By DOTTY NIST
A revised version of the Sydney Park development proposal has garnered a favorable vote from the Walton County Planning Commission with added conditions. A large-scale amendment, a communications tower, and a warehouse and office building proposal also received favorable votes to move forward.
The decisions took place at the county board’s Oct. 8 regular meeting at the South Walton Annex.
The planning commissioners had previously voted for denial of the Sydney Park when it came before their board on July 9 as a 26-lot subdivision development.
Proposed for a 3.37-acre Neighborhood Infill site at the west end of Rachel Road, west of Sugar Drive, Sydney Park now calls for 23 lots.
Other changes to the proposal since July included redesign of the road and layout, that the access road surface will be asphalt rather than gravel, the addition of 11 spaces of overflow parking, and a revision of front setback to provide the 20 feet required per the Walton County Land Development Code (LDC).
Still part of the request were several deviations, including a rear yard setback reduction from the 20 feet required by code to 10 feet, the reduction of the side yard setback from the 7.5 feet required by code to five feet, and a waiver on the code requirement to provide sidewalks on both sides of streets in the subdivision. The proposal was for no sidewalks to be provided.
Ross Binkley, engineer of record for Sydney Park, commented that the revised plans move the lots farther away from the existing adjacent Escada subdivision. They provide for a 73-foot-deep common area between the lots and Escada, along with a 10-foot-wide landscape buffer, resulting in none of the lots being closer than 83 feet to Escada, he explained.
Previously there had been a limit on the size of homes to 650 square feet. In response to concerns expressed about that at the July meeting, Binkley said the new range for house size was from 750 feet to 1,100 square feet for one story and up to 2,000 square feet for two story.
Mike Senior, developer for the project, noted that it is designed to retain one inch of rainfall on site as required by county code. He commented that the requested back and side setback reductions, as well as not putting in sidewalks, are aimed at maximizing the preservation area. Preservation area is proposed around the lots.
On the topic of sidewalks, Binkley said the applicant would not have a problem putting in sidewalks if requested, but that he does not believe them to be necessary. The applicant’s justification for variances in the project staff report states, “Sidewalks are distinctly absent in this area along Sugar Drive, so connecting them is not an option. Additionally the design of the neighborhoods is focused on natural vegetation, nature trails, and pervious areas to complement the open space.”
In response to a question, Binkley said there will be a homeowner’s association for the development to provide road maintenance.
Representing the homeowners’ association for Escada Block B, Margie Jordan renewed concerns about the possibility of the homes being used for vacation rentals. She noted that the developer has refused to place deed restrictions to prevent this, while the neighboring area has requirements for rental contracts of one year or longer.
Butler Elementary, Jordan continued, has just placed six new portable classrooms bordering the development property. There will be classrooms within 20 feet of the property line, she said. There will be concern unless these are permanent residences, Jordan commented.
Walton County Planning Manager Mac Carpenter advised that state legislation prohibits the county from regulating the length of lease contracts, although homeowners’ associations may do so.
Jordan also discussed evacuation issues due to only once entrance/exit road existing from U.S. 98 to Sugar Drive, with no turn lane into Sugar Drive, which is a dead-end road. She said she had seen three fatalities while living at Escada, along with experiencing chaos when it was necessary to evaluate for a fire in spring 2002.
Escada homeowner Deborah James questioned whether it would be possible to get a home of 2,000 square feet on one of the lots. She also questioned how lot owners would park, considering the lot size and setbacks, and what the association fees would be.
Tony Fleming, a resident of neighboring Hidden Highlands, told the planning commissioners that his home had flooded yearly for the past three years, with as much as six inches of water. He requested a serious look at drainage. Escada resident Kim Taylor shared similar concerns.
Planning Commissioner David Kramer comment that his issues with the development from the previous hearing had been addressed fairly successfully. He said he would agree with the request for no sidewalks but that the applicant should be required to do a sidewalk buy-out rather than just having that requirement waived. He suggested that he be charged a double buy-out fee since sidewalks on both sides of the street were being proposed to be eliminated.
“People aren’t going to fit into a 10-foot backyard,” Planning Commissioner Tom Patton asserted. He called the proposed 10-foot rear setback “unsatisfactory.”
Patton moved for approval with the double sidewalk buy-out fee and larger back yards “where feasible,” to be determined by staff.
When asked by Wayne Dyess, Walton County planning and development services director, for more detail on the larger back yards, Patton responded that back yards would not increase on lots 1, 2, 13, 14,15 and 17.
The motion for approval carried with all aye votes.
In other action, the board members voted 7-0 to recommend approval of the following proposals: the Bayou Breeze Large-Scale Amendment, which would change approximately 10 acres on the west side of Old Blue Mountain Road, about one-quarter mile north of the intersection of that road with U.S. 98, from Conservation Residential two units per acre to Business Park; the Pleasant Valley Church Communications Tower, a 250-foot-tall tower with a 460-square-foot shelter to be located at 3300 State Hwy. 81; and Seagrove Business Center, consisting of three metal warehouse and office buildings totaling 30,000 square feet, to be constructed as part of the South Walton Business Center Planned Unit Development (PUD) on the south side of Doudna Road, west of CR-393 North.
In conjunction with the latter approval, staff was directed to advise neighboring resident Jill Tanner, who had expressed noise concerns, about noise ordinances and procedures for reporting noise violations.
Continued to the Nov. 12 planning commission meeting were two items on the agenda, the Waterfalls on the Bay Large-Scale Amendment and the Seagrove Village Market proposal.
The board members heard comments on the Seagrove Village Market from two Wood Beach Drive property owners who would not be able to attend the Nov. 12 meeting, Mike Rao and Jan Perkins.
Rao expressed concerns about potential negative impacts of the proposal on the environment and the community, including those related to stormwater, trash, impacts on wetlands and Western Lake, a proposed reduction of the buffer from adjoining residential property, and traffic impacts.
Perkins urged for a close look at impacts on migratory animal habitat associated with the proposed buffer reduction. He spoke to the need for evaluation of compatibility above and beyond the compatibility analysis provided by the developers’ consultants.
Planning Commission Chairman Teddy Stewart responded that the board members would look at “the whole project.”
Perkins also raised concern about public input correspondence on projects not being entered into the database for project applications, as brought to the attention of staff at the Sept. 10 planning commission meeting by Planning Commissioner Suzanne Harris.
Carpenter assured him that the letters in question had been placed in the online file for the project.
Planning commission recommendations are provided to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC), which has responsibility for final determinations on land use proposals in public session.
