Planning Commission May 13 meeting [PREMIUM]

LOCATION MAP for the South Walton RV Resort Small Scale Amendment. (Project FLU20-000006)

Residents oppose rezoning for Moll Drive RV Resort; RV resort amendment, other requests move forward

By DOTTY NIST

A rezoning proposed for an RV resort on Moll Drive encountered opposition from residents when it was presented at the May 13 Walton County Planning Commission meeting.

The planning commissioners met at Freeport Commons.

Despite opposition, the rezoning amendment got a recommendation to move forward in the county process. Also receiving favorable recommendations at the meeting were a single-family home development and an amendment to a planned unit development (PUD).

South Walton RV Resort SSA

Bob Baronti of Walton County Planning and Development Service introduced the rezoning proposal, known as the South Walton RV Resort SSA (Small Scale Amendment). It was on behalf of SRB Land, L.L.C.

As presented before the planning commissioners, the amendment would provide for a change in land use classification from Residential to Mixed Use and a zoning district change from Neighborhood Infill to Coastal Center Mixed Use on 9.75 vacant acres at the intersection of U.S. 98 and Moll Drive on the east side of Moll Drive in Santa Rosa Beach.

Baronti noted that the request, which had previously been for an Industrial zoning, had been downgraded in order to “tighten up” the uses that would be allowed and to be “more reflective of the property around it.”

Engineer Dean Burgis spoke on behalf of the applicants. He said they had done work in Walton County for over 20 years, including multi-family developments such as the Courtyards of Santa Rosa Beach and Fairway Villas. Burgis said they had discussed doing a similar development on the Moll Drive property—but that it had not seemed that it would work well on the site with the mix of uses in the vicinity and particularly with the nearby sports fields at Helen McCall Park and the associated noise and bright lights.

“I love baseball fields, don’t get me wrong,” he said, “I spent 12 of the best years of my life on that field with my kids…”

Burgis said the benefit of the Mixed Use land use category and Coastal Center Mixed Use zoning would be that there would be “multiple opportunities for working, shopping, entertainment, lodging, and living.”

“It’s no secret that the end result of what we want to place out there is an RV resort…” he continued, “not an RV park, certainly not a trailer park.”

“There will be rules and regulations,” Burgis continued, “an on-site manager 24-7, 24-7 security cameras; any RV that’s over 10 years old will not be allowed in the park without previous review and scrutiny of the manager. There will be a clubhouse and pool facility.”

Burgis envisioned a relationship being built between the RV resort and the sports fields and also with the large Saltaire mixed use development that has been approved for the vicinity.

“So I think it would help to build the cohesiveness of Moll Drive and the surrounding areas, and it’s in keeping with the development pattern that’s occurring throughout the area,” he said of the request.

Burgis said the applicants were not ignoring that a residential neighborhood is located directly to the east of the subject property. “We have proposed a larger-than-required buffer, 25-foot buffer between our property and theirs. We have only two units that abut that particular property line,” he explained, adding that a six-foot fence would be put up at that eastern property line.

In response to a board question, Burgis said plans were for the pool and clubhouse to be located in the northwest corner of the property, backing up to an existing church day care facility and playground.

Speaking in opposition to the land use/zoning change was south Walton County resident Barbara Morano.

“Zoning changes have historically gone from less dense to more dense with each rezoning. Rarely does it go the opposite way,” Morano declared. “We’re packing sardines into a can;” she said, “we’re not talking about a family that wants to build a home for their children on their farm land, this property is adjacent to a residential community known as Edgewood Terrace.”

Morano noted that there are two churches on Moll Drive, along with the Helen McCall Park recreational facility.

Asking for the residential classification of the property to remain, Morano said that unfortunately Moll Drive has changed, “because people have taken the residential away.”

“This is not the vision of what the community wants, and it is not the vision that the area wants,” she said of the zoning change. “Take the step in the right direction and follow the comp plan,” Morano urged the board members.

Also speaking in opposition was Michael Henry, president of the Edgewood Terrace Homeowners Association.

Henry said he had spoken to many of the homeowners in his community and that none had been in favor of the project. He voiced concerns about potential noise and light pollution from the RV resort, as well as privacy concerns.

“We want the best for Walton County, we want the best for our community, but for our personal circumstances we think that this would be a bad choice to change the zoning of this property,” Henry concluded.

Addressing the planning commissioners via ZOOM, south Walton County resident Celeste Cobena voiced agreement with Morano’s comments and raised other concerns. She was of the opinion that the property was a small area to put the more than 60 RV pads that the applicants were planning for the property.

Cobena was worried about what type of control would be possible over people going in and out of the facility and about the project negatively impacting evacuation for hurricanes or fires.

“I just think that this land use change should not move forward, and certainly an RV park, trailer park, whatever you call it, is completely inappropriate,” Cobena concluded, emphasizing existing infrastructure issues in south Walton County.

