A controversial land code was used to gobble up Santa Rosa farmland.
Prior to the Oct. 26 vote to remove the roundly criticized alternative subdivision provision from the Santa Rosa County Land Development Code, County Commissioner Kerry Smith warned that the strategy – developed as a way to preserve wetlands and salvage green space – had created a recipe for disaster.
"When you're throwing 300 homes we need to service onto 300 acres in the middle of nowhere, that's urban sprawl," he said.
Commissioners left a loophole open last fall when they voted to remove the provision by giving developers until Jan. 1 to turn in plans outlining how they would utilize lots of acreage to create high density housing while leaving at least 25% of the total property undisturbed.
New data from Santa Rosa County indicates more than a dozen developments squeezed in under the Jan. 1 deadline to apply to build single family homes employing the higher density alternative subdivision provision.
If the plans of all of the developers come to fruition, 1,362 new homes will someday soon dot the landscape. Of those, 1,217 will be constructed in County Commission District 3, which is presently represented by Commissioner James Calkins and encompasses the northern half of the county.
Smith was critical of what the alternative subdivision provision was doing to the cost of the county's agricultural land as farmers sold off their properties to development interests.
"In 2018-19, land was selling for $10,000 an acre. The minute we put the alternative subdivision out there it was going for $21,(000) $22,(000) $25,000 an acre," he said. "You've incentivized me not only to create urban sprawl, but to walk to the bank as well."
13 developments came in before the deadline
Though it looked in early January like only three developers had used the time between the Oct. 26 finalization of the decision to remove the alternative subdivision provision and Jan. 1 to seek permission to develop under it, more recent numbers provided to the Pensacola News Journal confirm that was not the case.
A new list provided by the county's Planning and Zoning Department shows that the number of entities seeking permission to develop under the alternative subdivision provision had grown from six in December to 13 as of Jan. 31, with 12 of those having received approval of preliminary plats.
Eight of the requests for consideration were processed for review by the county's Engineering Department on or after Dec. 22, with three processed between Jan. 11 and 17 of this year.
Ten of the 13 parcels slated for development are in County Commission District 3, the largely agricultural northern part of the county. Calkins was the single county commissioner to vote Sept. 18 against abolishing the alternative subdivision provision.
"Pace has gotten really over developed and so development has come to District 3," Calkins said, adding that his philosophy on growth is that it should happen like "Tetris," a game played by arranging pieces to form as many horizontal lines of blocks as possible.
What's happening at Rhett's Run and Jubilee
An example of Smith's concerns about sprawl played out in the vicinity of County Road 182, where the county's northernmost alternative subdivision provision development, Rhett's Run, is slated to be built.
Tony Mathis, manager of the Point Baker Water System, said that plans to develop an 800-home subdivision in the Chumuckla area fell through when project engineers tabulated the cost of running a 12-inch water line more than 6 miles to meet potable water and fire flow demands.
"Once they found out the cost, they weren't too interested," he said. "They sold to a group who has since started selling them off in 15-acre parcels."
Rhett's Run could benefit from collaboration between the Point Baker Water System and the Chumuckla Water System. The two have forged a deal to allow Chumuckla, whose pipes are closer to Rhett's Run than those of Point Baker, to cross into the Point Baker franchise area to serve the subdivision.
Rhett's Run phases 2 and 3 are presently managed by aDoor Development LLC, which lists a group of Pensacola businessmen as managing partners. Plans call for the subdivision to consist of 113 lots on 133 acres.
The massive Jubilee project is the largest planned under the alternative subdivision provision and has been on the drawing board for years. It has become the poster child for criticism of the county's higher density/greater greenspace plan, targeted primarily by members of the Fowler family, who live on property adjacent to the Jubilee project site.
It is the only one reviewed that has been approved to tie into a Santa Rosa County sewage treatment facility. Pace Water System will provide wastewater treatment. The other District 3 subdivisions have not received similar approvals and could be forced to rely on septic tanks.
