Hampton Inn Seagrove Beach on Chateau Hotel Property

Amount TBD. But don't so glum, at least it will likely be a one time payment whereas those of us in Seagrove have to perpetually pay for the increased policing and county services required in Miramar Beach where development was allowed to go unchallenged as it was here. You come out way ahead on this deal Poppy.

Keep in mind that Silver Sands Outlet Mall alone is likely generating a very large chunk of the local option sales tax revenue for the 331 bridge project over Choctaw Bay.

It boils down to are we a county of land use codes and proper land usage or aren't we? The issue was vetted by the planning commission, both sides were heard by the BCC and, as useless as our MVU code is, it was fully explored as to the verasity of its use. It was decided 4 to 0 rightly that proper criteria was not present for the approval of the project. A lawsuit is a waste of money for both sides.

Not sure those north of the bay will feel you have their best interests in mind so good luck selling that in DFS.

Poppy, I don't profess to speak for all of North Walton but as a resident of NoWal, I'm personally opposed to the project because it flies in the face of the Counties Comprehensive plan.

I do believe that we need to be vigilant, good stewards of our environment and protect public beaches from further development and the myriad of problems associated with over-development but the "donor community" attitude galls me. NoWal isn't asking for SoWal's damned hand outs. Those are "our" beaches not just SoWal's and it doesn't matter a tinkers damn where the money comes from to defend them from further erosion and/or over development. NoWal was here long before many of you moved into your beach cottages and million dollar homes/condo's and will be here long after the next category 5 hurricane does to our beaches what it did to Louisiana during Katrina.

You are all guests on the beach until mother nature says otherwise.

P.S. Poppy,

Alan Osborne was/is right about the comprehensive plan not being followed in Driftwood Estates. Where Alan Osborne lost his support of the Community (NoWal and SoWal) is when he lost sight of what he was actually fighting for and made this a personal vendetta against a County Commissioner because he let his personal feelings get in the way!

So, is there a news story with any detail? All I find are the short summaries at the Walton Sun and NWF Times. Are any of the BCC willing to be quoted?

Poppy, I don't profess to speak for all of North Walton but as a resident of NoWal, I'm personally opposed to the project because it flies in the face of the Counties Comprehensive plan. I do believe that we need to be vigilant, good stewards of our environment and protect public beaches from further development and the myriad of problems associated with over-development but the "donor community" attitude galls me. NoWal isn't asking for SoWal's damned hand outs. Those are "our" beaches not just SoWal's and it doesn't matter a tinkers damn where the money comes from to defend them from further erosion and/or over development. NoWal was here long before many of you moved into your beach cottages and million dollar homes/condo's and will be here long after the next category 5 hurricane does to our beaches what it did to Louisiana during Katrina. You are all guests on the beach until mother nature says otherwise.

Thank you for your post Misty. I was curious how the donor community statement would be taken. As I said I was neither for nor against the project and always felt it should be decided by those who were going to be impacted the most by it. Hopefully it has been settled, but if the developer thinks he has a case he will take it to court which is his right just as it's Alan's right no matter how we see it.

The problem is that even if you don't live in 30A's "brand" of homes or contribute the "property values" it generates "WE" as a County are impacted by pi$$, poor planning and over development. It effects us all either directly or indirectly.

I live in a $60 to $70 thousand dollar (depending on market value) home in NoWal and if you put my home on 30A it would be worth substantially more because of its "location". If a developer decided he was going to negatively impact the value of my property and/or neighborhood I'd do everything in my power to stop it as well especially if it goes against the Comprehensive Plan....but telling me your home is worth more than mine because it sits on the beach or that because your property generates more property taxes that you have the inherent right to use taxpayer money to defend your little piece of paradise and I should be grateful for your handout is ridiculous.

Yes Alan and the developer have the right to sue but losing sight of the bigger picture is foolhardy as Alan Osborne will (I'm sure) learn.

So, is there a news story with any detail? All I find are the short summaries at the Walton Sun and NWF Times. Are any of the BCC willing to be quoted?

I am sure Dotty Nist will have a complete story in the Beach Breeze.

And for the record, "donor community" is a term used in many places where a small geographical area carries the rest of the county/state financially. It is what it is.

Hope the money raised to fight this is donated to the county. It appears we are fixing to be sued...

Possibly. But it will probably cost less than defending a criminal investigation into the nepotistic relationship between the planning commission and developers that mysteriously changed the comprehensive plan and then the land development code to permit 125 room establishments with inadequate parking all while traffic on 30A was coming to a gridlock point.

Possibly. But it will probably cost less than defending a criminal investigation into the nepotistic relationship between the planning commission and developers that mysteriously changed the comprehensive plan and then the land development code to permit 125 room establishments with inadequate parking all while traffic on 30A was coming to a gridlock point.

