THE HAMMOCK
Observer YOU. YOUR NEIGHBORS. YOUR NEIGHBORHOOD.
VOLUME 6, NO. 1
VISIT TO THE BORDER 3 FREE
Drainage, roadway construction Flagler County staff is seeking homeowner assistance during Marineland Acres work.
• AUGUST 2021
A1A marina on the horizon? Planning board votes to allow marinas along Scenic A1A corridor
JULIE MURPHY FLAGLER COUNTY PIO
Flagler County is more than seven months into a drainage and roadway improvement project within the Marineland Acres community that is slated for completion in mid-2023. The project, when complete, promises to both enhance the streets and reduce the duration of flooding in the area. Staff is seeking homeowner assistance during the construction. “Over time, homeowners installed private amenities in the existing public right-of-way that are now conflicting with construction,” said County Engineer Faith Alkhatib. “To address this challenge, we created a notification and coordination process that includes delivering certified letters and door hangers with contact information to homeowners affected by construction activity.” The goal is to allow homeowners adequate time (30 days following right-of-way demarcation) to relocate or remove encroachments. To help facilitate the process, Alkhatib and her staff are available to meet with affected residents, if requested, to show the location and types of storm drainage improvements proposed near their properties. To further aid the process, a link was created on the Flagler County website for the project. The tentative construction
JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Y
ou can’t build a boat warehouse in the Scenic A1A overlay district, according to county codes. But, the county’s planning board decided in a 4-1 decision on Aug. 10, you can build a marina. The planning board was discussing marinas on Aug. 10 because Hammock Harbour developer Bob Million wants to add a 57,000-square-foot, 240boat dry storage facility on his property at 5658 N. Oceanshore Blvd., near the Hammock Hardware store on A1A.
His proposal — fought by community members who argued that it was inappropriate for The Hammock and too similar to the land use of “warehouse,” which is prohibited in the Scenic A1A district — was approved by the planning board and County Commission in 2019, but a judge overruled the county’s decision on procedural grounds and sent it back down to the local boards. Meanwhile, although the county’s codes are clear about a prohibition on warehouses in the Scenic A1A overlay district, they don’t specifically address mariSEE A1A PAGE 4-5
SEE MARINELAND PAGE 2
Local Postal Customer
PRESORTED STANDARD US POSTAGE PAID DAYTONA BCH FL PERMIT #447
Time to update Flagler Schools’ dress code? Adjusting the dress code may be one way to reduce student referrals, board member Cheryl Massaro said.
What should the policy be? Email letters to editor@palmcoastobserver. com.
JONATHAN SIMMONS NEWS EDITOR
Flagler Schools implemented a uniform-type dress code policy starting in the 2012-2013 school year. There was an immediate effect on disciplinary referrals: At FPC, for example, the number jumped from 468 the previous year to more than 1,571, with 75% of them dress-code related. The district has since loosened its dress code, but it can still account for a large number of disciplinary incidents, and School Board member Cheryl Massaro wants the district to rework it so that it’s both more enforceable
and less likely to lead to student referrals. “I was talking to the dean over at FPC: He figures he’s going to have 1,000 referrals the first week of school for dress code, because he’s enforcing it,” Massaro said at an Aug. 3 School Board workshop. “A thousand referrals, the first week. After five referrals, that sixth referral usually is an outof-school suspension.” Massaro said she’s been serving on the district’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports team, which is looking for ways to reduce suspensions. “I think that’s one place to start,” she said. “I would like to
see it totally revamped before the next school year, 2022-2023.” Students, depending on their grade level, have different sets of color options available for shirts: High schoolers have the most leeway and can wear any solid color, plaid or striped pattern as long as it’s collared and meets fabric requirements, while elementary and middle schoolers must wear solid colors and have more limited palettes to choose from. “What do we have against yellow and purple polo shirts?” MAssaro said. “... Polo shirts are nice, but I don’t necessarily think that our parents need to be going out and getting all these clothes.”