I think a lot of us are working hard in the public and private sectors to help Walton County. Copied below is the content of an e-mail I just sent out yesterday afternoon to some folks I know, describing just one of the efforts I'm involved with (I'm not sure I can attach the news story though -- it's in today's Breeze-Herald and will be on their website next week I suppose).

I believe our Comp Plan is of enormous importance in determining the economic future of the county, and I believe applying a transect-based approach to planning will result in the greatest good for the greatest number of people. I intend to post information resources soon, for anyone wanting to learn more. For now, check www.mississippirenewal.com where you can see a 2-minute youtube about the Smart Code as it's being applied to rebuild the Mississippi Gulf Coast. And if you REALLY want to get into a lot of detail, read Retrofitting Suburbia by Ellen Dunham Jones (pretty technical but well researched; much of the information applies directly to our situation here). Here's the e-mail:

Good news: I'm attaching a story scanned from this week's DeFuniak Herald-Breeze, about the Planning Commission's unanimous recommendation that the BCC direct Planning Department staff to explore countywide transect-based planning.

Better news: so far, every voice I've heard -- from Planning Department staff, Planning Commissioners, citizens, environmentalists, architects, planners, developers, land use attorneys, and concerned citizens -- is that this is the direction we need to be going in. Applying this approach in Walton County will remediate many problems while creating the kinds of communities our citizens have repeatedly said they want, in various broad visioning processes over many years. The transect approach will protect agricultural and environmentally sensitive areas and improve the quality of life for people living and working in the built environment.

Even better news: the all-volunteer team who wrote the report that started all this (attached) are now creating an educational presentation that explains the basics of transect-based planning, or Smart Codes. Their presentation will be shown publicly in several locations throughout the county; it may also be available for viewing online, for those who cannot attend the public presentations.

Once dates and locations for the presentations are set, details will be publicized widely. I will certainly put this and related information on my Facebook page, and invite you all to check there often. If I can figure out how, I might even start a Facebook transect "cause" and invite you all to join!

I encourage you to investigate this for yourselves, and attend the public presentations. There, you will have the opportunity to ask questions and get answers directly from the authors of the plan. The experience, creativity, talent and skill of this group is enormous, inspiring and synergistic they deserve our thanks for their contribution to the future of Walton County.

Thanks very much for your time and interest.

Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Thanks for the post, Susan. I had never heard of transect-based planning, so I went to transect.org and read up on it, it sounds like a good approach. I like the concept of matching the land to proper use to protect both the land and to provide the best living on that land. I am not a huge fan of New Urbanism because it generally wants all of us to live in the same type of space, but this approach differentiates between high and low densities and recognizes that those different densities are appropriate.

It does not square, however, with our County Commission's stated opinion that private property owner rights transcend community needs and environmental concerns. They ignored the FLUM using this logic, and until they get on board with the concept of enforcing a plan, any plan will be ridden with variances to the point of having no meaning.

If you try to apply new rules to land purchased under old rules, our Commission believes that you are depriving the owner of the use of that land as he originally understood it. In addition, if they have already allowed a non-conforming use in the area, every property owner wants (and gets) that same non-conforming use.

Here 4 Good,

I appreciate your comments. I don't have the expertise to address the property rights and nonconforming use question with any authority, but expert planners/architects who've been writing transect/smart codes for communities all over the country tell me that there are all sorts of ways to get past that problem. Please attend one of the presentations and I'm sure someone far more knowledgeable than me can provide better information.

As for your statement that New Urbanists want everyone to live in the same sort of place -- nothing could be further from the truth. While the NU's enormously popular and widely published compact/walkable/mixed use developments may seem in some way homogenous, they actually offer exponentially more internal, easily available variety than the monocultures of suburbs, strip malls, office parks, and megamalls (what Jim Kunstler calls the "geography of nowhere").

Monoculture does not exist in nature, which clearly favors diversity (see Janine Benyus' book Biomimicry for more fascinating info on that topic). New Urbanism is a form of biomimicry in that it looks to natural models for how to design and make manmade things (like buildings, towns, roads). The transect approach to planning was born of a moment when Andres Duany's brother Douglas (a landscape architect) showed him a natural transect (ocean to sandy beach to vegetation to forest), and that must have clicked in Andres' amazing mind that here's the way to plan for entire regions rather than simply towns and town centers.

But back to that monoculture problem: The whole point of what the New Urbanists have been doing for the last 3 decades is to restore diversity to the built environment, in terms of use, size, density, housing type, street size and configuration, mixes of public, private, commercial, and civic uses. Diversity is what makes these places interesting, and desirable to live in or visit, especially for the up and coming "digerati" and "creative class" demographic groups.

The addition of the transect to the NU's tool kit has expanded their ability to help plan appropriately for all types of spaces and how they relate to each other. The New Urbanists are always trying to find ways to plan the built environment to encourage diversity of residents, businesses, visitors, of their projects. It turns out that their approach is also extremely green, less expensive, and less infrastructre-intense than the above named monocultures or combination thereof.

Seaside (perhaps other NU developments as well, I just know Seaside best) is in a way victim of its own success -- it became so popular that the real estate values mushroomed far beyond anyone's wildest imaginings, meaning only the well to do can own or rent there. I believe the New Urbanists have continued to refine their approach to town and regional planning over the years to ecnourage economic/income, ethnic and age diversity; it was a member of Andres Duany's firm, after all, who designed the first (or was it first-prize winning?) Katrina Cottage. At this point, Andres' laser-like focus is turning sharply towards small, affordable housing (of course the need for good public transit also looms larger and larger). He's even looking at local food self sufficiency, though I don't know if he or any of the other New Urbanists have yet done a project incorporating both affordable housing and food self sufficiency; it would seem a simple matter to remix the Mississippi Gulf Coast plan to include the food part.

I hope I haven't rattled on too long. I have such a passion for the broad usefulness and beneficence of this method to plan human interaction with nature, the built environment, and each other, that I do tend to get carried away!

I'm wondering if at this point, this conversation (if others join and we continue) might be better to have its own thread, or perhaps tie into the Seaside Prize thread over in the Events section? Forgive me if my forum lingo isn't quite right. I'm right brained and details like that are often lost on me.

