Chamber board calls for Town Center revisions

Navarre Beach Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors is calling for the Navarre Town Center Plan to be revised, not eliminated.

The Chamber issued a survey to its members and used the 120 responses to make its recommendations to the county planning and zoning department.

Based on the survey results, the Chamber board agreed the Town Center Plan needed to be revised because it contained valuable elements, but the Mixed-Use Development wasn’t realistic given the current economy.

The board stated in its letter that the Mixed-Use Development plan relied to heavily on public parking because all developments are required to provide for parking behind commercial structures. It also suggested less deed restrictions in the TC2 zoning district because it prohibits commercial development. Lastly, the board thinks the first approval of a project should go before the planning and zoning board instead of the Navarre Architectural Review Board.

While opinions may differ, only 10 percent of respondents said the plan should be completely eliminated.

More than 43 percent of respondents believe the creation of the Town Center is important to Navarre’s future, but more than 31 percent of respondents didn’t answer that question. While 33.3 percent believe the development guidelines and standards in the TC1 and TC2 zoning districts would encourage development, about 32 percent of respondents didn’t answer.

Download: Navarre Chamber Town Center Recommendations