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Height Restrictions and Fast Food Restaurants

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"Olsen said the company would like to include two fast-food franchises in the hotel and retail complex, but the county has said such businesses would be outside the Scenic Corridor guidelines that sets standards for landscaping, architecture and signage." :clap:

THANK GOODNESS!!!!!!!!!

Appreciate the article!

G
 
im not one to stand in the way of the free market, but i moved here ten years ago because it didnt look like pcb or destin. lets hope our commissioners stand their ground and not bow to lobbyists. fast food joints by mccall park....are you kidding me? as if we should be surprised by olsen's aggenda. money is everything to SOME developers and it certainly is the most important thing to them
 
kkddbb said:
im not one to stand in the way of the free market, but i moved here ten years ago because it didnt look like pcb or destin. lets hope our commissioners stand their ground and not bow to lobbyists. fast food joints by mccall park....are you kidding me? as if we should be surprised by olsen's aggenda. money is everything to SOME developers and it certainly is the most important thing to them
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Exactly!
 
kkddbb,

This part of the article says much:
Don Rutland, president of Miramar Beach-based Rutland Co. - whose projects include The Inn at Blue Mountain Beach and the Inn at Crystal Beach - said setting a countywide height limit "sets an appropriate tone for the population that lives here and keeps us somewhat different from the rest of the state of Florida ... I believe it's a positive move for Walton County."

"As developers, we want as much density as we can get, but as residents, we're trying to keep our emotions out of it and be practical," said Matt Olsen, Rutland's executive vice president.
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The statement is about height limits, but I think that it makes it clear that it isn't ALL about money for Matt and Don. Fast food will happen in South Walton, and it will be very profitable. If McDonald's opened in a decent location, it is likely that they would have more traffic than any other restaurant in all of South Walton. Chick-f-let would be close behind it. Doesn't mean I want them here, and doesn't mean that I will support them, but many people will and they will likely be successful and open the floodgates for others franchises to follow. We already see the Panera Bread Company at the outlet mall, along with Cheeseburger in Paradise. We will also see more of that type of business come in. One day, Hwy 98 will likely take forever to drive from one end to the other, not much different than going through PCB or Destin. Did you know that WaterSound, on the north side of 98, has a crap-load of commercial space planned? I think it is more than Destin Commons, if I correctly recall. It's coming, it's just a matter of time.
 
The fast food chain restuarants are already there right on 30-A- Subway, PJ's Coffee, Starbucks off the top of my head. And if there's a subway, I'm not sure how you can also keep out the concept of a McDonald's.

But you can get even what are the usually gaudiest fast food restaurants to blend in. Keep the ban on new drive-throughs and make it holy and sacred. Dictate other strict architectural and landscaping guidelines and even paint colors if need be to keep out the giant plastic clowns and playscapes visible from the street.

There are any number of big city fast food restaurants that go into odd-sized commercial spaces with architectural limits and that consequently, manage to fit in well enough to seem inobtrusive in between the bodega and the Duane Reed on either side. No reason that Walton County couldn't say that if you did want to go in, you need to come in on our strict terms.
 
98 will likely be more developed over the years, but we have the state forests that line the highway and thats what makes us different then destin and pcb. i for one am grateful for that and is the main reason why pt washington was my choice to live. those who support such franchises will no doubt be the cause of our demise. it cheapens the area and will destroy the architecural integrity that brought me here and what has made our community as unique as it is. its not just the beaches....
 
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