McDonald’s Topsail, a 3,865-square-foot fast-food restaurant with drive-through proposed for 1.73 acres at the southwest corner of West Hewett Road and U.S. 98 was presented at the meeting. The proposal got the green light from the TRC to move forward to the next step before a final determination by the planning director, review by the Walton County Design Review Board (DRB).
The location is the south side of U.S. 98 in Miramar Beach, across the highway from the reduced-size Walmart humorously known as the “small mart.”
In December 2023, the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) had approved a rezoning of the subject property from Village Mixed Use (VMU) to Coastal Center Mixed Use (CCMU), as the owners had requested in preparation for the development order application for the restaurant.
County legal counsel had advised at that time that interconnectivity with abutting lots would be required with the CCMU zoning, while this had not been a requirement under the VMU zoning. This had been pointed out as a beneficial aspect of the rezoning.
Accordingly, a cross-access easement is being required for the restaurant project, and the staff report states that an executed and recorded copy of that agreement is to be provided before development order issuance.
Introducing the McDonald’s project at the May 15 TRC meeting, Tim Brown of Walton County Planning and Development Services reported that all reviewer comments had been resolved with the exception of a minor comment from Walton County Environmental and a U.S. 98 Scenic Corridor comment.
Representing the applicants, Kim Binkley-Seyer of the Seyer Group reported that Andrea Ward, Walton County Planning and Development Services civil/environmental engineer, had approved the driveway location for the restaurant, adding that the county legal department had approved the easement as proposed. She added that a minor landscaping reviewer comment had been addressed and told the committee members that the application was ready for review by the DRB.
Binkley -Seyer also said that all the documents requested by Walton County Environmental had been submitted—and that all field work had been completed for the environmental study update that environmental staff had requested and was coming back positive.
No member of the public in attendance came forward to provide technical comments or ask questions about this minor development application. However, Brown noted that a letter of opposition had been received from community members in opposition to the development. The letter had raised a concern that the intersection at the subject property was already beginning to look like an interstate exchange with two existing restaurants, two new hotels, the Walmart, a gas station, and some office buildings at the location. Other concerns included that the intersection traffic lights would not be able to handle additional traffic from the fast-food restaurant and that motorists were already running red lights as a result of delays that would worsen in the summer.
At Brown’s recommendation, the committee members voted to move the development forward to a DRB hearing on the condition of remaining reviewer comments being addressed. The DRB hearing is required due to the project’s location on the U.S. 98 Scenic Corridor. Since this is considered a minor project, a determination on development order issuance by the planning director is to be the final step for the project.
The location is the south side of U.S. 98 in Miramar Beach, across the highway from the reduced-size Walmart humorously known as the “small mart.”
In December 2023, the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) had approved a rezoning of the subject property from Village Mixed Use (VMU) to Coastal Center Mixed Use (CCMU), as the owners had requested in preparation for the development order application for the restaurant.
County legal counsel had advised at that time that interconnectivity with abutting lots would be required with the CCMU zoning, while this had not been a requirement under the VMU zoning. This had been pointed out as a beneficial aspect of the rezoning.
Accordingly, a cross-access easement is being required for the restaurant project, and the staff report states that an executed and recorded copy of that agreement is to be provided before development order issuance.
Introducing the McDonald’s project at the May 15 TRC meeting, Tim Brown of Walton County Planning and Development Services reported that all reviewer comments had been resolved with the exception of a minor comment from Walton County Environmental and a U.S. 98 Scenic Corridor comment.
Representing the applicants, Kim Binkley-Seyer of the Seyer Group reported that Andrea Ward, Walton County Planning and Development Services civil/environmental engineer, had approved the driveway location for the restaurant, adding that the county legal department had approved the easement as proposed. She added that a minor landscaping reviewer comment had been addressed and told the committee members that the application was ready for review by the DRB.
Binkley -Seyer also said that all the documents requested by Walton County Environmental had been submitted—and that all field work had been completed for the environmental study update that environmental staff had requested and was coming back positive.
No member of the public in attendance came forward to provide technical comments or ask questions about this minor development application. However, Brown noted that a letter of opposition had been received from community members in opposition to the development. The letter had raised a concern that the intersection at the subject property was already beginning to look like an interstate exchange with two existing restaurants, two new hotels, the Walmart, a gas station, and some office buildings at the location. Other concerns included that the intersection traffic lights would not be able to handle additional traffic from the fast-food restaurant and that motorists were already running red lights as a result of delays that would worsen in the summer.
At Brown’s recommendation, the committee members voted to move the development forward to a DRB hearing on the condition of remaining reviewer comments being addressed. The DRB hearing is required due to the project’s location on the U.S. 98 Scenic Corridor. Since this is considered a minor project, a determination on development order issuance by the planning director is to be the final step for the project.
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