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Destin council approves Drury hotel development order with conditions after lengthy debate on trees, parking and traffic
Summary
After extended council debate over landscaping, parking credits and Highway 98 traffic, the City of Destin approved a development order for a 320‑room Drury hotel and conference center with conditions including a pet relief area and a staff‑negotiated increase in native trees.
The City of Destin City Council approved a development order for a proposed Drury hotel and conference center after more than three hours of questions and public hearing testimony focused on landscaping, parking and traffic on U.S. 98.
The quasi‑judicial application presented by Choctaw Engineering on behalf of Drury (Speaker 17) proposes a six‑story hotel with about 320 rooms, roughly 4,000 square feet of conference space, a pool, parking, and stormwater improvements. The applicant’s representatives — Eddie Robinson (Drury) and the project engineer, Mark Seiner — answered technical questions from council about site layout and design.
Council members voiced persistent concerns over three themes: the project’s landscaping plan, how the development relied on code‑allowed parking reductions, and ingress/egress impacts on Highway 98.
“I’d like native trees, not palms…
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