I will be interested to see who you are accusing of nepotistic relationship.

And for the record, "donor community" is a term used in many places where a small geographical area carries the rest of the county/state financially. It is what it is.

Donor by definition means; One who gives a gift or transfers title to an asset without receiving any consideration in exchange. By definition your term doesn't hold water because in exchange for being the largest tax base in the County (not the State) you have all the amenities anyone could possibly want at a huge expense to both NoWal and SoWal and you are inclined to believe that if it doesn't suit you or yours then you have the right to the lions share of the tax base.

Community means a group of people living living in the same area, having common interests, goals and attitudes.

Where we disagree is that you believe its an inherent right to sue because you have the most toys. I don't agree. I've called you out before jdarg on the attitude that it's SoWal vs NoWal (because the lions share comes from the South end its owed to us). It is OWED to all of US for the County to follow the Comprehensive Plan...that means "Community"!

Donor by definition means; One who gives a gift or transfers title to an asset without receiving any consideration in exchange. By definition your term doesn't hold water because in exchange for being the largest tax base in the County (not the State) you have all the amenities anyone could possibly want at a huge expense to both NoWal and SoWal and you are inclined to believe that if it doesn't suit you or yours then you have the right to the lions share of the tax base. Community means a group of people living living in the same area, having common interests, goals and attitudes. Where we disagree is that you believe its an inherent right for you to sue because you have the most toys. I don't agree. I've called you out before jdarg on the attitude that it's SoWal vs NoWal (because the lions share comes from the South end its owed to us). It is OWED to all of US for the County to follow the Comprehensive Plan...that means "Community"!

Really? We have all the amenities we could possibly want?

Maybe many in South Walton are tired of fighting for the basics. I have said it before- it's not about the money for me anymore. I am over having decisions made for us by people who don't live in our South Walton community. I am tired of watching money generated here not spent on things we need to keep generating that money. South Walton has different goals and interests than North Walton. We need our own comp plan. We need our own planners. We need our own leaders. We have people in our community who have the education, experience, talent, and vision to take us into an era of preservation and smart development. We don't live in the same area, and we don't have common interests, goals, and attitudes. I figured that out after about a year after moving here.

Just talk about the elephant in the room. It doesn't need a separate plan. It needs a separate county.

Really? We have all the amenities we could possibly want?

Maybe many in South Walton are tired of fighting for the basics. I have said it before- it's not about the money for me anymore. I am over having decisions made for us by people who don't live in our South Walton community. I am tired of watching money generated here not spent on things we need to keep generating that money. South Walton has different goals and interests than North Walton. We need our own comp plan. We need our own planners. We need our own leaders. We have people in our community who have the education, experience, talent, and vision to take us into an era of preservation and smart development. We don't live in the same area, and we don't have common interests, goals, and attitudes. I figured that out after about a year after moving here.

Then go the "incorporation route" and see where that gets you.

Then go the "incorporation route" and see where that gets you.

It seems to be gaining in popularity.

It seems to be gaining in popularity.

It's always been a popular idea....one that I might add has been discussed longer than I've lived in Walton County.

It's always been a popular idea....one that I might add has been discussed longer than I've lived in Walton County.

Why has it never moved forward from popularity to reality?

Why has it never moved forward from popularity to reality?

There is a lot that goes into incorporation. Tom McLaughlin wrote and very succinct article regarding the meeting that was held in Seaside in February which can be viewed here; http://www.nwfdailynews.com/local/a...-the-nuts-and-bolts-of-incorporation-1.443555 and at the bottom of that article there is also a link to the video of that meeting.

Here it is...


It might be too early to gauge where South Walton County residents stand on incorporation, but a 75-seat theater was filled to the rafters Thursday for a presentation on the issue.

“We had great participation. Unfortunately, we had to turn a few people away,” said South Walton Community Council President Kelley Mossburg, who helped organize the event.

Visitors were interested in learning who the “theys” are who will have a say in any move to incorporation. Mossburg and Lynn Tipton with the Florida League of Cities provided the answers.

At this early stage, the SWCC has taken the lead to bring people with questions together, but Tipton said it will take a “true grass-roots effort” from community leaders, homeowners associations, civic groups and information providers to get the word out and gauge interest.

It takes a bare minimum of 15 months to get from the beginning of the incorporation movement to the end, she said.

Consensus for incorporation is key not only to decide which areas might be included in a new city, town or village, but also to convince Walton County’s legislative delegation — Sen. Don Gaetz and state Rep. Brad Drake — to champion the cause at the state level.

