TRC OKs CR-393 North subdivision, Inlet Beach lots, and Laurel Hill-area tower, advances other projects
By DOTTY NIST
The Walton County Technical Review Committee (TRC) has approved small subdivisions on CR-393 North and in Inlet Beach, along with a cell tower in the Laurel Hill area.
The committee has also voted to advance other projects in the county review and approval process, including a restaurant, a 40-unit townhome project, and a commercial center, all proposed for Santa Rosa Beach. Moved forward, as well, were a first phase and detailed plans for a large mixed use project proposed for 222 acres near Bruce and a 161-unit residential project proposed for 87.3 acres east of Freeport.
The decisions took place at the TRC’s June 7 regular meeting at Freeport Commons.
Olde Towne Bayou
Olde Towne Bayou, a subdivision consisting of 13 single-family lots and infrastructure on 3.96 acres, was one of four projects approved by the TRC to advance to the development order stage.
The property is located on the west side of CR-393 North, approximately 0.12 mile south of East Nursery Road in Santa Rosa Beach. It is in a Residential future land use area and a Neighborhood Infill zoning district.
According to the project staff report, this was an amendment to a previously-approved development order, with the number of units being reduced from 15 lots to 13 lots.
Introducing this minor development project, Kelly Schultz of Walton County Planning and Development Services noted that there were outstanding reviewer comments from planning, the county floodplain manager, and South Walton Fire District (SWFD).
Representing the applicant, Tarey Franxman, engineer Christy Jones told the committee that SWFD approval had been received the previous day and that the floodplain manager’s approval had been obtained the day before that. She also said she felt that the planning comments had been addressed on behalf of the applicant.
Mac Carpenter, TRC chairman and planning and development services director, said he did not think planning had yet reviewed all of the newly-submitted responses from the applicant.
Jones requested the project being moved forward, saying that the majority of the outstanding comments had been minor ones. She confirmed that the wetland buffers for the project had been moved into the common area.
According to the project staff report, the site contains 1.20 acres of wetlands, and 0.87 acre of the property is to be placed in a conservation easement. The parking as proposed limits the dwelling units to a maximum of three bedrooms. Parking is to be 26 spaces total (two per unit), and height of the units is to be 38 feet. A stormwater pond is planned for the southern portion of the property.
The committee members’ vote to move the project forward to development order issuance was on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being satisfied.
Walton Rose Lane
Walton Rose Lane was the second minor subdivision development project heard at the meeting and approved to advance to development order status.
Proposed for 0.75 acre at 135 Walton Rose Lane in Inlet Beach, this is a subdivision consisting of three single-family lots and infrastructure. Located on the south side of U.S. 98 and just south of Spinnaker Lane, the property is in a Residential future land use area and a Neighborhood Infill zoning district.
Representing the applicants, Inlet Beach Legacy, L.L.C., engineer Dean Burgis responded to a planning staff question about access to an existing cabin on the southern lot. He said the project would provide for a common area containing the stormwater system—and that that area that would also serve for access to the southern lot. He later clarified that the stormwater system would be an underground exfiltration one with a driveway on top of the system.
The committee approval of the project was on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being addressed.
Grand Inlet at the Park
Grand Inlet at the Park was the third minor development subdivision presented at the meeting and advanced to the development order stage.
This was another subdivision consisting of three single-family lots and also located in the Inlet Beach community.
The 0.90-acre site is located at the east end and on the south side of East Park Place Avenue, south of U.S. 98 in Inlet Beach. It is located in a Residential future land use area and a Neighborhood Infill zoning district.
As part of the project, a sidewalk will be required along East Park Place adjacent to the project limits, according to the project staff report, and stormwater management is to consist of three adjacent underlying trenches.
The project approval was conditioned on any outstanding reviewer comments being satisfied.
5591 Laurel Hill Cell Tower
Another minor development proposal taken up and approved at the meeting was 5591 Laurel Hill Cell Tower. This is to be a 330-foot-tall telecommunications tower with infrastructure on 0.14 acre at 2010 State Hwy. 85 near Laurel Hill.
