At a public meeting sponsored by the SWCC on
January 22, 2004, a panel addressed the topic, "Is
My Development Compatible?" The movie on this page shows the people.
See an alternative movie for color portraits
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The panelists were:
- Jeff Bielling, senior management analyst at the Department of Community Affairs (DCA)
- Peggy Fowler, consultant on compatibility, landscape architect, wrote the Pensacola Comprehensive Plan
- Ken Goldberg, Tallahassee and Santa Rosa Beach land-use attorney
- Cindy Meadows, certified planner with 25 years of experience, recently served three years on the county’s Planning Commission
- Phyllis Bleiweis, head of The Seaside Institute, which offers workshops on New Urbanism, served three years on the county’s Planning Commission.
They brought up various aspects of compatibility: what it is, problems in trying to define it, legal issues, the role of the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), how New Urbanism looks at compatibility, and what citizens can do to push this topic forward.
Non-panelists in the movie, who contributed to the discussion, were the following:
- Beverly Kraska, President, SWCC
- Anita Page, Executive Director, SWCC
- Mike Lane, Planning and Development director, Walton County
- Larry Jones, County Commissioner, District 3
Legally, Walton County's definition of compatibility has been found lacking.
One panel planner found 40 references to compatibility in the county comprehensive
plan. The
other planner cited Seaside as
a successful example of dynamic compatibility. Both citizens and the Board
of County Commissioners are called to create a task force to form an effective
compatibility standard to be included in the upcoming EAR (Evaluation and
Appraisal Report) required by the State of Florida every seven years.
To control the movie, use left 
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See the SWCC's web page. Back to Lookout 2004.