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| Residents are concerned about a large apartment complex being constructed in Perdido--questioning whether existing traffic infrastructure can "handle" this influx of traffic |
In October of last year, a large parcel of property at the foot of the Theo Baars bridge (which at that time was in District 2) was selected for the development of an upscale apartment community by its owner(s).
Paperwork was submitted with development services, and the process to approve the development was commenced.
This parcel, indicated above, was already zoned commercial so no rezoning notifications were necessary, nor was any action by the planning board.
The applicant submitted the appropriate plans, paperwork, and fees in order to receive an approved development order which was granted by the county in early January of 2022 (just a few months after this portion of Escambia County reverted to District 1)
So the neighbors did not see this coming for these reasons, and they--like me--share obvious concerns about traffic in this area that is growing. Several have called me and/or emailed me with concerns.
So it is really two issues. First issue is should a large construction project like this --even if a zoning change is not necessary-- be required to notify neighbors? A case could be made that this could be a way to keep neighbors from being blindsided. I'm in favor of initiating a standalone apartment ordinance to be added to the LDC as these developments are always, it seems, problematic for an assortment of reasons.
Second issue is traffic. Can the roads handle the influx?
Part of the development review process looks at the capacity of existing roadways and a formulaic process (based upon existing traffic counts and capacities) determines if the existing roads can handle the estimated new load. In this instance, it was determined by staff the existing roads could handle this development's impact(s) on the surrounding area.
NOW HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS:
There are a significant number of traffic improvements currently underway and/or slated for this area, to include:
--Roundabout at Johnson's Beach Road at Perdido Key Drive
--Intersection Improvements at Innerarity Point Road/Gulf Beach Hwy
--Multiple safety improvements on Sorrento--to include a light coming at Doug Ford Drive and Sorrento Road
--$2 Million in D1 LOST funding was just approved by the board last regular meeting for the PD&E for 4-lanes on Sorrento Road--which will potentially slice 5 years off of the horizon for completion of this vital project.
Read all about the $12 Million in D1 Infrastructure approved at our last meeting, here. (Big deal)
And if the small county roads that are adjacent to this new development need improvement for functionality--I'll get funding for widening/safety enhancements.
We constantly deal with the competing pressures of not
allowing growth juxtaposed with the development community which want to build
to address the supply shortage of
housing which leaves some residents with no viable, affordable housing options. This is a constant struggle, and I know we
have to do the best we can on infrastructure, which we will continue to do to
the best of our ability.
39 comments:
The lack of an overall strategic infrastructure plan for the county is troublesome and continues to cause nightmares. True leadership would have a 5,10,15byear and beyond to identify areas of concern that will be needed to address future growth problems. Everything we do here is reactionary. Guess that’s what happens when you have to lower the criteria used to hire your county administrator instead of a true CEO type candidate
829
What happens at the Emerald Coast Regional Planning Council and with the 5 year plans at the TPO. You can find them online. There is one on file that goes out to 2027. Of course se nothing in the Northcoutry, just had to check,the box for reaching out to poor folks
Like some new guy from Wisconsin or bu fu is gonna know about road around here. 🤔 Or do,you mean you want to be CEO?
I smell another push for consolidation.
If you push for consolidation will you remove ECUA?
Asking for a friend.
All that is region wide at the mercy of others. Where is our planning? The CEO role has nothing to do with consolidation. Our current form of government is council /manager similar to a board of directors/CEO. Our current administrator is purely a manager, one not even qualified to have the role until they lowered the standards
It will be 10 years before we see anything on Sorrento.
Why do you always tell speakers the board looks favorably upon those that choose to wave in support? That's very discouraging.
8:29--The roads at issue Sorrento/Blue Angel down in Perdido are state roads. The Florida Alabama Transportation Planning Organization looks on these roadways and plans for improvements in the near and long term, and every BCC member sits on that committee. Yes, road projects take a long time to plan, purchase right of way, design and build--but to say there is "no planning" in incorrect. I've served on that board for 6 years, and served as chairman and both vice chairman in my first three years. Just because you are unaware of strategic traffic infrastructure planning does not mean it isn't happening. I'll be having a town hall meeting down there in early October and we will go through all these issues one by one in meticulous detail. I hope you can attend.
