Zoning board recommends denying rezoning for proposed Grover’s restaurant on Tunnel Road

The Santa Rosa County Zoning Board on Jan. 9 recommended denying a rezoning request that would allow a Grover’s family restaurant at 3280 Tunnel Road in Pace.

The board voted to recommend denial of the application to rezone 2.61 acres from AG RR (agricultural/rural residential) to HCD (highway commercial development), following a lengthy public-comment period in which neighbors focused on traffic safety at the Tunnel Road–Quintet Road intersection and on the loss of residential character in the area.

The rezoning request would have amended the future land-use designation from agricultural/rural residential to commercial and allowed construction of a Grover’s restaurant and associated site improvements. County staff and the applicant said the parcel is large enough for the building and that, under county rules, the developer would be required to construct turn lanes on Quintet Road as part of site-plan review. Becky Cato, representing the applicant, told the board that those turn-lane improvements would be required by county engineering and that the developer would pay for them. “The county is requiring that we put a turn lane on Quintet Road,” Cato said during the presentation.

Applicant Michael (Mike) Price, co-owner of Grover’s, described the business as a family-style restaurant intended for longer onsite stays and called the site a “perfect spot.” He said he had searched the area for more than a year for a larger lot with trees and green space. “I really think this is a perfect spot for it, and the community,” Price told the board.

Residents who live along Tunnel Road and nearby streets urged the board to preserve the parcel as residential. Speakers cited the angle of the Tunnel–Quintet intersection, limited sight distance, logging-truck traffic, and a history of crashes. Resident Steve Kuhar referenced traffic projections presented by the applicant’s study contrasting current “daily trips” and projected restaurant trips; he also noted neighborhood walking routes and objected to any suggestion that nearby residential streets such as Curtis Road be used as alternate access. “Curtis Road is a small residential road … there’s no sidewalks … it’s not suitable,” Kuhar said.

Several residents described recent serious crashes and fatalities near the intersection. A number of speakers said they do not oppose Grover’s as a business in the community but object to its placement at that intersection until county road improvements and clearer speed-limit controls are in place. Becky Cato and the applicant urged the board to distinguish between traffic problems attributable to general growth and those specifically generated by the proposed restaurant; they also said that site-plan requirements would address drainage, lighting and noise limits so as to reduce impacts on adjacent homes.

During board deliberations, members repeatedly cited traffic and safety concerns. Board members and several speakers said the posted speeds on Quintet Road are too high for the built-up corridor and noted existing county and Florida Department of Transportation crash records near Five Points. One board member said the roadway should be reduced from 55 mph for safety; another said Tunnel Road itself should be widened and improved before adding commercial traffic. Several members said they were sympathetic to the applicant but not confident the intersection and surrounding infrastructure are ready for additional commercial use.

A motion to deny the rezoning request passed; the board’s recommendation is advisory. The applicant may present the project to the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners for final action, and the transcript records the board’s reminder that rezoning recommendations are forwarded to the county commissioners and that appeals and certain procedures must be initiated in the county’s planning office within the time limits specified by county rules.

What happens next: The board’s denial is a recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners, which reviews rezoning requests. The applicant can still present the proposal to commissioners; any site-plan work, required turn-lane construction and final engineering approvals would be reviewed if and when the property is approved for commercial use.

Ending: The applicant and local residents were advised during the meeting about the county’s procedural rights and next steps; the zoning board’s recommendation will be included in materials sent to the county commission for its consideration.