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Watersound HOA wins conditional approval to use engineered crushed-shell path on Saltbox Lane after heated public comment
Summary
After extensive public comment about safety, trees and aesthetics, the Technical Review Committee conditionally approved a development-order amendment allowing a stabilized crushed-shell path on a 450-foot section of Saltbox Lane in Watersound Beach, pending final engineering and director review.
The Walton County Technical Review Committee on Nov. 19 conditionally approved an amendment to the Watersound Beach Phase 3D development order to allow a stabilized crushed-shell (crust-shell) path in a 450-foot section of Saltbox Lane, after extended public comment and technical presentations.
Attorney Robert Kaufman, representing the Watersound Beach Community Association and Dunlap & Shipman, told the committee the change responds to a 2020 tripping incident; the HOA removed a flush boardwalk and installed a Bahama/crust-shell path in early 2021. Kaufman said the association now seeks engineered approval for a reinforced grid and crushed-shell infill that the applicant says will stabilize the surface, preserve tree roots and accommodate pedestrians, strollers and wheelchair users. "We're asking to be able to stabilize it and use it in that location," the applicant's planner said.
Several residents urged replacing the path with raised wooden boardwalks, arguing the crushed-shell surface is unsafe for people with strollers, disabilities and heavy beach traffic. Shirley Versen, a Saltbox Lane homeowner, said the path is a primary access route for hotel and rental guests to the community beach club and that the loose shell surface forces pedestrians into the narrow street. "People with strollers, disabilities, they cannot walk on that gravel path," Versen said.
Applicant representatives said the proposed solution is an approved path type in the original development order and that raised boardwalks would require a separate amendment and could create ramping issues at private front-doors. Staff recommended conditional approval, noting the application could set a precedent for alternative path materials in Watersound but that the request is framed as an amendment to the original development order, not the PUD. The committee voted to conditionally approve the amendment pending final engineering responses and the director's decision.
Staff and the applicant agreed to add clarifying exhibits — including an arborist letter and refined plan sheets — to the record and to address outstanding engineering comments before final sign-off.
