By DOTTY NIST
The Walton County Technical Review Committee (TRC) has voted to approve the Bay Grove Motor Lodge, the Fair Winds RV Park, the Hideaway Shores single-family subdivision, and The Dannelly & the Varian, an 18-unit condominium project at Alys Beach.
Along with these approvals, the TRC also voted to move other projects on the meeting agenda forward in the county review process.
The decisions took place at the TRC regular meeting on April 5 at Freeport Commons.
Bay Grove Motor Lodge
The Bay Grove Motor Lodge proposal had first come forward for consideration in February 2021 and was originally known as Bay Grove Motor Lodge & Food Court.
The 2.22-acre project site is at the northwest corner of U.S. 331 and Short Avenue, just north of the Choctawhatchee Bay Bridge. The location is also adjacent to Grady Brown Park, a Walton County bayfront park.
The six food trucks that had previously been proposed as part of the development had been removed from the project as it was presented at the April 5 TRC meeting. Those had been eliminated, leaving an ice machine in the previous food truck location. As presented on April 5, the development consisted of 18 modular homes, a 470-square foot office, and infrastructure.
Tuscan, L.L.C., was the applicant.
The property is in a Commercial future land use area and a General Commercial zoning district.
Introducing the project, Tim Brown of Walton County Planning and Development Services discussed the redesigned project, first mentioning the removal of the food trucks. He noted that an entrance off Short Avenue had also been added and that one of the modular units previously proposed had been replaced with the office.
Representing the applicants, attorney Robert Volpe indicated that all reviewer comments had been addressed. He told the committee members that the food truck had been removed from the plans after several community meetings, based on meeting feedback. He said the ice machine had already been in the plans with the food trucks around it.
Volpe explained that extra parking and flex space would be located where the food trucks had previously been envisioned.
The units, he continued, would be operated as a motel rather than as individual rental units.
Volpe said that, although the state Department of Transportation (DOT) had approved a full access to the property on U.S. 331, the applicants had made changes in response to comments providing for no exit onto U.S. 331 and only a “right in only” entrance to the site from U.S. 331.
“The circulation will go to Short Street and State Street, and there’s no access to Bay Grove Road,” Volpe noted.
The only exit onto U.S. 331 would be at the light to the north of the project, he said.
“I would like to say,” commented Renee Bradley of Walton County Planning and Development Services, acting TRC chair, “that I know you guys have come a long way on this project from where it started, and we appreciate how you all worked with the community out there.”
In response to staff suggestions, Volpe agreed that previous renderings of the project showing the food trucks would be revised to eliminate the food court in order to dispel any confusion.
As at previous presentations on the project, neighbors continued to express concerns. Eight members of the public addressed the committee at the meeting.
The first of those was Bay Grove Road resident Amy Stoyles, She brought up concern in the Bay Grove Road community about safety and security of the neighborhood as a full-time residential community.
Stoyles said residents had received no reassurances that there would be a person on the site 24/7 to deal with any parties or drinking or other issues. She also had worries that the units would turn into “long term housing in a high-density situation.”
She suggested that language applying to the park could be directed at the latter two areas of concern.
Stoyles also brought up the importance of nearby Grady Brown Park to local people and the community and the whole county’s pride in the park, which serves as a “beach access” for many who have encountered difficulty using the beach in recent years. She spoke of potential impacts on Grady Brown Park posed by the development that could affect local taxpayers’ ability to use the park.
Stoyles also spoke about the location of the subject property at the “gateway” to south Walton County and visitors’ first impression on their arrival. She urged for keeping this gateway area preserved as a “green space” to safeguard that gateway.
Other residents echoed concerns about the park being overrun by people staying at the motor lodge, charged incompatibility of the development with neighboring residences, and brought up increase in traffic and possible congestion resulting from the development, along with potential danger to children and pedestrians in the neighborhood and potential negative impact on homeowners’ property values. A number of speakers were worried about the limited amount of boat trailer parking at the well-used Grady Brown Park and the possibility that the motor lodge property would be used to bring in boats.
