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Walton County directs staff to pursue planning fixes, asks outside help and sets reporting schedule
Summary
After months of complaints about conflicting rules and slow permitting, Walton County commissioners directed staff Oct. 28 to develop a targeted program to clean up the land‑development code and planning procedures and to negotiate consultant support for any code revisions that cannot be handled in‑house.
Commissioners spent an extended portion of the Oct. 28 meeting on planning operations, permitting delays and land‑development code inconsistencies. The discussion followed public complaints about long permit processing times, citations, and long‑standing conflicts between the comprehensive plan and the land‑development code. Several commissioners and residents described repeated, unresolved issues that cause friction for property owners and generate frequent complaints to commissioners.
The board directed county staff to continue the operational assessment already under way and to prepare a follow‑up for the November meeting. Commissioners instructed the county administrator to negotiate a scope of work with a qualified Florida planner or consultant (the board referenced local planners, DPZ's EAR report and MGT work already under way) to address: code conflicts, director determinations lingering in policy, a prioritized set of text amendments, and a public engagement plan that includes workshops outside county offices. County staff said the current effort includes MGT recommendations and an EAR already completed by DPZ; staff will return to the board with short‑, mid‑ and long‑term recommendations, concrete timelines and cost estimates.
Commissioners emphasized two constraints: any changes must respect state law (including the limits imposed by Senate Bill 180 affecting certain local authorities) and must preserve the required public‑hearing steps in state statute for comp‑plan or LDC text amendments. The board also asked staff to identify the number of vacant planning positions and propose temporary support where needed so that the department can both keep day‑to‑day permitting on schedule and pursue longer‑range code clean‑ups.
Why this matters: Multiple residents told the board small projects such as accessory structures and pole barns are being delayed and that earlier policy decisions caused unintended conflicts in day‑to‑day permitting. Commissioners and staff agreed a dedicated effort is needed to reconcile comp‑plan text, director determinations and development review procedures so residents and businesses face consistent requirements.
