Growth on the Books: Palm Coast’s Planning Budget Hits $3.9 Million as a New Unit Takes Shape

Part 7 in a series reviewing the City of Palm Coast’s adopted Fiscal Year 2026 budget

Palm Coast is set to spend $3,917,366 on its Planning division in Fiscal Year 2026, based on budget documents posted on the city’s website. That’s $789,577 more than the $3,127,789 adopted for FY2025 — one of the bigger jumps across departments — and it largely traces back to a new inspection function and the employees shifted over to operate it. For comparison, actual Planning costs in FY2024 came in at $2,732,604.

What the Department Does

Planning sits within Community Development, alongside Code Enforcement, Building Permits, and Economic Development. Taken together, those divisions steer growth and keep development in check with an eye on natural resources, public health, safety, and general welfare.

Within that larger structure, Planning is the group responsible for carrying out the city’s Comprehensive Plan and its Land Development Code, the framework that dictates how growth happens and where it can occur. The division also includes Site Development, which manages the approvals tied to building and zoning so projects can move ahead.

The Numbers

All of Planning’s funding comes out of the General Fund, the city’s primary pot for day-to-day operations, and the budget is broken into three main pieces.

Personnel Services, meaning salaries and benefits, climbs to $3,055,532 in FY2026. That’s up $553,131 from the $2,502,401 adopted for FY2025. Actual personnel spending in FY2024 was $2,183,208.

Operating Expenditures are budgeted at $861,834 for FY2026, an increase of $247,046 over the $614,788 adopted for FY2025. In FY2024, actual operating spending totaled $546,552.

Transfers to Other Funds disappear entirely in FY2026, falling from $10,600 budgeted in FY2025. In FY2024, actual transfers were $2,844.

Put together, Planning spent $2,732,604 in FY2024, carried an adopted budget of $3,127,789 in FY2025, and now moves to an adopted $3,917,366 for FY2026, the net change being $789,577.

More Staff, and a New Division

Staffing rises from 19.66 full-time equivalent positions in FY2024 and FY2025 to 23.66 in FY2026, an increase of 4.00 positions.

A note in the budget says those four positions were moved from Stormwater Operations into a new Residential Site Development function in FY2026. Stepping back a bit, the department also reports that six employees shifted from the Stormwater Division into Community Development to create Residential Site Inspections, a new division tasked with enforcing drainage requirements for new construction within the city’s rights-of-way.

A Year of Slower Building, by the Numbers

The department’s progress report shows permitting activity overall fell 4 percent in FY2025 compared with FY2024. One- and two-family dwellings dropped 20 percent, and commercial construction declined 19 percent. The fiscal year opened with Hurricane Milton, which caused minor damage overall, and wrapped up without major weather or hurricane impacts.

Planning reviewed 76 development applications and issued 43 development orders in FY2025. Those figures are down from 108 applications and 58 orders in FY2024.

In the fourth quarter, two Planners moved up to Senior Planner roles, a Senior Planner advanced to Planning Manager, and the Deputy Director of Community Development resigned.

Site Development recorded 1,398 inspections in the fourth quarter and ended FY2025 with 6,306 inspections total. The work ranged across utility work, asphalt, curb and sidewalk items, and storm pipe, structure, and pond inspections. One Site Development Inspector, Don Haney, retired during the year, leading to a replacement hire. The division also rolled out a combined application process for model homes and early-start homes following new state legislation, pushed that process online, and then mirrored the approach for multifamily and commercial projects. In the fourth quarter, contractors also got a new mobile-friendly Inspection Request Application aimed at simplifying scheduling.

Animal Tags, Code Cases, and Business Permits

Although these figures fall under Code Enforcement and Business Tax rather than Planning, the same progress report includes them as part of the broader Community Development picture. In the fourth quarter of FY2025, 1,490 animal license tags were purchased — 471 over the counter and 581 online — with the remainder purchased through other channels. Across the full year, 5,986 tags were sold, a 7 percent gain over the year before.

Code action orders and complaints totaled 17,746, up 8 percent, while code board hearing cases reached 545, a 7 percent increase.

As for business permits, the city issued 18 solicitation permits and 382 business tax receipts in the fourth quarter. For the full fiscal year, totals were 60 solicitation permits and 1,260 business tax receipts.

Economic Development Milestones

The report points to a busy year on the economic development front. Palm Coast announced investments tied to DC Blox and Google, with Google’s Cable Landing Station as the marquee project. Phase 1 is expected to bring $35 million to $40 million to the Town Center site, and another $20 million is projected for the conduit running from the beach to Town Center.

City Council also committed to raising the economic development incentive budget by $1.3 million, with the stated aim of growing the tax base and supporting job creation. The city also launched its first Business Retention & Expansion (BRE) program, noting that in many regions, more than half of business announcements stem from expansions by companies already in place.

On the marketing side, staff rebuilt the economic development website (selectpalmcoast.com), attended trade shows, and sent a quarterly email to more than 440 regional commercial brokers promoting Town Center. The city issued a request for proposals for a Market and Feasibility Study covering two Town Center properties: an upscale boutique hotel across from The Promenade at the northeast corner of Central Avenue and Park Street, and a commercial or mixed-use concept on about 7 acres of city-owned land on Bulldog Drive behind the Wawa on SR 100. Working with the Northeast Florida Regional Council, Palm Coast also launched Prosperity 2035, a process that will include four public engagement events.

Affordable Housing Work

Through the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, staff attended Florida Housing trainings focused on legislative changes proposed by HUD and the state. Topics included displacement issues affecting Section 8 housing voucher recipients, the Live Local Act, and local regulation of sober living facilities.

Staff are also revising the first-time homebuyer program by adding a moderate-income category to widen eligibility. They presented to the Affordable Housing Advisory Committee (AHAC) on compliance with State Statute 420.9076(4), including adding a housing impact line item to the city’s Business Impact Estimate and coordinating with the City Attorney on wording. Issues such as inclusionary zoning and an accessory dwelling unit (ADU) ordinance are slated for discussion during a housing study tied to the housing element of the 2050 comprehensive plan.

Performance Measures

Community Development’s stated goal is to encourage high-quality development and appearance through a business-friendly approach, and it tracks three primary metrics.

For development review timelines, the target is to provide initial city comments within 15 working days, second-submittal comments within 10 working days, and later comments within 7 working days, 100 percent of the time. The division reached 94 percent. In the fourth quarter, all 12 of 12 initial comments hit the 15-day mark, 2 of 3 second-submittal comments met the 10-day goal, and 1 of 1 later comment met the 7-day standard.

On building-inspection staffing, the goal is a fully multi-disciplined, multi-certified plan review and inspection team, measured against 80 available state certifications. Staff have earned 23 certifications, about 29 percent of the target.

For plat applications, the timeline goal is initial comments within 20 working days, second-submittal comments within 15 working days, and later comments within 10 working days, again with a 100 percent target. The division posted 100 percent: in the fourth quarter, 2 of 2 initial comments met the standard and 4 of 4 second-submittal comments met the standard.

What Comes Next

Later pieces in the series will look at the other Community Development divisions — Code Enforcement, Building Permits, and Economic Development — and how their budgets change as the city continues its FY2026 discussions.

Disclaimer: All information in this article is public record and comes from budget documents published on the City of Palm Coast’s website. More detailed budget information would need to be requested through a FOIA (public records) request.

The post Growth on the Books: Palm Coast’s Planning Budget Hits $3.9 Million as a New Unit Takes Shape first appeared on Flagler County Buzz.