Dollar General in Inlet Beach...

[cdsmith96]

This Saturday (7/27) there will be a meeting at 10am at the Grande Pointe clubhouse in Inlet Beach regarding the proposed Dollar General at North Walton Lakeshore/98.

The DG goes back before the DRB on 8/1 and then the PC on 8/8. If those go well it goes to the BOCC on 8/13.

The store already got sent back once for lighting issues. If you have been to their other locations you will notice how unkept they are and how bright their lighting is at night.

This property has a water view with residential on 3 sides. A Dollar General is not appropriate there.

This meeting is to organize our plan of letting our elected officials know we do not want a DG in Inlet Beach. We also plan on organizing a petition regarding the store.

Dollar General has also been invited to the meeting to hear our concerns.

We hope you can pass the word around and see you Saturday at the Grande Pointe Clubhouse at 10am.

Chris

 

[thowland]

Chris,

I too agree that a Dollar General does not fit the atmosphere in the Scenic Corridor. We definitely do not want visitors to be greeted by a low-end, chain retailer as they enter the county.

Trey

 

[cdsmith96]

We have an online petition available for people to sign to say NO to Dollar General in Inlet Beach! Sign it here...

http://www.change.org/petitions/wal...s-do-not-allow-dollar-general-in-inlet-beach#

In addition to Dollar General seeking approval from the DRB on 8/1 for the design of their store they as well as other businesses are asking for change in the scenic corridor ordinance to allow 100 sq ft. of outdoor merchandise sales along the Hwy 98/331 corridor. Dollar General is already doing this in violation of the current ordinance which DOES NOT allow for the sale of merchandise outside of the store. Now they want the rule they are already breaking changed. Go to the DRB at the South Walton Annex on 8/1 at 5pm to let your voice be heard!

 

[cdsmith96]

Here are a bunch of pictures strung together of how the 2 existing Dollar Generals look. Notice the poor landscape maintenance, trash, and code violations with merchandise for sale outside of the store.

 

[tsutcli]

Why does our county have trouble enforcing ordinances?????? Those photo's made me sick and please don't label me a snob but this is NOT the same area we moved to 13 years ago and our slice of paradise has been on the decline ever since. I think some call it progress but we are becoming another Panama City and if you don't believe it, just look around and take note of the future development scheduled for that area. The traffic alone at the intersection of 30A & 98 will be a nightmare and the locals will have to deal with it all year long. Frankly, we don't leave our house now and probably won't until September!

 

[Zebraspots]

The outdoor merchandise displays are really tacky and trashy looking. Code enforcement needs to be cracking down on this. The Snappy Turtles and other beach crap stores and the aptly named 30a Junk store are eyesores.

 

[Jdarg]

I believe that whole intersection area is zoned commercial, and judging from the progress of the project and what I have heard, it looks like that ship has sailed, along with the rest of the new businesses slated to go there ( shopping center, Donut Hole). Focus may now need to be on working with Dollar General and the others to reach a compromise on the exterior of the building, landscaping, etc.
I am not sure the best way to stay ahead of the game when these compatibility issues come up as there aren't enough hours in the day to read the legals, go to meetings, watch the county government online postings and records, etc. -so many times we find out about these things after it is too late to have input, be involved in changes, etc.

 

[miznotebook]

It is the Design Review Board's job to consider the aesthetics of developments on the U.S. 98 Scenic Corridor, i.e. make sure the requirements of the Scenic Corridor Standards are met. The standards include things such as the architecture, paint color, landscaping, and signage. For people who are concerned about this aspect of the project, the DRB meeting would be a good place to weigh in. The project is scheduled to come before the DRB on Aug. 1. The meeting starts at 5 p.m. at the South Walton Annex. And yes, there are a lot of meetings....

 

[beachmouse]

Focus may now need to be on working with Dollar General and the others to reach a compromise on the exterior of the building, landscaping, etc.

Their Shalimar store is actually not too bad in terms of aesthetics because local residents there pushed for higher design standards and facade materials requirements as well as putting sign limits on the parcel. Something similar in Inlet Beach wouldn't be the worst thing that could happen. It's far nicer than another Dollar General that's maybe 3 miles south of it on Eglin Pkwy.

 

[cdsmith96]

Good News....

We got another delay of the Dollar General at the Design Review Board meeting last week! That means it must go back to the DRB Meeting on Thursday, Sept 5 again. It was denied this time for more lighting issues, fake windows, and landscape issues. The DRB was going to conditionally approve it if they made those changes, but thankfully the few that attended raised their voices and said they should not and that 1 more month to make sure things are done right is not a bad thing. Thank you to those that spoke up. This is also an example of why as many of us as possible needs to attend these meetings!


It is likely the store will pass the DRB in September so that would bring up the Planning Committee on Thursday, September 12. After that it would be the BOCC on Monday, September 16. All these meetings are at the SoWal Annex at 5pm.


Ironically, after the DRB meeting this past week the other area Dollar General stores spruced up their landscaping. The developer also gave a sob story about this store and how although he sold his stores in Miramar and Santa Rosa Beach... this store he wanted to keep and he was looking for a house in Rosemary to live. Keep in mind that the way Dollar General works is a developer builds and owns the store and then leases it to Dollar General for a period (usually 15 years). Dollar General then manages the store. The developer I assume just collects rent checks from DG.


In all likelihood we will need a legal reason to prevent this store. They will eventually do what they need to gain approval. We are looking at the feasibility of doing a traffic study to de-bunk the one that Dollar General had done. These are really expensive so we are working as many avenues as possible. We will continue to pound the lighting issue as well as the impact on the residential areas around it.


Among the many issues... allowing the store to have any access onto North Walton Lakeshore is not an option. For those of us in Grande Pointe we are concerned our entry road will become a cut through to vehicles that want to return to PCB. Notice the maps... it is 4500' to go from the DG proposed exit to Orange Street where the U-turn would be. It is under 2000' to cut through Grande Pointe.



Fighting to get a traffic light at this intersection is a possibility too. This would also curb the speeding through Inlet Beach.


While we work on getting a traffic study we need to keep the pressure on the BOCC to let them know that Dollar General does not fit in Inlet Beach. It does not fit with our history nor does it fit with the new proposed developments that are underway and upscale.


Please keep passing the petition around, share on Facebook, call local media outlets, and even write letters to the editor.


http://www.change.org/petitions/wal...rs-do-not-allow-dollar-general-in-inlet-beach




Here is the contact info for the BOCC... http://www.co.walton.fl.us/Index.aspx?NID=112


Here is the Planning Commission Contact info... http://www.co.walton.fl.us/index.aspx?NID=160


Finally, there was some discussion that the developer of the store and maybe Dollar General would meet with us residents. If this happens I will let you know.


Thanks again for your support.




Sincerely,




Chris Smith