County Commission considers Neighborhood Commercial Tonight!
Tonight, August 30th, at 5:00 p.m. at the South County Annex on 331: The Board of County Commissioners will consider the proposed new Neighborhood Commercial changes to the Comprehensive Plan.
As the person who began this thread, I wanted to share my specific concerns with the folks on the Board.
First, here is the new category language:
[FONT="]Policy L-1.4.4 Neighborhood Commercial (NC):[/FONT][FONT="] The purpose of this land use category is to designate small areas in proximity to residential areas that will allow for a limited group of commercial uses to serve the needs of those residential areas. All neighborhood commercial uses must be designed in use, scale, character, and intensity to be compatible with, and to protect, the abutting and surrounding residential areas.[/FONT]
[FONT="](A) [FONT="]Location criteria:[/FONT] The intersection of arterial/collector, collector/collector, and collector/local street. However, in areas south of the Choctawhatchee Bay and the Intercoastal Waterway, NC designations shall be limited to those intersection areas described above that are within the designated Scenic Corridors. This limitation shall not prevent the designation of an existing neighborhood development as NC if such development was lawfully in operation prior to the date of adoption of this amendment and is an ongoing business.[/FONT]
[FONT="](B) [FONT="]Uses allowed:[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Allowed neighborhood scale uses: offices, professional services, storefront retail shopping, neighborhood grocery stores, limited lodging not to exceed 25 rooms, banks, bakeries, cafes and restaurants without drive-thru facilities.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Prohibited uses: Gas stations and convenience stores with or without fuel, bars, and auto repair services, and the like. However, this provision does not preclude restaurants, or other similar allowed uses, from alcohol sales/services during course of business.[/FONT]
[FONT="](C) [FONT="]Density Allowed:[/FONT] Maximum of one dwelling unit per lot, unless developed pursuant to section (E)(1) below.[/FONT]
[FONT="](D) [FONT="]Intensity allowed:[/FONT] A maximum FAR [floor to area ratio] of 0.65 (65%) and a maximum ISR of 0.60 (60%).[/FONT]
[FONT="](E) [FONT="]Special Considerations[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Live/work uses are encouraged, so long as the overall density for the development does not exceed four (4) dwelling units per acre and the development must be in scale and character of adjacent residential areas.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Outdoor storage, outdoor broadcasting or music, display of goods, or outdoor seating for cafes and restaurants may be permitted subject to a case-by-case determination of its impact on the abutting neighborhood and where it does not conflict with the Scenic Corridor Guidelines.[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. Size, mass, or scale of uses or structures may be limited to ensure compatibility with adjacent and surrounding neighborhoods.[/FONT]
[FONT="]4. The amount of land that will be designated NC may be limited to ensure that the area proposed for Neighborhood commercial designation, and the proposed uses thereon remain at neighborhood scale and character.[/FONT]
Here are the concerns I have shared via email with the County Commissioners:
The proposed Neighborhood Commercial Land Use Category allows for uses that are too intense for neighborhoods and provides few measurable guidelines for impacts to adjacent properties. Instead the proposal defers to subjective terms like ?may be permitted subject to case-by-case determination? or ?may be limited to ensure compatibility with adjacent and surrounding neighborhoods.?
First, the proposed language allows for non-neighborhood serving activities, such as a 25-room hotel, within its definition of allowable uses. A 25-room hotel is in no way the same, in either size or compatibility, as a small retail store, a real estate office, an attorney?s office, an ice cream shop, etc. The only currently operating hotel on 30A is the 60-room Watercolor Inn, and it was permitted and developed part of a highly-scrutinized DRI development. Unfortunately, the only way a 25-room hotel could be built would be for several currently-designated residential lots to be merged into a much larger lot, thereby making that site out-of-scale and incompatible for the neighborhood in which it will be located. If the County Commission believes that there are currently-existing residential properties that are better suited as hotels, then those distinct properties should be required to apply for a land-use category that better suits their needs. But to include a 25-room hotel as an allowable use for the Neighborhood Commercial category is stretching the definition of Neighborhood Commercial. It creates a de facto incompatible use in a neighborhood. Solution: Strike ?limited lodging not to exceed 25 rooms? from the Uses Allowed section of the proposed NC category and please consider prohibiting the merger of residential lots in this category.
