Real Estate Developers, like most People are not Bad and They Help Palm Coast

Palm Coast’s original vision depended on responsible development. So does its future. The golden egg does not come without a goose.

February 14, 2008 – Palm Coast, FL – The media enjoys printing stories about crooked developers and how they prey on unwary consumers. And City Council, urged on by a vocal minority of CAVE (Citizens Against Virtually Everything) people has adopted a decidedly anti-development stance as evidenced by their recent decisions against Discount Tire and Seagate Homes (Ryan’s Landing). But the golden egg does not come without a goose.

I understand that there are people who want things to stay the same as when they moved here. When I moved here, I was 56 years old. It’s unrealistic to think that I would always be 56. I love Palm Coast and often tell people that my next move will be in an urn. But to insure that this move is well in the future, I take good care of myself. I visit the doctor regularly, take the medicines he prescribes and try to eat sensibly.

Like my ageing, Palm Coast’s continued growth is also undeniable. Palm Coast was originally planned for over 200,000 residents. The number of platted Palm Coast lots that remain undeveloped (vacant) numbers in the thousands. It’s just not reasonable to expect building to stop or people to stay away. We can’t stop them from coming any more than we can stop the sun from rising by closing our eyes. But we can responsibly manage development and growth to ensure the continued quality of our community.

We have more parks and conservation land set aside than almost any other county on the east coast. Flagler County has abundant public beach access. The hammock area offers luxury living while old Florida can still be found in Flagler Beach, Bunnell and the western part of the county. We have a great school system but no place for our newly educated children to work. Many of us drive too many miles for broader dinning, entertainment, and shopping choices, leaving our sales tax dollars elsewhere. The overweighting of the residential property component of our tax base screams out for more commercial and industrial development to avoid a future property tax crisis.

Who is going to make this possible? Developers will play a large part. Let’s not get so hung up on what happened with Centex and Palm Harbor resort and golf club. Both the city and Centex made mistakes, but the City will soon have a new municipal golf course. And when the market finishes its correction, someone will build a first class resort hotel on the site of the former resort. Don’t let wealth envy blind you to the contributions of developers and their customers to our economy as well as to government coffers and charities. Here are just a few examples:

• WCI Communities, the developer of the tower condominiums at Hammock Dunes, closed on over $105,000,000 in property in 2007, which will contribute about $1.5 million in taxes next year.
• Centex sold about $96,000,000 in condominiums at Tidelands in the last 18 months. Centex paid over $202,000 last year in property taxes for the Tidelands land before development was completed.
• Ginn’s Conservatory Golf Course contributed $115,147 in 2007 property taxes.
• Hammock Dunes’ Creek Course paid $61,244 in 2007 property taxes. The Hammock Dunes Club bill was $212,967.
• The tax bill for The Ocean Course at Hammock Beach is $395,220.
• Most cities of our size have no PGA tournaments. Palm Coast has two this year thanks to Bobby Ginn.
• Ginn has also contributed heavily to local charities including the Stewart F. Myer Hospice House and the Stewart-Marchman Foundation.

The list goes on. Developers have been widely blamed for the rampant speculation which led to the current depressed real estate market. As I’ve said before, developers do not create speculators any more than casinos create gamblers. Casinos are built because gamblers already exist. Responsible growth, including vigorous efforts to attract clean industry, combined with government’s fiscal restraint can ensure that the original vision of Palm Coast as a wonderful place to live can be achieved in the future. The few but vocal anti-growth activists do not understand the need for commercial and industrial development. Elected officials should give them an audience without pandering to them. They do not speak for the community at large.