Veranda Bay Flagler Beach: What the Largest Annexation in City History Means for Buyers

On the evening of February 26, 2026, the Flagler Beach City Commission voted 4-1 to complete the annexation of Veranda Bay. It took about as long as a routine zoning item. There was no packed chamber, no dramatic reversal. The crowd had already thinned by the time the matter came up two hours into the agenda.

What that quiet vote did was expand Flagler Beach by nearly a third and clear the way for roughly 2,200 new homes on the west side of the Intracoastal.

If you own here, if you are shopping here, or if you have been watching Flagler Beach from somewhere colder and wondering whether to make a move, this is the single most consequential thing to happen to this city in decades. Here is what actually got approved, what is coming, and what it means for the value of a house in Flagler Beach.

What the Commission Actually Approved

Two separate developments were annexed into Flagler Beach, and the distinction matters because people routinely mix them up.

Veranda Bay covers 211 acres on the east side of John Anderson Highway. Summertown covers 545 acres on the west side. Together they are the largest annexations in the city's history. Flagler Beach went from 2,624 acres to 3,380 acres, an increase of close to thirty percent.

Across both properties, the approvals allow for approximately 2,200 housing units and 840,000 square feet of commercial space, built out over the coming decades rather than the coming years. Summertown alone accounts for more than 1,600 of those units.

Why There Was No Public Vote

Under the city's old rules, an annexation this size would have gone to a referendum. In April 2025, the commission eliminated the requirement that voters approve larger annexations. Whether residents would have said yes is an open question that FlaglerLive, for one, has openly doubted.

This is worth understanding as a buyer, because it explains why a project this size moved forward against sustained neighborhood opposition. It was a procedural change made a year before the vote that decided the outcome.

What Is Actually Being Built

The Marina

The piece most likely to change how Flagler Beach feels is the planned marina at Veranda Bay: up to 150 boat slips, with retail, restaurants and fuel, surrounded by roughly 157 condominium units.

Commissioner Eric Cooley asked at the February meeting whether that number could come down to 100. Developer Ken Belshe of SunBelt Land Management answered that a marina needs a certain scale to operate efficiently, that 150 is a maximum rather than a target, and that a feasibility study will determine the final count.

For context on why this matters: Flagler Beach currently has very limited deepwater slip inventory. Communities like Sunset Inlet with its 31 private docks and Shelter Cove with its canal dockage command a premium precisely because slips are scarce. A 150-slip marina is a meaningful addition to the supply.

Where Everything Sits: The Site Plan

The approved site plan is worth studying if you are considering a lot here, because it shows how the phases relate to each other and where the amenities land.

A few things stand out. Phase 1A lots front the Intracoastal directly, which makes them the most water-oriented inventory in the community. The Amenity Center sits centrally, between the Phase 1C and Phase 2B sections, so most homesites are a short walk or cart ride from it. Large areas are still marked Future Development, which is the honest picture of a project measured in decades rather than years.

The plan also shows a future county boat ramp east of the marina. For anyone who owns a boat but does not want a slip, public ramp access nearby is a genuine convenience worth knowing about.

Commercial Space and Jobs

The 840,000 square feet of approved commercial is the part most residents have not fully absorbed. At the March county meeting, Belshe told commissioners he is working with a major development company on a Summertown deal that would, in his words, change the retail and commercial landscape of that area permanently, and bring roughly 150 jobs.

He also said something revealing about why the legal uncertainty mattered so much: that company told him they would not sign until the county and city resolved their dispute.

What Is Being Preserved

The settlement between Flagler County and Flagler Beach secured two commitments from the developer. First, a pledge of nearly $1 million toward maintaining John Anderson Highway as construction proceeds. Second, a three-year window for the county to purchase 153 acres out of Summertown for conservation, protecting the headwaters of Bulow Creek. If the county buys that land, the number of planned units at Summertown drops proportionally.