VB BTS II, L.L.C., are the applicants, and the property is in a General Agriculture and Commercial future land use area and a General Agriculture and General Commercial zoning district.
Project representative Mary Palmer told the committee that T-Mobile would be the anchor tenant on the cell tower but that there would be space for other carriers to locate on the structure as well. She said the project was aimed at curing a coverage and capacity issue.
The project was approved to move forward to development order issuance on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being addressed.
HTeaO restaurant/tea shop
The HTeaO restaurant and tea shop, also a minor development proposal, cleared the TRC, as well, with all aye votes and will advance to the development order stage, pending a hearing before the Walton County Design Review Board (DRB) and DRB endorsement.
The 0.80-acre site is located at the northwest corner of the Veterans Road/U.S. 98 intersection in Santa Rosa Beach. Regal Stephens Construction is the applicant. The property is in a Mixed Use future land use area and a Village Mixed Use zoning category.
This is to be a 2,569-square foot restaurant with infrastructure.
According to the project staff report, the site is vacant and mostly cleared with an existing billboard on it. Plans are for the billboard to remain. A sidewalk is to be required adjacent to the development along Veterans Road.
Speaking for the applicants, engineer Jamie Eubanks noted that the site is currently in use as a laydown yard for the state Department of Transportation (DOT).
The vote to move the project forward to DRB was on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being satisfied.
Pearl Place Subdivision
Pearl Place Subdivision, another minor development project presented at the meeting, generated a great deal of discussion. This is a proposed single-family subdivision consisting of eight single-family homes on 2.52 acres on the south side of Sea Croft Drive, approximately 0.28 miles east of CR-393 South.
Seacroft Holdings, L.LC, are the applicants, and the property is in a Residential future land use area and a Neighborhood Infill zoning district.
Introducing the project, Rosanna Edwards of Walton County Planning and Development Services noted that since being tabled in December 2022, there had been some modifications to the project, including the extension of Maxwell Avenue to connect with Sea Croft Drive. She also stated that there was conflicting information in the compatibility analysis for the project and that the analysis needed “some cleaning up.” The analysis was a requirement related to the zoning district of the property.
Carpenter suggested additional talk about the project related to compatibility before a decision on moving the project forward. He spoke about the possibility of a determination that the project would undergo major development review.
Carpenter said that planning had received a substantial amount of correspondence from the public on the project.
“We have a responsibility to make sure that we recommend approval of a compatible project or the applicant will wind up in court and nothing will happen for a couple of years,” he commented.
Members of the public in attendance raised technical concerns, including a potential lack of compatibility and concerns with stormwater management on the site/future maintenance of the stormwater, along with whether the homes would be used as short-term rentals.
“We know that these units are going to be 12 bedrooms each,” said Christopher Gallagher, homeowners’ association president for the nearby Gulf Place Retreat subdivision, He called the project “a neighborhood of monster homes.”
After some additional discussion, a motion was approved to continue the project to the July 5 TRC meeting.
The Landing at Santa Rosa townhomes
The Landing at Santa Rosa was the first major development project taken up at the meeting. This is a proposal for 40 townhomes, clubhouse amenity, pool, and infrastructure on 10.03 acres on the east side of East Hewett Road, 0.70 mile north of U.S. 98 in Santa Rosa Beach.
The Landing at Santa Rosa, L.LC., are the applicants. The property is in a Residential future land use area and a Low-Density Residential four units per one acre zoning district.
Introducing the project, Rosanna Edwards noted that the project had come back after being tabled in February and after some environmental reviewer comments had been addressed. She also explained that the applicants were working with Walton County Public Works and the state Department of Transportation (DOT) in connection with the timeline for turn lane improvements occurring on U.S. 98 and West Hewett Road.
Edwards also explained that, although no sidewalk buy-out was being requested, the applicants were proposing to place the sidewalk that would otherwise be used around the cul-de-sac on the property to extend the project to the south adjacent to state park property.
