BMBCA Members and Friends,
This is an exceptionally important issue that could impact you and your way of life.
At the request of the Walton Board of County Commissioners (BCC), the President of the Walton County Chamber of Commerce, Dawn Moliterno, is conducting noise ordinance roundtable discussions. In the first meeting, held this past Monday 2/15/10, Moliterno explained that attendees were all there to share their thoughts on the Noise/Nuisance Ordinance and to come together with a document that they could send on to the BCC.
By a show of hands, it was decided that they would shelve the Noise/Nuisance issue and focus on Event Houses only, since most people seemed to be speaking about Event Houses. There was a large contingent of Wedding Planners there with an attorney. It soon became clear that decisions were being made by a show of hands as to what they would pass on to the commissioners. Then the focus on Event Houses soon turned into criteria for permitting them.
For those of you who may not know what an Event House is, it is a home that is rented not just for people here on vacation but for people wanting to put on an event, such as a wedding. Currently these Event Homes can be found within single-family neighborhoods and they are used and even advertised to be available for events like weddings. With these events come bands, loud music and, many, many more people than the home was designed to handle. With those people come cars or trucks for which there is inadequate parking. And this house could be located right next door to you in your community. Your neighbor could decide to turn their house or rental property into an Event Home. In addition, this is not like your current neighbor or renter having a party. This event home could create this type of situation every weekend. These houses have created a lot of controversy and considerable out cry. And it appears the county is trying to find a way to officially allow them into our communities.
At the meeting some residents attending said it seemed premature to be talking about criteria for permitting, which could include fire safety, parking, noise, etc., when they should be addressing land use. It was noted that neighborhoods which are single-family residential are just that, residential, and commercial uses should not be allowed.
One person at the meeting who we believe was with the county said that a renter has every right that an owner has and can therefore, have a wedding if they so desire. It seems to us that cannot be true. A renter cannot for example renovate that home. But the statement causes us great concern. Another county staffer said that they were thinking about limiting events by requiring that the home be used for lodging, so a renter must stay overnight in the house where they have their event. Someone else said perhaps they should limit events by frequency, for example limiting how often each house would be allowed to have events each year. But even if they only allowed one event a year per house, and this would be unlikely, if you had 100 homes in your community that would mean there could be a great number of events per year within your community. These are not solutions, but it shows the county seems inclined to allow Event Homes within our communities.
Event Homes should not be banned and people should be able to rent their homes to families for residential use. But Event Homes should not be allowed in single-family neighborhoods or communities designated as Residential Preservation Area (RPA). The Event Homes should be required to be located in commercial or mixed use areas. Businesses should not be allowed in residential areas and it should make no difference whether the business is contracted by a renter or an owner. As far as we know renting a home for residential use does not fall under commercial and thus, the usual residential rentals would not be affected. Once this door is open all kinds of businesses or non-residential uses might be included. Allowing any kind of non-residential use is a dangerous precedent.
If YOU as a homeowner care about protecting and preserving the quiet residential use of your neighborhood YOU have got to speak up. The event people have other places they can go but we don't. They can go to mixed use and commercial areas. If the county permits these operations it will be a real abuse of the system. We know that the spirit of the RPA is that it be RESIDENTIAL and not something else. Homeowners must speak out to preserve our neighborhoods. We cannot go down this slippery slope of allowing 'events' when everyone knows we are talking about commercial use.
Having residents at the Monday meeting to show hands in favor of preserving residential neighborhoods will be crucial since what goes on to the County will be what comes out of these meetings on the basis of a hand vote. If the majority of people at this meeting are in favor of Event Homes we could be out voted and you could find an Event Home next door to your house. But if you cannot attend call Dawn Moliterno Monday morning at, 850-267-0683 or email her now at, <dawn@waltonareachamber.com> and express your view. Commission Cecilia Jones was in attendance as well and you should let her know how you feel by calling, 850-231-2978 or emailing her at, <joncecilia@co.walton.fl.us>.
The next meeting is scheduled to be held at the South Walton High School Media Center Room on Monday, 2/22/10, at 3:00 pm. The South Walton High School is located on the west side highway 331 just north of highway 98.
Everyone is encouraged to attend the next meeting. It is important that the noise ordinance is not changed to the detriment of our neighborhoods.
For anyone interested we have notes distributed by the county from the last meeting held on the 15th and we will be glad to provide you a copy of them if requested. Just let us know.
Blue Mountain Beach Community Association, Inc.
P. O. Box 1042, Santa Rosa Beach, FL 32459
“Dedicated to the preservation of our residential community - its natural beauty and its quality of life – through education, communication, and cooperation”
Blue Mountain Beach Community Association, Inc.
Serving communities between CR 393 and Little Red Fish Lake
(Incorporated under FL Statute 617.301-617.312)
