Lupin Beach - new development in Inlet Beach

[PalmBeach]

Coastal Construction Control Line and VE Zone, how much is there tp develop on the property?

The property appraiser website says 4.99 acres but the CCC line reduces the buildable area significantly according to the GIS website.

 

[JPM]

We just spent a week at Inlet Beach and fell in love with the privacy and peacefulness. We stayed in one of the townhouses at the end of Walton Magnolia Lane. I have avoided the Panhandle for years because of overdevelopment. We felt like we'd found a hidden gem.

Just out of curiousity, I was looking online at real estate prices in the area and stumbled upon this thread. My heart sank. I had commented to my wife that it was amazing that space where the vacant house is had not been developed. I guess should have added "yet" to that comment.

Does anyone know if anything has moved forward with this development? We were planning on going back in the spring, but if "construction" is going to be going on, I'm not sure we will.

 

[DuneLaker]

I've often wondered how much, if any, of Camp Helen State Park land is still in Walton County. Is this property directly adjacent to state park? Very nice.

 

[Kurt]

I've often wondered how much, if any, of Camp Helen State Park land is still in Walton County. Is this property directly adjacent to state park? Very nice.

Yes, it borders the park.

 

[Kurt]

Dear Neighbor,

As part of our continuing effort to inform and involve our Inlet Beach neighbors and the broader South Walton community in the planning of Lupin Beach, we are pleased to announce that we have completed preparation of our application for Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval and expect to file it the week of November 16th. The schedule for review of our application, established by the County staff, is as follows:

Application submittal due date: November 18, 2009
Planning Commission Meeting: February 11, 2010
Board of County Commissioners Meeting: February 23, 2010

Our plan for 20 single-family residences on the 6.36-acre property reflects the input and feedback from the Lupin Beach Community Advisory Panel and others who attended our August 10th open house and August 27th community meeting. We sincerely appreciate all of your ideas, questions and comments. If you have further thoughts or ideas to share with us, or questions to ask, please don’t hesitate to call me or Marieanne Khoury-Vogt at the AlysBeach office, (850) 213-5500. We would be pleased to hear from you.

In the meantime, please accept my best wishes for a happy holiday season.

Sincerely,

Jason L. Comer
Town Founder, Alys Beach

 

[Kurt]

Walton Board of County Commissioners has approved the project.

 

[Kurt]

The Defuniak Herald ? LUPIN BEACH CONCEPTUAL PUD APPROVED

By DOTTY NIST

“It will be top-notch quality,” Jason Comer said of a new residential development in extreme southeastern Walton County.

Comer, town founder of Alys Beach, and his team of experts went to bat for Lupin Beach on Feb. 23 with the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC); despite opposition they prevailed with BCC approval of their development concept.

Comer works for EBSCO, the Alabama company that developed Alys Beach and that now owns the 6.36-acre Lupin Beach property. He told the commissioners and attendees at the Feb. 23 BCC meeting that the Lupin Beach property was previously owned by his family and was a place where they vacationed throughout his childhood for many years. “I care greatly about this piece of property,” he said on the Inlet Beach-area site.

Gary Vorbeck, a local attorney representing EBSCO, told the commissioners that 50 units would be allowable per county code on the property but that just 20 residences are being proposed. Vorbeck said the applicants are seeking conceptual approval of their development—and that they must then seek approval of some aspects of their proposal from the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). Next they plan to return to the county for approval of their detailed plan, Vorbeck explained.

Vorbeck continued that abandonment of several easements on property owned by the applicants was being sought from the county in connection with the conceptual approval.
He explained that Lupin Beach had been in the planning phase for approximately two years, with developers creating a “citizen advisory panel” tasked with studying the property, meeting several times, and making recommendations for the development.
Contrary to rumors, Vorbeck said, Lupin Beach will not destroy the dunes on the beachfront development site but will be “enhancing” the dunes with a project for which they have a permit “in hand.” Lupin Beach is proposing to build some of the homes south of the coastal construction control line (CCCL), he explained, and, for that, they will be seeking permission from the state.

Comer noted that the dune enhancement project is expected to cost between $500,000 and $600,000. He added that neighbors have been allowed to walk across the property to the beach and that EBSCO has agreed to pay for a public dune walkover in that area, right at the county line.

David Smith, a civil engineer and surveyor, noted that the Lupin Beach property encompasses six lots fronting the Gulf of Mexico and two additional lots. He explained that the abandonments being sought are for two unused 33-foot-wide easements in the center of the property that allow for public roadway and utility use, plus another easement on the east end of the property. He said EBSCO is proposing to abandon 18 feet of the eastern easement and construct the public beach access referenced by Comer on the other 15 feet, with the access being maintained by the South Walton Tourist Development Council.

Jim Martelli, another engineer speaking for the developers, explained that two parking spaces are proposed at the beach access, which is to be a neighborhood beach access rather than a regional access. Martelli said the development will be accessed from Walton Magnolia Lane, and that 49 parking spaces are planned for the site. The developers plan to use clustering on the site, he said. They also plan to construct a turnaround at the end of Walton Magnolia Lane, he added….

Read the full story in the March 4, 2010 edition of the Herald Breeze.

 

[Sandcastle]

This is a welcome relief, after watching development after development go under.

 

[Jerry Lewis]

Man Hauled to Jail for Intentionally Blocking Construction on Sand Dunes

A disagreement between a construction company and a neighbor got out of hand Tuesday morning. The man used his vehicle to stop construction on the sand dunes in his South Walton neighborhood. He claims crews were using illegal materials to do their work.

You probably wouldn't want to use the dunes on Walton Magnolia Lane in Santa Rosa Beach on a post card. But, believe it or not, they look like this because of a dune restoration project.

EBSCO industries has been contracted to do the work on private property owned by Alys Beach.

County officials confirm the construction company is within their rights and have the proper permits to be here, but neighbors are still upset.

Beth Barnes is one of them.

"From what I understand, dolomite is being dumped on the beaches, and if I?m not mistaken it's illegal to do that" Barnes says.

And she's right.

Dolomite is limestone sediment supposedly being used at the project's staging area. County officials say it helps protect the dunes against heavy machinery, but according the DEP, the sediment is illegal.

"Dolomite is not approved for placement on the beach. Clean white-dune sand made of silicate quartz from the sand dunes is approved" says Fritz Wettstein, an Environmental Manager at DEP.

EBSCO company officials say they have permission from their site manager.

"We've gone through the county and received approval from the county for the temporary use of the dolomite which is a sedimentary rock. Once we've completed the work, all the dolomite will be removed" says Tom Dodson, Vice President of Sales at Alys Beach.

But that's wasn't good enough for resident Mikhail Parsonnet.

"This morning when I took my husband to work, the dump trucks were backed up. There were about 7 of them, and the neighbor Mike was blocking and barricading them from coming through" recalls Barnes.

Parsonnet refused to move his vehicle, telling the arresting deputy they'd have to tow his car and take him to jail-- which she did.

Parsonnet was released by the afternoon. Officials say they plan to collect sand samples at the site for testing.

 

[Matt J]

This has got to be the ultimate NIMBY story ever.