If someone wants to move this and knows how to do it, please go for it. I'm a bit of a Luddite

Hope to hear more thoughts on this very important issue. Now back to my paying job

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Thanks Susan. I've started a new thread and asked Kurt to move your comments over there. We'll see what happens -- Kurt can do anything.

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CFH Design Studio
Eco Design + Living

Thanks y'all - welcome Susan!

Can you please boil all this down to a single, simple paragraph...I'm really having trouble reading around and through all the "urbanisms" and "monocultures" to figure out what your aim actually is. Thanx.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

So it's essentially subdivisions with shopping and schools centered around a factory....like Hershey, PA used to be---or pretty much what a large military base is like.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

But in answer to the request to give a short definition of the transect. I will need someone else to step in and help out with that. Brevity's not my strong suit.

You could spend some time googling around about it and get lots of visuals, short youtubes, etc. It's taken me 25 years of studious immersion to catch on -- but I'm a slow learner, LOL!

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Aside from my suggestions above, I envision Senior Living Villages (ala Century City; Del Webbs Sun City)--only with kids and schools and jobs.

.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

I think I understand this concept...what is happening in Walton County government that is related to this?

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"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

Where does large scale manufacturing fit in?

Have you seen what happens when real self sufficient communities are established? You'll find thousands of examples of energy efficient, pedestrian friendly, green communities from 3000 BC through 1800 AD. Should we change the Constitution at all to help each community self govern?

I know Andres Duany. Were you in the Rosemary Town Hall around the time of 9/11 when he preached, Don't worry about how much you paid for your property, there's someone out there who will pay more. That's not an exact quote, but it is very close and is 100% in line with the spirit of what he said. If someone was there and wants to chat with me about it we can do that.

Do New Urbanists use airports or interstates much? Which kibbutz would mine the raw materials we need to keep them up? Will every community have all that a citizen would want to buy or enjoy on a daily basis?

I'm optimistic, but I haven't seen many DPZ communities that didn't look themed (staged) when they were complete. I've seen people and local companies try to pull off this kind of community locally, away from high dollar natural resources and it doesn't seem like the public cares to get involved.

Welcome to Sowal.com

Aabsolute:

The DPZ communities you've seen are probably all resorts. Resorts, even well-planned resort towns never look like "real" towns.

The idea is to use observation & scientific method to plan communities by intent the way they were built by custom through several thousand years of human civilization until about 1930.

If you are looking for "real" places using this concept, Montgomery, AL and Pike Road, AL (just east of Montgomery) have both recently adopted the SmartCode, a particular version of a transect-based code.

Transect-based planning doesn't and isn't intended to eliminate use of automobiles, just to make auto use a bit less necessary on a day-to day-basis. For instance: I live in Inlet Beach and ride my bike to work in Rosemary Beach, but I drive across Lake Powell to the grocery store. I probably use the Interstates as much as anybody.

Please note that some thing just don't fit into a transect continuum of neighborhoods, including large manufacturing plants, universities, large hospitals, airports, etc. These would be coded as special districts. One major advantage is that a transect code doesn't try to enforce a single set of rules across the entire range of community and development types.

Thank you for the warm welcome and great questions. I wasn't at RB Town Hall on that occasion, but enjoyed Andres' talks this past weekend and learned a lot as always. Are you familiar with www.mississippirenewal.com?

Yes the projects tend to look staged, and in some way, they are. But the design concept is that the bones of the towns are solid and flexible enough so that over time, they will be loved enough to be real (like the Velveteen Rabbit, LOL). I don't think anyone expects any new development, New Urbanist or otherwise, to have patina and grit on day one -- that takes time, use, adjustments and adaptations.

Yes I've seen many examples of sustainable cultures from way back and even in more recent history (pre-automobile dominant). There are sustainable communities right now all over the planet, usually started by grassroots groups and/or utopian visionaries; William McDonough is designing entire regions for China that will be completely sustainable/green/closed loop/self sufficient. Findhorn and Gaviotas are two existing communities that come quickly to mind; I'd love to visit them both.

I think the challenge before us today is to return to that level of sustainability within the modern context, which includes airports, interstates, Peak Oil, global warming, and a dire need to transform agribusiness into a more localized small-farm way to supply food. Your questions about airports, manufacturing and interstates speak directly to this challenge; but I am not the expert who can provide those answers.

Please come to one of the presentations and speak up!

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Where it's zoned to fit in. The original plan for Columbia, Maryland (which along with Mission Viejo, California counts as the big developmental ancestors of New Urbanism) called for a large industrial park. At one time GE had an appliance factory in the park. After it closed, the land was redeveloped as a large scale white collar office complex.

Columbia, Maryland - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Mission Viejo, California - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I'm not a huge fan of the New Urbanism label because it always seems to indicate cutesy and fake, and doesn't seem to properly account for the idea of the necessity of some large scale development. (While I like the idea of being able to see a doctor in a small neighborhood office for general health issues, if I get cancer, I want to have treatment in the big honkin' megahospital because the megahospitals have a higher number of specialists and higher success and survival rates for procedures than the small town hospitals do) But I do like the concept of large scale planning in order to better enable people to work and shop near where they live. Life's too short to be spending an hour and a half commuting in your car every day.

It has been years since I first became interested in community development and planning but this thread has been most interesting and a revelation to me.
Susan, I don't know your back round but you obviously have a strong interest in aesthetic community planning. Maybe you should be our Walton County Planning Director but I wouldn't wish that on anyone with what little I've seen here regarding long range planning. At any rate, welcome to SoWal. Your input on these issues is greatly appreciated.

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Speak out freely...Hold to the truth...Question boldly.

Andy A. -- Thanks for the kind words. I'm enjoying this conversation and so glad to see the level of interest here.

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

New Urbanism isn't just about designing cute little houses in resort towns. The ideas of building an interactive community, dimishing dependence on a car, and bringing things to a human scale work in a wide variety of situations and locations.

I've worked on New Urbanism projects to revitalize poor areas in major cities, to provide affordable housing, to incorporate ancient ruins into a living part of a city instead of a crumbling waste of space, to expand a small university, to design a worship facility for an inner city church, you name it.

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The enemy is ignorance.

There's always the Cisco park. Baseball, shopping, restaurants, and an elementary school.

