Residents urge pause on Navarre Beach boardwalk, citing environmental, funding and floodplain concerns

Dozens of Navarre residents used a three-minute public-forum period at the Aug. 25 agenda-review meeting to urge the Board of County Commissioners to pause the Navarre Beach Event Hall and boardwalk project until more information is available.

"A lot of people may not think of that dune system and that berm as a 1st line of defense," said Kathy Holmes, who asked the board to protect dunes and reduce lighting that disorients hatchling sea turtles. Environmental and conservation speakers repeatedly described the site as an active nesting and dune-building habitat and warned the physical footprint and added lighting could produce irreversible damage.

David Jensen pressed for financial transparency, asking which funds would pay for the project and under what statutory authority: "In 2024, the Tourist Development Council reportedly earmarked approximately $5,500,000 of tourist development tax reserves for the project," he said, and asked the county to publish survey results and a funding breakdown. Others raised floodplain and insurance concerns, with one speaker noting the site is zoned VE14 and VE12 and asking who would be responsible for rebuilding after storm surge.

Conservation leaders said the project's scale has grown beyond earlier concepts. "This isn't a blank canvas," said Alex Fox, chief operating officer of the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center, arguing that additional structures, lighting and human activity would harm wildlife and increase county costs. Julie Shiro of the Francis and Weston Audubon Society asked commissioners not to proceed with bids for a site that she said would directly impact about 14 acres of protected dune habitat.

The chair told speakers staff would collect questions and attempt to provide answers after bids are returned and suggested a workshop after Sept. 3, when staff expects bid information to be available. No vote or contract award occurred at the meeting.