Thanks for giving your constituents a heads up on the upcoming multiple years of road torture and problems we are going to face. It’s very demoralizing when leaders are so out of touch with their constituents. Sooner or later there’s not going to be any blood left to squeeze out of the turnip. And yes I live in and have a business in the affected area.
We are going to suffer at the hands of official's who are in for them. Don't tell me it's raining and I SEE YOU PEEING .
"In this instance, it was determined by staff the existing roads could handle this development's impact(s) on the surrounding area."
I'd be interested in knowing where said "staff" lives and how often they drive Sorrento, GBH, PKD, and/or Innerarity Rd.
Studying gridlock is one thing. Dealing with it on a day-to-day basis is a whole different animal.
I have no faith at all in our county staff anymore. Over development is being allowed where the infrastructure isn't in place to meet the coming demand. Make sure you hire competent county staff and then stay out of their way and quit trying to micro manage all the staff. When the infrastructure isn't put in place BEFORE the development, quality of life continues its downward spiral here. Look at impact fees for developments over a certain number of units (say any development over 10 units) gets to contribute impact fees to help our development stay ahead. Then you aren't being a "reactionary" force.
Most of the in fighting that we see on the BOCC meetings is a complete waste of time, not to mention the amount of wasted time on the boondoggle retirement plan to fleece the taxpayers. If as much time and attention were given to actual needs of the BOCC, some good might could really take place. Just look at all of these issues that have come up under your watch and your fellow BOCC'ers watch. I'm an extremely disappointed taxpayer in what we are seeing in those we elected to lead.
"I've served on that board for 6 years, and served as chairman and both vice chairman in my first three years." I'm not impressed. These issues with infrastructure should have already been addressed. Those high dollar a month apartments will completed and leased long before the roads are touched. #AnotherFailure
I, too, am interested to know what "staff" decided that our roads can handle this project. We live on Innerarity Point, and since the completion of Redfish Harbor, etc., along Innerarity, there is a discernible increase in traffic on Innerarity Point Road at the intersection with Sorrento/Perdido Key Drive. On several occasions I recently have had to wait through at least two light changes to turn east onto Sorrento from Innerarity. I shudder thinking about what will happen once a minimum of 600+ cars are added to the mix from this apartment complex. Innerarity is a two-lane road. It is the only road that provides access to Sorrento if you plan to turn east, or go straight onto Gulf Beach Highway. Coming out onto Sorrento/Perdido Key Drive via the bridge frontage road is not an option, because it is essentially impossible to turn east there without a traffic light. Mr. Bergosh, I understand that you have only recently begun representing our area. I pray that you will dig into this issue in a timely enough manner so that a potentially major problem can be somewhat resolved before it becomes a catastrophe. I assume completion of the 325 apartments is a couple of years away? If so, this should give some intelligent, qualified engineering minds time to devise a real solution. That will happen only if our leaders are smart, common sensical, proactive, and they care. Maggie Stokes
I have the same concerns as the previous posts. Additionally, what about the funds and impact for Hellen Caro and Jim Bailey middle school. Hellen Caro already has an over abundance of portable classrooms. We also have a teacher shortage. It saddens me that we moved here 15 years ago to enjoy the beach and we dare not go to the beach anytime during summer…. Additionally our public beach access areas have been dwindled. I pray you do right by us Mr. Bergosh
NOW HERE'S THE GOOD NEWS:
There are a significant number of traffic improvements currently underway and/or slated for this area, to include:
--Roundabout at Johnson's Beach Road at Perdido Key Drive
--Intersection Improvements at Innerarity Point Road/Gulf Beach Hwy
--Multiple safety improvements on Sorrento--to include a light coming at Doug Ford Drive and Sorrento Road
How is any of this good news? The problem is the volume of traffic on Sorrento and none of these "good news" items has any an impact on that. The only real solution to the traffic volume issue is to make the Theo Baars bridge four lanes as well otherwise it will keep restricting the flow of traffic. This is simply lipstick for the pig and the County Commission thinks so little of their constituents that they openly tout this BS to pacify those that can't see the forest for the trees. This voter says enough.
