[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6252138,"mediaKeyId","3190855-6d1a20a76e7bc11721305ccc2137f831","parentId",3190855,"title","Residents press task force to curb clear‑cutting; engineers and builders explain when filling and cutting are required","audioSeconds",1644,"startMs",1232000,"endMs",2876000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3190855-6d1a20a76e7bc11721305ccc2137f831&start=1232&end=2876","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3190855-6d1a20a76e7bc11721305ccc2137f831/thumbnail_1232000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6252138/Santa-Rosa-County/Florida/Residents-press-task-force-to-curb-clearcutting-engineers-and-builders-explain-when-filling-and-cutting-are-required","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6252138-5dd09773b192f6e4e861b522a767d649/orig.mp4?Expires=1770509610&Signature=F4S-~aQAzOq101Evw2NoRInR~HJ~Yf8FzCNVDmhTbNPcn8qAAq~c-4NFZq2pfuRLtuX39M5xE-o9ugKh3AziCu4VaWGm-E3QeB0cZPECHiDOAxizFONfbQGmOP1FQ8iBu2KFe7vIvEgHLSjKeoC6j~0jcvEXJCbfK4AVqE8Qt9Plhl5-ZcOKkX2HWvi2IDPQIKMo3lVhvAANg8dyTVDBi12Myuj1JKy7SUsDHg5BDvBwsqdLE5fPERMEtA2JGniLqVvGJtFtGw81rEH5657LzhHVqqqVD6YWx9z4czOTBlfhJE59VtolCB9J1DsjsYpgsOjPzbWNUo4LNodginqNiw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Santa Rosa County, FL","date","2025-04-20T00:00:00Z","article","Several Santa Rosa County residents used the May 2 task force meeting to urge tight limits on clear‑cutting and stronger wetland protections, saying clear removal of trees harms wildlife, increases runoff and damages the character of rural neighborhoods.

Public commenters suggested a 100‑foot wetland buffer (citing Okaloosa County as an example), called for updated rainfall data for pond design, and warned that conservation language should not be a veneer for later development. \"We are not against growth. We just want better. Better planning, better transparency, better accountability,\" said Cindy Smith, a Pace resident who told the task force she reviewed developer requests and county decisions and saw patterns she found troubling.

Technical experts and developers provided engineering context. Tom Hammond, a subdivision designer invited by staff, said some South Santa Rosa County parcels have a high seasonal water table near grade; where roads must sit above that table engineers must bring in fill to protect the road subbase and prevent failures. \"If you don't have 2 feet between your roadbed and the water table, your road will fail,\" planning staff and engineers emphasized during the discussion. Hammond described three common field approaches: (1) limit clearing to rights‑of‑way and build roads first, (2) import substantial fill when the water table is close to grade, or (3) use alternative foundation techniques on houses (stem‑wall foundations) and concentrated drainage solutions — each approach has cost and erosion tradeoffs.

Home builder Mike Patterson pointed to stem‑wall foundations as a tool that can reduce the amount of fill needed per lot but noted they add cost and time: he estimated a typical stem‑wall slab might cost roughly $1,600 more than a monolithic slab and may extend foundation construction from two weeks to months depending on topography. The group discussed techniques used by military construction and other counties: inward‑tucked silt fencing, hydroseed, staged clearing, and vegetated swales to reduce runoff and protect adjacent properties.

Task force members summarized the tension: many residents want to curb blanket clear‑cutting, but some areas (particularly in the south end) present engineering constraints that make some clearing and fill necessary to provide stable roads and stormwater systems. In response the group added a drafting direction asking staff to require an engineered grading plan, submitted to the county engineer and planning director, when a developer claims the clearing limit is infeasible. That plan must show drainage feasibility and infrastructure needs before additional clearing is permitted.