Responding to the comments, Volpe noted that the property was zoned as General Commercial and that hotel/motel use is allowed, adding that up to 92,000 square feet of development is allowable, while the project will use less than 9,000 square feet of total building space, with only 29 percent impervious being proposed and approximately 85 percent allowable. He maintained that not only is the project well within code requirements from a technical standpoint, the proposed buffering and landscaping exceeds what is required by code, including buffering along U.S. 331.
Volpe explained that 37 parking spaces were being proposed, nearly double the required number, with some of the spaces planned to be larger to accommodate oversized vehicles and boat trailers if/when necessary. He said the latter extra area had been labeled as flex space. Volpe added that a previously-proposed sidewalk on Bay Grove Road had been removed at the suggestion of county staff and that there would be no direct access to Bay Grove Road from the development.
Volpe also noted that the facility would be operated under the state statutes applying to hotels/motels, that staff would be on site during operating hours, and that security systems would be in place.
Brown was asked to address the project being presented as a minor development when previously it had been indicated that it would be required to undergo major development review. He said that after three community meetings it had been brought back as a minor project due to the community being able to participate and let the applicants know “what they did or didn’t want or did or didn’t like.”
Bradley observed that there had been “extreme changes” to the project based on community comments.
“I think they’ve incorporated certainly most of the recommendations from the community,” Brown agreed.
The committee members voted to move the project forward to the development order stage conditioned on any outstanding reviewer comments being satisfied.
Fair Winds RV Park
Fair Winds RV Park was a minor development request submitted by Elizabeth Billhimer for a 30-pard RV park and infrastructure on 7.04 acres at 6200 SR-20, near Windswept Boulevard, east of Freeport.
Introducing the project, Bob Baronti of Walton County Planning and Development Services indicated that all reviewer comments had been addressed with the project submittal. He confirmed that a zoning change requested for the development had been completed This had been from Neighborhood Commercial to Estate Residential.
In response to an adjacent property owner to the west’s request for a fence the entire distance of the property, Billhimer said a solid fence was planned along the property in the dry areas but not bordering the wetlands in the middle. She said there was already an existing barbed wire fence on the other (wetlands) portion.
Bradley agreed that the county would not encourage impacting the wetlands by having the applicants build a fence in the area in question.
In response to a concern brought up about septic systems affecting a creek running across the property, Bradley said the Walton County Health Department would be part of the permitting process for the development and would not permit something that would allow leachage into the creek.
The committee members approved the proposal to advance to development order issuance.
Hideaway Shores
Also approved to move forward to the development order stage was Hideaway Shores, a 16-single-family-lot subdivision proposed for the north side of Seacroft Drive, 0.30 mile east of CR-393 in Santa Rosa Beach.
Cain Properties, L.L.C., was the applicant, and the property is located in a Residential future land use area and a Neighborhood Infill zoning district.
Introducing the project, Stephen Schoen of Walton County Planning and Development Services said there were some outstanding reviewer comments and added that the applicants were proposing reduced setbacks against preserved wetlands and habitat on site as provided for in the Walton County Land Development Code (LDC).
Speaking on behalf of the South Walton Community Council (SWCC), Barbara Morano urged for assurances that all required buffers would be maintained. She also brought up the issue of height of the homes in the subdivision and emphasized the importance of addressing compatibility with the one- and two-story surrounding neighborhood. Morano noted that structure height was not mentioned with the applicants’ submittal.
Bradley stated that 50 feet would be the height limit and invited engineer Dean Burgis, speaking for the applicants, to comment.
Burgis said the applicants planned to limit height to less than 50 feet and to two or three stories, depending on a compatibility analysis, adjacent to lots to the east containing one-story homes.
Schoen recommended moving the project forward to the development order stage based on any outstanding reviewer comments being satisfied, with special attention being paid to compatibility with the surrounding neighborhood and possibly with an upgraded compatibility analysis being required.
The committee members approved a motion to that effect.
Alys Beach, The Dannelly & The Varian
The only remaining minor development project on the agenda, Alys Beach, The Dannelly & the Varian, was also approved to move forward to development order issuance.
This consisted of 18 condominium units with ground floor commercial in two buildings located on the north side of CR-30A, at the northeast corner of Mark Twain Lane and Admiralty Row within the Alys Beach development.
