Developer's past flaunting of Santa Rosa codes proves no obstacle to rezoning request
The sins of his past did not come back to haunt developer Bill Lewis on Thursday as the Santa Rosa County Commission seemingly overlooked those to grant him, without objection, the rezoning he needed to sell a handful of 5-plus acre lots at Ten Mile Road and Quintette Road in Pace.
Lewis, according to county Planning Director Shawn Ward, had been one of a few developers who, in developing the North Diamond Estates subdivision, had exploited Land Development Code provisions in order to sidestep paying recording fees, for engineering design work or the costs of storm water retention.
The provisions were known as the parent parcel and the family homestead provisions.
Under parent parcel provisions, a lot could be subdivided up to three times without meeting required road frontage.
The family homestead provision allowed for a property to be divvied up to accommodate a landowner's desire to share their land with a member of their immediate family. The provision spelled out that family members should consist of spouse, father, mother, brother, sister, son, daughter, stepchild, grandchild, or grandparent.
The provisions have since been designated conditional uses and to utilize them an applicant is required to file an affidavit. Public hearings are required and permission must be granted from the Zoning Board and County Commission.
Lewis, who has confirmed he used both the parent parcel and family homestead provision in developing his North Diamond Estates subdivision, has said he was working within the rules of Santa Rosa County.
Previously: Developer with questionable history seeking to rezone 600 acres in Pace
Lewis's most ferocious critic has been Brian Dunn, like Lewis a Wallace Lake Road resident. Dunn claims only one of the 21 lots developed within North Diamond Estates met the specifications of the family homestead provision. He also blames Lewis specifically for creating the flooding that since 2020 has afflicted him and his neighbors.
Dunn could not be at the County Commission's special rezoning meeting Thursday, but he did email commissioners to remind them of what they'd said in the past regarding Lewis.
"You all agreed, and said he 'abused and mis-used' the LDC," the email said. "Answer me this, is that someone you should now grant exceptions for to do it again?"
The North Diamond Estates development activity did eventually get Lewis in trouble with the Northwest Florida Water Management District. Investigators for that agency found he had installed more than 4,000-square-feet of impervious surface area to allow for vehicle traffic without obtaining a required Environmental Resource Permit.
Ward said that Lewis was approved for his rezoning request Thursday after he provided a conceptual layout and a wetlands study for a portion of it, but he has not been cleared to develop just yet.
Because the overall rezoning he is requesting is for nearly 600 acres of land off Wallace Lake Road, it is considered a large scale amendment and the Thursday hearing constituted a transmittal public hearing. The rezoning must still be reviewed by state agencies and brought back to the County Commission within 120 days for final adoption.
Commissioner James Calkins, in whose district the property being rezoned is located, said he is well familiar with the feud between Dunn and Lewis. He said his decision to approve the rezoning was not made without careful consideration.
"It was a very tough decision," he said.
"We have to look at the project on its merits," he said. "There was no opposition and all the questions I had were answered."
This article originally appeared on Pensacola News Journal: Santa Rosa developer gets rezoning despite history of flaunting rules
