Commissioners approve 48-townhome conditional use in Navarre over traffic objections, 4–1

A majority of the Santa Rosa County Board of County Commissioners on Thursday approved a conditional-use permit to build 48 townhomes on about 5.77 acres on Orion Parker Boulevard in Navarre, voting 4–1 after more than an hour of testimony and public comment.

The project, presented by attorney Becky Cato and developer Chloe Kelly of 68 Ventures, would develop roughly 3.36 of the parcels and yield an overall density the presenters described as about 8.32 units per acre — below the 10 units-per-acre maximum for the highway-commercial-development (HCD) designation. The applicants told the board the units would be fee-simple townhomes that buyers own, not rental apartments.

The proposal drew several residents to the podium to oppose the request, with concerns focused on traffic congestion at the subdivision exit onto Highway 98 and the loss of wooded acreage. James McLean, a long-time resident, said the small two-lane road that serves his subdivision already backs up for hours when the Highway 98 signal changes and that adding new housing would make exiting the neighborhood “almost impossible.” Michelle Simone, who lives on Orion Parker, said the same road serves several subdivisions and that peak backups can last “hours.”

Chloe Kelly responded with a traffic study by Skipper Engineering included in the project materials. Kelly said the townhome development would generate about 317 daily trips and around 23–24 AM peak-hour trips (with approximately 14 inbound and 10 outbound during evening peak), which she contrasted with higher trip counts expected from by-right commercial uses such as a hotel, retail center or gas station. “If traffic is the main pain point, then this use makes sense,” Kelly said, noting the property’s existing commercial zoning allows more intensive uses that could create greater traffic impacts.

County staff and the county attorney framed the application as a conditional use rather than a rezoning. The county attorney explained that conditional uses are permitted under the land-development code if objective criteria are met and noted that, unless the board could point to competent substantial evidence that the criteria were not met, the board risks having a denial overturned on appeal.

Commissioners debated trade-offs. Commissioner Eddington said he sympathized with residents’ concerns and would prefer more study and potential road improvements before approving, while other commissioners pointed to the project’s proximity to Hurlburt Field and to staff’s findings that the request meets the objective code criteria. Commissioner Smith emphasized the county’s need for housing close to the base and noted the conditional use is less intensive than many by-right commercial options.

Commissioner Smith moved to approve the conditional use and Commissioner Smith’s motion was seconded by Commissioner Smith. (See official vote record below for names and tally.) The motion carried, 4–1, with Commissioner Eddington opposed. After the vote, the board closed the case.

The developer said permitting and engineering design would take about eight months, with the first houses delivered in about 24–25 months if the schedule holds. The applicant also said they will perform a tree survey and use buffering and design-review guidelines to preserve existing vegetation where feasible.

What happens next: The conditional use allows the developer to proceed with site-plan and engineering review; the project must still meet all land-development-code site-plan standards (drainage, buffering, impervious-area limits and utility requirements) before construction permits can be issued.