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Residents press task force to curb clear‑cutting; engineers and builders explain when filling and cutting are required
Summary
Public commenters urged stricter limits on clear‑cutting and larger wetland buffers while technical experts and builders explained cases where high seasonal groundwater requires clearing, fill and engineered grading to prevent road failures; task force asked staff to balance those concerns in revised code language.
Several Santa Rosa County residents used the May 2 task force meeting to urge tight limits on clear‑cutting and stronger wetland protections, saying clear removal of trees harms wildlife, increases runoff and damages the character of rural neighborhoods.
Public commenters suggested a 100‑foot wetland buffer (citing Okaloosa County as an example), called for updated rainfall data for pond design, and warned that conservation language should not be a veneer for later development. "We are not against growth. We just want better. Better planning, better transparency, better accountability," said Cindy Smith, a Pace resident who told the task force she reviewed developer requests and county decisions and saw patterns she found troubling.
Technical experts and developers…
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