By DOTTY NIST
Future development at Sandestin Resort will depend on a determination to be made soon by the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC).
In June 2014, after an all-day quasi-judicial hearing, the BCC had found the Sandestin Development of Regional Impact (DRI) not in substantial compliance with its development order. It had been directed at that time that further development at Sandestin would first require a Notice of Proposed Change (NOPC) procedure. Subsequent consultation with the state Department of Economic Opportunity had clarified that this requirement would not apply to the entire Sandestin DRI but to the property owned by the developer found out of compliance, Tom Becnel of Sandestin Investments.
Some properties included in the original Sandestin DRI, among those Grand Boulevard and most of Driftwood, are now under separate ownership or control from Sandestin Investments and from that of the Sandestin Owners Association. However, those properties are still considered part of the DRI and continue to undergo monitoring as such. The original DRI was approved by the county in 1976.
The Sandestin NOPC application had come before the Walton County Planning Commission at Oct. 27 and Nov. 12 public hearings. The specific request by the applicant had been for a change to the previously-approved development order for the Sandestin DRI—and for the NOPC for the DRI to be found a non-substantial deviation from the original development order.
Dana Matthews, an attorney representing Sandestin Investments, had argued that entitlements for the DRI had not changed and that therefore the proposal did not represent a substantial deviation.
There had been much discussion on traffic impacts related to the property. Walton County Planning and Development Services Director Wayne Dyess had told the planning commissioners that traffic for the DRI had been vested since 1974. However, Renee Bradley, county planner, had pointed out that at the time the original Sandestin DRI was approved, it had been stated that build out of the development would be completed within 15 years.
Planning Commissioner Suzanne Harris had stressed the need for the county to do a traffic study and had moved for denial. However, her motion had not been approved. The planning commission recommendation finally approved had been for conditional approval of the applicant’s request.
The Sandestin NOPC came before the BCC on Dec. 2 at the South Walton Annex, with a request on behalf of the applicant and the county for a continuance to Jan. 21.
Matthews commented that he had understood that information packets submitted with the NOPC application had been furnished to the county commissioners. However, according to discussion, this had not been the case, with planning commissioners receiving the packets and an insufficient number being available to provide county commissioners with the information.
County Administrator Larry Jones and some of the commissioners also emphasized the need for the application submittal to include all changes to date and for information in the package not to change after Dec. 29, the deadline for the submittal of information to staff. District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows asked for the information to be provided to commissioners for review by Jan. 14 or before. District 4 Commissioner Sara Comander asked that it be provided as soon as possible after Jan. 1.
The commissioners also spoke to the need for a traffic analysis to accompany the request. There was discussion that the state Department of Transportation (DOT) had expressed concern about traffic on state roadways that could be impacted by the application.
Meadows indicated that she would not be prepared to consider the request in the absence of traffic analysis information, “because we know traffic is number one.” District 1 Commissioner Bill Chapman also called for this information to be furnished, calling traffic “a major concern.”
Matthews commented that consulting firm Kimley-Horn had been requested to prepare traffic information for DOT. He told the commissioner that he was sure they would be provided with those findings and that the applicant would try to resolve any objection raised in connection with that information.
A motion for continuance of the NOPC request to Jan. 21 was approved. The hearing is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on that date at the South Walton Annex.
