TRC conditionally approves 30South mixed-use building with stormwater and screening commitments

Walton County’s Technical Review Committee granted conditional approval August 5 to 30South (MIN26000050), a proposed 19,968-square-foot mixed-use building designed for restaurants, offices and retail on about 3.11 acres in District 4. Nolan Baker of Baker Engineers said resubmittals addressed many comments and that the project’s redesigned stormwater system required submittal to the water management district, resulting in a higher treatment standard.

“As part of our redesign, we had to go back to water management district, which put us under the new criteria for water management,” Baker said, describing increased treatment and quality measures. Residents raised concerns about cumulative traffic, late-night dumpster operations, possible flooding and headlights from elevated parking lots; one resident asked whether the county could require a 100-year stormwater design given proximity to coastal barrier areas. Baker and staff said the discharge point was designed to convey to on-site wetlands and that the plan includes a 50-foot conservation easement plus a 25-foot landscape buffer for a combined 75-foot separation between the development and nearby homes.

Committee members asked the applicant to consider additional screening such as vegetative buffers or a visual fence along the southern parking edge to mitigate headlights and agreed the applicant would coordinate screening details with neighbors. The committee’s conditional approval requires the applicant to address outstanding comments before development order issuance.