Author: Ben Johnson

Gary Bishop and Robert Preston requested a conditional use on behalf of Sany Creek RVP, LLC to allow an RV Park on a 20-acre Milton parcel during the Jan. 13 zoning board meeting.

With more projects and people coming to the City of Milton, the commissioners approved without objection Thursday to reallocate Santa Rosa’s reserved water capacity for other uses.

Mariya Calkins, the wife of sitting Santa Rosa Commissioner James Calkins, is officially running for the District 3 seat in the Florida House of Representatives after Rep. Jayer Williamson announced he will not seek reelection after 2022.

Rep. Jayer Williamson filed a bill to the Florida House of Representatives Dec. 27 that would require a referendum for any prospective municipality incorporation, making Williamson’s “personal requirement” a Florida law.

HB 1035 would include a paragraph in F.S. 165.041 requiring the “passage of a nonbinding referendum … supporting the incorporation of a new municipality approved by 60% or more of the qualified electors within the area of the proposed municipality.”

On Dec. 9, the commissioners narrowly approved a rezoning of a parcel of land that the zoning board previously recommended be denied without objection.

After some confusion, the BOCC voted to maintain the current fees for all development services except for the cost to remove heritage trees.

Since the resignation of former Santa Rosa County Administrator Dan Schebler and Assistant Administrator Mark Murray, the commissioners knew it would be a long process to find their replacements.

Santa Rosa County is steadily growing, and with more people moving to the area, developers are looking for new places to add housing.

Navarre is a particular hot spot, growing by 30% to just over 40,000 people since 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Board of County Commissioners unanimously voted to change the meeting schedule and times for the 2022 meeting calendar with little discussion.