CRESTVIEW — The City Council unanimously approved 12 ordinances to correctly zone several neighborhoods and residential properties.

Before Monday's vote, if a house were damaged or destroyed in several developments off P.J. Adams Parkway, a zoning conflict meant it couldn't be rebuilt and a family in such a house would be homeless, City Clerk Betsy Roy has said.

The ordinances ensure this doesn't happen for residents in several neighborhoods, including Walsh Glen Estates, the Ridge Crest subdivision, Crystal Lake condominiums and Chestnut Ridge townhomes, among others.

This is the latest round of ordinances that Teresa Gaillard, the city’s GIS mapping analyst and planning technician, presented to the council with Roy's assistance.

City leaders in June approved seven ordinances to rezone a section of affected neighborhoods in Countryview Estates, Eagles Landing Townhomes and Southway Estates.

Fourteen more ordinances will be presented to the council at future meetings, Gaillard said.

Roy, who oversees the Administrative Services Department, has said affected properties originally were zoned for future commercial land use, which allowed for higher-density residential development than residential zoning. Some developments were in an industrial zoned area.

When the neighborhoods were built, developers followed regulations for single- and multi-family dwelling zoning, but the zoning didn’t change. The new ordinances rezone the neighborhoods under the zoning criteria that the homes were constructed under.

City attorney Jerry Miller — who has said that the council would likely move through six cycles, in all, of such ordinances — thanked city leaders and staffers for ensuring each area complies with city zoning.

“Those are basic municipal functions that should always be simultaneously maintained,” he said.    

Staff Writer Brian Hughes contributed to this report.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: More Crestview areas rezoned to prevent homelessness

CRESTVIEW —  A new ordinance will allow residential and commercial land use in the downtown area.  

Jack Dorman —  the city's consultant and president of J.E. Dorman & Associates, a growth management firm in Destin — said the mixed-use zoning found no opposition.

“There have been (several) meetings,” he said. “We had the stakeholders meeting several months ago … there were about 40 property owners and business interests from downtown that attended that meeting. (They) whole-heartedly endorsed the proposed planned amendment.”

The Florida Department of Economic Opportunity and other state agencies also reviewed the ordinance with no objections, Dorman said.

Before the council unanimously approved the ordinance on Monday, resident Landrum Edwards voiced one concern.

“Where are you going to park?” he said.

A city planning official is analyzing parking availability, needs and other concerns, Dorman said. The analysis should be completed before 2015.    

“Parking is an issue that has to be dealt with, obviously” Dorman said. “Both the policy and the zoning regulations provide for enhanced parking downtown.  Right now, we haven’t determined the need.” 

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview council approves ordinance for downtown mixed zoning

LAUREL HILL — The City Council is finalizing the 2015 fiscal year budget, and the proposal is down compared to last year's budget.

Click here for a copy of the  proposed 2015 fiscal budget for the city of Laurel Hill>>

 With expenses and revenues from the city’s enterprise operating fund – or water department –and general operating fund, officials expect less income.

Last year, the city projected $22,666 in total income. This year, the city projects to earn $609,392.

 The decrease from the previous budget primarily comes from the county’s local option fuel tax, Mayor Robby Adams said. Last year’s budget reflected the county commission-approved 3 cent fuel tax increase. Thirty-six percent of the fuel tax revenue benefits Okaloosa County municipalities.

The city initially set a $40,000 budget for the local option fuel tax, but just $30,345 is projected for the end of this fiscal year. The 2015 budget listed $30,000 for the tax.

 Laurel Hill will maintain a 3.5 millage rate per $1,000 for ad valorem taxes, according to the proposed budget.

Adams said a $600,000 grant from the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity will help the city. After a third attempt, the Laurel Hill was awarded the Florida Small Cities Community Development Block Grant in July. The grant will be used for much-needed road repairs. 

Adams said he is unsure if the grant will be included as part of the general operating fund in the 2015 budget.

The first public hearing on the budget and millage rate is set for 6 p.m. Sept. 11 at city hall.

The final public hearing is Sept. 18, at the same time and location. That night, the council will vote to adopt the millage rate and budget.  

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Matthew Brown, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Laurel Hill: City leaders propose $609,392 budget (DOC)

Okaloosa County commissioners have rejected a bid to allow backyard poultry in residential areas.

Commissioner Nathan Boyles has championed the cause since late July, when he learned that Mary Esther resident Torrie Cox's chickens placed her in violation of county code. But he failed to sway fellow board members with arguments that prohibiting backyard chickens in residential areas amounts to “over-regulation.”

Commissioner Dave Parisot based his objection on growing up on a farm in Illinois.

Commissioner Wayne Harris said he grew up under the city ordinances of St. Louis, Missouri, and also couldn’t support chickens in residential areas.

Okaloosa County Growth Management Director Elliot Kampert told the board that other Northwest Florida areas, including Pensacola and Escambia, are growing more tolerant of backyard chickens.

He said Crestview and Fort Walton Beach city leaders also have had discussions about such an allowance.

Boyles said he will continue to work with Cox and county staff to find a solution.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: County stays the course on backyard chicken ban

Big decisions are in store for whoever is elected to office after voters go to the polls Aug. 26.

Anyone elected to the Okaloosa County Commission in August will face the ongoing challenge of restoring the public’s trust in local government, Commissioner Nathan Boyles said.

One major decision could be creating a storm water utility — either by raising sales taxes or assessing fees on commercial and residential property. The commission, he said, must begin to make strategic investments in county infrastructure “that have been too long delayed."

The textbooks students study, the technology they use, the schools they attend and the way their teachers are evaluated will all be in the hands of those elected to the Okaloosa School Board.

During the next four years, the board will have to decide how it will deal with schools outgrowing current facilities and how it can increase the number of computers available to students as more tests go online.

The Okaloosa County Clerk of Court’s office’s 110 employees carry out three crucial county functions.

They keep the court system running smoothly, maintain thousands of county records and serve as accountant and auditor for the Board of County Commissioners.

A “significant challenge” facing the Clerk’s office as it transitions to new leadership will be an ongoing conversion from paper records to e-files, said Circuit Judge William Stone, Okaloosa County’s administrative judge.

The state has mandated all court records be e-filed, and that means melding two types of software, Stone said.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: High stakes in Okaloosa's primary election