Destin not giving up on blocking Narconon

New court rulings in South Florida may give Destin the power to stop Narconon Gulf Coast from opening a halfway house in a single-family neighborhood, City Councilor Dewey Destin says.

“Give the land-use attorney the chance to do his job,” Councilor Destin told the council Monday, after which the council voted unanimously to have Land-Use Attorney Scott Shirley study the Boca Raton cases in question.

The drug treatment program Narconon has been controversial because of its ties to Scientology, and became even more controversial when Destin residents learned the local branch wants to open a “community residential home” in Destin for recovering addicts, in addition to the larger treatment center Narconon already operates.

On June 2, Shirley told the council that under Florida law, the city couldn’t prevent Narconon from opening a state-licensed home, regardless of zoning. Councilor Destin said other cities had successfully blocked similar homes, but Shirley said local governments always lost if the cases went to court.

Monday, City Manager Greg Kisela said he’d already asked Shirley to look into the court decisions and report back: “It’s pretty hard to read those decisions and see what was decided and what was not.”

Also Monday:
•The council voted unanimously to cut the speed limit on Scenic Hwy. 98 to 25 mph within city limits. City Engineer Chuck Meister said new signs would be posted this week.

•Councilor Sam Seevers said city staff should study the island installed at the Kelly/Main Street intersection a few months ago, and see if there’s a way to stop drivers from running over it. She said she’d already been told that staff was working on that.

•The council unanimously appointed Current Planning Manager Ken Gallander as Community Development Director, replacing the outgoing Jerry Mucci.
Councilor Dewey Destin said it was an important job because the department is the face of the city for so many residents: “If you want to build anything from a large doghouse to a 500 unit condo, you have to go through community development.”

•The council voted to spend $66,740 to install new street lights on Emerald Coast Parkway between Airport Road and Two Trees Road. The lights will be on the south side, facing north to comply with turtle-lighting rules.