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The biggest obstacle to the "Transect-Based New Urbanist" trend is going to be changing the mindset of the folks who can afford to buy into these contrived urban developments--most are into "no thru street, cul-du-sac, gated communities." In a place where folks are anal-retentive about their zipcode, I think you've got a hardsell on your hands.

.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

For anyone interested in learning more between now and the local presentation -- these websites are loaded with articles, photos, illustrations, links to information about places already using this approach, and free Smart Code downloads. I just persued the 55-page .pdf about Pass Christian, Mississippi's plan (I found it on the Smart Code Central site). Very informative, lots of good illustrations.

http://www.smartcodecomplete.com/index.html

http://smartcodecentral.com/index.html

http://www.transect.org/

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Hello Susan,

Thanks for visiting transect.org and discussing these important ideas. Even though I don't live in your county I hope it's OK if I jump in and help with a few questions. There is a Facebook Cause with the following brief explanation of what transect-based planning entails. (The video you posted is very misleading. The initial shots could actually be a walkable T-3 Sub-Urban Zone, a perfectly good human habitat, if it is adjacent to more mixed-use areas (higher Transect Zones) so people can choose to walk to useful destinations and activities. Here's what's on the Facebook Cause page:

Stop Sprawl and Protect Neighborhoods with Transect-based Planning

We promote understanding of the built environment as part of the natural environment, through the planning methodology of the rural-to-urban transect.

***

Auto-dependent sprawl has been exacerbated by single-use zoning, which separates Residential areas from Office and Retail.

In transect-based planning, these single-use zones are replaced by diverse habitat zones called Transect Zones.

A transect is a path or cut through the environment, used for sampling and organizing habitat elements. We sample streets, buildings, and plantings.

This provides the DNA for new transect-based plans and codes that protect and create compact, walkable neighborhoods while preserving open lands.

Visit the Center for Applied Transect Studies at Center for Applied Transect Studies for open source planning tools and education for your community and region.

Hope this helps!
Cheers,
Sandy Sorlien
Director of Technical Research
Center for Applied Transect Studies
Miami, FL and Philadelphia, PA

Sandy, feel free to post and give us more information.

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2 pages on transect and comprehensive environmental management
http://www.smartcodecomplete.com/documents/article_MiltRhodes.pdf

2 pages on transect as it relates to agriculture at varying scales. From what I’ve heard at recent Planning Commission meetings about the proposed FLUE (Future Land Use Element of Comp Plan) amendment, there is strong and very valid concern in the agricultural areas of Walton County about protecting farms and farmers from incursion, especially by residential development, and the inevitable complaints about spraying, dust, noise, farm odors, night harvesting, etc.
http://www.placemakers.com/library/AgriculturalTransect.pdf

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

This concept is exactly what the county needs to address the critics of the land development code and comp plan. The benefits of this style of zoning allows uses to go in place as long as the design of the project meets the transect criteria. This allows many different kinds of projects to be installed as long as parking and building styles are observed. We need more thinking peolpe involved in the county system. Keep up the good work and the discussion.

To make this concept work, doesn't there have to be some kind of major salary-generating corporation to serve as the central hub of such a place? One cannot center a major "urbanist" community (that includes schools and such) around a Mayberryesque town center whose main revenue sources are a candle shop, a coffee bar, a deli and a bookstore.

Everyone is singing the praises of the new airport--so who would be the first to move their family into a community that is within biking/walking distance to their job as Passenger Wanding Superintendent?
.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

Contrived is probably an accurate description, meaning that New Urbanist towns are deliberately created instead of spontaneously created.

As far as a hard sell goes, I believe we may be surprised to discover some and maybe many folks want something other than what leads to more sprawl.

Certainly, gated communities and cul-du-secs will not vanish from the built landscape and most definitely, there will still be a place for people who wish to live in that type of community. I see transect planning as common sense or the natural evolution of the built environment we experience. It's a contrived way of arranging people on the landscape that has the ability to bring us closer to living more sustainably.

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CFH Design Studio
Eco Design + Living

What do you envision to be the economic engine that is going to provide the salaries for people to live in these contrived communities?

I've just got to ask--is the ultimate goal a sales pitch to the county to provide some sort of funding for consultation on "New Urbanist" planning? Or is the goal just to put new zoning in place to accommodate this plan for the future with no cost to the taxpayer.

Funding marketers, visionaries, architects and consultants to generate story boards, draw plans, and build "gee-whiz" models of these "Transect-Based New Urbanist" towns before there is a sustainable industry to support the folks who are to populate the towns is, in my opinion, putting the cart before the horse and not the best use of taxpayer money at this juncture.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

I'm with Shellster on that. So long as the full agenda is out and there's no money trail I'm very pro smart development. I've been to many charette's, but none that weren't sponsored by a salesperson.

The big question to be answered is: How are property rights for existing and proposed non-conforming uses going to be dealt with? Will the variance dilute the thesis?

You know, it's kinda funny, long ago when I was growing up...DeFuniak Springs was such a place. There was a town center which had wonderful little shops, a bank, grocery story, hardware store, doctors office and hospital...there was a library and a school, restuarants and (before I was growing up) a grand hotel and a few smaller hotels...there was even a train and train station that worked.
There were houses and a few apts...and all of this was within walking distance!

Then, came interstate highways and shopping malls/strip malls...

interesting how things that used to be, are now being reinvented and called new.

I would love to see small towns like DeFuniak come back--and more towns like that built...I hope this movement has a positive effect on Walton County...and like Shelly I'd like to see the Economic Development section of the plan included.

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"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

I don't have the answer to that, but I believe this county has a lot of potential and my understanding is that transect based planning will encourage and provide support for economic development.

Again, I don't know the answer to that either. What I do know is that the county is in the process of amending the EAR and a group of concerned citizens have gathered together voluntarily to offer comments and suggestions to the Planning Department about incorporating transect based planning into the Comp. Plan and Land Development Code. The goal was to take this opportunity of down time to plan for the future growth of Walton County. Implementing a transect based plan could be done over a period of time. I have to ask, when would you suggest that the Planning Department begin planning for the future?

I see it as sort of a chicken and egg thing. Without the infrastructure in place to support public transit, work force housing, and daily needs, why would any industry locate here?

