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Residents urge fixes for chronic flooding and question hotel growth near bridge
Summary
Two Destin residents used public comment to press the city on long-running street flooding and damage from construction activity, and to raise concerns about continuing hotel development and height/parking impacts near the bridge; councilors acknowledged the complaints and said the LDC rewrite aims to address growth concerns.
During the public comment period, two residents described persistent local problems and urged action.
Don Dallas (address given in the transcript) said he has repeatedly sought help for severe flooding at his street and driveway (Snapper Drive), described years of salt-water intrusion that has damaged property and posed slip-and-fall and mold risks, and said he had previously been placed on a grant list but had not received updates. Dallas asked the council to pursue grants and repairs to stop repeated flooding and salt-water damage.
Sid Potter thanked council staff for recent repairs in his neighborhood but raised multiple concerns: damaged sidewalks and irrigation heads caused by construction equipment; the scale of new hotels proposed (one described as roughly 320 rooms) and whether that site can accommodate parking; and whether height limits or moratoria should be used to slow rapid development. Potter noted he has lived in the city since 1978 and asserted the city’s infrastructure is struggling to keep up with growth.
Council responded to public comment with brief acknowledgements; one councilmember said the LDC rewrite is intended to correct language that has allowed unanticipated development outcomes and that a moratorium on new hotels is being considered once the rewrite is finalized. Staff did not provide immediate, itemized remedies for the specific properties during the public comment period; residents were thanked for raising the issues.