The committee members voted to advance the project to the next step in the process, a hearing before the Walton County Planning Commission, on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being addressed.
Drevinskas Commercial Center
Also advancing in the review and approval process by decision of the TRC will be the Drevinskas Commercial Center, consisting of 34,414 square feet of commercial space and infrastructure on 2.27 acres east of Don Bishop Road and west of Mussett Bayou Road on the south side of U.S. 98 in Santa Rosa Beach.
South Walton BC, L.L.C., are the applicants, and the property is in a Mixed Use future land use area and a Coastal Center Mixed Use zoning district.
Speaking on behalf of the applicants, engineer David Smith told the committee members that they were coordinating with county public works to satisfy a reviewer comment calling for cross access with properties to the east and west, both of which are already developed.
The committee members voted to move the project to the next step in the county process on the condition of the satisfaction of any outstanding reviewer comments. The next step is to be a DRB hearing, followed by a planning commission hearing and a final determination by the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in public session.
Two large PUDs enter new phases
Also taken up at the meeting—and getting the committee’s green light to advance in the county process—were newer phases for two large planned unit developments. These agenda items were Quail Run Phase 1A and Black Creek Estates Detailed Planned Unit Development (PUD).
The Quail Run Conceptual PUD is in the approval process for 400 single-family lots, two 40,000-square-foot commercial buildings, and infrastructure all on 222 acres on the north side of SR-20, approximately 6.45 miles east of U.S. 331, The property is 1.26 miles from Antioch Cemetery Road, near Bruce. This conceptual PUD recently cleared planning commission.
Taken up at the June 7 TRC meeting was Phase 1A for the project, consisting of 124 single-family units and infrastructure on 58.08 acres of the development property. This application is trailing the conceptual PUD application in the county process.
Discussion on the Phase 1A agenda item included that county engineering and public works staff had requested the addition of turn lanes that had been recommended as part of a turn lane analysis Speaking on behalf of the applicants, Hathaway Real Estate Investments, engineer Jon Nash said those turn lanes (deceleration and left turn lanes) would be added to the plans and would be coordinated through DOT.
The committee’s vote to advance Phase 1A in the process was on the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being addressed.
The other newer phase agenda item was the Black Creek Estates Detailed PUD. In March 2023, the BCC had granted final approval for the Black Creek Estates Conceptual PUD as 161 single-family lots, residential appurtenances, and a primary Conservation use on 87.3 acres located off Black Creek Boulevard and north of Joyce Lane, east of Freeport.
The detailed plan agenda item coming before the TRC at the June 7 meeting was consistent with the units previously approved by the BCC. The detailed plans received a vote by the committee to move forward in the county process, subject to satisfaction of any outstanding reviewer comments, with the next step to be a planning commission hearing.
Olmec Bluffs Plat
Also taken up at the TRD meeting, the Olmec Bluffs Plat request consists of six single-family residential lots and infrastructure on 16.33 acres at the northwest corner of C.J. Laird Road and CR-183 South, southeast of DeFuniak Springs. Speaking for the applicants Olmec Properties, L.L.C., engineer David Smith said they were working with public works staff to ensure that C.J. Laird Road and CR-183 South, both county roads located on the property, were shown on the plat as being dedicated to the public.
On the condition of any outstanding reviewer comments being addressed, the plat request received committee approval to advance to a final determination by the BCC.
Continued and tabled items
Continued by advance request to the June 21 TRC meeting were the following agenda items: Chautauqua Solar Energy Center Stormwater Revisions, Peach Creek Mixed-Use Development Conceptual PUD, and 30 West Conceptual PUD. Miller Commerce Park was also continued to that meeting after some discussion.
AutoZone Santa Rosa Beach was continued to the July 5 TRC meeting.
Another agenda item, Chipotle Miramar Beach, was tabled. This was to allow time for the applicants to deal with the issue of access to the site, with a homeowners’ association contending ownership of the access road.
