At a hearing today, the Escambia County Special Magistrate granted a continuance of the meeting until June 21 in the case regarding Satoshi Forest or Sean’s Outpost. The 8.58 acre parcel of land is currently being used as a camping site for the homeless. Until today, the operators have failed to follow the necessary development review process to use the property as a campground. The land is zoned Heavy Commercial/Light Industrial which would allow for campground use, but as with any change in land use, the owner or developer must follow the county’s development review processes, including submitting an application, site plan and application fee. However, before the scheduled hearing today, an application for development review along with a site plan was filed by the property owner and an application fee was paid, which were necessary to continue in the development process.
County Administrator Jack Brown commented on the step forward, “We are extremely happy that Sean’s Outpost has taken the next step in the county’s development process. We can now respond within the guidelines set in our development review process and try to work to find a solution for our homeless residents that call the Outpost home.”
The Escambia County development review process generally has three steps – a pre application meeting, an initial submittal, and a final submittal before a development order is issued which allows development of a project to begin. Representatives from Sean’s Outpost first began the development review process on Jan. 29, 2014 by attending a pre-application meeting. The pre application expired after 12 months of no activity by the requestor. On April 5, 2016 representatives completed step two, or the initial submittal and development review fee payment. Planning and zoning staff will now review the project for any life-safety, sanitation, stormwater/drainage, and wetland impacts. Depending on the initial review findings, a final submittal may be required before a development order is issued. The process typically takes less than 90 days if the submitter is timely in returning necessary additional material.
