Pace-based group has infrastructure concerns

PACE — A 22-minute drive on a 2.5-mile stretch of Woodbine Road led Pace resident Phillip Hoffman to join others in the area seeking an end to what they believe are excessive drive times and unacceptable congestion. According to the Santa Rosa County Commission, there are plans that will address infrastructure issues.

Originally this pro-infrastructure group was Residents of Woodbine Corridor. Its new name is Santa Rosa County Voters Against Overcrowded Roads & Schools. With the name change comes an expansion to address county commissioners about improving infrastructure across the county — not just the Woodbine area.

Hoffman, who moved into Pace in 2005, said his group is not against development, but wants the county to increase infrastructure — roads, drainage, lighting and schools — to keep up with new residential and commercial development Hoffman said. His solution?

"The commissioners need to bring back impact fees," Hoffman said.

An impact fee is a fee a local government imposes on a new or proposed development project to pay for all or a portion of the costs of providing public services to the new development. Commissioners did away with the fees several years ago to stimulate growth said Hoffman, attracting new development.

"(The county's) solution is to implement a half-cent tax," Hoffman said, "to pay for the infrastructure … All the things people were moving to Pace for are slowly going away."

Some of these things, Hoffman said, include lower traffic, schools far from capacity and large-arcerage lots.

Members of the Commission staff have met with the group in private meetings already where they talked about these issues. According to Shawn Ward from the SRC development services, Hoffman's group received a list of infrastructure projects the county completed as well as future plans such as widening Woodbine Road.

The county and Hoffman's group all want the same thing – better infrastructure.  

This article originally appeared on Santa Rosa Press Gazette: Pace-based group has infrastructure concerns