By DOTTY NIST
Walton County, Fla— Among business taken up by the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) at its July 12 regular meeting was now-familiar but revised proposal for condominium and commercial development within the Gulf Place Planned Unit Development (PUD). The commissioners also heard from some Driftwood Estates residents about a letter recently sent out by Walton County Public Works, among other public comment.
The South Walton Annex was the location for the meeting.
Proposed for lots 19 and 20 in the Gulf Place PUD, the proposal consisted of 70 residential condominium units and 2,160 square feet of commercial space. Applicant for the project was listed as Efrat Arad – Lagoon Manor Development.
The development as previously proposed had encountered strong community opposition at hearings last year before the Walton County Planning Commission and the BCC. At that time the proposal had been for a 50-room hotel and 40 condominium units, along with the commercial.
At a Jan. 12, 2016, BCC hearing on the application, there was consensus among the commissioners that a “straight residential” project, with residential development replacing the hotel, would be preferable, and a motion was approved to have the applicants return with a revised site plan in line with that consensus.
A revised form of the original proposal, with the 50 hotel units converted to 30 condominium units in the same footprint, was approved by the Walton County Planning Commission on June 9, and it was that revised request that was before the BCC on July 12.
The application was accompanied by a proposed PUD amendment to authorize the conversion of the hotel to the 30 condominium units.
Both the amendment and the actual development proposal were approved unanimously by the BCC.
During a public comment period at the meeting, Jim Hopson of the Greater Driftwood Estates Homeowners’ Association brought up a letter sent to some of the homeowners in that subdivision stating that the owners would need to have their contractors coordinate with Walton County Public Works if they desired a higher level of service than an open ditch conveyance system for drainage that the county would be working to re-establish along the roadway in the subdivision.
Dated June 8 and signed by Walton County Public Works Director Wilmer Stafford, the letter advised that the county would be working in the county right-of-way to re-establish the existing drainage system “at various locations to address nuisance drainage issues” on the roadway. It stated that the existing drainage system on the exterior roads of the subdivision “consists of ditches/swales on both side of the roadway which convey stormwater runoff to one of the several outfalls within the Driftwood area,” and that for a number of properties fronting the roadway no ditch/swale conveyance existed within the right-of-way.
Included with the letter were drawings illustrating an alternative option for homeowners desiring a higher level of service “than the county can currently offer,” not involving standing water within the right-of-way, with the alternative option requiring the homeowners’ obtaining a contractor, who would coordinate with public works. The letter stated that county crews were scheduled to begin drainage work in the area in mid-July.
Hopson told the commissioners that the ditch and swale level of service would not be an acceptable one for the subdivision and would “cause more problems than it would solve.” He maintained that it was the responsibility of the county to fix the problem without homeowners having to hire contractors.
Driftwood Estates homeowner Robert Monk said he was also sent the letter—but said he owns several homes in the subdivision and only received a letter at one of the addresses.
Driftwood Estates homeowner Alan Osborne also spoke to the commissioners about the letter, observing that the letter had been sent out approximately two months after the county signed an agreement to settle a lawsuit filed by Driftwood homeowners.
The homeowners had sued Walton County and developers of property in their area, contending that the developers had been negligent in providing for stormwater drainage. The settlement removed the county from the lawsuit, which continues against the other parties.
Osborne said that nowhere in the settlement had it been stated that people living in the subdivision would be funding stormwater improvements. Residents had already paid over $3 million into a municipal services benefit unit for a drainage system that did not comply, he told the commissioners.
Osborne urged the commissioners to “look into that drainage.” He also said he would like the BCC to send a letter to the state Department of Economic Opportunity (DEO) asking that the state issue a notice of violation for the responsible parties’ development order in connection with stormwater drainage. With this resulting in suspension of the development order, the Walton County Comprehensive Plan would continue to apply to govern development, he continued.
“You need to start doing the right thing on drainage,” Osborne told the BCC, urging them to approve new drainage standards for the area south of the bay.
Miramar Beach resident Suzanne Harris questioned who had authorized the letter to be sent and warned that it would “put the county into another lawsuit.” She complained that the letter had not been discussed by the BCC before being sent out, as should have happened.
Harris also brought up a new group that “everybody is talking about,” which she told the commissioners is a 501(c)(4) with $4 million dollars.
The mystery group, known as “Our Generation: Walton County” had made news in recent weeks by sending out glossy and complimentary informational flyers about two county commission candidates, Bill Fletcher and Melanie Nipper, and by running advertising attacking Bill Chapman and Bill Imfeld, incumbent commissioners running for re-election.
The flyers gave a Washington, D.C., return address. There has been speculation but no definitive information on who is behind Our Generation.
Harris asserted that despite many people making statements that she is involved in the group, she has no involvement, nor has she contributed to it. She said she has done everything she can to obtain information on it and has hired a private investigator to research the group.
Harris commented that people should check their facts before making such accusations. She warned that if anyone else made the statement that she was involved in the group, “I will sue you personally.”
She said to the commissioners that she had been told that “Bill” had (incorrectly) said that either she or Don Riley was involved with the group. Riley is also a Miramar Beach homeowner who has been active in the community and with county government. Harris indicated that Riley had been in Walton County only once over the past two months due to health issues.
Bill Chapman vigorously denied that he had made the statement referenced. Bill Imfeld responded that he had told “an individual” of a number of names that “dozens of people” had passed to him as possibly being involved with the group. He said he had never made such accusations about Harris or Riley. “I’m not going to accuse anybody,” he concluded.