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Daytona Beach News-Journal (FL)
November 26, 2010
Sizing up Bunnell
More room in the county seat makes for a good fit
Author: AARON LONDON - STAFF WRITER
BUNNELL - Tampa, Miami and Orlando are major cities in Florida and key tourist areas. They
also have something else in common: They're all smaller than Bunnell.
After a series of voluntary annexations from 2005 to 2007, Flagler's county seat became the
second-largest city in the state in land area, trailing only Jacksonville.
But while Bunnell's 135.9 square miles - compared to around 4 square miles before the
annexations - put it near the top of the size list, city leaders are determined to retain the smalltown
feel for the 2,722 residents.
By comparison, Palm Coast encompasses just under 51 square miles while Daytona Beach
comes in at just under 59 square miles in size.
In City Manager Armando Martinez's office at the Government Services Building, a large map
of Flagler County dominates one wall, with Bunnell's extensive boundaries highlighted. It's
something he likes to show to business owners and developers who might be interested in
relocating to Flagler County.
"We get a 'Wow!' reaction when people see the map," he said. "That's one of the purposes of the
map."
Martinez points out that the annexations have also meant that the city is no longer land-locked,
despite being several miles from the Atlantic Ocean.
"We even got some waterfront property on Crescent Lake," he said. "It certainly brightens the
future for Bunnell."
That "Wow!" reaction is not exclusive to first-time visitors to Bunnell. Kathy Hull, owner of
Guys & Girls Hair Salon in the Bunnell Plaza on U.S. 1, was stunned when told of the city's size.
"Wow, we're big," she said. "If people realized how nice Bunnell is, there'd be a whole lot more
people coming through here."
Martinez said despite the city's large size geographically, officials want Bunnell to retain its
sense of community.
Community Development Director Mick Cuthbertson said that of the city's total land area of
87,000 acres, 18,000 are permanently undevelopable and 60 percent of the remaining acreage
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