Can Alan Osborne sue himself?

[Andy A]

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 .

Interested girl. A couple of things about
your first post. The man yelling and waving at Commissioner Jones is not Alan Osborne. It is another homeowner in Driftwood Estates. Alan Osborne is forceful, agressive but anything but a "hot head". People with his particular backround can only afford the be "hot heads" when the situation is not critical or is meant to be funn, like posting on this board. Then they can be "hot heads" if they desire. Lastly, Alan is not a one issue man and certainly not against development. Development in SoWal has been anything but orderly and supervised and it should have been. We need better enforcement of our existing land use code, building ordinances and development orders. Also, we badly need zoning ordinances that would help eliminate the hodge podge of development now occurring in Walton County. I feel sure Alan would agree with me on most of these points. Once again, he will be anything but a "one issue" commissioner. Yes, ALAN IS THE MAN!

 

[Nine4cobra]

"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?"



So, wouldn't addressing the road issues and drainage issues need to be fixed either way? Why wouldn't you just fix the issues that were done wrong and not worry about going through a private, gated community.

Doesn't matter to me either way, but I don't see SanDestin or Burnt Pine allowing or caving in to a gate that is accesible by just anyone. That is why those people pay what they do for the houses they have in SanDestin ( the privacy and security).

 

[Smiling JOe]

nine4cobra, I'm not sure that I understand your question. Yes, addressing the road and drainage issues need to be fixed either way. The issue of going through a private gated community is one of the road issues at hand. You cannot simply lower the level of the Bayou which runs under the only accessible road, in and out of Driftwood. The other road has always been a part of the Sandestin DRI, which included Driftwood. Without that other road, the part now known as Driftwood, wouldn't have been developed. If sandestin wanted to protect sandestin, they wouldn't have sold off Driftwood. They could still erect an unmanned gate, and issue access cards for all residents of Driftwood. It aint rocket science.

By the way, people in Sandestin don't have security just because they have a privacy gate. Any Joe Shmow can go in past Sandestin's privacy gates, and travel anywhere they darn well please. It may be somewhat controlled, but "private" is a very loose term when they welcome and need the public to spend money behind the gates.

 

[sunspotbaby]

Any Joe Shmow can go in past Sandestin's privacy gates, and travel anywhere they darn well please. It may be somewhat controlled, but "private" is a very loose term when they welcome and need the public to spend money behind the gates.


Hilton don't like Harleys!

 

[Nine4cobra]

Any Joe Shmow can go in past Sandestin's privacy gates, and travel anywhere they darn well please. It may be somewhat controlled, but "private" is a very loose term when they welcome and need the public to spend money behind the gates.


Hilton don't like Harleys!

I'll second that... You don't get in on a motorcycle. (even homeowners).

This has been an outstanding issue with the fence and Driftwood/SanDestin for a while now. It will be drawn out even longer without any kind of closure. You can pretty much bet on that...

 

[AAbsolute]

A question for those up to speed in Driftwood

3 questions for people who have seen it:

1) Does the access road that provides ingress/egress to Driftwood become flooded over with normal rain events or only storm surge events? How many times in the past 12 months?

2) Do the yards in Driftwood experience standing water before the level of the bay rises above the bayfront bulkhead?

3) Are there any documented procedures for maintenance of the drainage easements.

I have looked at bayfront property in Western Driftwood for 13 years. I think one of the most valuable residential lots in Walton is the lot on the NorthWest point of Driftwood. With the perfect house plan you could have sunrise and sunset over water from the same lot.

 

[Smiling JOe]

aabsolute, I don't go out there often, so I cannot report with first hand observation. Commissioner Meadows has been out there after heavy, but not unusual rains, and can report on those issues, as can Alan Osborne. The project was supposedly engineered to be able to handle 100 year floods, but I believe that the record shows that Driftwood Estates hasn't seen one yet. I've been told that the road floods during "normal rain events."

As for #2, as I understand it, the properties are not flooding due to the Bay rising, however that happens with the road flooding. The normal rains cause the standing water on the properties.

The County tried to repair the huge problem by making the storm water ditches deeper, but I think they found out that water doesn't drain up hill, and that you hit the water table when you dig ditches too deep. Speaking of storm water drainage, allegedly, the developer placed big drainage pipes under property which was later sold, and now has multi million dollar homes on top of 25 year pipe. Oops.

If you want detailed information on Driftwood, I'm not your man, but Commissioner Cindy Meadows can tell you more about some of those issues. Alan is focused on his campaign, though he is extremely familiar with everything concerning Driftwood.

 

[idlewind]

The problem with Driftwood is that basically it is constructed in wetlands.:shock: If today's restrictions had been in effect 30 years ago there would be no issue because there would be no Driftwood.

 

[AAbsolute]

To me those 3 questions appear to be very relevant and the parties who show up and want to be heard should have answers to these at their ready.

If the ingress/egress road floods without storm surge I'd be surprised. If it does, the secondary road may well flood too.

If there is standing water on the inland properties before the bayfront bulkhead is breached then certainly the drainage plan is encumbered by elevation issues.

If there is a prescribed maintenance plan for the drainage easements it is probably reasonable to expect the Driftwood homeowners to take care of that. This may be what causes condition #2.

I agree with Smiling Joe, water doesn't flow uphill. These are always matters of elevation. Lazer levels are cheap at Home Depot, accurate enough for verifying an inch in a thousand feet, and can be operated by 1 Driftwood homeowner working alone. I'm very interested to see how that turns out.

 

[wrobert]

The problem with Driftwood is that basically it is constructed in wetlands.:shock: If today's restrictions had been in effect 30 years ago there would be no issue because there would be no Driftwood.

There were only a half dozen, if that many house out there 10 years ago when I worked with the County. And even then that place flooded. I hated going there after it rained.