TRC conditionally approves DW Site Work borrow pit; environmental review pending

The Walton County Technical Review Committee on Tuesday conditionally approved a development order for a proposed borrow pit on an 11.86-acre parcel, but said the project must clear pending environmental review before moving to the Planning Commission.

Planning staff entered the application for MAJ25000047 and recommended conditional approval after the applicant addressed most engineering comments, leaving environmental review outstanding. Scott Jenkins of Jenkins Engineering, who represented the applicant, said the project would develop a roughly 5‑acre borrow pit at the site, which has a future land use of industrial/extractive and a zoning category of heavy industrial.

“The only comments that we really got were regarding access to the site and we provided the easement documents that showed that the access is actually south of that existing railroad track,” Jenkins told the committee. He said a water management district permit has been obtained and that wetlands on the parcel would not be impacted by the pit’s footprint.

Staff and the committee noted no additional major constraints but agreed not to finalize approval until environmental reviewers submit comments. The committee voted to conditionally approve the project so it can proceed to Planning Commission after all outstanding technical and environmental comments are satisfied.

Project details entered into the record identify the site as being in District 3, on the south side of Highway 90 west, east of Rainbow Road and west of Laird Road. Jenkins said a state-required reclamation plan will require benches and revegetation and that the final borrow area will likely remain as a pond once reclamation is complete.

The committee’s conditional approval included the staff condition that no final action occur until environmental comments are received and addressed.