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CFH Design Studio
Eco Design + Living

What's the plan for Pike Road? All I see happening there lately are a CVS at the corner of Pike and Vaughn, a strip mall just behind it on Vaughn, a road widening at that intersection, and several ranches being turned into subdivisions (essentially large cul-de-sacs).

And the deterioration of Urban Grace.

Oh, and a new windsock at Bartlett International Airport.

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Very good observations. New urbanists will sometimes say that what they do is really "old urbanism", albeit for modern times. The old small towns have mostly disappeared due to population growth and shifts, but they are still out there, and new ones are being created.

I don't know if the term "new urbanism" can live on because of the association with places like Seaside, but the consepts are true. The recent model of sprawl and consumption can not continue, and population will continue to rise while resources dwindle. There are no easy answers, but there is plenty of good work being done out there by very knowledgeable people.

Hi Susan,

The second link in your post goes to an out of date table - it's from 2003. For the latest initiatives on Agriculture see these two links:

Center for Applied Transect Studies (scroll down to bottom preview of ongoing work- enlarge the image and note agriculture sprinkled throughout the community, its form dependent on the character of the Transect Zone)

and here

SmartCode Central (The Module package includes a page called Food Production with a basic correlation to the transect.)

Also, just to respond quickly to a few other comments on the forum, this kind of planning isn't just for new communities. At least half of the projects done by new urbanists are infill. Many of the codes they write are protective of existing character, whether it is rural character or urban character or walkable sub-urban. (We use that hyphen to distinguish between suburban sprawl patterns and a sub-urban but walkable area that is close to mixed use.)

Regarding employment, yes, access to employment is critical. You might want to look at a regional sector plan where a Toyota plant landed in 80 sq miles of ag land in an annexed area of San Antonio. The map shows 48 Community Units to accommodate all the projected growth in that area so it didn't end up as sprawl, gobbling up all the ag land. The communities are located along existing roads and rail lines for the most part. Look for San Antonio City South here:

Center for Applied Transect Studies

There are other Sector plans on that page. Good luck with your efforts! It's a beautiful area- a cousin of mine retired to a pecan farm near DeFuniak Springs.

Cheers,
Sandy

PS The things that are "new" about new urbanism include accommodating the car without destroying the pedestrian public space (not an easy task) and adapting the new zoning codes to energy-efficient technologies, light imprint infrastructure, and more.

Sandy,

Thanks for bringing out the newer information. There's so much out there, it's hard to keep up, especially when one is doing all this in one's "spare time" (that would be Yours Truly). But I'm not complaining. I love it that there is so much information about this at our fingertips, just for the googling.

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Perhaps I need to do more homework to better understand all the intents of New urban design and its relationship to Transect Based Planning or perhaps it is because of what I have seen in this particular area. I cannot help but feel that these concepts target a wealthy, second home or vacation neighborhood versus common people primary residence.

Shelly, could this be where you are going with your questions about where will the people inhabiting these communities get their income. I sense that people cannot afford to live in these communities until their income is well into 6 figures and this isn't the mean income of most families. You're not going to make six figures selling candles or ice-cream.

I think my Wife and I might enjoy living in one of these communities, but I'd need to know it actually wasn't just a vacation destination, because a continued party atmosphere would get old. I'd want to know there will be many quiet evenings to sit out on the porch and enjoy the weather or to go for a stroll.

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Anthony

I'm just trying to nail down the aims of this latest "New Urbanist" movement.

I believe the volunteer group's heart is in the right place--they're trying to establish a working-living town, with a town center, schools and jobs--a place where the teachers and shopkeepers can afford to buy a home and raise their kids, as well as the doctor, lawyer and injun chief (in larger homes with GCT & SSA of course)...and none have to drive a car to shop, work or play if they don't want to.

Sadly, what begins as a dream of average folks--with the backing of larger groups who like to use lots of mumbo-jumbo verbiage in describing their "vision"--turns into a sales pitch to counties to extract taxpayer dollars. The money goes to pay out-of-work architects and "consultants" to produce whiz-bang presentations of toon-town villages whose only means of revenue generation is (a) some pie-in-the-sky dream of a major industry relocating to the panhandle of Florida; or (b) the very same bunch of rich people that every other Toon-Town visionary is pulling out of their arses.

There appears to be an entire industry whose purpose is to provide workshops, books, training and consulting services for "Urbanism" and "Placemaking," and pitching these concepts to cities and towns across the US. Although I believe in theory their concepts are sound, in practice and especially in light of the new global economy, they are merely a revenue generator for the "Ism-industry."

The county already has more than its share of "contrived" communities, with faux downtowns and villages. Instead of thowing time and money away developing and producing a stack of brand new zoning regulations that will end up gathering dust on the shelf waiting for Microsoft to relocate to the coastal area of Florida --the money and time could be better used to fix the problems that we've got NOW.

Until the people who are pitching this dream can express their aim in a single sentence or two--AND in simple words so that the average person can grasp the concept and relative successful outcome of such a plan--I'll remain skeptical.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

Shelly, I can appreciate your skepticism. Perhaps there is a way for Walton County to plan for future growth (or prolonged contraction) of rural areas and towns where people can afford to live and have easy access to jobs, schools, etc., without using taxpayer money to pay out-of-work architects and consultants, while simultaneously creating diverse local economies.

I would like to extend an invitation to you and the lurkers of this thread, who have great ideas and problem solving skills, to please come out and get involved in any number of community organizations or grass roots efforts underway to create this place we dream of. There probably won’t be a Toyota, a Microsoft, or any other mega-employer moving to the Gulf Coast. We simply have to change the way we live and the sooner we get on with it, the better life will be.

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CFH Design Studio
Eco Design + Living

...what if the place that you dream of isn't the place that I dream of?

.

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

Well, I see that once again my idealistic self went posting on SoWal, without consulting my realistic self. Thanks for pointing that out because you're question is of course valid. I'm reminded that not everyone dreams of living in or near a place that offers a diverse economy, easily accessible live/ work options, community, and access to preserved or agricultural land. Fair enough.

