This is a residential/commercial development proposed adjacent to West Park Place in Inlet Beach, consisting of 9,014 square feet of commercial and three single-family lots, all on a 0.82-acre site. Neighbors expressed concern that the amount of development proposed would necessitate all or most native vegetation being removed from the property.
After considerable discussion, Patton made a motion to continue the item due to revised plans having been recently submitted without staff having time to review them before the meeting.
The motion to table Park Avenue West PUD to the Nov. 10 planning commission meeting carried 5-0.
Despite a staff opinion to the contrary and heated opposition from neighbors, the planning board members voted to recommend approval of a small-scale amendment to change 9.92 acres on the east side of Don Bishop Road from Conservation Residential 2:1 to Low Density Residential.
Walton County Planning and Development Director Wayne Dyess commented that 20 units were already allowable on the parcel and that the property contains an unnamed flood zone.
The comprehensive plan discourages an increase in density in floodplains, Dyess pointed out. He did not think going to an allowable density of 40 units would be consistent with the comp plan.
Two neighbors of the property also objected to an increase in density. “It’s not compatible with where I live,” one said of the proposed amendment.
“The wetlands are not as they appear on the GIS,” countered engineer Ed Stanford, representing applicants David and Wencie Brannen. Stanford presented findings by an environmental scientist to that effect. He was confident that a letter of map amendment (LOMA) could be obtained from FEMA to resolve that issue.
“This is not a flood-prone area,” Stanford told the planning commission members.
“I don’t see it as a flood zone,” agreed planning commissioner David Kramer.
The small-scale amendment was approved in a 5-0 vote.
The planning commissioners also voted 5-0 to recommend approval of an ordinance amending requirements for development agreements for civic and institutional uses.
The Oct. 13 meeting was the first for newly-appointed planning commissioner Lee Perry.
Items taken up by the planning commission are subject to a final decision by the Walton County Board of County Commissioners in public session.