Speaking on behalf of applicants EBSCO Gulf Coast Development, engineer David Smith confirmed that the project location was within the Alys Beach Town Center.
The request was approved conditioned on any outstanding reviewer comments being addressed.
Sand Dollar Court Easement Abandonment
A request for the abandonment of an easement at the north corner of Sugar Sand Lane and Sand Dollar Court, north of CR-30A in Seagrove, was presented at the meeting. This was referred to as the Sand Dollar Court Easement Abandonment.
The request is on behalf of Tomislaw Dizdar.
The proposed abandonment would apply to 0.13 acre, which would be 33 feet of a 66-foot-wide government patent and utility easement.
Introducing the request. Rosanna Edwards of Walton County Planning and Development Services said the property is within the Sand Dollar Court subdivision, which was platted in 2022.
The project staff report indicated that Walton County Public Works “does not foresee a future use of this easement,” but recommended that the applicants verify whether there were existing utilities located within the easement that the abandonment would impact.
Speaking for the applicant, attorney Stephen Tatum said all utility companies had indicated that no utilities were present in the easement.
The committee members voted to advance the request to the next step, Walton County Planning Commission, with the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) to make the final determination in public session.
142-unit Arris Santa Rosa is continued
There was a vote to continue the first major development project taken up at the meeting, Arris Santa Rosa.
This project proposed by Arris Holdings would consist of 142 multi-family units, a clubhouse, and 2,700 square feet of commercial on 11.11 acres on the east side of U.S. 331 South, approximately 1.2 miles north of U.S. 98 in Santa Rosa Beach. Income-restricted (affordable) units are proposed for 20 percent of the development.
The property is in Residential and Mixed Use future land use areas and Neighborhood Infill and Village Mixed Use zoning districts.
Introducing the project, Stephen Schoen told the committee that there were outstanding reviewer comments, some of which were serious ones.
Speaking for the applicants, engineer Robert Carroll said they were prepared to address all the comments and provide all required documentation, including a compatibility analysis. In response to a question, he said the 2,700 square feet of commercial was being provided as an amenity in order for two of the units to be allowable. Carroll said the commercial would be located on the bottom floor of one of the apartment buildings.
After some additional discussion and public comment, the request was continued to the April 19 TRC meeting.
Flynn SSA with Rezoning
The Flynn Small Scale Amendment (SSA) with Rezoning was a request on behalf of SRB2-30A, L.L.C., to change the future land use from Residential to Mixed Use and the zoning district from Residential Preservation to Village Mixed Use (VMU) on 1.15 acres on the south side of CR-30A, approximately 0.06 mile south of Blue Gulf Drive in Blue Mountain Beach.
Introducing the request, Stephen Schoen noted that a large conservation easement is present on the property that would limit the amount of development that would be possible on the property. He said the applicant had stated an intent to develop one or two live-work units on the site. Schoen indicated that the requested change would not be inconsistent with surrounding property uses.
Speaking for the applicants, engineer David Forstrom told the committee members that with the conservation easement only about 0.14 acre could be developed on the property, or approximately 6,000 square feet. He maintained that the proposed change would make the parcel more compatible with surrounding properties, as the existing zoning would allow for large vacation houses. Forstrom said the change would provide for reduced traffic in comparison with the current zoning.
He said the applicant is an attorney from Atlanta who plans to relocate to Walton County and have a small live-work office on the property.
Barbara Morano raised technical concerns on behalf of the SWCC. She argued that VMU is only present as a “very tiny part” of what is surrounding the parcel, with residential, including Residential Preservation and Small Neighborhood, being more prominent. She maintained that the change would make the small parcel “totally different” from the surrounding area.
Morano also challenged whether the LDC would allow a parcel at this location (on CR-30A) to be designated as a VMU center. She predicted that if this parcel is changed to VMU, the same change on two adjacent ones would be sought by those property owners as well. Morano warned that VMU “could be anything,” in spite of the stated intent of the change.
“We feel strongly that this should not be rezoned,” she said of the property.
Responding to the argument about the parcel location with regard to the VMU zoning, Schoen commented that the change would be essentially considered adding the parcel to an existing VMU center in the area rather than creating a VMU center, the former being allowable per the LDC.
