Quasi-judicial hearing held on Indian Pass Campground expansion; PDRB recommended denial and major legal and environmental disputes aired

Gulf County commissioners on May 21 conducted a quasi-judicial hearing on a development-order application from Indian Pass Resorts LLC to expand and renovate the Indian Pass Campground. The Planning and Development Review Board recommended denial by a 4-0 vote; the county commission heard legal arguments, expert testimony from the applicant and extensive public comment but did not render a final decision at the close of the hearing.

The applicant's attorney, David Theria (T-h-e-r-i-a-k), asked the commission to admit a binder of exhibits into the record; the board accepted exhibits 1—3 into the record by motion. Theria framed several threshold legal issues: whether additional recreational-vehicle (RV) pads are permitted in areas mapped as VE (velocity-elevation) flood zones, the effect of Gulf County ordinances adopted in 2021 on prior local LDR language, and whether Florida Statutes chapter 513 (as cited by counsel) preempts local setback and lot-size rules for…