- May 5, 2024
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The old derelict motel on Old Dixie Highway — its windows broken out, its pool filled with pea-soup colored water and its interior coated in mold and a nesting place for rats — has frustrated county officials and area residents for years. Now, the county is suing.
"It’s the first time we have used the public nuisance statute to address a situation in Flagler County," Flagler County Attorney Al Hadeed told county commissioners during a March 15 County Commission meeting.
The county has filed for temporary and permanent injunctive relief and is seeking the demolition of the former Holiday Travel Park, at 2251 South Old Dixie Highway across from the main entrance to Plantation Bay. If the owners won't do it, the county is seeking the a court order that will allow it to demolish the building and place a lien on the property to recoup its costs.
"The basis for that case is that the motel has been abandoned, is unsecured, there’s a large amount of refuse — overgrown vegetation, vegetative debris — throughout the premises," Hadeed said. "Also on the property is an unsecured and partially filled swimming pool containing green stagnant water. We have determined that the motel is unsafe, unsanitary … that it constitutes a fire hazard, is dangerous to human life and is a hazard to the safety and health of the community by reason of inadequate maintenance, and dilapidation."
The property has no working fire alarm system, a partially collapsed roof that's allowed water to enter the building, broken windows and no potable water, he added. The electrical system has been vandalized, and parts of the second-floor railing are missing.
"The property is not secured," he said. "It’s open, it’s accessible, it’s fostering vagrants and it is a location of repeated criminal activity. ... The swimming pool is not secured. It’s partially filled with water; it’s a danger to the public of serious injury and/or death — particularly to children."
The Flagler County Sheriff's Office has documented problems at the location, which is a frequent subject of complaints.
The county government has issued a certificate deeming the property an unsafe structure under the Florida Building Code.
The Florida Department of Health in Flagler County has secured a state sanitary nuisance order against the property, Hadeed said, but the owners have not complied with it.
The county recently met with potential purchasers of the property, who've said they they would be willing to remediate it — but in the meantime, Hadeed said, the county has filed to secure a court hearing.
