By DOTTY NIST
Approved on Sept. 22 was a 2,474-square-foot commercial building in Santa Rosa Beach that is to be leased long-term for use as a Hardee’s restaurant with drive-though.
With the site plan revised from previous presentations, the proposal garnered approval from the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) at their regular meeting on that date at the Walton County Courthouse.
The restaurant is to replace an existing business building just west of the Ace Hardware store, near the northeast corner of U.S. 98 and CR-393.
The proposal had been continued from the Sept. 8 BCC meeting due to traffic concerns and to allow time for consultation with the state Department of Transportation (DOT).
Brian Underwood of Walton County Planning and Development Services told the commissioners that the project engineer had indicated that the turn lane off U.S. 98 providing entrance to the property had been redesigned and that he was preparing to submit the revised plans to DOT. Walton County Planning Manager Mac Carpenter added that a sketch submitted to the county by the applicants the previous Friday also showed the entrance driveway moved to the east about 30 feet and the adjacent Ace Hardware’ driveway moved to the west, providing for the consolidation of the two entrance driveways.
Previous plans, Carpenter explained, had shown the Hardee’s driveway at the western boundary of the parcel.
“It’s a much better design,” he said.
Arriving a little later, Scott Rutherford, engineer for the project, confirmed that DOT had requested, and the applicants had incorporated into their plans, a full-length, 185-foot-long turn lane along U.S. 98 at the entrance from that roadway to the restaurant site.
Rutherford confirmed that the applicants planned to remove the existing driveway connection now in front of the building currently on the site, and relocate the Ace Hardware driveway closer to the Hardee’s. This would improve the Ace driveway connection and help shift the Hardee’s traffic to the east side of the restaurant site, he explained.
Rutherford said he had received a verbal approval from DOT on the revised plans.
District 5 Commissioner Cindy Meadows had expressed concern about huge flatbed trucks that she had seen unloading lumber for the hardware store. She said the trucks had been parked partially on the restaurant site, which currently belongs to the Ace Hardware property owner.
Carpenter had previously stated that the restaurant site was under contract for purchase by the project applicants.
Rutherford said that it was his understanding that Ace Hardware would be redirecting its trucks to use the alleyway between the store’s lumber racks or the rear of the store property for unloading and loading materials. His understanding was also that the trucks would exit via CR-393 after unloading.
Meadows also expressed concern about the flatbed trucks exiting onto the county road. She said she had seen the large trucks sitting across CR-393 after pulling out and turning left (south) onto the county road from the current driveway connection at the back of the hardware store property. It was her feeling that his presented danger for vehicles turning north onto CR-393 from U.S. 98.
Rutherford pledged to discuss with the hardware property owner strategies to improve safety in connection with the situation, possibly to include signage about trucks entering and exiting or having large trucks exit onto U.S. 98 rather than CR-393.
District 4 Commissioner Sara Comander brought up the matter of the stormwater pond for the Hardee’s being planned for offsite from the restaurant property and on an easement on the Ace Hardware store property. She asked if the easement would still hold up in the event of the sale of the restaurant property. Walton County Attorney Mark Davis told the commissioners that he had researched this and had determined that the easement being granted to the restaurant applicant was perpetual and would transfer with the land.
No one came forward to provide public input on the restaurant project.
The Hardee’s proposal received approval by unanimous vote, subject to a final order for the application, revised in accordance with the modified site plan, being approved at the next BCC meeting.
