Perdido Gate Part VII: The McCormack Files

I am told this photograph that was forwarded to me by citizen Michael McCormack was taken at Perdido Key post Hurricane Ivan when a large project was undertaken to renourish the dunes.  

Escambia County citizen and Perdido Key public beach access champion Michael McCormack has sent me a trove of additional documents and files on his research of the issues of public access of Perdido Key's beaches.  I am going to link them all here in this post.  In his emails  to me, he sends lots of different files, .pdf's and powerpoints.  In one of his emails, he asks the following interesting and compelling question:

"Jeff, I also question whether the so called “dune restoration” was not renourishment in fact. Look at the pictures in this report after Ivan, there was not a dune in sight and looks like wet sand all the way to the destroyed buildings. So how is that not renourishment when sand is dredged from the Intracoastal Canal by the ACOE, trucked to the beach then spread out in order to build a sandy beach portion back for the property owners up and down the entire Perdido Key beach line?"

I've spoken to staff on this and have been told that the renourishment was simply a dune restoration.  But if the whole beach was washed out after the storm and all the new sand reclaimed what was once there and re-established the beach--what is that called?

Check out all of his documents here.  It might be that these generate additional comments, questions, and concerns?

The McCormack Files  

Hurricane Ivan Damage Report

 

Two Significant Area Meetings Occurred Last Week-- Military Mission Resiliency and Attainable Housing were the Focus

Although there was no scheduled meeting of the Escambia Board of County Commissioners this past week--there were still lots of other significant meetings, gatherings, and galas in the region--three of which I had the opportunity to attend.  Two of which are of vital importance to our communities, county, and region.

On Wednesday, a regional meeting of panhandle business interests, military personnel, elected officials, and other interested community members met in Okaloosa County.  The discussion was pertinent and pointed:  

What are the most serious issues that could potentially impact the Panhandle's significant military footprint here?  

This is an important and pressing question to ask, as a HUGE part of our area's economy, more than 50%, is derived from military spending and the resultant spin off of jobs and economic activity that spending creates.  In all of Florida, according to data presented at the conference, military spending totals about $97 Billion per year producing 900,000 jobs.  The panhandle of Florida, with $22 Billion in DoD spending creating 200,000, jobs takes an oversized portion of that revenue (when population of the area compared to the rest of Florida is the benchmark).  So we need to be mindful of this and do everything we can to protect the bases from all threats to include environmental, encroachment, and downsizing/closure.

Speakers included Austin Mount, CEO of the Emerald Coast Regional Council, Capt. Paul Flores, CO, NAS Whiting Field, Jim Bagby, District Director for Congressman Matt Gaetz, and Keynote Speaker was Mr. Dale Marks-Vice Director of the 96th Test Wing of Eglin AFB

This is an important question to ask the answer is important to know for policy makers and business owners alike--as according to several who spoke at the meeting--there are other bases and states with powerful elected representatives that are working to move military missions from this area into their respective jurisdictions.  We can't let that happen without taking a HUGE economic hit.

There will be follow-on meetings of this ad-hoc group-and I look forward to attending in the future.

For those interested in learning more about this group and what they will be working on, check out their web page here.  Check out the informative, data rich agenda presentation here.   And you can watch the first half of the meeting (prior to the break out session and visioning exercises) here.

On Friday-Dave Robau, CEO and Founder of National Energy USA, hosted an all day Attainable Housing summit at the Bayview Community Center. This event was focused on finding solutions to housing shortages while simultaneously making existing homes more fortified against natural disasters and also finding ways to decrease the costs of owning a home utilizing new, innovative technologies to lower energy costs. 

Housing, as everyone in Pensacola knows, is a huge issue in our community as our population grows and the costs for housing increase.  So how do we tackle this issue?  That was the subject of discussion for the all day presentations and panels which included representatives from Escambia County's Neighborhood and Human Services Division, The City's housing and planning/zoning staff, multiple representatives from local construction firms and materials manufacturers, architects, contractors, and those that work in this space.

For me the intriguing take aways were the professional presentation on tiny homes and a discussion of supply and demand's impact on housing costs and availability locally. 

On tiny homes in particular,  the discussion and back and forth with architect and builder Mr. Jordan Yee--who gave a very informative presentation on his experiences building and designing tiny homes and accessory dwelling units (ADU's) in Pensacola--was enlightening.  I asked him, specifically, how tiny homes can help with the housing cost crunch and also the homeless situation Escambia County faces.  Interestingly, Mr. Yee did not say the tiny homes can assist with either issue.  He also told the panel that on a cost per square foot basis--building a tiny home is much more expensive than a traditional house, because "You are still having to build a kitchen and a bathroom with all the necessary appliances and those are the expensive components of a home.  And you don't get the savings on the less expensive walls and areas of a traditional home to balance the costs." he explained.

This was interesting as I have heard several folks in the community profess that Tiny Homes are going to be the solution to housing issues and homeless.  This professional's take, by contrast, is not in agreement.

