The City of Milton held a public hearing July 8 on a rezoning request for roughly 25 acres behind 6593 Caroline Street that the applicant says is planned for an RV campground and related facilities. The hearing opened with city staff describing the site and the process; the city did not vote on the rezoning and officials said the item will return for a required second public hearing and possible action in August.

The matter matters locally because the site abuts jurisdictional wetlands and the Blackwater River trail, is adjacent to high-traffic Caroline Street and would require utilities and permitting from state regulators. Council members and several speakers pressed the applicant and staff on stormwater protections, wetland buffers, sewer capacity, traffic and emergency egress.

Applicant Mohammed Shelby introduced the concept as preliminary and said he was “flexible” on details. “If you have another idea for the property other than [an RV park], I’m going to listen,” Shelby told the council. He said his firm had already paid for a wetlands survey and plans to avoid building inside the wetland, and that the final plan would show engineering measures to protect wetlands and contain runoff at dump stations.

Council members repeatedly urged that detailed requirements be written into a development agreement before any final approval. One council member said the agreement could require a landscaping plan, walls or a homeowner association to assure upkeep, similar to conditions used on other developments in Milton. Planning staff and other city staff told the council that utility, life-safety and state wetland permits would be required before city approvals and that a formal development agreement would trigger additional public hearings.

Councilwoman Fretwell voiced neighborhood and traffic concerns, saying Caroline Street is already congested and that emergency access, driveway geometry and site circulation for large recreational vehicles were unresolved. “Traffic is already a nightmare. So this is just gonna add to it,” she said. Other members raised similar points about vehicles pulling large fifth-wheels onto Caroline Street, the lack of a nearby crossover and how RV circulation might affect daily traffic and emergency response.

Staff and council also discussed city sewer capacity. A staff member told the council that the city has reserved the remaining roughly 500,000 gallons-per-day capacity for development inside the city; members said that reservation affects whether the proposed use is feasible and must be considered in any agreement. Council and staff noted that stormwater design, wetland-impact permits from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection and a formal buffer between campsites and wetlands would be required; a local stormwater expert who reviewed the plan told a council member that no stormwater facility or documented buffer was shown on the applicant’s preliminary concept.

Other technical points raised during the hearing:
- The site area under consideration is about 25 acres behind 6593 Caroline Street (applicant’s description).
- City code for campgrounds was cited: residency limits are governed by local code; council members and the applicant discussed that the relevant code limits typical stays to a maximum of six months.
- Planning board had recommended a 5-year milestone/stipulation to avoid indefinite vesting; planning staff explained the 5-year period accounts for state permitting and potential construction timing and that the council may set specific performance milestones (for example, issuance of a building permit or start of construction) to satisfy any sunset condition.
- Applicant estimated engineering, permitting and construction could take up to about two years before the site would be ready to host guests, but council members were told wetland-impact permitting alone can take 6–12 months and additional state approvals may extend that timeline.

Public commenters and several council members asked for clear requirements on stormwater management, wetland buffers, traffic/egress improvements and enforcement or upkeep mechanisms (for example, HOA covenants or development-agreement conditions). Fire and life-safety staff raised concern about single ingress/egress configurations for a campground and recommended that egress be addressed in the formal plan.

Next steps: the council did not take a final vote at the July 8 hearing. Staff recommended that any rezoning approval be followed by a developer agreement returned to the council for final approval with additional public hearings and explicitly drafted requirements addressing wetlands, stormwater, sewer connections, traffic and safety. Council members said they were inclined by voice to allow the rezoning to proceed to the next step with the stipulation that a development agreement be brought back and that technical issues be resolved before final action.

The record for this topic will return to a subsequent meeting for a second public hearing and a final vote; staff told the council the developer cannot proceed to detailed design, permitting or construction until the zoning and a development agreement allow the proposed use.