After Changes In Land Development Code, What Will SoWal Look Like?

[Sun Chaser]

Wanted to hear different projections/predictions of what SoWal will become now that the change to the Land Development Code that favors faster development with less public input?
What do you think SoWal will look like 1, 2,5,10 years from now?
For residents what are the negatives and positives?

My view is that with the current infrastructure, it will be a more frustrating day to day experience with traffic, generally more crowded.

The one positive is that there is a considerable amount of state land in SoWal. Seems like this is the next battleground with the TDC moving into Topsail and trying to get a project going in the west end of Grayton State Park.

There are always a wide variety of viewpoints on this forum. Please share yours.

 

[John G]

I think I've given my projections before on several posts. Sorry to be the one with the impending doom and gloom view, but we are now "destin'd" for repeating the sins of our neighbors in Destin and PCB.

We've seen the quality of the tourist drop dramatically since the big TDC Marketing Push after the storm. That is going to continue and we won't have repeat visitors. We'll have the ones that want the cheapest deals, actually get them, and then complain about their stay in hopes they get another discount of free trip. The cycle will continue for a few years.

We are going to continue to see Parking be a huge issue here and with the lackluster performance of everyone at WCSO (Except Citizen's Services - Leah), its only a matter of time until a kid is hit by a car running across 30a due to all the parking in the ROW and on the Bike Paths...

We won't see any revenue collected by issuing parking tickets, simply because our Enforcement and Judicial Branches don't want to deal with it. I've posted on this before.

We can expect several more DR Horton cheaply constructed subdivisions with cookie cutter HOA Documents that don't even apply to the State of Florida. (Go look at them, the docs).

We'll see our local grocery stores over-run and we won't be able to shop at will. We will have to now tailor our personal shopping around the tourist as lines will be long and shelves bare.

People won't be able to get to work due to traffic accidents due to the three hour wait we have for FHP to respond to a wreck that WCSO could work and get moving...

I bet we see some environmental damage as well. The storm water drainage is already a joke and will only get worse. They talk a good game, but yet to see results on that end. Endangered Species (Plant and Animal) will be hurt. Beach Mouse? Who Cares right?

Ultimately, the increase in Vacation Rental Guest is going to INCREASE calls for service to local law "enforcement", both WCSO and Code Enforcement. The precedent set by the Adkinson Administration and the current TDC and BCC opens doors for people to violate Ordinances and Rules and Laws, etc. without any serious expectation of any enforcement and punishment. (Search "Enforcement" on this site...). Increased calls will "overwhelm the enforcement arms" and we'll see huge budget increases with this as the excuse.

In my opinion the goal (intentional or unintentional) is to push all permanent residents out of SoWal and force them elsewhere or north of the bay, ie. Freeport... Somewhere, years and years and years and years ago, someone had this vision and sat on a porch, drank that sweet tea and envisioned this, and now it appears it has legs...

The invasion of Airbnb, Home-away, etc., which challenge the normal living of those in an HOA or COA, will wreak havoc on Associations and feed the attorneys with their fill of cash $$$. All at the expense of the homeowner.

Sad to say but SoWal and what people love about it is about to go away all for the mighty dollar $$$.

Its the old see Paradise and Put Up a Parking Lot theme.

 

[gumby]

^^^^^^^ I agree with EVERYTHING John has just posted ^^^^^^^^^^Luckily, we bought in Freeport and will not be affected by the over population of south of the bridge. But, it will happen in Freeport as well, just not right away.

 

[Sun Chaser]

I, too, agree with John G. I have seen a lot of the former Destin vacationers discovering and repeatedly going to SoWal (really 30A). Now the Destin-style traffic and crowded beaches are growing on SoWal.

John G, on your point about pushing residents out. This is exactly is what is going on in Destin's neighborhood, Crystal Beach. I know it's "Destin", but it is further down the path than SoWal. Crystal Beach, to me, used to be almost like Seaside in Destin. Whenever anyone is in that area, drive down some of the streets, Woodward, Stingray, Tarpon, and Dolphin, especially Shirah, and see all of the "big box" vacation rentals, houses never built to be a SFR. Residents are either selling or just giving up and converting to short term rental.

 

[John G]

"Residents are either selling or just giving up and converting to short term rental."

Look for this trend to become more obvious in SoWal / 30a in 2018.

 

[Suzanne Harris]

"Residents are either selling or just giving up and converting to short term rental."

Look for this trend to become more obvious in SoWal / 30a in 2018.

 

[Suzanne Harris]

Vote the fools out is your only hope. My opinion as long as Lloyd Blue calls the shots with 3 commissioners nothing will get better.

 

[FactorFiction]

Sad, but likely true, John G., unless the BCC really steps up and errs on the side of quality of life for residents rather than favoring developers and the tourist industry in the planning process. BTW, I am not anti development or tourists, but there simply has to be a balance. When the balance doesn't exist, we get what we have today and worse. Why waivers of any kind to allow for higher density are allowed is beyond me. Every time wetlands are filled, that water is going to go somewhere else and likely create problems for some other area even with retention ponds. Why people are allowed to build huge houses (or remodel them) and restaurants and businesses without sufficient parking is also major contributor. The list could go on and on.

 

[Truman]

Every square inch of private property was going to be developed here. It will happen faster now. With haste comes mistakes and more opportunity for bad practices. The changes in the law show that greedy people are in charge. When greedy people are in charge there follows unethical and illegal schemes we may never know about.

Look out for more negative changes - like lowering parking requirements, eliminating height restrictions, expansion of commercial projects in places where they shouldn't be, etc. - then things will really go down hill fast.

Then there is the impending explosion of population growth of Freeport and West Panama City Beach - with accompanying tens of thousands of new housing units.

The destruction of beautiful places on earth is inevitable and inexorable.

Have a great Sunday y'all!

 

[coondog]

Vote them out and in the meantime, boycott their handlers, starting with Lloyd Blue and Gary Shipman.