The Bunnell City Commission on Monday voted to approve the Reserve at Haw Creek development, opening the door to up to 6.1k new rooftops to be built. The development, which is estimated for a timeline of 15 to over 50 years, will radically transform the makeup of the city.
The majority vote was formed by Mayor Catherine Robinson with commissioners Pete Young and Dean Sechrist. Dissenting were Vice Mayor John Rogers and Commissioner David Atkinson. The three majority commissioners appeared, by all accounts, to have made up their minds with finality before the evening’s three-part vote to approve the development.
“I’ve seen the city deteriorate because we don’t have the money to do things here in Bunnell,” Commissioner Young said after the vote. “We need growth. We don’t need to turn into another Jacksonville, we’re the second largest city in Florida land-wise but we do need a little bit of growth to help the city to be able to fix the problems that we have.”
A slew of local residents, both within the boundaries of Bunnell and not, attended Monday’s meeting to make their voices heard. The vast majority implored the City Commission to reject the project, or else reduce it. They resisted the notion that only legally-recognized expert opinions should be considered, with many recounting decades of personal experience as evidence. Their concerns covered flooding, wildlife displacement, traffic increases, infrastructure wear, existing soil contamination, and lack of accountability that the developers would have for adverse impacts.
Vice Mayor Rogers implored Commissioner Pete Young, who motioned to approve, that he amend his motion to reduce the maximum number of rooftops to 5,500 – the recommendation of the Bunnell Planning, Zoning, and Appeals Board. He refused, saying the state government could raise those objections if it chose to. Though the number of rooftops was down from the highest-ever goal of 12,000, it’s still six-hundred more than the PZA’s initial figure.
A common thread among residents who attended the almost three-hour debacle was dissatisfaction with their commissioners’ responsiveness. Though several residents did speak in support of the project, those who didn’t felt their arguments fell on deaf ears. “We have commissioners that weren’t even contemplating even just lowering down to the PZA recommendation,” said Savannah Brinkworth, who spoke during the public comments. “That’s pretty mind-boggling to me personally.”
Among the few dozen speakers was Leann Pennington, the Flagler County Commission member who represents most of west Flagler County in her district. She argued local government powers could be disarmed in the future, diminishing the city’s ability to hold the developers accountable for impacts. “This state is actively eroding local authority over development,” she said. “Once you give approval, your ability to deny future change will be weakened. A project that looks acceptable today could become a nightmare tomorrow – something you never intended when you first approved it.”
The process leading to the approval of the Reserve at Haw Creek development was recently very different – a 4-1 decision not to move forward back in June appeared to cast serious doubt. Since then, with the number units reduced to the current maximum of 6,100, the project has received renewed support from the commissioners (some of whom openly stated they’d met with the developers privately).
As things stand now, the population of Bunnell is on a trajectory to become over three times as high in the coming decades. It’ll still be dwarfed by its neighbor, Palm Coast, barring a mass exodus from another city currently experiencing rapid growth.
This is a perfect example of government at its worst. Instead of representing the people they choose instead to represent the developers. One commissioner is particularly disappointing, after having spent years protecting and serving the community suddenly finds more interest in serving out-of-town developers. Our Founding Fathers are rolling in their graves.