Going back to the idea of implementing a transect based plan in Walton County, without all the mumbo-jumbo industry speak. A transect based plan is simply a way to reduce compatability issues and plan for future growth by putting in place the structure to allow a region to grow organically in a way that will reduce sprawl and preserve green spaces and farm land among other things listed previously by other posters. It doesn't mean that everyone lives in a "contrived" toon town. The county doesn't even have to spend any more time or money than they are already allotted for amending the Comprehensive Plan and the Land Use Development Code. No need to reinvent the wheel. There are plenty of examples of these plans out there, just pick one and implement.

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CFH Design Studio
Eco Design + Living

A large part of smart planning is reversing the decisions of gov't planners - who made major roads one-way to facilitate the fleeing to the suburbs from the cities at 5:01 pm, bulldozed amazing buildings for parking lots, and gave tax credits to sprawl big box stores while they didn't fix the potholes on main street.

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The enemy is ignorance.

The problem I see with this idea is that it generally isn't handicapped friendly. DeFuniak was mentioned; yes easy to get anywhere by car, or by golf cart! You could drive up to the front door, walk 5 steps, and you're in the building! Those who couldn't see well enough could drive a golf cart anywhere. Handicapped, senior citizen, mom with babies, friendly! Seaside is not so friendly, if you have difficulty walking, you're stuck, much less with a baby with lots of stuff to carry. It seems that they have utilized every square inch of land for turning a dollar. Remember the parking lot they used to have? Using the county easement for parking is just cheap.
Then, the issue of finding the businesses to fill the slots of the plan. Takes away independent choice of what the individual wants to do with their life and property. Too much government control over private citizens. Economy is bad enough without some authority telling citizens what kind of business they can have and where!

New Urbanism houses are not any less handicapped friendly than other residences and any commercial use must comply with ADA. The communities are designed using distances an average person can comfortably walk to get places. Don't confuse lazy w/ unwalkable. Many people who live in cities walk much further than that every day while toting their groceries, kids etc.

People who complain about 5 steps to get into a house are S.O.L. since those 5 steps lead to a 2 or 3 story house.

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The enemy is ignorance.

I wasn't comparing with a city, or a multiple story house.

Alrighty then - you have to climb several steps to get into most trailers too!

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The enemy is ignorance.

You know, after taking care of an elderly family member for years, stairs weren't friendly either. A couple of steps with a guard rail were about all they could do. I did know someone who had to sit down and slide up the steps! The counsel on aging built a ramp to assist.

I've seen numerous handicapped parking spots in Seaside and every commercial building has at least a ramp. Care to point out some examples?

As for being stuck with a baby have you been to Seaside in the last 10 years? I would say it probably has the most visitors with babies in almost all of South Walton. In fact I have never come close to running over a stroller with a baby in it outside of Seaside.

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...how many baby strollers have you run over in Seaside?

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But hey...Top Ramen tastes a whole lot better when you eat it off of a Granite Countertop. (Mr & Mrs Too Much Homebuyer)

Florida State Flower

Yes, and if this group can work with Walton County government to affect some of these kinds of reversals around here, it would be great.
I was dismayed when the historical building was bulldozed up in DeFuniak to make a parking lot....an example of the mind set that has allowed concrete and asphalt to take over our towns and fields.

The other day, as I drove down Nursery Road past the property that Mrs. Kellogg donated to the County for a nature preserve, I was dismayed to see that one of the first things to be done is: to pave a parking lot!

And yet, less than a half mile away Chat Holley road is a disgrace because no pot holes are filled, no white lines painted...the paving which needs to be done on the road, is done, instead, on a nature preserve!

I lived for many years in Tallahassee and one of the things I love most about that city are the trees--and the tree ordinance that preserves them. I spent many years at the Tallahassee (Junior) Museum with my son and his friends...and there were no paved parking lots...it was a nature preserve and the parking areas were natural....

In order to achieve some of the sense of community that the " new urbanism" promotes, leaders and citizens must have a mindset change...that is what I see missing here as it is in many places across our country.

DeFuniak has the potential to be a beautiful little town...it has all the community things that New Urbanism promotes. Yet, the leaders in the town and county have done little to revive those things that made it a good town to live and grow up in. Even when the basic plan is still there...

and, as someone pointed out in another post, the "powers that be" decide to plant Palm Trees in DeFuniak...and oak trees in Seaside! Maybe the oak trees add to Seaside, I have not seen them yet; but, the Palm Trees do not add anything to DeFuniak IMO. What's wrong with oak, dogwood, magnolia....

We had one of the most beautiful beaches/coastlines in the world here in South Walton, yet the planning and zoning that was allowed to run amok has allowed it to become less than it might have been....and the unintended consequences are abandoned neighborhoods with half finished buildings and empty strip mall stores and and office buildings.

And, for all the visioning that has gone on in the last 10 years, as Shelly says above, there seems to be little actually getting done that follows the so-called vision....

I hope this latest effort makes a difference so that my grandchildren can enjoy living in a place that offers a sense of community, a viable economic structure, and the recreational aspects that make for a balanced life.

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"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

This way of life is what Osama Bin Laden has been preaching for years. Maybe we Americans really are infidels of nature after all.

First, let me say that my kids are 10 months apart, and I pushed a double stroller for what it seams forever! Then the grand idea to take swimming lessons at Seaside. Where to park? That didn't end well.

DeFuniak is full of Historical buildings, quite different here. Our few are generally torn down for new modern structures. Take the old Grayton Hotel, now it's the Wash a Way, at least it's not torn down, but it's used as a rental, where as it should be on the historical register. Bay Elementary is another good example, they say that in order to keep it from being destroyed, it must be used as a school, and modernized. The building was built in the 30's, and my opinion is that it should be used as a museum.
DeFuniak has always been a beautiful little town, and is so, because they don't regulate themselves into misery! So what if they want to plant palm trees, they have lots of Oak, Magnolia, Dog Wood, etc. Let them have what they want! What difference does it make to us? The sense of community comes from it's people, not necessarily from codes, and regulations, and civic planning. Friendly, compassionate people, who are satisfied with what they have, and are generous toward others.

Attached Images

Blue Mountain Beach LOVED (Large).jpg (83.9 KB, 2 views)

I'll bet most of these friendly, compassionate people had Oak, Magnolia, and Dogwood. And were satisfied with what they had!..


