Palm Coast and Flagler County leaders on Wednesday discussed edits to an interlocal agreement tied to airport overlay zoning and noise contours, with the City of Palm Coast recommending clarifying language and the city attorney warning against retroactive ordinances.

Marcus Duffy, city attorney for Palm Coast, told the joint meeting that a retroactive ordinance raising new requirements back to a prior date would be legally problematic because of notice requirements and differences in how county and municipal ordinances take effect. "We can't have a retroactive ordinance based on two principles. One is notice requirements," Duffy said, adding that county and municipal enactment rules differ.

Council members and commissioners debated alternatives. Councilwoman Teresa Ponti (Pontieri) said forming a county–city board or working group could give residents and local planners a voice and allow review of airport master-plan changes such as noise-contour updates. "My preference is to create the board rather than to execute the ILA," she said, citing the need for a formal channel for feedback and the possibility of a sunset date for the board.

Other elected officials supported proceeding with a revised interlocal agreement that removed retroactive language and added a clearer reference to noise contours and planning input. County and city attorneys said they had exchanged draft edits; one county attorney confirmed he had received the city's suggested language and would circulate it for further review. Staff said the agreement will return to the boards with the edits incorporated.

What’s next: city and county legal staff will circulate agreed edits to the interlocal agreement and bring the revised document back to each board; officials discussed creating or leveraging an airport working group to review master-plan contour changes and coordinate planning-level comments.