It takes a special act of the Florida Legislature to create a municipality, and the local legislators are key to getting that approved. Drake, a north Walton County Republican, would be called upon to introduce the legislation. Gaetz, a Niceville Republican, said it would be his thumbs up or thumbs down that would determine how his colleagues in the Senate vote.

Gaetz, who owns homes at Seaside, said he would not easily be convinced to add another layer of government on taxpayers in his district, but would not stand in the way of South Walton incorporation if a referendum showed great support.

A recent straw poll conducted in Navarre indicated most voters there are opposed to incorporation.

A feasibility study, to be completed before approaching the legislative delegation, would determine the boundaries of a new South Walton city, Tipton told the group. Mossburg said it is far too early now to discuss where they would be.

“I think if you get three people together and ask that question, you’ll get three different answers,” he said.

The area must be a “reasonably compact and contiguous” package, Tipton said. Bodies of water such as the several coastal dune lakes along Scenic Highway 30A would not factor into the “contiguous” equation, she said.

A city is created when a governing body is elected, Tipton said. The town of Estera will come into being March 17 with the election of a council.

Until a governing body meets, it can only be estimated how much any new taxes would be.

Tax benefits of incorporation would include access to state dollars that cities and counties get from gas taxes, Tipton said. Another benefit is “you get your own voice” in how dollars are raised are spent. Federal and state dollars are directed to cities as well as counties following a disaster, she added.

About 90 percent of Florida’s 411 cities collect property taxes over and above what the 67 counties collect, Tipton said. The 25 or so that don’t levy taxes charge fees. One or the other must be implemented to pay for services.

What services will be provided is up to the city, Tipton said, except for police and fire protection. If the new city decides not to form its own police and fire departments, it must show the state evidence of a contract with another agency to do so.

A new city also must provide the state with a comprehensive plan within the first two years of its existence, Tipton added.

Contracted services such as power or trash collection would be negotiated between the new city and the provider after whatever county contracts for those services expire, Tipton said. The new municipality will negotiate with the county regarding maintenance of county roads in the city limits.

Only registered voters who live in the city can vote in municipal elections, she said.

And no, Tipton answered to one question, it is highly unlikely the state will go for South Walton splitting into its own county. The last time that happened was 1925, she said.

Mossburg said he’s been hearing pros and cons from people, and expects “a lot more requests for information” as word gets out.

“I’ll be surprised if I don’t get calls from a couple of homeowners associations,” he said.

Jenny Dargavell, who attended the meeting, said the gathering “gave us a lot to think about.” She said she was just sorry South Walton hadn’t incorporated 10 years ago when the idea was raised for the first time.

“Maybe there’d have been less mistakes in development,” she said.

Resident Jacquee Markel also was glad she came.

“I think it’s great we’ve started the dialogue,” she said.

A video of Thursday’s meeting is available at www.southwaltoncc.org.

I dont think we need the extra layer of government that incorporation would bring. I think we need our own "COUNTY".

jodiFL, you are correct. But since it hasn't happen since 1925, I doubt that there is any chance of its approval. Incorporation would only add another layer of useless government and create more taxation. It is better to try and successfully work within the present system for accomplishment of SoWal's goals.

I have always believed that South Walton would need to incorporate in order to realize its potential, and I still believe that. County government is just not set up or intended to provide comprehensive planning, services, etc... for a fast growing community with unique needs. If you never want professional management and services then, stay under the county. If you want to see real progress in terms of town planning, growth management, infrastructure, industry, recycling, etc, then you have to incorporate. I've lived in both types of places - municipalities (large and small) and county - the difference in services and leadership is vast.

People say it's another level of government, and technically I suppose it is. But, I look at it as a better form of government with goals and long term commitments to your unique town.

Give me some parameters as to where the incorporation is to take place and then I might agree. I understand the need and my educational backround is in urban affairs, but the topography and non contiguous aspects of South Walton make it a very difficult venture to pursue.

Give me some parameters as to where the incorporation is to take place

Yes please...I'd be interested in knowing that as well....particularly for those along 30A who do share the same neighborhood, the same goals, attitudes and common interests who would be left high and dry in the County because the area in which they live falls into the non contiguous category.

Determining the parameters is part of the process. A lot of information comes out of feasibility studies. Those will start hopefully soon, along with public meetings with lots of public input and discussion. It will be very transparent. www.forabettersouthwalton.com There will be lots of information on this page in the weeks and months to come. Incorporation is not automatically about high taxes and too much government. It is different for every community. Those who have already decided that it is a bad thing can't possibly have had the time to do the research and their own feasibility studies to know if it would work here or not. The current system is not working for South Walton, so why not take a look at the way thousands of other communities have made the switch and what they gained from incorporation?