PALM COAST, Fla. – Several Palm Coast residents say their properties are flooding after new construction was built around them.
News 6 told you a few weeks ago that neighbors along Birchwood Drive had concerns about a house under construction because it was being built higher than the surrounding homes.
Since then, many other homeowners in the city have come forward saying their properties are flooding.
Keep in mind, the city is approving all new construction.
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Many people in Palm Coast say they dread when it rains because their yards are underwater.
Dara Belanger-Knotts says she has been through hurricanes and her yard never flooded, but now she says every time it rains, it floods.
“There is a lot of anxiety and stress from what’s going on,” Belanger-Knotts said.
The patio she and her husband put in two years ago has gone from pristine pavers, to covered with water, and now covered in mold from all the standing water.
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She has lived in her home for five years and says the flooding didn’t start until the house next door was built.
It is obvious the house next door was built higher than hers, and the water runs from that property onto theirs, Belanger-Knotts said.
“We went to city hall like four times, told them about what’s been going on since January since they built that high, and they said, ‘that’s code,’” Belanger-Knotts said.
City officials confirmed to News 6 its technical manual states finished floor elevations must be a minimum of 12 inches above the crown of the road, but there is no maximum requirement, so the builders aren’t doing anything wrong.
Candace Stevens also says once new houses were built around her home; her yard started to flood.
Stevens shot a video with her phone, calling the pooling in her yard “a pond.”
She also started a Facebook group called Flooded in Flagler County that now has 178 members all sharing similar stories of new construction causing flooding.
“So, it’s widespread all over the city,” Stevens said.
Brittany Kershaw, director of communications and marketing for the City of Palm Coast, says the city’s building department was established in 2004.
“We have been receiving complaints from some of our citizens,” Kershaw said.
The city is approving the new homes, so News 6 asked how much responsibility the city should bear.
“The city actually has very strict regulations on all of these new builds,” Kershaw said. “We have to have a stormwater drainage plan prior to the start of any construction.”
Homes built before 2004, like Belanger-Knotts and Stevens, were allowed to grade their properties so they could drain onto vacant lots, Kershaw said. Now that those lots are being developed, the standing water is actually from the older homes because their drainage has been disrupted, according to Kershaw.
News 6 asked if the city is willing to pay to help residents get better drainage.
“I can’t answer that. Everything is going to be on a case-by-case basis,” Kershaw said.
Kershaw says the city has established a task force to investigate this issue.
City council has also directed the city manager to work with residents individually to address their concerns.
City officials also say they are reconsidering their technical manual which does not have a maximum for how high you can build, so that could be changing.
Some homeowners tell New 6 they are growing more frustrated and are considering a lawsuit.
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