Much of this has probably already been said, but I am still reeling over the so called TDC workshop Wednesday night and need in part to post this to get it out of my system and partly because I think many of the ideas need to be said over and over again until we get some action.
I was there, saw Sonny Mares(the interim director) end the meeting early because he could not get his way, even though the collective citizenry voted to keep going not two minutes before. I also heard Tracy Louthainrepeat her a thousand times that the 150+ citizens present were ?just a small majority IN [just that]THE ROOM? as though we were not representative of the community at large. The citizens that were there were representative of the community whether the TDC would like to admit it or not. And that citizenry was almost unanimously against the signs?there were only two people that were not against the signs, besides the TDC, one did not like the signs but wanted to wait until they weathered away because she did not want the money to go to waste, the other wanted the signs because he thinks that the signs allow him to drive faster on 30A. 150+ to 2 is better than 99% by my calculator.
Like someone in the back of the room said, we are not after anyone?s job, we just want the ill-advised signs taken down. The design, the positioning, and the process were all terribly flawed. From what has come out in research by the caring members of the community the public notification was limited at best and even that limited amount was confusing and misleading. Let the community come together to make it right. That is what we tried to do Wednesday night.
I understand the TDC?s feeling that there is a need to ?brand? 30A. I just think that they missed the boat. 30A was ?branded? years ago as an enjoyable, eclectic, and artistic community along a beautiful stretch of beach and forest. Places like the old Patrones, Collaborations, Seaside, Bud and Alley?s branded the area long ago for the people that love and return to the beaches each year and the community that loves it year around. Branding the 30A corridor as an offshoot of the TDC with the overly marketed big blue sign is destroying the brand that made 30A what it is. We have already lost some of the founding Brand of our community. Let us protect what is left.
My original intent to the meeting was with the idea that we could constructively come together and make a new sign or at least develop a viable approach to designing new signs. For what it is worth, at the workshop the idea I had planned to bring up?before the TDC laid down the ground rules that only the current signs could be ?brain stormed??was what I thought would be in keeping with the current 30A brand. That is, allow each of the communities along 30A develop their own way finding signs with the caveat that the TDC would give branding guidelines, or a palate of marketing material to use on the signs. This would be similar to many of the architectural guidelines set forth by the communities already. Rules that make Rosemary Beach look like Rosemary Beach and Alys Beach look distinctively like Alys Beach. Thus the overall sign would relate to each community and identify it (quite likely in more ways that one), while some of the TDC elements would link the signs into a group. My first thought was the Beaches of South Walton logo might have to appear discretely on the signs.
That way the signs could be as eclectic as 30A has always been, Watercolor?s would have a sign that blended in with its surrounding, as would Alys Beach and Grayton Beach, etc, etc. down the road.
Branding 30A to look like Ft. Walton, or Destin, or Panama City, would destroy the existing brand. The brand that has set a high standard and despite the over all falling real estate market have still kept Watersound, Watercolor, Rosemary Beach and all the others priced high on the market and viable.
30A has also just been declared a scenic highway. A designation shared by only two other highways in Florida. It was mentioned that the signs do not comply with the scenic designation. It would be a shame for 30A to become the first scenic highway to loose its designation due to non-compliance of the big blue signs.
I have always felt that each beach should have it's own sign, representative to that particular beach's architecture. I like your idea of including the SoWal beach logo in order to create some consistency and cohesiveness.
for us all. It is appreciated! Your ideas are well thought out and compromising. 