Mr. Yee's greater concern was on having zoning and code changes that allow for more density and easier approvals of construction of tiny homes in existing neighborhoods which will allow for an answer to the "missing middle"- a term describing the lack of duplexes, triplexes and ADU's in traditional neighborhoods.  Although he did acknowledge that such a change of ordinances and codes will not be easy as many neighbors in traditional, mature communities will resist and fight against any additional density.\

That topic allowed for a segue into the contentious issue of building housing to meet the demand and to help lower the costs overall.  I provided my take on the issue, pointing out the fact that when we approve new housing and particularly more density--we are often lobbied by the most stridently opposed citizens imaginable.  To which everyone in the room seemed to understand.

So the question was nevertheless left unanswered:  How do we address the supply issue to lower the housing costs when existing citizens don't want any new growth and will openly tell commissioners we should not "allow" any new residents to move here.

It certainly is a conundrum.  But interesting just the same and an ongoing challenge we all face.

What Does the First Map Indicating Public Beach Access at Perdido Key Look Like?

This map is staff's first draft of what I have requested:  a map of the Perdido Key Beach areas of District 1 for which staff have researched and found deeded public beach access.  I suspect there will be follow-on revisions in the weeks to come as we research each parcel on the Gulf out here.

 

Although there is still a significant amount of research left to do on multiple parcels out on Perdido Key--a lot of this information is now known about which such parcels have easements for the public's access.  Therefore, I've asked staff to put together some renderings indicating the areas of Perdido Key where we have easements for public beach access.  I want to reiterate here--this rendering above is the first iteration of a creation of such a map.  No doubt it will require revisions and updates in the weeks to come as we still await the title work on multiple parcels out on Perdido Key.  

Staff was very responsive yesterday on my request of them and substantially acknowledged what I put out on this blog as my understanding of the situation thus far regarding public beach access points on Perdido Key.

The intriguing take away from what we do know, however, is that a significant portion of Perdido Key will be accessible for the public's use according to what is on the deeds we have now verified.  And this large swath of this accessible area surrounds two of our existing access points and parking areas.

This (the fact that these areas of the beaches will be publicly accessible) will be helpful in finding a way to get and fund lifeguards out there to help prevent the sorts of drowning tragedies we witnessed over the last several weeks.

Next Challenges:  More parking for day use beach visitors, and finding areas for food vendors, and identifying additional areas  for non-local resident parking for the use of the Perdido Key multi-use path.

Lots of work to do but lots of good things coming for all!

Perdido Gate part VI--What is the Status of What's Known as of Today?

County staff from the attorney's office have been busily working to research the deeds for the properties out at Perdido Key for the last three and a half weeks since the bombshell discovery was made that many of these properties had perpetual easments embedded within their deeds guaranteeing public access in perpetuity.

It's a big story that has simmered down a bit as we dig into the minutae of historic records and ancient "land patents"

A number of news outlets have asked where we are on this research, and I am asking staff for a thorough update this morning.

But as of right now--my understanding of the issue is that the following is what we know currently.

-Thus far it appears that the 64 parcels from the state park to Perdido Skye have the 75’ for public beach language contained within the deeds.

 -A large swath of the parcels west of the state park were part of a 1926 land patent signed by Calvin Coolidge that did not/does not have any language contained within it that guarantees public access in perpetuity

 -Grand Caribbean does not have deeded access to sandy beach portions of the Sandy Key property directly to their south—although there is a public easement and a walkway from Grand Caribbean to this beach? 

 -The parcel that was to become Sandy Key had all public access extinguished by a late 1970’s court ruling. (but could that action have been void ab initio if the original grant from the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce earlier had expressly granted public access in perpetuity?)  

--The status of whether or not the county has obtained the original land transfer deeds made to the Pensacola Chamber of Commerce sometime in the late 1800s or early 1900s is not known—neither is it known whether or not these deeds contain language guaranteeing perpetual public beach access easements 

 --The status of public beach access easements contained on the deeds for the balance of the parcels between Perdido Key and Johnson’s Beach (less Sandy Key and Grand Caribbean) remains unknown

 -I do not know when we expect the abstracts for the balance of those parcels between Perdido Skye and Johnson’s Beach which hopefully we (county) have already requested.

 Finally—I have asked county staff to have this information on what is/isn't known about the public access of these parcels to be  graphically represented on one map of that strip of properties (i.e. with the parcels that have 75’ of access one color, our existing public access points identified with another color, parcels for which we’ve “ruled-out” the existence of public access language in red, and unknown parcels indicated with another color.)  

I'm waiting on staff's response to this status request and map request--and I'll publish their responses here when I get them...

 

I'll be on "Real News with Rick Outzen" Later this Morning Discussing OLF-8

I've been invited to appear on the area's most listened to, highest rated, most accurate and reliable morning drive news program, 1370 WCOA's "Real News with Rick Outzen" this morning at 7:00

I will be on "Real News with Rick Outzen" later this morning at 7:00 discussing my opinion piece on OLF-8 which is published in Rick's Blog.  The topic: OLF-8 and where we are currently with moving that project forward with a buyer who has offered us $42 Million for the parcel.