Walton County resident and businessman Randy Gardner was of the opinion that the question to be considered with the proposed land use/zoning change was would the proposed land use and zoning be compatible with uses in the vicinity such as the Saltaire development, the farmer’s market, and other nearby businesses.

He said that in his opinion the property would be compatible with approval of the rezoning. Gardner told the planning commissioners that the appropriate time to talk about what the actual use of the property is to be would be when there is an application for that use.

Additional citizens, Shelley Myers and Margaret Landry, spoke in opposition. Among other comments, Landry raised the issue of a code requirement for projects in Neighborhood Infill to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood.

Responding to comments and first addressing the compatibility issue, Burgis said, “We’re currently surrounded by a ball field, a mixed-use development and a church, and to the east is a subdivision that was platted in 1990 when there was nothing out in this area…with the exception of Shannon Drive had one building that was built in 1986, now it’s blossomed to a full industrial park. To the northeast is the Shannon Drive Industrial Park, to the southeast is the Arnett Farmer’s Market under…a Light Industrial designation.”

“Those are the items that we are to demonstrate compatibility with…” he continued, “I don’t see that it is fitting to put a residential subdivision in an area that clearly has developed as a mixed-use area, and on Moll Drive, there particularly, there are no residential uses.”

“The Infill category that was designated in 1996 simply does not apply; it’s not a reasonable category for this property anymore,” Burgis told the board members.

He also noted that there would be no RVs on the property for rent, that people renting an RV pad would bring their own RV. Burgis also explained that there would be no long-term rentals.

He added that there had been no statement by county staff that the proposed change would not meet the Walton County Comprehensive Plan (CP). “So I believe we are following the comprehensive plan,” Burgis said.

With the presentation and public comments concluded, there was some board discussion.

Planning Commissioner Michael Harbin said, “I’ll make a comment. With the type of RVs I understand they’re bringing in, the average age of an RV owner in the United States is 48 years old, and I used to live next to an RV park or a resort down in Seagrove which is now SeaNest Village, and it was always very quiet, no trouble, and then the market boomed and they sold the park. Now there’s 62 homes in that subdivision. It was actually…better when it was an RV park because people cleared out during the winter time. There was nobody there. That’s my two cents.”

Planning Commissioner Dan Cosson countered that since being appointed to the planning commission in November he had noticed the common thread of developers, it seemed to him, to be picking the “most highly dense gridlock section of our county, and they want to pack it.”

He argued that there is insufficient infrastructure in the area to support this type of project.

Cosson said he had not heard a resident say a positive thing about the project. He thought that it was in the best interest of residents to “keep their community residential as much as possible.”

Cosson moved to recommend denial, but his motion was not seconded.

With board discussion continuing, Planning Commission Chairman Lee Perry agreed that the board did want to do the best thing for the citizens but he observed that people who own property also come before the board when they decide to do something with their property. 

Perry said that in this case he was not sure if the use of the property would not be more intense if it kept the same zoning. He observed that as many as 80 townhomes would be possible under the existing zoning.

Planning Commissioner Barbara Brooke also observed that the use is not guaranteed to be residential under Neighborhood Infill.

Planning Commissioner Tom Babcock commented that, with the mix of uses in the area, “I don’t think it’s such a bad fit,” speaking of the RV Resort.

A motion to recommend approval of the land use and zoning change carried in a 4-2 vote, with Cosson and Planning Commissioner Tanner Peacock voting no.

The proposed amendment is to move forward to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) for a final review and determination.

The RV resort proposal associated with the amendment had also been on the planning commission agenda, but a request to continue the hearing of that development application to the June 10 planning commission meeting was approved.

Bluewater Landing

Also receiving a recommendation for approval and to move forward to BCC was Bluewater Landing, formerly known as Draper Lake PUD. This recommendation took place in an atmosphere of harmony, in the wake of over a year of work between representatives of project applicants Dr. Horton and community members, among those members of the South Walton Community Council, Save30a.org, the 30A Alliance, and 16 neighborhood associations.

What had started as a 186-triplex unit proposal on 35.19 acres was, as presented at the planning commission meeting, 31 single-family homes with a large conservation easement. While formerly a PUD, the request no longer had that status, and no code deviations were involved.

The proposed location is the northwest corner of the CR-30A/Retreat Drive intersection, bordering Draper Lake, one of Walton County’s globally rare and unique coastal dune lakes.

Eden’s Landing PUD Amendment #3

An additional agenda item, Eden’s Landing PUD Amendment #3, received a vote to move forward, as well, after much discussion. This was a proposed amendment to add 32 single-family home lots on 15.35 acres within the Eden’s Landing PUD in Point Washington.

Continued items, county approval process

Among agenda items continued to the June 10 planning commission meeting were the Walton County Civic Use Large Scale Amendment and Zoning Change and Workforce Housing Methodology.

Planning commission decisions on amendments and land use items are presented as recommendations to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners, which is responsible for final determinations on these items in public session.