Walton County Technical Review Committee (TRC)- July 5, 2023
McDonald’s Santa Rosa Beach was a request on behalf of McDonald’s Corporation for approval of a 4,210-square-foot restaurant with drive-through and infrastructure on 0.98 acre at 2038 U.S. 98 West, on an eastern outparcel of the Publix Shopping Center.
The shopping center development had been approved in December 2008.
The restaurant property is in a Mixed Use future land use area and a Village Mixed Use zoning district.
Two site access points were proposed, one via the entrance to the Publix Shopping Center and one via the internal traffic circulation of the shopping center.
Walton County Public Works comments in the project staff report asked for a tie-in to be provided to an existing driveway connection to the north. They also pointed out that development plans are underway for an extension of Nellie Drive “that will limit the eastern driveway connection from this development [the McDonald’s] to Nellie Dr as a right-in/right-out only.” A review of the project site circulation plan was requested on this basis and modifications as needed.
Mac Carpenter, TRC chairman and county planning and development services director, identified these issues brought up by public works as the main ones in need of being resolved. He was concerned that there would be “stacking problems” similar to those that had occurred at the nearby Walmart with the development as proposed.
Tim Brown of Walton County Planning and Development Services, who had introduced the project, commented that the northern access point that is part of the plans would make the right-in, right-out access limitation less of a problem. This would reduce reliance on the access point off the Nellie Drive extension, he said.
The committee members voted to move the restaurant proposal forward to the next step, review by the Design Review Board (DRB), while details on the access and circulation configuration are worked out between the applicants and public works.
This being a minor development project, it is on track for development order issuance with the latter issues resolved and other reviewer comments addressed, once clearing DRB.
McDonald’s Santa Rosa Beach was a request on behalf of McDonald’s Corporation for approval of a 4,210-square-foot restaurant with drive-through and infrastructure on 0.98 acre at 2038 U.S. 98 West, on an eastern outparcel of the Publix Shopping Center.
The shopping center development had been approved in December 2008.
The restaurant property is in a Mixed Use future land use area and a Village Mixed Use zoning district.
Two site access points were proposed, one via the entrance to the Publix Shopping Center and one via the internal traffic circulation of the shopping center.
Walton County Public Works comments in the project staff report asked for a tie-in to be provided to an existing driveway connection to the north. They also pointed out that development plans are underway for an extension of Nellie Drive “that will limit the eastern driveway connection from this development [the McDonald’s] to Nellie Dr as a right-in/right-out only.” A review of the project site circulation plan was requested on this basis and modifications as needed.
Mac Carpenter, TRC chairman and county planning and development services director, identified these issues brought up by public works as the main ones in need of being resolved. He was concerned that there would be “stacking problems” similar to those that had occurred at the nearby Walmart with the development as proposed.
Tim Brown of Walton County Planning and Development Services, who had introduced the project, commented that the northern access point that is part of the plans would make the right-in, right-out access limitation less of a problem. This would reduce reliance on the access point off the Nellie Drive extension, he said.
The committee members voted to move the restaurant proposal forward to the next step, review by the Design Review Board (DRB), while details on the access and circulation configuration are worked out between the applicants and public works.
This being a minor development project, it is on track for development order issuance with the latter issues resolved and other reviewer comments addressed, once clearing DRB.
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