Small Town News

Paradise Retreat roads abandoned to HOA

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The Paradise Retreat subdivision's three roads have been abandoned by the county to come under the ownership of the subdivision homeowners' association.

The action took place at the Sept. 8 Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) regular meeting at the request of the homeowners' association board of directors. Originally part of the Seashells on the Beach PUD, approved by the county in 2002, Paradise Retreat is a 120-lot subdivision on the south side of Scenic Gulf Drive in Mira-mar Beach, near the Walton-Okaloosa County line. The three abandoned roads are known as Sandy Cay

Drive, Secret Harbor Drive, and Marigot Bay Drive.

An unusual situation with the subdivision roads apparently played a large part in the abandonment request. According to a county staff report presented at the BCC meeting, 50-foot right-of-ways for the three streets were platted and dedicated to the public as part of the development; however, the developer installed pavers within the roadway without prior approval by the county. The Paradise Retreat at Miramar Beach Homeowners Association, established in 2002 with powers to maintain the roadways, later asked the county to take over maintenance of the publicly dedicated roadways. The county refused due to its policy not to maintain public roads on which pavers have been installed instead of asphalt. So, while the roads had been accepted by the county for public use, the county had assumed neither deed nor responsibility for the roads or their maintenance. Instead, these were borne by the homeowners' association, according to the report.

The homeowners' association request for abandonment made mention of the association's interest in installing entrance gates on either side of the subdivision "to impede through traffic from U.S. 98 and Scenic Gulf Drive within the subdivision."

Homeowners' association president Eddie Grant spoke of a vote taken of the 120 lot owners which found 99 owners to be in favor of privatization of the roads and of road maintenance responsibility being under the association's control. Three lot owners had voted in opposition.

Grant saw the proposal in terms of a fairness and safety issue for subdivision homeowners. He explained that residents in neighboring areas would still be welcome to walk through Paradise Retreat to the beach.

Responding to some neighborhood concerns,

Grant said emergency personnel would still have access to the subdivision and that gates would be put up in the event of an evacuation as required by state law.

Sandy Cay Drive homeowner Steve Sayler was of the opinion that ballots sent to the lot owners for voting on the proposal had been unclear in giving the impression that its approval would guarantee gating of the community. Not so, he commented, there would be separate requirements and approval for gating of the subdivision. Sayler said there were many unanswered questions about the pavers being installed on the subdivison roads and how the developer had come to be "released from his bond" and from responsibility for maintenance of the roads.

Sayler also was not sold on claims that road privatization would increase values and enhance safety. The first he called, "a very vacant promise." He added that no evidence had been provided that the proposal would help safety. The design of the streets in the subdivision may dictate that there will continue to be accidents regardless of privatization or gating, he commented. However Sayler said he would favor the proposal if there were a guarantee that gating would take place and that "everything would work out fine."

Sayler was under the impression that Paradise Retreat currently had ownership of the roads.

District 2 Commissioner Ken Pridgen clarified that the roads had in fact been dedicated to the public, and that what was being considered by the BCC was vacation of that dedication.

District 1 Commissioner Scott Brannon also responded that, although the current proposal did not include approval of gating, it represented a "first step" toward gating the community.

Marigot Bay Circle homeowner Tony Hendrix urged the commissioners to "accept that the safety concern is very real."

For a large part of the problem he credited trucks and commercial traffic taking a short cut through the subdivision along Secret Harbor Drive, a safety problem for residents that gating would relieve. Hendrix said he likes to bicycle around the subdivision, and "I have to watch out for my life."

Seeing no further requests for public comment, the BCC voted on a motion for approval of the abandonment by Brannon. All four commissioners present voted to abandon the right-of-way dedication.' Mike Burke, county legal counsel, clarified that the result of the abandonment would be that ownership of the roads would be transferred to the homeowners' association.

Dotty Nist may be contacted at beachbreezenews@ gmail.com



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© 2009 The DeFuniak Springs Herald DeFuniak Springs, Florida. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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