DCA gives final OK to West Bay sector plan
By S. Brady Calhoun
News Herald Writer 747-5075 / bcalhoun@pcnh.com

The state Department of Community Affairs issued a final order this week in the long-standing feud
between Bay County and a citizens group over West Bay-area planning.

In the order filed Tuesday, DCA chief Thomas G. Pelham stated the West Bay Detailed Specific Area
Plan, development guidelines for about 78,000 acres near West Bay, is in compliance with the county’s
comprehensive plan. He also said long-range planning and density standards for West Bay would not be
harmful to the environment and are justified.

Pelham’s order upheld a previous ruling by administrative law Judge J. Lawrence Johnston, who heard
complaints by the Panhandle Citizens Coalition and West End resident Diane Brown in August. They
claimed the county’s long-range build-out plan for West Bay is inconsistent with the countywide landuse
plan or state standards.

Tuesday’s order is another win for the county and The St. Joe Co., which owns a majority of the land in
the West Bay DSAP. It could prove costly for the coalition and Brown: St. Joe and Bay County now are
seeking court costs and attorney fees, said County Attorney Terrell Arline. “Parts of their claims were frivolous,” Arline added.

In December 2005, Bay County adopted four amendments to its comprehensive land-use plan,
implementing new planning standards and land-use designations. The Florida Department of
Community Affairs found the amendments compliant with state law, but in March 2006, Brown and the
coalition, which has about 40 Bay County members, challenged the DCA’s determination. The St. Joe
Co. intervened in the dispute.

Brown and her attorney, Ralf Brookes of Cape Coral, said they had not read the ruling and could not
comment Thursday. Brown and the coalition can appeal the latest ruling to Florida’s First District Court
of Appeal in Tallahassee.