The existing zoning of the parcel the development could be built on is Rural Residential Agriculture, and the rezoning proposes Single Family Residential. Single Family Residential allows up to four dwelling units per acre, which means that the development could have up to 296 homes if the rezoning is approved, instead of the 74 homes the current zoning would allow.
The development is also located within the Wellfield Protection Area, which is designed to “protect the Sand and Gravel Aquifer from contamination,” according to the Santa Rosa County Land Development Code. Other parcels in the area of the proposed development are also for residential properties and subdivisions, so it would not be unprecedented for the plan to be approved.
The parcel is in East Milton in the 8500 Block of Hickory Hammock Road and stretches down to Fortune Road, sandwiched between Carl Booker Road and Gentry Farms Drive. It is a large-scale comprehensive plan future land use map amendment, meaning that, regardless of what the Zoning Board decides, if the Board of County Commissioners approves the project on October 23, the development plan will be forwarded to the Department of Economic Opportunities to review, and after that, more consideration will be given at an adoption public hearing in 2025 by the Board of County Commissioners.
The Zoning Board Meeting will take place October 9 at 5 p.m. and will be followed by a special rezoning meeting on October 23 at 5 p.m. The application is item number 12 on the Zoning Board meeting agenda, the last on the list.
