PANAMA CITY -- The Bay County Planning Commission is slated to review a 110,000-acre, long-term development plan from Northwest Florida land giant the St. Joe Co. at a meeting Thursday.
The meeting is the first public hearing in Bay County for the Bay-Walton Sector Plan, a 50,000-acre addition to the existing West Bay Sector Plan, which was adopted by county and state agencies more than a decade ago.
The plan has been under review by staff from the county planning and zoning department since it was submitted by St. Joe in April. If approved, St. Joe intends to develop a large-scale “active adult” retirement community in the area, similar to the Villages in Central Florida.
If the planning commission were to take action, it would come as a recommendation to the Bay County Commission, which would hold an additional public hearing and consider transmitting the plan to state agencies for review.
Following the state review process, the plan would come back to the county commission for final adoption.
The Planning Commission meets at 1:30 p.m. Thursday in Room 1030 inside the Bay County Government Center. The meeting is open to the public.
