Residents and conservationists press Santa Rosa commissioners to pause Navarre Beach boardwalk project

A large group of residents, environmental advocates and business owners used the county’s public forum on Sept. 22 to press commissioners to delay or cancel the proposed Navarre Beach Boardwalk and Event Hall project.

Jul ie Shero, president of the Francis M. Weston Audubon Society, told the board the project would harm nesting shorebirds and that Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission mitigation requirements could mean a “mitigation of $6.50 per square foot,” which her group estimated at roughly $3,100,000 before construction begins. “If you don't move forward with the Navarre Beach Hall And Boardwalk Complex,” Shero said, “we should celebrate [the birds] and do everything in our power to protect these two species.”

Multiple speakers called attention to traffic and emergency-access risks on Highway 98 and the Navarre Causeway. Sharon Karen, a 38-year resident, said current congestion already hinders emergency response and argued that adding events and commercial uses would worsen access: “If someone on the beach needs an ambulance, they're not gonna get through.”

Speakers also pressed the county for clearer financial analyses. Erica Thomas asked for documented demand and feasibility studies and flagged a low-bid financing gap figure that appeared in public materials: “That would be $7,336,371 for the entire low bid,” she said, urging staff to explain how the county would repay any borrowing if tourism revenues dropped after a hurricane.

Advocates for conservation and sea-turtle protection emphasized technical distinctions between engineered FEMA berms and living dune ecosystems and cautioned that replacing dunes with development would remove natural coastal protections. Cinnamon Tyler of the Navarre Beach Sea Turtle Conservation Center said the Marine Park has long been designated for marine education and open space and questioned whether an event hall and retail fit that designation.

The board acknowledged the volume of public concern and agreed to post commonly asked questions and available procurement documents in advance of a scheduled Oct. 19 public workshop; staff said they would attempt to make general answers available online ahead of the meeting. The Oct. 19 workshop was announced to begin at 6 p.m. in the same chambers.