Looks like its a bunch of inexperienced developers with inadequate planing. Building anything in Walton County can be a difficult process unless you have a full understanding of all the laws and requirements. I will be shocked if the county cuts them any slack. In the end, I think they are going to learn a very hard lesson about building in Walton County without proper knowledge of development planing.
In the defense of the developers--they are NOT inexperienced and they and their families have been full-time residents of SoWal for at least 4+ years. They are not newcomers to the area and are experienced working through the county. They are not, as someone stated, fresh from Atlanta and trying to make a quick buck. They have been caught in a bad situation with the downturn of the market--just like every other developer and builder in the area. This is not the first project here that they have done. Before moving here, these guys also had experience in other markets.
Nobody could have planned for the downturn of this market. If only we had all listened to Shelly . . .
Fly for Fun, since you don't live or work here, you can't say that you have even a clue about what it takes to get anything done in Walton County. The fact of the matter is that Walton County is so inefficient that it literally takes years to get a project through to a development order. Turnover at the county offices is so high that you may have to work with a new county planner every 12 months. This project has probably been in the works for over 3 years and at that time the market was doing great. Obviously they would not have proceeded with the project if they could have forseen the market today. They are not stupid.
I remember when presales of this development opened up and someone on this board posted about the "great investment opportunity." Several members of SoWal.com were excited that they had a reservation. It was a good project and a good deal at the time.
I think its time for the gossip and speculation to end.