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"Peace .... starts with the person who attempts to diffuse the tension and backs away from the inflammatory rhetoric."

I sure wish there were some DeFuniak and other north-of-bay folks in this conversation so we could hear from some of them. Most of what I've heard from north county citizens at all the Planning Commission meetings about the Comp Plan amendments is a concern about residential development intruding into agricultural areas and then the residents complain about farmers farming-- as if our American family farms didn't have enough going on to make it hard on them as it is. This instrusion is a common problem with sprawl nationwide, and one of the many issues the tool known as transect/smart code planning can be used to address fairly and intelligently.

The other big issue I have been hearing from north county folks is concerns about how to manage development with regard to available water, sewer and fire protection. A lot of discussion on that, and again, I believe transect/smart code approach is designed to handle this sort of thing.

Anyone know of a website with online forums that is frequented by everyone in the whole county? I know the ACT Walton group is looking for ways to increase and speed communication between, for instance, north end farmers and south end eaters/markets/restaurants about what produce is fresh and ripe, to support local farms and the burgeoning local food movement.... Maybe they will create a county-wide site? (No offense, Kurt, we all love SoWal!)

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

I was born in DeFuniak, and went to high school there. Most folks I know there really don't want to get involved with what goes on in SoWal.

I was also born there and my relatives and many of the people I know are very involved in South Walton....for Pete's sake, it is all Walton County!

Susan, I think the idea of a county wide discussion board is an excellent one!

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"If people cannot write well, they cannot think well, and if they cannot think well, others will do their thinking for them."
George Orwell

The "folks you know" are also afraid to cross the bridge because of all the rabid environmentalists down here.

Speaking for the slightly more rational Defuniak folks I know, they would love to have a more comprehensive plan and some smart planning in Sowal. Many have property, beach homes, jobs, or relatives that would be affected by these decisions.

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The enemy is ignorance.

Gee, it's a shame there wasn't a message board back when the Wash-A-Way sold and became a rental. You could've posted endless rants about it and done nothing.

Looks like you were just missing the message board huh?

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For anyone who didn't see last Thursday's Herald-Breeze, here is the article I referred to in my original post, copied and posted here with permission from the editor/publisher Ron Kelley. IMHO, The Herald-Breeze is the best, most consistent and reliable source for news of local gov't goings-on. Only costs about $20 a year to subscribe and it's in my mailbox every Wednesday by noon.

The "land-use based zoning" Stratmann mentions is, I believe, what planners refer to as Euclidian zoning, apparently regarded as an obsolete and unworkable methodology now for all kinds of reasons including the fact that it actually encourages sprawl and all its concommitant ills.

FLU elements of EAR gain conceptual approval
By LEAH STRATMANN
The Beach Breeze



After eight public workshops to discuss future land use (FLU) elements of the evaluation and appraisal report (EAR) mandated by the state, the planning commission finally granted conceptual approval, pending a report on one small section by county attorney Mike Burke.
The murky issue concerns the category known as neighborhood commercial (NC) in south Walton, permitting limited commercial uses in close proximity to residential areas. The question concerns which properties were designated either by covenant, the county, or deed restrictions prior to November 1996 as commercial. Burke was asked to investigate this particular issue and provide guidance. As he was not at last week’s workshop, the commission voted to accept the rest of the document, pending his report.
Planning department Lois Le Seur, the chief architect of the FLU section of the EAR, came equipped with a laptop to correct errors or make changes in text according to the vote of the planning commission. She said, “We have done our best to roll in everything we can roll into this document. I hope the only thing left is cleanup.”
Before the document was accepted, commissioner Susan Horn suggested some additional language be added to the document. “I would like to have some language in the document saying the county intends to move toward transect-based planning in the future, even if it isn’t possible to redo this document right now. Transect planning handles the compatibility issue. I think we can do better than this, and I’d like to get that in the works now.”
Le Seur said, “We already have inherent in our plan a lot of transect concepts and I think we have incorporated as much as we can. If we are to do more, we have to do so at the direction of the county.”
Transect-based coding or smart zoning is a system that organizes land in a gradient from the most natural/rural to the most urban. Transect replaces traditional land-use based zoning. Land-use zoning segregates land uses and is an auto-dependent system which together form what is commonly known as sprawl.
The transect system was introduced to the commissioners by a group of citizens in late December who came together with a visioning plan for Walton County.
Commission chairman Tom Terrell said, “Some of the items presented by the visioning group are workable in certain areas, but the commission did not agree with the entire concept. Since we have to go through this process again in seven years, smart zoning or the transect concept may be the desire of the Board of County Commissioners (BCC).
Commissioner Randy Gardner said, “I don’t think we can say today how we should go forward in seven years. I’m comfortable with the way the document is written.”
Terrell said, “I would like to thank the planning department for the time and effort they have put in on this. From my reading of this, it looks like we have ridden this horse as far as we can ride it. We have had eight meetings on this, plus a lot of individual meetings between the public and planning department members.”
Citizen Marsha Weingartner addressed the commission saying, “I just want to protect agricultural areas. I think it is a travesty to put into law that you can have one house per acre in the agriculture category. I want lower density in the neighborhood. You have a person build a house in an agriculture region and then they want all the benefits of the city and want to complain about the agricultural operations nearby,” she said.
Bill Bard said, “The first word in your name is planning. I think this document is where we should start to move forward with smart zoning for the future. If we wait seven years for the next commission and they decide to wait, we get further and further behind. This body is reactive rather than proactive. I think Commissioner Horn got steamrolled on this.”
South Walton Community Council executive director Anita Page chimed in saying, “I would like to see a workshop or something where people can learn more about transect zoning so Walton County does not get further and further behind other communities who are using this to good effect.”
Terrell suggested those opinions should be brought to the BCC. “There is no steamrolling or stonewalling, all we are doing is expressing our opinion. The BCC would be the more proactive body. Convince the BCC to get involved and more educated. I don’t think anybody on the planning commission had a problem with what was presented.”
Commission Tom Patton said, “Susan’s idea has some merit. If we put it in there, it goes to the BCC.”
Gardner disagreed saying, “The document we are trying to create is a working document. If there is a separate motion to be passed onto the BCC concerning transect zoning, it does not affect this working document. We can suggest the issue be explored and addressed.”
Terrell agreed, suggesting a recommendation to the BCC to establish a series of workshops. In the end Commissioner Horn made the a motion for the planning commission to direct the BCC to direct the planning department to explore a transect-based approach for Walton County as a whole for the possibility of inclusion in the land development code (LDC) as well as incorporation of the comprehensive plan for the next round of EAR-based amendments.
The motion was seconded by Patton and passed by all.
Once conceptual approval had been given to the FLU document, the group moved on to the 19-page glossary of terms used within the document. Planning director Pat Blackshear noted, “It is a work in progress that we had to make consistent with state and federal rules. This is a first draft. Where you see a definition, they will all be consistent with state law. Most of the more technical terms will be found in the LDC. It is a judgment on our part which ones go to which document.”
The commissioners and the public then starting reading the glossary and going page by page to clarify it according to suggestions by the commission and the public. The changes to the FLU document as well as the glossary can be downloaded or viewed on the county’s Website.
The next meeting of the planning commission on Feb. 12 will start two hours early to further explore the glossary. The FLU element is the first of ten sections that must be addressed in the EAR.