Commissioner Andy Dance made the case for that acquisition by putting photographs of the Bulow Creek headwaters on the overhead screens, pointing out the clarity of the water. It is the kind of detail that gets lost in a zoning fight but matters a great deal to anyone who kayaks or fishes here.

The Legal Fight, and Where It Landed

For most of 2025 and early 2026, this looked like it was heading to court. Flagler County threatened litigation twice. Understanding how it resolved tells you how stable the ground under this project actually is.

The Signature Question

Florida law says individual homeowners must agree by petition to be annexed. In Veranda Bay's case, no such petitions exist. What does exist is a covenant that 121 lot owners signed when they bought their property, agreeing to annexation at some future point.

Flagler Beach's city attorney accepted those covenant signatures as legally sufficient. County Commissioners Kim Carney and Leann Pennington questioned whether a covenant is the same thing as a petition. As the county attorney acknowledged, there is no court precedent either way. A challenge would have been the first ruling on the question in Florida.

Why the County Backed Down

On March 9, 2026, the Flagler County Commission voted 4-1 to drop the legal challenge. Commissioners Dance, Hansen, Carney and Richardson voted to drop it. Pennington voted against.

Three things decided it. Losing would have meant the county paying legal fees for both sides. Proceeding would have jeopardized the John Anderson Highway money and the 153-acre conservation window. And not one of the 121 Veranda Bay homeowners showed up to object.

Property Appraiser Jay Gardner, a Flagler Beach resident himself, put it plainly to the commission: if the people supposedly harmed are not in the room, it is not the county's fight.

Belshe went further, telling commissioners he was confident enough in the signatures that he would indemnify the city of Flagler Beach for its legal expenses if a challenge came.

Is It Truly Settled?

Practically, yes. The county has waived its claims and agreed not to participate in lawsuits over these specific ordinances. The developer has offered indemnification. The state reviewed the comprehensive plan amendment without questions.

What remains is the theoretical possibility that an individual Veranda Bay lot owner sues on their own. City Commissioner John Cunningham raised that concern and voted against. John Tanner, a former state attorney representing the nonprofit Preserve Flagler Beach and Bulow Creek, still calls the annexation illegal.

Our read, and we want to be straight rather than promotional about this: the litigation risk is real but small, and it has not stopped transactions. If you are buying a resale home inside Veranda Bay, this is a reasonable question for your attorney during due diligence. It is not a reason to avoid Flagler Beach.

What This Means If You Are Buying in Flagler Beach

If You Are Considering Veranda Bay Itself

You are buying into a community that is now inside city limits, which means city water and sewer, city police and fire response, and a city tax rate rather than an unincorporated county rate. Run those numbers before you commit. Our guide to property taxes and the homestead exemption covers how Florida assessments reset when you buy.

You are also buying early in a long build-out. That cuts both ways. Early buyers in a community with a planned marina and commercial center often see the strongest appreciation, because you are paying today's price for amenities that arrive later. You will also live alongside construction for years. See what is available now on our Veranda Bay community page.

 

If You Already Own in Flagler Beach

Two effects pull in opposite directions.

The tax base grows substantially. Commercial development in particular generates revenue without the service demands of rooftops, which is the argument supporters made throughout. A larger commercial base can ease pressure on residential millage over time.

Against that: John Anderson Highway carries more traffic, the small-town character that drew many people here shifts, and 2,200 additional homes eventually become 2,200 additional potential listings competing with yours. That last point is decades out and phased, not a wave.

The scarcity argument for oceanfront and east-of-A1A property gets stronger, not weaker. None of this new construction is on the beach side. If anything, adding thousands of homes west of the Intracoastal makes the finite supply of true oceanfront more distinct. Browse current A1A oceanfront properties and waterfront homes.

If You Are Buying Elsewhere in Flagler Beach

The established waterfront communities are unaffected by the annexation and remain the tightest inventory in the area. Sunset Inlet has 31 homes. Shelter Cove has 44. Seaside Landings has 103. Those numbers are fixed. Nothing approved in February changes them.

