Gulf County holds workshop on industrial land-use change as residents press for wider waterfront buffers

Gulf County held a public workshop March 24 to review a county-initiated large-scale future land-use map amendment that would reclassify about 3,200 acres from agricultural to industrial to create an industrial corridor, county staff and commissioners said.

The discussion focused on where industry could be sited along the proposed corridor, how existing Land Development Regulations (LDRs) and development orders would control setbacks and environmental protections, and whether the county should add larger waterfront buffers or explicit bans on dredging and pipelines before approving the map change.

County planning staff member Doug said the industrial designation would allow uses tied to “the moving of goods, manufacturing of goods” and similar activities, but that individual projects larger than 5,000 square feet would still require development review and likely come before the county planning-development review board and the commission for approval. He noted existing LDR protections include a 50-foot wetland setback south of the Intracoastal Waterway and that…