Ending: Staff agreed to include examples and engineering justification in the redline they will circulate before the next meeting, and to bring data on wetland buffers and updated rainfall design standards. Residents asked staff to publish permitting records and to consider stronger notification requirements if conservation communities or clustering provisions are applied near farms and established neighborhoods.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Santa Rosa County Land Development Code Task Force Meeting- April 20, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Public commenters urged stricter limits on clear‑cutting and larger wetland buffers while technical experts and builders explained cases where high seasonal groundwater requires clearing, fill and engineered grading to prevent road failures; task force asked staff to balance those concerns in revised code language.","taxTitle","Santa Rosa County, Florida","taxId",12792,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6252143,"Santa Rosa task force adopts engineered-grading exception, renames 'alternative subdivision' as 'conservation community' with 25% open-space requirement",11390,2546000,13936000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3190855-6d1a20a76e7bc11721305ccc2137f831&start=2546&end=13936","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3190855-6d1a20a76e7bc11721305ccc2137f831/thumbnail_2546000.jpg","/articles/6252143/Santa-Rosa-County/Florida/Santa-Rosa-task-force-adopts-engineered-grading-exception-renames-alternative-subdivision-as-conservation-community-with-25-open-space-requirement","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6252143-702d9816e33ce422becfaaad29a427c3/orig.mp4?Expires=1770509610&Signature=aNutbEW5~kGsL3UwHhffj-NjznvIkImWBuFwQ9eNP9ou-gORF3gSItDQRGi8LDKqTEaEhjZYI0pGG1evC9HfAbNZXSaLRvvFOGtqumfh6qwxliXomvUtfbPhDUQM1KqGd9Squsc1yDSCLm5nHZ03j75p2tnuLxHTY1XGOcFmQ5jmH3UYrlPRz2cbkhmj8zTEzBx64qzw7gl99IG82Vxo2jUErqwQtUjNK7DYFkilENDUZIhmtk~0y1M8KI79FbVGrON8BOGtFg-AQlVBa0PIOg5d8JV72Gm6z6iZFBnaV5xPn1q5JZajXSS5llRtwpjP-5TgRyshgBgV-nLqy4xbrQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Santa Rosa County Citizens Land Development Code Task Force on May 2 agreed to add an exception allowing clearing beyond platted rights-of-way when justified by an engineered grading plan for infrastructure or to ensure drainage feasibility, and agreed to rename the draft \"alternative subdivision\" provision as a \"conservation community.\"

The change to the land development code language — made by unanimous voice agreement during discussion rather than a formal roll-call vote — directs staff to append the phrase \"or otherwise justified by an engineered grading plan for other infrastructure improvements or drainage feasibility\" to a draft subsection governing clearing adjacent to high groundwater elevations. Task force members said the amendment aims to balance limiting unnecessary clear‑cutting with the practical engineering needs of roads, ponds and utilities in areas with high seasonal groundwater.

The group also reached consensus to reframe and refine the clustering rule previously known as the alternative subdivision. Under the redrafted approach the provision will be called a conservation community and will require a minimum of 25% of a project parcel be set aside as conservation/open space. The task force clarified that stormwater ponds may count toward that 25% only when designed and improved as a recreational amenity — for example, when walking trails or other public-facing improvements surround the water feature — and that final plat language must record conservation areas in perpetuity.

Staff and developers discussed complementary details: the task force removed a prior requirement that all roads and infrastructure in such projects must remain private, instead aligning with standard subdivisions that permit either private maintenance or dedication to the county for maintenance (subject to meeting county specifications and BOCC acceptance). Task force members asked staff to make the conservation/open-space requirement adaptable by geography — for example, rural protection zones (RPZs) could have different thresholds — and to draft explicit plat language that records conservation easements in perpetuity.

Quotes from the meeting reflect the compromise. Task force member Kelvin Enfinger said the grading‑plan exception was intended to avoid road failures: \"If you don't have 2 feet between your roadbed and the water table, your road will fail.\" Home builder Mike Patterson, who spoke for builders on the task force, supported conservation communities with clearer rules: \"With a few tweaks, the alternative subdivision could achieve what we're all trying to do—save trees and not increase density.\"

Next steps: staff will produce revised ordinance text that (1) inserts the engineered-grading-plan language into the relevant subsection, (2) renames and refactors the alternative subdivision provisions into a \"conservation community\" article, and (3) adds plat and recording language to lock conservation areas in perpetuity. The task force scheduled additional meetings to review minor subdivisions, tree‑clearing language and wetland buffer proposals before forwarding recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners.

Votes at a glance: The only formal motion recorded in the transcript during this session was approval of the March 7 minutes. The motion was made by James Hendricks and seconded by Kelvin Enfinger; the chair announced the minutes were approved (no roll‑call tally included in the record). The code changes described above were agreed by consensus during the discussion and referred to staff for drafting, not recorded as a formal statute or ordinance vote.

Ending: Staff will circulate a redline showing the engineered‑grading wording and the conservation community language for review at the next meeting. The task force also asked staff to show how the draft would interact with the county's rural protection zone and existing PUD/PBD procedures.","The county task force agreed on code language allowing limited clearing when justified by an engineered grading plan, and moved to rebrand the former \"alternative subdivision\" provision as a \"conservation community\" with a 25% conservation/open-space requirement and guidelines for ponds, setbacks and public maintenance options.","actionData","errors"]

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Residents press task force to curb clear‑cutting; engineers and builders explain when filling and cutting are required

Santa Rosa task force adopts engineered-grading exception, renames 'alternative subdivision' as 'conservation community' with 25% open-space requirement