Pretty sure the folks that made this lousy decision do not drive on these pot hole filled roads where you need to purchase new tires once a month. These roads can’t handle what is already here, Hurricane evacuating will become a bigger issue, as well as fire ambulance services which are basically non existent now. When it takes 20 + minutes for help to arrive you can be dead or your house destroyed. Now for the school issues classes are crammed now & teachers are already stressed. HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE DECISION.
I can’t believe that round about is still going to be done. Dumbest idea ever. My work commute to Orange Beach from Perdido is already horrible!
You people know Underhill killed the fourlane in 2014, right? And then you reelected him and he gave up the state designation and made it a county road.
Also open eyes to why Marlette ghosted them and their ilk awhile back. Maybe someone finally realized how bad they are for..well anything. Of course it's speculation but Andy needed to be fired for listening to them and their gossip and slander.
Did Studer finally pull a string and show him the door?
Via Gannett. Publishing in the Sun Press was a good move BCC.
Truly stunning that the county would let something like this go forward when the infrastructure can barely support the density that's already there now.
To begin with, the northern part of that parcel is designated wetlands, but this didn't seem to bother anyone when Redfish Harbor was permitted, so no one will care now, well, no one besides the residents on Monterey and Japonica who are 100% guaranteed to get flooded some time in the next 10 years by the runoff. No worries, there are so many red shirts down at the forums already, a few more won't matter.
Second, we're now going into the third year of widening out the IP Road/ Sorrento intersection by a couple dozen feet. This "improvement" would have been adequate 20 years ago, but now.... I guess it's not even worth mentioning that that there are currently 2 more multi-acre parcels for sale within 300 yards of that intersection.
a roundabout... over the bridge... in a completely different area... seriously? how is that even relevant? And filling a few potholes on Sorrento Rd... this might be the only county in the state that considers that an "improvement."
I guess this is all the County's impact fees on those developments could pay for. Wait.... the county DID assess impact fees on these developments, didn't it? Surely the County didn't allow these guys to offload all of these costs on the residents around them? Surely the county doesn't expect the areas residents to pay the developers' way through higher car repair and tire bills, higher insurance rates, and higher taxes when real infrastructure improvements become inevitable... not to mention paying taxes for bailouts when Redfish floods or if the next downturn in the property market blows up this new development before it's completely subscribed.
Oh well, I guess the people living out in Innerarity got a little too fat and happy. They thought they'd really made it by owning property in that area... water on all aides, woods, two or three great restaurants. They probably thought their property values were invulnerable.
Now they've go a Redfish Harbor, that looks like some kind of urban infill project from downtown, and now a high-density condo that should be over on the island. Leave it to Escambia County and its lack of planning to find the only possible way to drive property values in Innerarity DOWN.
What kind of impact is this going to have on run off? Who will get flooded from this project? So far the commissioners just blame the previous board but have done nothing to improve the current flooding problems, but have certainly allowed new construction to make the flooding issues worse. I guess the fees gathered for new construction are worth the destruction of the current tax base since the houses around this will be worthless. Perhaps that is their intention. Force us out of our homes so they can build more multi family complexes that will bring in more money than the single family homes.
The need for more housing comes from the drive of realtors and developers looking for ways to make money, not from the demands of people who continue to flood into our area crowding up those who have lived on these lands for decades and more. People will search for housing as close to where they think they need to be, unless developers provide the means to crowd every corner of earth in their drive for more money. So the excuse that more housing is needed to accommodate people is far from being truth. But the truth is the last thing developers and politicians are capable of supporting when money is on the table. The infrastructure was sufficient for the area until the developers decided that there was opportunity to make money, drive the population up and overcrowd areas to the point that infrastructure needs to be improved.
Politicians and governments are the ones who make poor decisions, decisions that they individually think is the right process for the people. Influence from a poor representative who controls the majority is how developers get what they want, over what the people really need.
This government never thought of the people, only the developers.
The land was zoned commercial and that allows for a 325 multi family unit?
Doesn't commercial mean designed for non-residential? Commercial would be less traffic than 325 residential units.
You are looking at this from a strange perspective. You live at the beach. Of course people are going to be interested in moving here, especially in the work-from-home economy. All you have to do is look over the state line to see that the same growth started several years ago there and that their infrastructure is staying in line with their growth. The failure hear falls wholly on government entities within the State of Florida. They can point the fingers at each other all they like, but Alabama was competent enough to make their growth work.