Second, the proposed policy should be revised to include a specific measurable standard, such as maximum square footage allowed the new neighborhood commercial activity. It is not unreasonable to articulate such specific standards, especially where businesses will be located adjacent to residences, thereby further guaranteeing compatibility. When this suggestion came before the Planning Commission last week, the Commissioners insisted that specifics such as ?maximum square footage? were better left to the Land Development Code, not the Comprehensive Plan. However, it is important to note that with regard to all five Neighborhood Commercial categories in the Comprehensive Plan for land north of the Choctawhatchee Bay, ?maximum square footage? restrictions are included; property south of the Bay deserves the same treatment. (See: Estate Residential, Rural Residential, Rural Low Density, Rural Village, and Urban Residential).
Solution: Amend Policy L-1.4.4(D) to provide the following: Individual buildings on existing platted lots shall not exceed 3,000 square feet of gross floor area for a single use building or 5,000 square feet of gross floor area (including all uses) in mixed use buildings or live work units and be consistent with the character of existing residential area.
The proposed Neighborhood Commercial land use category specifically allows for outdoor music. Interestingly, not one other land use category in the entire Walton County Comprehensive Plan references outdoor music as an allowable use ? regardless of the intensity of the land use. This is a poor policy and will create conflicts far into the future. If there is ANY place that outdoor music should be discouraged, it is adjacent to currently existing residential properties. It is surprising and frankly indefensible that the proposed Neighborhood Commercial land use category, the most sensitive and restrictive of the commercial categories, specifically singles out and allows outdoor music. If anything, Neighborhood Commercial should be treated with a higher standard. It is hard to justify the Comprehensive Plan?s disparate treatment, and it appears to be arbitrary if not biased. Solution: Strike the reference to outdoor music in the Neighborhood Commercial category or make a blanket prohibition.
The location criteria for the new Neighborhood Commercial category is far too broad and conflicts with the underlying stated purpose of the category ? ?to designate small areas in proximity to residential areas that will allow for a limited group of commercial uses to serve the needs of those residents.? First, the proposal uses our currently designated Scenic Corridors south of US 98 as the place where Neighborhood Commercial will be appropriate. The problem is that the Scenic Corridors are ?all encompassing? with regard to South Walton and include not just all of 30A, but also 395, 283 (including south of 30A into Grayton Beach), 83 (including south of 30A into Blue Mountain Beach), and 393. The policies, as proposed, provide that property abutting every intersection of a local road onto a scenic corridor will be potential Neighborhood Commercial sites? that translates to 113 intersections on County Road 30A alone. The proposed location criteria are neither ?small? nor ?limited? and they allow for commercial activities that intrude into existing historic neighborhoods and for commercial activities that do a lot more than ?serve the needs of the residents.? Solution: Prohibit neighborhood commercial south of 30A, absent special circumstances. Redefine and further restrict the intersections along 30A that are appropriate for Neighborhood Commercial.
In summary, we support limited Neighborhood Commercial as long as it has appropriate location, use, and intensity standards. However, the proposed language has the potential to develop commercial far in excess of neighborhood scale commercial and could rival some of the more intense commercial categories allowed by law. Thank you for considering these comments and we look forwarded to working to refine and improve these policies before they are applied to the land use map.
Tonight, August 30th, at 5:00 p.m. at the South County Annex on 331: The Board of County Commissioners will consider the proposed new Neighborhood Commercial changes to the Comprehensive Plan.
As the person who began this thread, I wanted to share my specific concerns with the folks on the Board.