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Of the online message sites, SoWal is by far the largest and most active. Also, the others are primarily for discussing politics and have strong Republican leanings. Just my opinion, of course, but I think this discussion is best suited for right here.

Btw, I'll guarantee that most of the active internet users in Walton County are tuned in to SoWal.com. They may just be lurking, but they are here.

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What is wrong with Bay Elementary being used for what it was built for? Should they have made it a museum and then built another super-modern school that would have not had the charm of Bay somewhere else in Point Washington or on 30-A? Would you not be complaining about the growth that caused something else to be built? I totally do not get your reasoning.

My children have been to both Butler and Bay. I LIKE the fact that it is an old school that is still used today. It is a lovely little school that I enjoy taking my kids to each day.

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You need not think alike to love alike.
Francis David

My children have been to both Butler and Bay. I LIKE the fact that it is an old school that is still used today. It is a lovely little school that I enjoy taking my kids to each day.[/quote]


Organicmama, both my boys went to Bay too, and before that, I was a Chapter One Aide/substitute teacher there (Dist 5 Commissioner Cecilia Jones was teaching kindergarten there at the time). I LOVE that place. Back in the day, it was the main gathering place for the entire South Walton community -- the only place big enough to hold us all. In return for allowing the community use the auditorium for meetings and such, the entire community was an enormous support to the school, raising funds, volunteering, painting the fence, whatever. Tom Stein always did auctions, and hay rides for the Halloween Carnival. I remember one year in particular, we did a Gong Show fundraiser for the school and it was hilarious! Stand up comics (Tyrone McCarthy?), acrobatic tricks by a retired but still quite young and vivacious exotic dancer (vavoom), a real goofy night of fun.

It was such a sweet time, and I for one am delighted we've managed to keep it in use as a school. Love it that the kids can walk down to Eden for picnics, science, nature, etc.

Since those sweet days at Bay, it seems like all kinds of liability issues and who's - gonna-clean-up-and-lock-up issues have made it so community can't use any of the public school spaces any more. At least, last time I checked that was the default policy. Wish we could find a way around that so those publicly owned facilities could be used for more than school months/hours. Especially since we still don't have a community center down here. I must stop rambling, LOL.

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Walton County, Florida Online

For anyone who's interested, there's another Planning Commission meeting about proposed Comp Plan amendments this Wednesday at 5 p.m., South Walton Annex. Elements to be considered at this meeting are:

Economic Development
Housing
Coastal Zone Conservation

To view these and other elements, contact the Planning Department and ask to receive them via e-mail. 267.1955. Or go in person and request hard copies (there may be a small charge). Or go in person and read the copy they put out for public viewing.

I've had a look at Housing and Economic Development, but just got my hands on the Conservation one. It's 27 pages. All three seem to be very important and inextricably interrelated with each other and all other elements I've looked at so far.

Would love to hear comments from any sowallers who take the time to review these documents.

Dates, times and locations of this and all other Plannig Commission, BCC, etc., meetings are legally noticed in the DeFuniak Springs Herald-Breeze, and are also posted on the county's website. Very often, meeting agendas, and documents to be considered/discussed at these meetings are usually available on the county website a few days prior to the meetings. f not available online, they are available at the Planning Department office.

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Susan Horn
www.artisan-builds.com

Added to SoWal.com home page.

A citizen-based process that could result in a Transect Planning Code for Walton County will be explained and illustrated in a slide show when the South Walton Community Council presents its monthly public forum, May 28, at 7 pm at the Coastal Branch Library.

The presentation of Transect planning, urban design and smart growth will be given by Mark Schnell, urban designer and planner based in Seagrove Beach. He provides visioning, design codes and design review for both public and private sector clients. This program is very timely as the county is in the process of amending and revising many elements of the Walton Comprehensive Plan which affects everyone who lives, works and plays in the community.

Schnell has worked nationally and internationally to create sustainable places, with an emphasis on walkable mixed-use communities. The presentation was created by a group of concerned citizens with expertise in architecture, planning and the environment.

This forum is one of the monthly series sponsored by SWCC and is open to the public at no charge. SWCC will also display the documentary sea turtle protection films they have had made for television public service announcements and other uses. For more information call Ella Caro, 231-6038.

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CFH Design Studio
Eco Design + Living

Looking forward to this- thanks for the reminder, Chandra!

How did the presentation go?
Mixed use and walkable? Where do the visitors park? Or are the commercial props sustained from inside community? If visitors allowed have developer's found a way to keep the parking space cost under say $20,000 a piece?

The Point Washington State Forest lands and Eglin have left developers with only so much land to work with. Is this movement just a way to justify more units per acre? I think we already call .07 acres a buildable lot. The old land use and density rules were much more sustainable, environmentally.

