City panel aims to make Destin more ‘user friendly' for businesses

Everyone knows that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, so city leaders borrowed a page from former St. Petersburg Mayor Rick Baker and will form a blue ribbon panel/committee to find ways to make Destin more “user friendly” for businesses.

The panel/committee, which will be composed of builders, contractors, land planners and other affected parties, will be tasked with combing through the city’s current codes and permitting processes and making recommendations on how they could be simplified or even streamlined. City leaders voted unanimously to create the panel.

“We should never miss an opportunity to improve ourselves and the services we offer as a city,” Mayor Sam Seevers told The Log Wednesday.

As the panel/committee works its way through the codes and the permitting process, they will make recommendations on improvements or other ways something could be done differently and submit them to the Local Planning Agency, who will review them, before sending them back up to the city council for final view and potential adoption.

Councilman Jim Bagby was on board with the idea and suggested that city leaders make this project part of the Sterling Process, which strives to “enhance Florida’s competitive edge and quality of life through promotion, assessment and recognition of performance excellence.”

“It’s a collaboration between the staff and the committee to improve our permitting and our processes in the community,” Babgy said. “I think we should continually try and make improvements in these processes.”

Councilman Dewey Destin agreed, saying this was “probably the best idea I’ve heard in years.”

While she supported the formation of the panel, Councilwoman Sandy Trammell said the city should make sure they don’t do the same thing they did with the Norriego Point blue ribbon panel and give them a month to come up with recommendations and have them come back with something they are “uncomfortable with.”

“I think this should be an ongoing process,” she said. “I don’t want to put a time limit on this.”

In his time as mayor, Baker was able to completely turn around a city that was in shambles, facing an aging population, a crumbling infrastructure and growing racial strife. In his book “The Seamless City,” Baker shares his plan for the city’s renewal by focusing on improving public safety, promoting economic development, supporting public schools, building strong neighborhoods, and improving government operations.

Seevers told The Log she “got the chills” listening to Baker speak during a recent Florida League of Mayors conference and that Destin was on the right track in regard to a turnaround. She said the mayor used examples of dog parks and recreational projects as ways to improve the quality of life.

“He talked about all the things we are already doing,” Seevers said. “So, I am really, really proud.”