First, here is the new category language:
[FONT="]Policy L-1.4.4 Neighborhood Commercial (NC):[/FONT][FONT="] The purpose of this land use category is to designate small areas in proximity to residential areas that will allow for a limited group of commercial uses to serve the needs of those residential areas. All neighborhood commercial uses must be designed in use, scale, character, and intensity to be compatible with, and to protect, the abutting and surrounding residential areas.[/FONT]
[FONT="](A) [FONT="]Location criteria:[/FONT] The intersection of arterial/collector, collector/collector, and collector/local street. However, in areas south of the Choctawhatchee Bay and the Intercoastal Waterway, NC designations shall be limited to those intersection areas described above that are within the designated Scenic Corridors. This limitation shall not prevent the designation of an existing neighborhood development as NC if such development was lawfully in operation prior to the date of adoption of this amendment and is an ongoing business.[/FONT]
[FONT="](B) [FONT="]Uses allowed:[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Allowed neighborhood scale uses: offices, professional services, storefront retail shopping, neighborhood grocery stores, limited lodging not to exceed 25 rooms, banks, bakeries, cafes and restaurants without drive-thru facilities.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Prohibited uses: Gas stations and convenience stores with or without fuel, bars, and auto repair services, and the like. However, this provision does not preclude restaurants, or other similar allowed uses, from alcohol sales/services during course of business.[/FONT]
[FONT="](C) [FONT="]Density Allowed:[/FONT] Maximum of one dwelling unit per lot, unless developed pursuant to section (E)(1) below.[/FONT]
[FONT="](D) [FONT="]Intensity allowed:[/FONT] A maximum FAR [floor to area ratio] of 0.65 (65%) and a maximum ISR of 0.60 (60%).[/FONT]
[FONT="](E) [FONT="]Special Considerations[/FONT][/FONT]
[FONT="]1. Live/work uses are encouraged, so long as the overall density for the development does not exceed four (4) dwelling units per acre and the development must be in scale and character of adjacent residential areas.[/FONT]
[FONT="]2. Outdoor storage, outdoor broadcasting or music, display of goods, or outdoor seating for cafes and restaurants may be permitted subject to a case-by-case determination of its impact on the abutting neighborhood and where it does not conflict with the Scenic Corridor Guidelines.[/FONT]
[FONT="]3. Size, mass, or scale of uses or structures may be limited to ensure compatibility with adjacent and surrounding neighborhoods.[/FONT]
[FONT="]4. The amount of land that will be designated NC may be limited to ensure that the area proposed for Neighborhood commercial designation, and the proposed uses thereon remain at neighborhood scale and character.[/FONT]
Here are the concerns I have shared via email with the County Commissioners:
NO MEASURABLE GUIDELINES
First, the proposed language allows for non-neighborhood serving activities, such as a 25-room hotel, within its definition of allowable uses. A 25-room hotel is in no way the same, in either size or compatibility, as a small retail store, a real estate office, an attorney?s office, an ice cream shop, etc. The only currently operating hotel on 30A is the 60-room Watercolor Inn, and it was permitted and developed part of a highly-scrutinized DRI development. Unfortunately, the only way a 25-room hotel could be built would be for several currently-designated residential lots to be merged into a much larger lot, thereby making that site out-of-scale and incompatible for the neighborhood in which it will be located. If the County Commission believes that there are currently-existing residential properties that are better suited as hotels, then those distinct properties should be required to apply for a land-use category that better suits their needs. But to include a 25-room hotel as an allowable use for the Neighborhood Commercial category is stretching the definition of Neighborhood Commercial. It creates a de facto incompatible use in a neighborhood. Solution: Strike ?limited lodging not to exceed 25 rooms? from the Uses Allowed section of the proposed NC category and please consider prohibiting the merger of residential lots in this category.
Second, the proposed policy should be revised to include a specific measurable standard, such as maximum square footage allowed the new neighborhood commercial activity. It is not unreasonable to articulate such specific standards, especially where businesses will be located adjacent to residences, thereby further guaranteeing compatibility. When this suggestion came before the Planning Commission last week, the Commissioners insisted that specifics such as ?maximum square footage? were better left to the Land Development Code, not the Comprehensive Plan. However, it is important to note that with regard to all five Neighborhood Commercial categories in the Comprehensive Plan for land north of the Choctawhatchee Bay, ?maximum square footage? restrictions are included; property south of the Bay deserves the same treatment. (See: Estate Residential, Rural Residential, Rural Low Density, Rural Village, and Urban Residential).
Solution: Amend Policy L-1.4.4(D) to provide the following: Individual buildings on existing platted lots shall not exceed 3,000 square feet of gross floor area for a single use building or 5,000 square feet of gross floor area (including all uses) in mixed use buildings or live work units and be consistent with the character of existing residential area.
OUTDOOR MUSIC
LOCATION CRITERIA
SUMMARY