FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida. – The Flagler Beach City Commission is preparing to impose a height limit on buildings, particularly for businesses that want to build bars, restaurants and other public spaces on rooftops.
The city already has a 35-foot height limit for this type of building, but the new Margaritaville Compas hotel was allowed to be raised significantly above 35 feet.
Once completed, the hotel will be four stories high and will have a rooftop bar, something that should not have been allowed under city ordinance.
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City Manager Dale Martin, who was hired by the city after the project was approved, said it was a mistake to build the hotel so high.
“There were some issues with oversight, collaboration or coordination in terms of what the city commission approved, what the architect submitted, what our staff reviewed and what was ultimately approved by the city,” he said.
Martin said the city’s bylaws set the height limit that must be followed, but also list exceptions that have caused confusion.
“A height limit of 35 feet with the exceptions outlined in the building codes. Those codes allow buildings up to 49 feet tall, but the regulations also limit any stories over three stories,” he said.
To ensure this doesn’t happen again, the City Commission is now working on a new ordinance that will clearly state that the height of buildings containing public spaces must be limited to 35 feet.
“There will be some exceptions for mechanical devices and architectural features, but they definitely want to ban public use of roofs over 35 feet,” Martin said.
This new ordinance will be presented to city councils for further reading next week.
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