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Flagler Audubon Society position on FLUM amendment for parcel east of I 95 and South of SR100.
Maintaining a generous wild life corridor in this
property in support of the Blueways is our highest priority. This will also
support our position that only environmentally sound development should be
allowed in the areas we refer to as the Jewels of Flagler County. While we
initially requested that all of the land to East of Old Kings should be
designated conservation we do recognize that having a conservation area abut
directly to a newly widened (4 lane) Old Kings Road may not make
environmental sense. We see that there may be a need to allow development in
a narrow corridor (approx 300 to 500 feet) parallel to Old Kings and this
together with the development west of Old Kings should allow ample return
for the land owner.
Letter originally sent to the planning
review board in June 2009.
Planning and Land Regulation Board
City of Palm Coast
160 Cypress Point Parkway - Suite B 106
Palm Coast , FL, 32164
RE 17th June 2009 PRLDB Agenda Item –
Application # 1604
Bulow Creek LLC Comprehensive Plan Amendment
Dear Board Members,
The Flagler Audubon Society strongly urges the Board to recommend that all land East of Old Kings Road, south of SR 100 and north of the new city limits on the south should be designated as “conservation” land on the Future Land Use map.
In 2005 the Flagler Audubon Society applied the data and information contained in the Florida Wildlife Legacy Initiative – Keeping Common Species Common – Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission report to Flagler County in an attempt to identify environmentally fragile areas important to the long term sustainability of our local environment. Eight areas emerged which FAS refers to as the “Jewels of Flagler County”. Subsequent magazine and newspaper articles have validated this “citizen science” effort to preserve these unique areas and the corridors between them in Flagler County. The Bulow Creek area is one of these “Jewels”.
The Florida State Department of Environmental Protection has also designated Bulow Creek area as a key part of the of the Flagler County Blueway Project. This designation signifies that the area is a top priority for land acquisition by the State using funding from sources such as Florida Forever.
Previous land acquistions and developer set asides (Bulow Creek, Longs Landing, Princess Place, Graham Swamp, Sweetwater Bottom) have already created a substantial body of “conservation” land as a first step on the completion of the Blueway Project. It would be tragic to break the whole chain by allowing major development in such a crucial component to both the Jewels and the Blueway projects.
Neil Davies – President – Flagler Audubon Society
