Escambia Approves Zoning To Change To Allow Larger Retails Space In Some Rural Areas

August 20, 2021

When Dollar General considered building a new store in Walnut Hill earlier this year, their development company ran into a problem with Escambia County zoning. Thursday, the  Escambia County Commission approved  a Land Development Code change that will make such development possible in rural areas.

Teramore Development had three properties under contract at the intersection of Highway 97 and Highway 99A in Walnut Hill, next to Ernest Ward Middle School, for a 10,640 square foot Dollar General.

The property is currently zoned Rural Mixed Use (RMU) which allowed commercial buildings up to 6,000 square feet. There was previously no provision whatsoever to grant any exceptions to construct a larger commercial building.

The  BOCC Thursday approved an ordinance recommended Escambia County Planning Board that allows up to 15,000 square feet in RMU districts with a conditional use approval for any business, not just a Dollar General. That conditional use provision, County Attorney Alison Rogers told NorthEscambia.com, would mean each request for RMU retail sales construction up to 15,000 square feet would required individual approval by the Board of Adjustment.

There were no were speakers at a public hearing Thursday morning on the ordinance, which was unanimously passed 5-0 by commissioners.

Properties zoned as RMU in Escambia County are typically located near rural community centers and most are not currently used for agriculture. For a map of RMU zoning in Escambia County, click or tap here (pdf).

To date, a Dollar General at Ernest Ward Middle School has not moved forward in the development or permitting process.

Pictured: A proposed Dollar General for Walnut Hill as presented in February 2021 by their development firm. NorthEscambia.com photos, click to enlarge.

Comments

14 Responses to “Escambia Approves Zoning To Change To Allow Larger Retails Space In Some Rural Areas”

  1. Sungirl on August 22nd, 2021 2:42 pm

    We don’t need or want another General Dollar Store. What we need and want is a GROCERY STORE!! Living in Molino you have to go 16 miles to buy groceries. A General Dollar will do nothing for us or Walnut Hill. Do people realize that when you buy from a General Dollar/Family Dollar you paying close to the same amount you would pay in Grocery Store, but for a smaller amount. DISTRICT 5 WE NEED A GROCERY STORE THAT CARRIES EVERYTHING. Molino General Dollar can’t even carry enough stock for the community. I vote for Grocery Store!!!

  2. PSD on August 22nd, 2021 8:38 am

    SHOULD THEY GET THE GO AHEAD FOR A DOLLAR GENERAL AT THIS LOCATION…IT WILL BRING SUCH A DISASTER FOR WHEN SCHOOL IS IN SESSION…EVEN NOW,IT’S A PAIN IN THE BUTT TO GET ACROSS HWY 97 ,THEN DRIVE AROUND THE BACK OF EWMS TO DROP YOUR CHILD OFF ….I PREDICT ACCIDENTS WILL HAPPEN…I GREW UP IN WALNUT HILL,AND THAT HAS ALWAYS BEEN A BAD INTERSECTION..PLEASE DONT INSERT A DG NASTY STORE THERE…ITS NOT THAT FAR TO DAVISVILL DG !!!!!

  3. Cdpjr on August 22nd, 2021 6:20 am

    Well now the “dealers” of the “street pharmaceuticals” less than 2 miles from there now have a hang out, right beside a SCHOOL, to sell their poison to school kids.
    Now they will be concentrated in one spot to make it easier for them.
    Not against development and progress ( to an extent , some things are over developed). But I really hope the Leo’s have a strong presence there to curtail the “possible ” drug activity that seems to follow DG and FD.

  4. Chris on August 22nd, 2021 12:32 am

    I never knew so many folks were against free enterprise. I guess you would rather your government place more restrictions on what you can and can’t do.

  5. EMD on August 21st, 2021 7:38 am

    Some people LIKE to live IN the COUNTRY. Some wanted to do so all their lives, and finally got to…………….and now, THIS!!! Does ANY public “SERVANT” serve anything anymore, other than MONEY? QUIT BUILDING STUFF ! ! ! QUIDDIT !!

  6. 11B OEF Combat Veteran on August 21st, 2021 1:37 am

    What part of “Pavement Plains” is positive to you?

    I guess you don’t breathe oxygen either…

    We do need more dollar stores though, with the huge growth of have-nots we’ll be joining soon enough.

    Everybody needs a place to buy their injection molded plastic from the far east, ya know?

  7. Wizard on August 20th, 2021 6:08 pm

    Dear J the G,

    Do you realize that clearing land for this garbage will never end? Nothing at the store can benefit a community, but it may benefit you. That’s the issue here, I want money, so I’ll clear land where I don’t live and build a store I’ll never shop in.

    There is an old Cree Indian saying, “only after the last tree is cut, and the last fish has been caught, that you realize you can’t eat money. Think about that for more than one second.

  8. J-THE-G on August 20th, 2021 4:22 pm

    @THOMAS Then why didn’t you buy it and make a farm? At least a Dollar General will actually use the land to benefit the community by providing a local shopping option as opposed to them having to go several miles.

    @bama89 Obviously no mom and pops shop was gonna pop up there after this long so let the corporations have it and actually make use of it.

    This comment section is filled with people who are negative about a positive.

  9. John Doe on August 20th, 2021 3:20 pm

    a dollar general wouldn’t be so bad if they we didn’t already have 420 of them scattered around Escambia County.

  10. thomas o david on August 20th, 2021 11:23 am

    I would rather see a nice farm home there or 5 acres of cotton being grown in that spot.

  11. Jean on August 20th, 2021 10:46 am

    I wanted to go to the meeting, but that item was on the agenda around 9:15 and that time was impossible for me. I was hoping our county commissioners would vote in a responsible way.

  12. LR on August 20th, 2021 10:18 am

    One of these days, residents in district 5 will realize Rick Berry is not our friend. He will always sell out to the dollar.

  13. Dave Coleson on August 20th, 2021 9:42 am

    Wow! These dumps are popping up all over escambia. They are a serious eyesore and only become dilapidated within just 2 years. With no security, they often get robbed and thieves stick to these stores like dung flies.

    Interesting how these dollar store types get away with looking like a dump in just 24 months.

    Wonder if any county commissioners live near them to effect their property value?

  14. Bama89 on August 20th, 2021 6:09 am

    (SARCASM) Man o man, I’m so happy to see yet ANOTHER dollar store!!!!
    I don’t think I can think of a good 5 miles anywhere without a DOLLAR GENERAL!
    Very glad to hear they now have the option of taking up more land in rural areas, and proud to be someone that sees to it that corporations succeed over mom n pops! God Bless the USA

Written by William Reynolds · Filed Under News