BAKER — A Christian substance abuse rehabilitation ministry on Buck Ward Road wouldn't conform with Okaloosa County's comprehensive plan, officials said.
Exodos Ministries, a nonprofit organization that purchased 20 acres on agricultural-zoned property, may have to search for another location.
Okaloosa Growth Management Director Elliot Kampert sent his opinion — that the proposed use would be inconsistent with county zoning — to Thomas Crowson, Exodos' president, in a Dec. 26, 2014 email. Kampert explained the opinion during a public meeting Thursday at the Baker Community Center, which North Okaloosa residents packed to standing room only.
Exodos Ministries hasn't filed a formal application for building on Buck Ward Road, said County Commissioner Nathan Boyles, who facilitated the discussion. "All of the information that the county has reviewed and that the community has is, in some measure, speculative," he said. However, county officials were aware of tentative plans for a 16-bed residential facility serving men recovering from alcohol, drug or sex addictions. And, Kampert said, "As of right now, the uses would not be consistent with the comprehensive plan."
The Okaloosa County Land Development Code defines a facility like the one Exodos proposed as commercial use. But non-farm related commercial use is allowed on agricultural-zoned property only when a building fronts an arterial — that is, high-capacity, like Interstate 10 or State Road 85 — or numbered county road, according to Kampert.
A home would conform with agricultural zoning regulations, but a boarding house like the one Exodos proposed, would not, Kampert said.
More than 30 people expressed their views on the issue, with five opposing Exodos' proposed relocation and 19 supporting it. Others expressed support for Exodos' overall mission without opining on the facility's location.
A couple of residents shared stories about Exodos clients leaving the Crestview location, walking down streets day or night and getting in strange cars; others questioned how anyone could know, for certain, the wandering men were Exodos clients.
Sandy Burgess, who said she's the mother of an alcoholic, expressed that the community should support those who need help.
She said Baker supported her son when "he ran and made touchdown after touchdown after touchdown, and yet they turned their back on him when he went to addiction."
Mildred Heaton, of Crestview, said a number of houses could be built on 20 acres and, unlike the 16 men who would receive help at Exodos — which doesn't accept men with a criminal history or those who aren't HIV- negative — "you can't control who lives there."
Peggy Price Pierce said she supports Exodos' mission but doesn't support the proposed location.
"If these people do get out, and they start walking the roads, I'm gonna be concerned about my children being outside playing," she said. "I know that I, and my family, are strongly opposed to the location but we do support (the) ministry."
One man, who moved from Charleston, S.C., to Baker five years ago, also said he supports the ministry and the impact it has had on men.
"The change that (God) has made in their lives as a result of this ministry has made all the difference in the world," he said. "As far as the value of my property, you know what? That means nothing to me if I can see a life changed."
After the meeting, Kyra Crowson, Exodos' admissions director and secretary of the board, said Kampert's opinion is still fresh, and the nonprofit hasn't decided what it will do next.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: County: Exodos' plans inconsistent with Buck Ward Road's zoning