The Santa Rosa County Zoning Board on February 12 voted to recommend approval of a personal variance request by a fellow board member Mark Locklin. However, following an appeal by a third party, county commissioners denied the request during last night’s rezoning meeting.
Locklin abstained from voting on Feb.12. but the following Zoning Board members approved the request without objection: Jane Hayes, Rhonda Royals, Ed Carson, Aaron Williams, Joe McConnell, Gene Sullivan and Frankie Gibbs.
Locklin, who owns Climate Outdoor Advertising, LLC, a billboard company, was seeking the variance to reduce spacing requirements for construction of a new billboard at 3955 Hwy. 90 in Pace, which is a roughly 0.38-acre parcel owneed by Michael & Amanda Dodson. The property currently has a single-family residence and accessories on site.
The highlighted parcel is located on the south side of U.S. 90 across the street from Pace Assembly of God Church and to the east of the traffic signal at Chumuckla Hwy.
The county’s land development code states no off-premise sign (billboard) shall be placed within 2,000 feet of any other off-premises sign on the same side of the street right-of-way within a 300-foot radius of another off-premises sign.
Subsequently, Lamar Billboards appealed the zoning board’s recommendation, citing Locklin failed to prove an “unique or unnecessary hardship” which would justify such a variance, reducing spacing requirements by more than a third.
That appeal was discussed during last night’s rezoning meeting.
Locklin argued that his company wasn’t impacting Lamar Billboard’s location, pointing out their nearest sign to the west is almost 4,000 feet away.
But District 2 Commissioner Kerry Smith asked why a variance was needed if the proposed site was beyond the 2,000-foot required spacing.
Locklin then admitted his application had not included “anything to the west,” pointing out it only referred to the east side of the subject parcel and that the information about the distance on the west side had been added (by county staff) after his application was submitted.
Locklin noted an existing billboard is roughly 1,235 feet to the east, which would require a 735-foot variance. Records show that Lamar Billboards also has a billboard tag within the restricted space to the west of the property, which also would required a roughly 940-foot variance.
Commission Chairman Colten Wright noted related zoning was implemented in 1991, requiring billboards be spaced 2,000 feet apart in order to prevent clutter. Wright went on to point out that commissioners had revisited the matter during 2000-2005 and decided to stick with the restriction.
District 3 Commissioner Rhett Rowell stated that while he understood the request, approving the matter could be a “slippery slope.
Smith agreed with Wright and Rowell, stating that it could set a precendent, prompting future variance requests.
Therefore, Locklin’s request was denied by a 3-0 vote since District 1 Commissioner Bobby Burkett abstained from voting, citing his personal friendship with Locklin, and District 4 Commissioner Ray Eddington was absent.
District 2 Commissioner Kerry Smith questioned