Should be a good discussion.  Tune in live at 7:00 or catch the podcast here after it is published.

OLF 8 Project in District 1 will be a WIN for Escambia County, the Taxpayers, and Beulah!

 

A recent guest editorial and letter to the editor about OLF 8 contained strident opinions presented as facts and half-truths conflated with misstatements.  A letter to the editor in today's PNJ contained the same flawed talking points.  Therefore, I feel obliged to add clarity to this important issue.

The OLF 8 acquisition, master planning, and marketing effort has been a 25-year evolution. 

We’ve recently accepted an all-cash offer for OLF-8, allowing for the construction of restaurants, retail, a town-center, high-wage job areas, and other amenities for all Escambia taxpayers.

The bidder I favored--based upon better initially expressed intentions (Breland)—didn’t show up to the selection meeting held on April 6^th.  They were aware of the meeting and didn’t attend.

DR Horton, by contrast, attended the meeting, presented their plan, and modified their language indicating substantial compliance with the Board’s Master Plan.  They’ll be teaming with Stirling properties for the commercial/light industrial portions of the field, and they upped their offer significantly—to $42 Million Dollars ($7 Million more than Breland’s highest offer).

Also-Horton/Stirling’s plan indicates a piece of the parcel for potential sale to the school board for a Beulah High School if that board wants that. Breland’s rendering had no school site.  Horton/Stirling’s plan also has a town center; the Breland “rendering”has no town center.

Breland’s plan indicates miniscule retail portions, a tiny portion for job creation (light industrial) and the entire balance of the land residential.  Importantly: Breland’s plan didn’t reflect the master plan conformity they assured the board in their initial purchase offer.  

The Horton/Stirling plan remains much more strongly aligned with the agreed upon master plan than does Breland’s—look at initial renderings, side by side, below. Judge for yourself.

DR Horton/Stirling Property OLF 8 Concept
plan (Residential in Green)

Breland OLF8 Concept plan
(Residential in Yellow)

From the beginning of this acquisition process- as the county worked on creating high-paying, high tech jobs on OLF-8-- I forcefully advocated against ANY residential on that field-- a position with which most citizens in Beulah with whom I’ve spoken agree.

Pressure applied on the BCC by some area residents and a few politically connected special interests, however, pushed aside the original plan as solely a regional jobs generator. 

That’s how we got here.

Over the next 60 days, we’ll hammer out an agreement that’ll result in between a $20-$27 million dollar “profit” for the taxpayers— proceeds that will be used county-wide to address legacy deficiencies in infrastructure and fund quality of life enhancements. 

OLF 8 will also generate significant new property tax revenue for the county and the school board; this added revenue allows us to ensure FIRST RESPONDERS are paid competitive wages-assisting us with staffing challenges without raising property tax (millage) rates. 

Therefore, I’d caution readers to always be wary in believing a few voices of discord who want you to believe they represent and speak for everyone.

Remember: these same voices have deftly transitioned and recalibrated their opposition as we’ve responsibly advanced this project. “They’ll never complete this land-swap!” naysayers first howled.  “These commissioners are reckless—they’ll NEVER recoup this investment!” came next.  Now it’s “Commissioners only care about the MONEY.”

It’s very rich how the goal posts move, the attacks change--- but the faces of opposition remain the same.

We’ll never successfully hit the Goldilocks zone for these folks—where the porridge is “just right,” but we’ve tried.  We engaged the community, compromised, and listened.

Now it’s time to act. 

I’m upbeat, positive, and optimistic about the impending OLF8 sale/development.  

With integrity and due consideration, we’ll close this deal to produce a huge win----for everyone!

What Did President Coolidge's Initial 1926 Grant Look Like?

 

As I pointed out in this blog post,  it appears as if several of the parcels west of the state park and East of the Alabama state line in Perdido Key in District 1 of Escambia County had an original title that did NOT preserve the public's right to access the beach upon this property's transfer from the Federal Government to a few private citizens in 1926..  This is a setback, but it is what it is.  

Thankfully we still know that 64 lots from the state park to the Perdido Skye complex DO CONTAIN LANGUAGE MANDATING A PERPETUAL 75 FOOT EASEMENT FOR PUBLIC BEACH ACCESS.

So no matter what happens with any or all of the rest of the property deeds to the lots on Perdido Key--we have already locked down a fairly significant win for the public at large that has, for too many years, been barred from accessing beaches they were always entitled to utilize.

So it is a mixed bag thus far, but mostly positive.  

Citizen Michael McCormack took the information from the Calvin Coolidge signed public land patent we uncovered monday and put it in the drawing above.  Sadly--it appears as if there is no provision for public beach access in the parcels within this original grant depicted above.....