For buyers who want new construction without waiting on Veranda Bay's timeline, our new construction listings and home and lot packages cover what is available across Flagler County now.

Can Flagler Beach Handle the Growth?

The question every resident asked, and the one commissioners pressed hardest on, was water.

City Manager Dale Martin gave specific numbers at the February meeting. Flagler Beach currently produces about 600,000 gallons of water per day against an operational capacity of over 3 million gallons per day. The city runs four wells with four more in development.

On the arithmetic, the capacity is there. Whether infrastructure keeps pace with a build-out measured in decades is a harder question, and it is fair to say residents have heard capacity assurances before. Flooding on Palm Drive has already been blamed on Veranda Bay by nearby residents, a claim the developer disputes. Anyone buying near that corridor should look at drainage carefully, and our guide to Flagler Beach flood zones and flood insurance is the place to start.

Frequently Asked Questions About Veranda Bay

Where exactly is Veranda Bay?

Veranda Bay sits on 211 acres on the east side of John Anderson Highway in Flagler Beach, between the highway and the Intracoastal Waterway. Its sister development, Summertown, occupies 545 acres on the west side of the same highway. Both are now inside Flagler Beach city limits.

How many homes will be built at Veranda Bay and Summertown?

The two developments together are approved for approximately 2,200 housing units and 840,000 square feet of commercial space, built out over decades. Summertown accounts for more than 1,600 of those units. If Flagler County exercises its option to buy 153 acres of Summertown for conservation, the unit count there drops proportionally.

Is the Veranda Bay marina actually happening?

It is approved for up to 150 slips with retail, restaurants and fuel. The developer has described 150 as a maximum rather than a target and said a feasibility study will determine the final number. Treat the marina as approved but not yet sized.

Is the annexation still being challenged in court?

No active challenge exists. Flagler County voted 4-1 on March 9, 2026 to drop its legal challenge and waived its claims regarding these ordinances. The underlying legal question, whether covenant signatures satisfy Florida's petition requirement, has never been ruled on by a court. An individual lot owner could theoretically still sue, but none have.

Did Flagler Beach residents get to vote on this?

No. In April 2025 the city commission removed the requirement that voters approve larger annexations. The February 2026 annexation was decided by a 4-1 commission vote.

Will this raise my property taxes in Flagler Beach?

Not directly. The annexation expands the tax base rather than the tax rate. Commercial development in particular adds revenue without the per-household service costs of residential growth. Whether that translates into millage relief depends on future budgets and infrastructure spending.

Should I be worried about buying in Flagler Beach right now?

No. The annexation adds inventory west of the Intracoastal over a long horizon. It does not touch oceanfront supply, and it does not change the fixed home counts in the established waterfront communities. If anything, the contrast between finite beachside property and expanding inland supply sharpens the case for oceanfront.

Is water and sewer capacity actually sufficient?

By the city's own figures, yes for now. Flagler Beach produces roughly 600,000 gallons per day against operational capacity above 3 million gallons per day, running four wells with four more planned. Long-term adequacy across a multi-decade build-out is a fair thing to keep watching.

Talk to Someone Who Has Been Following This Since It Was Called The Gardens

Keep reading: Flagler Beach Real Estate Market Report for current pricing and inventory across the city.

Sources

• FlaglerLive - Flagler Beach Commission Finalizes Historic Annexation of Veranda Bay (February 27, 2026)
• FlaglerLive - Flagler County Commission Votes To Drop Legal Challenge (March 9, 2026)
• FlaglerLive - Flagler Beach Escapes County Lawsuit Over Veranda Bay Annexation
• FlaglerLive - Flagler Beach Ends Debate on Annexation Referendum Requirement (April 2025)
• City of Flagler Beach
• Flagler County Government
• Veranda Bay developer site