A development agreement between Okaloosa County and D.R. Horton will allow the national homebuilder to proceed with its Independence subdivision in north Okaloosa County without providing a 5-acre park in each of the project’s 10 phases.

• Commissioners voted unanimously Jan. 6 to approve the 15-year agreement, which establishes how the builder will meet parks and recreation requirements for the 1,222-home project on approximately 612 acres north of Old Spanish Trail, west of Brookwood Lane and east of Clint Mason Road.

Two phases of the development have already received approval. The agreement clears the way for phase three and establishes the framework for the remaining phases.

Under typical county rules, each development phase treated as an individual project would require a minimum 5-acre park, which would total 50 acres across 10 phases. The agreement instead allows D.R. Horton to provide 22.1 acres of parkland distributed across the development while posting surety bonds guaranteeing completion of each phase.

The developer is providing about 16 acres more parkland than would be required under a formal phased development order but about 28 acres less than would be required if each phase were treated as a standalone project.

Growth Management Director Kristen Shell said the agreement does not constitute approval of the overall development, which received land use approval several years ago through an overlay district adopted into the county’s land development code.

• “We are not approving the entire development here today,” Shell told commissioners. “The ask is to approve this development agreement, which gives us a path forward on how they provide that parks and recreation component only.”

The agreement requires D.R. Horton to provide at least one park area containing a parking lot and multi-purpose field, at least one playground, one picnic pavilion and one walking trail. The surety bonds will be released as each phase is completed.

“That allows them to move forward with the financial commitment to the county,” Shell explained. “They have to post the bond. That ensures that when they get to those future phases, that recreation will be there. And if not, we keep the bond.”

D.R. Horton has also established the Independence Community Development District, which county commissioners approved in February 2023. The district provides a financing mechanism for amenities, with an estimated $3 million budgeted for amenity development.

During public comment, resident Lakeisha DeLoach raised concerns about the development’s broader effects on the community, including traffic on two-lane highways, emergency response times, fire hydrant coverage and school capacity.

• “It is not so much of the matter of will 1,222 homes fit in that area, but it’s the second, third order, fifth effect that could happen and affect the community,” DeLoach said.

Commissioner Paul Mixon, whose district includes the property, made the motion for approval and responded to DeLoach’s concerns. He said the project has been several years in the works and that many of the issues she raised were addressed during earlier stages of the approval process. He offered to meet with her to discuss the details.

Mixon said he took a personal interest in the development’s planning. When D.R. Horton first proposed the project, he and his wife traveled out of state with their children to visit the community that Independence is modeled after.

• “One of the requests we came up with was that they would start with amenities on the front side rather than build all the houses,” Mixon said. “And some of you have been to some neighborhoods that we potentially have in North Okaloosa County that started with houses first and they never did get to the amenities. One of them, they never did get to the roads.”

He said D.R. Horton has followed through on that request.

“If you drive by now, the roads are just about finished and the amenities seem to be in the final phase of being finished for the initial construction,” Mixon said. “So out of the items that we suggested outside of required, they even complied with that. And so far been great partners.”

On traffic concerns, Mixon acknowledged the county’s limited authority over state roads like Highway 90. He noted that of 17 state road capacity projects in Florida, 16 are located south of Live Oak.

“The Panhandle does not get a lot of attention in some of those,” he said. “So we’re struggling with some of our roadways to look for enhancement.”

Highway 90 is on the priority list for the Okaloosa-Walton Traffic Planning Organization, Mixon said, and the Florida Department of Transportation has agreed widening is needed. But no funding has been allocated. Highway 85 and Highway 98 rank ahead of it on the regional priority list.

Mixon said he expects a traffic signal will eventually be warranted at the development’s entrance but doesn’t believe it’s necessary yet.

The Okaloosa County Planning Commission recommended approval unanimously during a Dec. 18 special meeting. County staff received no formal opposition to the agreement, which can be extended by mutual consent for an additional 10 years.