A Strong County Commissioner Board Leadership would have informed us your constituents about the scale of this project and it’s potential infrastructure impact whether required or not! We have a major County leadership out of touch problem if they felt the present infrastructure could support this impact. We are in Crisis now! No positive encouragement to be told 5 years had been reduced from the time table! We need a moratorium on all substantial building projects until County and state can come up with an immediate funded plan. And it’s terrible with all the new people moving in that there is no publicly identified Hurricane evacuation routes! We are in Crisis! And need leadership now.
Commercial zoning= Apartments
So true!!
JEFF
The only way you can solve the massive traffic problem with this development is to put a north bound lane under the PK bridge and ask the state to take park of the state park land !?
East bound NAS Military tenants will be 3-5 cars on each property so car estimates will be more, look at PK lost key, look at neighborhoods close to base 4 cars average a house...
Well said.
The new elementary school is NOT mentioned in this scenario. What about those traffic woes?
Making Sorento Rd will not help the current traffic problem without a 4 lane bridge to replace the Theo Barrs Bridge.
The construction of a new elementary school on Sorrento wasn't thought out. There would need to be a flyover to get the buses & parent's cars as well as teacher's cars to the new school. Sorrento Rd is already a death trap so let's just make it worse than the pothole alley it already is! You are forcing many residents out due to the fact we can't drive on these roads around here due to extra volume without allowing another half hour to get thru the light at Sorrento/ Gulf Bch Hwy/ Innerarity Rd/ Perdido Key Drive. The roundabout coming to Johnson Beach intersection is a poorly thought- out decision since a traffic light is what is needed there. Maybe an entrance road to the new elementary school should be from South Loop Rd instead of Sorrento Road to get the extra traffic off Sorrento. There will be more property damage to cars & maiming and death due to the auto accidents that new elementary school will cause since it is so close to Blue Angel/ Sorrento intersection traffic will stack up into the intersection, preventing people from even going towards the base or 98 since cars will just sit in the middle of the intersection. Police don't even pull people iver for speeding, passing in no passing zones, stopping in the middle of intersections, or tail-gating as well as blowing thru red lights & stop signs. I for one can't wait to get moved out of this hell-hole. Furthermore we have a beautiful national seashore that most residents can't use because the parking at Johnson Beach sucks for the price we pay to get in, and no lifeguards most of the year. For the admission price there should be trash cans that are emptied by park employees daily instead of expecting beachgoers to use the huge dumpsters taking up space in the parking lots as well as lifeguards available at all times except cold winter months of Jan & Feb.
I, too, was involved in the road planning function. I sat on, and was for a time, chair of the Citizens Advisory Committee to the FL/AL TPA. It is a thankless job, but someone has to do it. It is also an educational experience. The planning for alterations to existing roads is often a multi-year, sometimes decades long development, and needs change over time. Go visit one of these meetings sometime if you really want to know what happens.
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What date was this area zoned commercial?
It certainly doesn't take long for land to be sold and for more prison looking apartments to be built. Wonder how much money is slid around.
Excellent point about the necessity for mid- to long-term planning, which should be updated and revised annually. Lots of politics and going on but not enough professional responsibility.
Unfortunately, it will be forever if these Do-nothing elected officials refused to a lot budgets toward planning and development.
I have been told that the apartment/condos are going to be AirB&B's not residential....That is why this passed.
100% agree that our leadership is out of touch with reality of what the area is facing. A huge influx of new residents and a monumental explosion of tourists to our island has caused a tremendous strain on infrastructure currently. I strongly suggest limitations on Air BNB and short term rentals in off beach/island residential areas. It’s not fair to those of us who works our butts off to pay these astronomical prices for homes and property taxes only to be sold out to the highest investor bidder and deal with the BS of short term rental disturbance next door. I’ve lived here for 33 years. Perhaps our leaders should spend more time on this side of town before making such decisions as this apartment complex.
I think it’s safe to say by the nature of the comments on here, Mr. Bergosh, that we, the tax payers in this area, are NOT happy with these decisions. I suggest you spend more time out here and understand fully why we are livid before you say you are on our side.
Why did these people vote Underhill twice who killed the fourlane day one in 2014? After spending millions to get it that far. I never understood how one commissioner could make a phone call and kill the FDOT project.
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