The committee voted to advance the request in the county review process, the next step of which will be a Walton County Planning Commission hearing.
30A Gym and Rehabilitation
30A Gym and Rehabilitation, a major development project, was also approved to move forward in the review and approval process.
This proposal on behalf of 30A Social, L.L.C., consists of a 38,000-square-foot rehabilitation and gym facility, a 26,000-square-foot “recreational flex venue,” a single-family home, and infrastructure, all on 5.96 acres on the east side of CR-30A, two-tenths mile south of the western intersection of CR-30A with U.S. 98.
The property is in a Mixed Use future land use area and a Village Mixed Use zoning district.
Introducing the project, Stephen Schoen said the proposal includes some public park facilities along the CR-30A Scenic Corridor. He also noted that planning staff continued to have some minor concerns with the submittal and that a formal joint use parking agreement would more than likely be needed.
Schoen also emphasized that commercial outdoor amusement uses are prohibited in the property’s zoning district (VMU). He said the applicants had therefore been made aware that a developer agreement would possibly be required in connection with the application in order to restrict activities of this nature.
Barbara Morano brought up technical concerns related to VMU and questioned whether an outdoor event on the property seating over 300 people could be possible with the development.
Steve Hall, interim county land use attorney, also spoke to the need to get clarity on the intent for the property. He said additional parking would be needed for large events on the property.
Schoen pointed out that no permanent improvements were being proposed as part of the flex space. He commented that staff believed that the application was consistent with the LDC and Walton County Comprehensive Plan (CP) and recommended moving it forward to planning commission conditioned on the parking agreement and developer agreement being provided if deemed necessary.
The committee approved a motion to that effect.
Commerce Park PUD Amendment
The Commerce Park Planned Unit Development (PUD) Amendment is a request on behalf of Carey Properties, L.L.C., to add an additional 15-acre parcel with 30 additional townhome units to the Commerce Park PUD at 153 Veteran Road in Santa Rosa Beach.
The project staff report provided some information on the PUD, including its original approval in 2006, approval of a subsequent development order in 2017 to construct a 57,347-square-foot furniture store, and then amendment of the PUD in 2019 providing for another 102,545 square feet of commercial use and 43 condominium units, with that development order being extended in 2020.
Renee Bradley noted that the PUD was not originally done as an overlay, which would be required in the current process.
Overlays create special zoning districts to guide development and protect resources.
Introducing the project, Tim Brown agreed and said that it appeared that an overlay would be needed.
Speaking for the applicants, engineer Dean Burgis said they had anticipated being required to do an overlay. However he noted that they were not proposing to expand beyond any of the limits for the PUD for density or intensity. He was in agreement on reviewer comments, including adding a sidewalk along Veterans Road as part of the proposal.
The committee members approved the proposal moving forward to the next step once all reviewer comments had been resolved and the PUD overlay had been submitted, with both the amendment and the overlay to then proceed before planning commission.
En Route Storage South
En Route Storage South is a request on behalf of Finch Management, L.L.C., for approval to develop 90,000 square feet of mini storage and infrastructure on 3.64 acres north of Jolly Bay Road and south of Norris Cut-Off Road, south of Freeport.
The property is in a Commercial future land use area and a General Commercial zoning district.
Introducing the project, Tim Brown said this would be an expansion to the south of the existing En Route Storage business.
Brown said the planning director was in agreement with the applicants’ request for a buy-out on a sidewalk that would be normally required by code along U.S. 331. The agreement was due to an existing drainage ditch at that location.
The committee members approved moving the request forward to planning commission on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being addressed.
Plat requests moved forward
Also moved forward by the committee were two plat requests presented at the meeting.
The first of those was the Grace Point Phase 2 Replat, consisting of the replatting of two lots into one on 0.15 acre on the east side of Grace Point Way and south of Peace Lane, along with minor shifting of several other lots in the subdivision.
The other was the Oak Grove at Eden’s Landing Plat, consisting of the platting of 32 single-family lots and infrastructure on 15.35 acres on the west side of Eden Gardens State Park Rods in Point Washington. The 15.35 acres had been an addition to the original Eden’s Landing PUD property.
By vote of the committee, both plat requests are to advance for final consideration by the BCC on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being satisfied.