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Flagler Beach approves plan for 100-room hotel
The hotel will be designed by the team responsible for the Margaritaville Beach Hotel in Jacksonville.
JONATHAN SIMMONS
NEWS EDITOR
Flagler Beach will get a new hotel by the development team responsible for the Margaritaville Beach Hotel in Jacksonville. Even as Flagler Beach city commissioners critiqued some details of the proposed site plan during a March 24 meeting, they repeatedly lauded the hotel’s aesthetics.
Commissioners ultimately approved the final site plan unanimously.
“I think it’s a beautiful hotel, and I think it’s going to be a wonderful addition to our city,” Commissioner James Sherman said.
The hotel would be a Compass by Margaritaville project, with 100 rooms spread over three stories, on the site of the former Flagler Beach farmers market on State Road 100, between South Central Avenue and South Daytona Avenue. It would also have a restaurant and pool.
Most people who spoke during the meeting’s public comment period supported the hotel.
Resident Brian Walsh said he loves the quaintness and small town feel of Flagler Beach, and appreciated that the city government has been selective about development there.
“But with that said, too, every time I’ve driven over the bridge for the last 30 years, there’s been a gap,” Walsh said. “There’s been something that’s needed in the center of town to create a level of activity, a catalyst for other things to go on. This town needs this project, and I don’t think it’s going to impact its quaintness at all. I think it’s going to add to it.”
Flagler Beach resident John Horan said that his son won’t stay in Flagler
MARGARET BROCK, director of hospitality, BRPH
SEE PLAN PAGE 20
The proposed hotel will be on the site of the former farmers market downtown, next to Veterans Park.
Caliber Car Wash planned for corner of SR 100, John Anderson Highway
Flagler Beach unanimously approved a site plan.
JONATHAN SIMMONS
NEWS EDITOR
A Caliber Car Wash is coming to the southeast corner of State Road 100 and John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach.
Despite some opposition from area residents, Flagler Beach city commissioners voted unanimously March 24 to approve a site plan application for the proposed car wash.
Resident concerns, City Planner Larry Torino said, were related to three issues: noise, access into the facility, and the orientation of the building. Each has been addressed, he said.
A noise study showed a decibel level below 65 at a point 70 feet from the car wash tumble, and “virtually zero” at the property line, he said.
Even so, he said, the city had encouraged Caliber to reverse the orientation of the building so that the exit of the tunnel would face S.R. 100 rather than nearby homes. Caliber had complied.
“Everything we’ve asked them — architecturally, landscape-wise, building orientation-wise — they’ve accommodated the city,” Torino said.
Since John Anderson Highway is a county road, Torino said, the city and Caliber have coordinated with the county’s planning department as well.
One resident, Angela Smith, asked: “How will the traffic continue to be safe for bike riders and pedestrians with the increased traffic? ... We are creating more traffic without making the necessary structural changes to support the customer base that Flagler Beach wishes to attract.”
Caliber Director of Development Dan Brown said Caliber expects 26 cars per hour at peak hours, and that the car wash will be able to accommodate a line of cars 18 vehicles long between the entrance to the car wash station and the driveway. But the business would work efficiently to move cars through the line.
A bypass lane will allow people to exit immediately before the tunnel if they decide at the last minute that they don’t want to enter.
Torino said the car wash’s expected impact on traffic is negligible. The entrance area would be wide enough to add a turn lane if one is ever needed.
The property is zoned for commercial development and has been for many years.
“It has very liberal uses attached to it that are unrestricted, permitted uses by right,” Torino said. “All it has to do is to be consistent and compliant to the requirements of our land development code. There’s no other reason to deny.”
Commissioner Ken Bryan said he’d had some concerns about the car wash proposal, but trusted Torino’s judgment and decisions.
“I think they’re all in the best interest of Flagler Beach,” Bryan said. “And though they may not always satisfy everyone, we do the best that we can in order to do what is right and what is legal. ... This is something, as a commercial property, that has a number of different kinds of uses, and I think this is probably one of the best.”
SUMMER FUN
GUIDE
Your guide to summer camps and activities in Flagler and Volusia counties
COMING THURSDAY, APRIL 7
Summertime is all about fun and frolic! Kids are out of school, and it’s the long break that every child looks forward to. But this long break can create havoc for a parent’s work schedule.
From science camps to acting classes, the 2022 Summer Fun Guide will give parents lots of ideas on what the kids will be doing when school is out.
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John Lucas 386.569.5880
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