We could do a great service to the ecco of the area by reducing speed limits on North-South roads in SOWAL to 35mph and the sections of 30_a that are above that speed limit. That would then make the bay to beach roads legal for electric vehicles. (Gem Cars, golf carts)

Also this seems like a really great idea in reclaimed urban areas like abandoned downtowns in Cleveland , Detroit, New Orleans etc. I am just not sure it relates well to undeveloped piney woods in the panhandle

In fairness to the presentation by Mark Schnell, there is no way to reiterate what transpired last night, BH. You had to be there. The presentation was one of the best I have ever seen on community planning. It was set up in such a way as to be very easy to follow and understand. The crux of the matter is transect planning definitely has a place in the future development of Walton County as an enjoyable and pleasant place to live.
To accomplish it or even a quasi-version of the concept will not be easy, but then the proper development of any land area is never so. It does appear to be on the right track for our needs and desires here in Walton County, IMO.
To sum up, the presentation was excellent, informative and very well presentated. Kudos to Mark Schnell for a very productive and useful evening.
Oh, and BTW, all your questions would have been answered had you been there.

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Speak out freely...Hold to the truth...Question boldly.

Was working but thanks. Maybe be we will get lucky and Shelly was there and can give us a report. Oh wait I see post 37 so it's all good.

I guess that makes me one of the less rational rednecks. South Walton Politics revolve around trying to control what your neighbor can or cannot do on thier on property. The idea to force someone to build a certain way, to force a color scheme, to require certain square footage for houses on certain lots. This is all to control what someone else wants to do on property they own. How about dealing with your own property and leave your neighbor alone. The idea of zoning allowing mixed commercial and residential areas is great until you add in the reality of noise and noise ordinances. People really working and making a living interfering with thier neighbors by waking them up. Call the police my neighbor is breaking the noise ordinance by building a boat on his property. These new urban towns are mostly FAKE. No one wants to live next to real businesses that makes real products and employees many real people and put money in thier pockets. People complain about everything noise from bands, aircraft, conjestion, drunks, neighbors having parties, in the end everyone likes the idea of a utopia where every lives and works in walking distance but the reality is if you don't incorporate real money making businesses that require extensive material, people, space, and more, then the only people that can live in your "Multiuse" invironement are people who alread have substaintial money and don't have to wory about feeding thier family. Yes on some small scales the idea will work but mostly the self sufficient town is not possible. Someone said DeFuniak was but that is not correct. DeFuniak was the town but it supplied and was supplied by the farmers, loggers, and other around the town. The stores in DeFuniak purchased wares from outside of the are and sold to locals. Some locals worked in these mom and pop stores but most people worked on farms or logging or Coke factory or Chicken Plant (and in your ideal town who gets to live next to the rendering plant at the Chicken Plant). DeFuniak could not have survived by itself any more than Seaside could today.

TechPyle, you weren't at the meeting, were you? If you were in attendance, you didn't see the same presentation I did. Your opinion of the reason for community planning and how communities should be developed is warped, to say the least, IMO.

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Speak out freely...Hold to the truth...Question boldly.

Andy,

No I was not at the meeting and with BCC meetings scheduled at 4:30 or so on a Tuesday the chances of me attending are slim. Most people will be at work at that time.

My idea of community planning is extremly warped. I have a huge problem with the idea that the government can decide what is the best use of a private persons property is. The government can then use planning, land use, zoning and other restrictions to control what a private individual can do WITH THIER OWN PROPERTY. Since when did Government get the knowledge to be able to say what is the Best done with a private individuals property. With the knowledge that governement can control private property usage who influences the government controls of private property. It is generaly people who can afford to be at the BCC Meetings, it is people whose job it is to influence the BCC, and it is people who have a problem with thier neighbors and are trying to control them in one way or another.

As to community bassed planning or the idea that a person will live, and work withen walking distance of thier job. Great idea. Now what job will be used to support the classic Two adults, two children family in the community with $300,000 dollar homes? Will it be the local coffee shop that pays $8.00 per hour? For a real community you need real jobs most of these will center around businesses that people do not want to live next door to. Plan with the knowledge that if your "Community" is to support itself even in some limited since that it will require real businesses and not the small shops envisioned mixed into your residential areas. Show me the business that is moving into the area that will support your community. If there are no businesses that can support the people living nearby then you have a fake community. One where the help gets drove in so that the people that can afford to live their can have thier fancy coffee.

Now lets say you get your nice community with the perfect mix of business and residential all withen walking distance. People are cantankerous you will have the neighbor who complains about noise that gets resturant owners put in jail by using noise complaints, in your walking community you will have people that complain about pedestrians taking shortcuts through thier lawns or sitting next to thier porches. These things already happen and it only takes one or two people complaining and raising a ruckus to spoil a whole neighborhood.

Is the current land use and planning perfect? NOOOOOOO!!!!!! but who is to say that these new rules and regulations are any better. I do not want to be the ginney pig for pie in the sky regulations.

TP, if you had attended the meeting (which was at 7 PM, hardly considered normal working hours by most) you would realize the concept is not just living and being able to walk to your job and the grocery store. I am not going to argue with you regarding community planning as you are obviously of a different mindset than I am. No one ever said this concept would eliminate neighborhood complaints. They will be with us 'till the end of time regardless of what kind of planning or lack of planning is done.
Oh, and BTW, BCC meetings extend far, far beyond 4:30. You won't miss much if you arrive as late as 6:00 P.M. the way things have been going lately.

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Speak out freely...Hold to the truth...Question boldly.

TechPyle, the government already controls what you can and can't do with your property. These regulations come part and parcel with the privilege of land ownership and these regulations are in place to control the exact outcomes you describe.

Had you been at the presentation you might have picked up on the fact that transect planning actually gives EVERYONE more choices. The PUD type of communities we have in SoWal are not legal to build based on the current codes (the same across much of the country) and therefore create a natural division between the haves and the have-less-thans. Believe it or not, there are many people that would choose to live in a walkable community, even above a commercial space. But because these places are such an anomoly, they are out of many peoples price point.

I find it quite entertaining that you can expound on something at such great length, that you really don't have an understanding of.

I especially love how you talk about "fake" communities and all the problems created by noisy neighbors spoiling a whole town. That's why urban areas (and we may as well throw in Seaside for all its fakiness) all over the country are uninhabited and failures as viable living options.

If you had been at the presentation, you may also had discovered that rural and sub-urban living arrangements are part of transect planning and architectural style and color schemes are not.

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CFH Design Studio
Eco Design + Living