Palm Coast, FL (September 21, 2021) Addressing the Palm Coast City Council from both perspectives, a handful of residents and members of the business community available to share their thoughts on the commercial vehicle ordinance were on hand Tuesday morning for what has been a persistent issue for the City of Palm Coast over the years.
From residents like Mike Cocchiola’s support of putting the issue out to vote, as suggested by Palm Coast City Councilman Nick Klufas, and previously by Councilman Eddie Branquinho, to business owner Stephen Swarner’s support for local small business owners, speakers were about evenly split, as Dorothy Sperber, executive officer for the Flagler County Association of Realtors talked about the impact on curb appeal and Pam Richardson voiced her concerns.
Speaker Mary Vasilevsky, who was later appointed to the Flagler County Affordable Housing Advisory Committee representing Palm Coast, noted an important fact: those most heavily impacted were unable to speak for themselves at the meeting, as they were currently at work.
“I do not have an educated and informed opinion on this matter but I do support Councilman Klufas for making a study and really getting an accurate pulse. One of the things I’d like to remind everyone sitting here is we have a lot of angry and emotional people, and the ones who are angry and emotional do show up and it might be a minority, it might be a majority we don’t know,” said Vasilevsky.
“But the thing I did want to point out are the people who this ordinance directly impacts, most of them, and me working for a builder, I am really grateful that I have the flexibility of my job to come here, except the people that this affects, cannot make it here today. They are currently at work. They’re not able to speak up on their opinion.”
The parking of commercial vehicles overnight has been an ongoing point of discussion among residents and members of the city council. While those parked overnight with commercial displays larger than three square feet on the vehicle can be cited, code enforcement chief Barbara Grossman said those parked at home between the hours of 11:30 am and 2:30 pm during “lunch hours” would not receive a citation.
After robust discussion and debate, the Palm Coast City Council voted 3-2 to allow the current ordinance to remain unchanged.
ITEM: COUNCIL DECISION AND DIRECTION TO STAFF ON WHETHER TO AMEND THE
COMMERCIAL VEHICLE ORDINANCE IN CHAPTER 44, ARTICLE II
Photo: City of Palm Coast
