exploring ways to promote homeownership for local workers.
Valerie Clymer, a resident since 1998, is vice chair of Flagler County's Affordable Housing Advisory Committee, which made the recommendations to the City Council on Jan. 14 and Jan. 21. She made a plea to the City Council to do more.
'TURNING BLIND EYE'
“We are at a crossroads, and we need to make decisions,” Clymer said. “… An average worker in the city or county makes about $48,000 a year. They can’t afford a $300,000 home. We need to find a way to keep our workers here. Our prices are going up, and the builders are making plenty of money. But who is going to be here to put out our fires and get us when we have a medical emergency? Who is going to teach our kids if we don’t have any workforce housing?”
She said the workforce can afford about $1,200 per month on rent — that’s 30% of a worker’s wages.
“Can you find a rental that’s $1,200 a month? Typically no,” she said.
Clymer has been working in the mortgage industry locally for about 30 years, so she has spoken with many people who have difficulty with housing costs.
“I talk to the seniors that make $2,400 a month and just lost their rental and have no clue where they’re going to go,” Clymer said. “I talk to city and county employees who, combined, can’t afford to find a home in the community that they serve.”
AHAC makes recommendations, and it’s up to the City Council to “put the meat in them,” she said.
“We need to figure out as a city, do we want to continue turning a blind eye, or as a city, do we want to help be an answer to what’s going on?” Clymer continued. “I know we have a lot of rentals, but without home ownership, you’re losing generational wealth.”
AHAC's RECOMMENDATIONS
The City Council approved a resolution, on Jan. 21, to adopt three initiatives recommended by AHAC:
First, to direct the city manager to assign staff to implement any affordable housing initiatives.
Second, the city will establish an Interlocal Housing Finance Exploration Task Force to assess opportunities for grants, bond and other “local financial procedures” to create a housing trust fund.
Third: Identify sustainable design principles for affordable housing.
The City Council did not want to commit to creating rules that could encourage accessory dwelling units. In the Jan. 14 workshop, Mayor Mike Norris indicated he was opposed to ADUs in Palm Coast.
"Garage conversions, in Palm Coast — we’re not going to have any garages converted into living spaces," Norris said.
Pontieri also said on Jan. 21 that she was against AHAC’s recommendation to “prioritize affordable housing for lower-income and middle-income households” in the upcoming Comprehensive Plan Review. Rather, she wants to prioritize commercial and industrial land uses as the city expands west of U.S. 1 in the future.
“It should always be something that’s considered — affordable housing,” Pontieri said, “but to say we are prioritizing it, is not a step I’m willing to take.”
GENERATIONAL WEALTH
At the end of the meeting, after hearing Clymer’s comments, Pontieri said she would like to meet with Clymer.
“I agree that generational wealth is very important,” Pontieri said, “and fee simple ownership of your home is very important. I don’t think that when you bring in multiunit dwellings in an affordable-housing, policy-making fashion that that is good overall for the health of the community.
“But finding a way to helping our workforce become fee simple owners of their homes, is something we should be looking to do,” Pontieri said.
