Walton County OKs rezoning for Apostles by the Sea church on 10 acres in District 5

The Walton County Board of County Commissioners on April 14 approved a small‑scale future land‑use map amendment and rezoning (project 25‑000028) to allow a church to be built on roughly 10 acres in Commission District 5.

The application, submitted by Dunlap & Shipman on behalf of property owner Peggy Kelly, asked to change the future land‑use designation from Conservation Residential to Public Facilities & Institutional and to rezone the property from Conservation Residential 2:1 to Institutional. Planning staff entered the project report into the record and described the application as a map amendment and rezoning request rather than an approval of a specific building permit.

Gary Shipman of Dunlap & Shipman told commissioners the applicant plans a 10,000‑square‑foot Anglican church and said the property contains a wetland corridor. “The plan is to build a 10,000‑square‑foot church,” Shipman said, adding that typical traffic for services would be concentrated on Sunday mornings and estimated about 50 vehicles for a normal service.

Planner Melissa Ward summarized why the Institutional category was chosen: it allows civic and institutional uses, including churches, without adding residential density. Ward pointed to public facilities (the adjacent middle school) on one side of the site and mixed‑use/neighborhood preservation on the others and noted Institutional helped avoid adding residential units to the parcel.

Commissioners asked about utilities, trip‑generation references and whether the property fell under any military‑influence overlays; planning staff said development‑order review will verify water and sewer availability and that county GIS showed no military overlay on the site. The staff report noted Eglund review comments were delayed because of a lapse in federal appropriations; staff said Eglund had issued a temporary blanket notice while it addressed a backlog.

During public comment, Father Wallace, the church’s pastor, described the congregation’s history and asked the board to approve the rezoning so the congregation could establish a permanent home in Walton County. Applicants said 54 of 67 letters in the planning file were supportive of the application.

A motion to approve the map amendment and rezoning was made, seconded and adopted by a 4–0 vote (one commissioner absent). The approval was of the map and zoning change; applicable development standards, wetland permitting and utility connections will be resolved through subsequent development‑order and permitting reviews.

What happens next: Applicants will pursue a development order and the necessary permits. Questions about service availability, wetland impacts and final site design will be addressed at the development‑order stage and through required county and state reviews.