Planning board backs 42-foot cap on mean roof height after floodplain concerns

The Flagler Beach Planning and Architectural Review Board on April 8 recommended approval of an ordinance amending Appendix A of the Land Development Regulations to add a 42-foot maximum cap to mean roof height measurements for residential buildings.

City staff described the change as a narrow fix to the current height measurement method, which uses an average between peak and eave for certain roof types. Staff said the cap preserves the average-based method while preventing builders from lowering eaves to raise peak heights. “What we’ve done here is to put a 42 foot cap on that,” Lupita, a city staff member, told the board.

The change matters because of how finished-floor elevation is set in flood zones. Board member Barbara Revels questioned the ordinance’s effect where minimum required floor elevations (freeboard) raise the base from which height is measured, producing taller structures next to older, lower homes. Revels noted that properties raised on stem walls or filled lots can end up with noticeably higher roofs compared with adjacent houses and called that “unfair to some of our residents.” Staff replied that the code uses the minimum required finished-floor elevation when that requirement applies, and that the 42-foot cap applies on top of whatever minimum the code requires.

Local architect Joseph Pazzulli spoke during public comment in favor of the cap, saying his diagrams showed that a 42-foot maximum still allows “some architectural creativity for roof lines and slopes” while preventing extreme, pyramid-like roof forms that could have met the prior code. Resident Jordan Farkas urged the city to consider raising base flood elevations proactively after Hurricane Sandy and other storms, saying, “I think the city should be proactive on allowing people to do that,” though he also said he was not asking to raise height limits.

After discussion, a board member moved to recommend approval of the ordinance and the board adopted the recommendation by roll call vote. The board’s recommendation will be transmitted to the City Commission for consideration.

The board’s discussion also repeated earlier concerns about the city’s freeboard policy (the required elevation above FEMA base flood elevation) and how that interacts with height measurements; staff and at least one board member noted the commission previously voted to keep a “plus 2” freeboard standard in place.

The ordinance text as presented does not change how minimum required finished-floor elevation is set; it adds a maximum on top of the existing average-based roof measurement.