Two phases of Jubilee located in District 3 have received preliminary plat approval and one, Jubilee 101, is one of just two county-wide to have obtained construction plan approval.
The first District 3 Jubilee parcel is identified in county records as Jubilee Phase 201, which calls for 153 lots on 153 acres off Luther Fowler Road.
The second, larger project, is titled Jubilee Phase 101 and combines Phases 101, 102, 103 and 104. This project calls for dividing 761 acres into 761 buildable lots near the intersection of Chumuckla Highway and Willard Norris Road.
More: Facing overwhelming public pushback, Santa Rosa votes against controversial rural density rule
"It's a foothold for developers ..."
Ryan Fowler, the patriarch of the family that has so heavily criticized alternative subdivision provision development and, in particular, the Jubilee development, said he believes county commissioners acted deliberately to allow builders time to get in alternative subdivision project plans between Oct. 26 and Jan. 1.
"They were told by developers if they were going to get rid of it, they had to wait. They were essentially allowing them to rezone what they wanted to rezone. It's a roundabout way to develop our agricultural land," he said. "It's a foothold for the developers to expand and take over the farm land, pack as many homes on the land as they can and make money hand over foot."
While Fowler could offer no evidence of links between developers and commissioners, it's not hard to see why Santa Rosa County residents have grown to distrust both.
Smith, the commissioner and alternative subdivision provision critic was able to smoke out developer Edwin Henry, owner of Henry Homes, as the person behind a smear campaign waged during election season to prevent him from being elected to the District 2 seat. He has since sued Henry for defamation. That lawsuit is pending.
County Commission Chairman Sam Parker, who is running for a third term in office, and Calkins, who said Friday he is leaning toward a run for a second term, have each received thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Henry-run corporate entities and other building business interests.
Which developments have received preliminary plat approval?
The District 3 alternative subdivision provision developments that have received preliminary plat approval include:
Chandi Ranch, which lies east of Tidwell Road off Aubrey Lane. The development is listed as a 376-lot single family resident subdivision developed on 405 acres. Plans were submitted by applicant Andrew Starkey and processed for review on Dec. 29, according to county records.
Jasmine Meadows will lie just to the south of Chandi Ranch and just north of Willard Norris Road. It is slated to be a 335-lot single family residential subdivision built on 335 acres. At least 100 acres on the property appears to be either wetlands or a pond parcel and a survey states all wet detention and pond parcel areas, along with private common areas, shall remain vacant. Andrew Starkey, is listed as the project applicant and it was processed for review on Dec. 29. Buddies LLC is listed as the developer.
Justins Landing, on Pine Blossom Road off Happy Hollow, will include 30 lots on 35 acres. Clint Geci is listed as the project applicant and it was processed for review Dec. 27. Information provided with the submission states Justins Landing will be a single family subdivision utilizing the alternative subdivision provision.
Baker Ridge is on State Road 89, approximately a mile off State Road 87 North. The applicant for consideration is listed as Alex Stierwalt and the project was processed for review on Jan. 17 of this year. Plans call for a 55-lot, privately owned and maintained single family residential development on 55 acres. All lots will be a minimum of 0.25 acres in size and a 17.31 acre passive use parcel is "over the required minimum of 25% of the development site."
Three Oaks Preserve will be developed on 58 lots on 58 acres along Chumuckla Highway north of Whitley Lane. The submittal states it will offer a park or open space that "exceeds 25% of the total site area." It was processed for review on Jan. 11, 2024 with Erin Stewart listed as project applicant.
Spring Ridge, permitted Dec. 22, by Kevin Gardner calls for 479 lots to be developed on 492 acres on the east side of 87 North off Manning Road. The Developer is listed as the Matthat Group of Milton. Christopher Walters is the managing partner of the company, records show.
Pine Hammock, where 200 acres would be parceled out into 199 lots on the west side of State Road 87 at Langley Street in the rear of the Pine Lake Subdivision.
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa County alternative subdivision provision lives on
