PALM COAST
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 15, NO. 50
COMEDY AS THERAPY PAGE 1B
FREE ON NEWSSTANDS | THURSDAY, JANUARY 23, 2025
Mayor: ‘Palm Coast is not an HOA’ Newly elected Mike Norris has indicated a desire to compromise on some of the city’s codes. PAGE 8A
$30 million cancer center is now open AdventHealth Palm Coast celebrates new cancer center
IN PURSUIT OF THE DREAM Bunnell hosts ‘Mission Possible’ to celebrate Martin Luther King PAGE 3A
PAGE 4A
FPC football coach is out Daniel Fish relieved of coaching duties
Photo by Brian McMillan
PAGE 5B
Marc Dwyer, a Flagler County attorney, presents a plan on Martin Luther King Day PAGE 3A
INSIDE HELM CHANGE
Palm Coast Holiday Boat Parade organizer resigns, with city to take over PAGE 6A
“We have to circle our wagons in our community.” “It was our God who brought us through the toughest times in American history. … We have to stay true to our God.”
HAGSTROM IN HALL
New Hall of Fame coach Duane Hagstrom receives fresh prints from his Flagler Palm Coast weightlifters PAGE 5B
Quavius Jackson Jr. holds his sign honoring Martin luther King Jr. as he rides in the MLK parade in Bunnell. Photo by Michele Meyers
MARC DWYER
TOP WRESTLER
Carson Baert clinches victory for Flagler Palm Coast over Buchholz in regional dual wrestling meet PAGE 6B
NEW SODA SHOP
Palm Coast residents open The Purple Donkey soda shop in Flagler Beach PAGE 5A
INDEX
Business..................... PAGE 5A Calendar..................... PAGE 2B Comics ....................... PAGE 4B Cops Corner............... PAGE 6A Letters........................ PAGE 8A McMillan..................... PAGE 8A Public Notices............ PAGE 8B Sports......................... PAGE 5B Real Estate................. PAGE 3B
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Future of affordable housing? ‘We are at a crossroads’ City Councilwoman Theresa Pontieri wants to promote ‘generational wealth’ through homeownership. BRIAN MCMILLAN PUBLISHER
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-inlaw 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 11 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, bonds 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 affordablehousing, 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.