Planning board backs Flagler Beach mobility plan and recommends new development fee

The Planning & Architectural Review Board on April 7 voted unanimously to recommend that the City Commission approve Ordinance 2026-07, a 24-year mobility plan and a mobility fee that would charge new development to help pay for multimodal transportation projects across Flagler Beach.

Lauren Rushing, a transportation planner with New Urban Concepts, presented the plan and fee methodology and told the board the mobility plan shifts the city's focus from moving vehicles quickly to moving people safely, with a 2050 planning horizon. "A mobility fee is a fee that is paid by new development that is intended to mitigate their impact to the offsite transportation system," Rushing said, adding that the fee would apply to new growth only and "is not a tax on existing residents." Rushing also said the plan uses an areawide level-of-service analysis showing about 39% network utilization today rising to roughly 73% by 2050.

The plan lists a range of projects and programs intended to improve walkability, biking, transit and downtown placemaking. Key…