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Planners present transportation and coastal‑management updates in Flagler County comprehensive‑plan process
Summary
Planning staff reviewed proposed transportation and coastal management policies on March 3, including multimodal goals, traffic‑count monitoring, complete‑streets design and new coastal vegetation and development rules. Staff set a schedule for transmittal hearings to state agencies and subsequent LDC (land‑development code) revisions.
County planning staff presented updates to the transportation and coastal management elements of Flagler County’s comprehensive‑plan update at the March 3 workshop and outlined next steps toward transmittal to state review.
Planner Simone Kenny said the comprehensive plan is the county’s guiding document for future growth and summarized public input used to form goals and objectives, including a directive to “establish a connected and safe bicycle, sidewalk and trail network” and to “increase resiliency against natural disasters.” The county plans additional workshops on remaining comp‑plan elements and intends to transmit the draft to state reviewers this spring.
Key policy proposals - Transportation: Staff proposed monitoring traffic counts annually and updating level‑of‑service (LOS) targets to align with FDOT standards on principal arterials. The element includes policies to promote walking, bicycling and potential fixed‑route transit evaluation; staff also added policies to pursue complete‑streets design and to coordinate with the Volusia‑Flagler Transportation Planning Organization (TPO). - Coastal management: The draft includes a requirement that new beachfront developments preserve at least 10% of native coastal vegetation or submit mitigation plans; it also retains a county policy limiting public funding for new facilities in coastal high‑hazard areas to access, resource restoration, public safety and passive recreation. The draft reiterates the county’s coordination with the Northeast Florida Regional Council for vulnerability assessments and compound‑flooding studies.
Questions and next steps Commissioners asked for clarification on some technical tables and LOS definitions; Kenny said the proposed LOS changes for principal arterials align with FDOT standards and agreed to provide additional detail on lane and LOS assumptions. Kenny also said the county will present vulnerability and compound‑flooding studies (prepared through the Northeast Florida Regional Council) in later workshops starting in June and noted the comp‑plan transmittal hearings are scheduled for April–May, with adoption deadlines tied to the state review timeline.
Ending: After the comp‑plan update is adopted, staff intends to begin a more detailed rewrite of the Land Development Code in the fall to bring implementing regulations into alignment with the new plan.
