For the second time in three weeks, the Flagler County Commission resolved not to pursue legal action against the City of Flagler Beach. The two entities have been working together over Flagler Beach’s annexation of two parcels of land to be used for major housing developments.
Two housing developments are on their way to becoming a reality in an area newly adopted into Flagler Beach. One, Veranda Bay, is 211 acres. The other, Summertown, is 545 acres.
The first vote not to move forward with a lawsuit occurred on February 23, with only Commissioner Kim Carney dissenting. Another vote on Monday was held to drop a potential legal challenge after the issue had been raised again. This time it was only Commissioner Leann Pennington who dissented.
That appeared to be the end of things, until Carney contested that the criteria for annexation had not been met. Carney pointed to state law requiring the gathering of citizen petitions in order for annexation to occur. The City of Flagler Beach has obtained signed covenants from homeowners approving the action, which most parties agree adequately fulfills legal requirements. Carney, along with Pennington, were skeptical of that assessment.
“It is important to note that the matter has not been litigated,” County Attorney Michael Rodriguez told the County Commission on Monday “So no court in Florida has decided, has ruled on that issue of…basically statutory interpretation.”
Kim Carney presented her case for why the covenant signatures are something less than an ironclad legal cover for the annexation. “The signatures are surely, and it’s part of our packet, they’re surely not on the application that was presented to the state,” she said. “I agree it’s probably a gray area or splitting hairs, but the signatures is the issue at least for me.”
“I really believe in the plain meaning of that statute in interpreting it,” Pennington added. “It talks about individual signatures. So it is difficult, and since there’s no case law, I think it makes it complex to make a decision on this for me.”
Chris Gollon is a Flagler County resident since 2004, as well as a staple of the local independent music scene and avid observer of Central Florida politics, arts, and recreation.
