So does anyone from Driftwood know if simply taking down the wall and allowing ingress/egress through Sandestin would be acceptable as settlement in the suit?
I am not privy to the lawsuit and I don't own in Driftwood, but from what I've heard at public meetings, is that the wall blocking the road is only one aspect of the real problem which is the lack of adequate and promised drainage. If the drainage infrastructure was installed as engineered, people's yards wouldn't have moats around them, driveways and brick mailbox posts wouldn't be undermined and washed away, waterfalls wouldn't exist during normal rains, etc. The wall is a problem because when it rains hard enough, since Sandestin erected the wall blocking the other road, the only road in and out is covered in water from the higher level of the bayou. How would you liked to be trapped in your home, with rising water in a real storm, knowing that some @ssholes built a wall, blocking your only viable way out?
I have decided to vote for Alan. Many of you believe him to be the best candidtae for the job. I really don't know about that but I do believe that he will accomplish a peronal goal that I have. He will absolutely halt development.
His personality of aggressive behavior will absolutely run all of the developers out of Walton County. He is a true one issue guy regardless of all he says while cleaning up his reputation as a hot head. I saw that on the Dem site on their recordings. Hands waving in the air and shouting at Chairman Jones. I thought he would explode. Just what we need to grind the economy to a total halt.
I know that the fireworks will fly- and it will be like Thunder and lightning from above.
ALAN IS THE MAN .
Wow, you really don't know much about Alan or his involvement with Driftwood, or his beliefs. I don't want to speak for Mr Osborne, but I can tell you that simply because he wants the developer who allegedly falsified documents in order to received the Development Order, doesn't mean that he is anti-development. I can see how a person who hasn't taken the time to try and understand the situation at Driftwood, or Alan as a candidate, might come up with such a crazy idea as you present, but anyone who has taken time to educate themselves on the matter at hand, would clearly understand that Alan is not "anti-development." He is for playing with the rules given. Unfortunately, some developers who choose to take short cuts, thereby potentially harming all buyers and renters in their development, don't deserve to be developers, and I for one don't want them here in the first place.
Furthermore, from what I understand, Alan Osborne is willing to drop the lawsuit against the County if the County will hold responsible, the developer and the County Engineer, who signed off with approval of the allegedly falsified documents stating that the infrastructure was properly installed as designed. He has allowed the County to escape unharmed from what would probably be a multi-million dollar out of Court settlement (the County doesn't want to go to Court on this one b/c they know they will lose in a heartbeat). He wouldn't even seek to recover his legal expenses from the last four years, nor his hundreds of hours of investigation. He has stated all along that the County has been given the chance to do the right thing, yet they are being very stubborn. Either the County can pay the $10-15 million to correct the problem, plus the settlement of the lawsuit, or, they can hold accountable, the people who were wrong, and let them pay to bring the project up to speed as designed.
wrobert, a DRI is a "Development of Regional Impact," which is a project due to location or perhaps size, will affect more than the County in which it exists. Sandestin, for instance, is located in Walton County, but it pulls traffic from Destin (Okaloosa County), so it is a DRI. I won't go into all of the legalities of a DRI and permitting, but there can be exemptions on some things such as permits required if something is included in a DRI. Doesn't mean they are exempt from following Code, but just that they could be covered under a larger permit for the DRI. It wouldn't be much different than Seaside applying for an entertainment permit which would cover multiple events, so that each time they show a movie on the lawn, a permit isn't required. (not the best example, but you get the point.)