Fort Walton Beach — Fiscal Year 2023-24 Adopted Budget — reading text

represents the entire area located within the City limits in the area of the Golf Course and is often referred to as the “Golf Course Area”. Over the last few decades hundreds of properties have voluntarily annexed to the City forming the Kenwood Neighborhood as it is now constituted; however, there are substantial areas still located in unincorporated Okaloosa County adjacent to this neighborhood, meaning the problems created by irregular municipal boundaries will persist and the Kenwood Neighborhood will remain a distant mile and one-half from the nearest part of the original City limits. NORTHWEST CHARACTERISTICS: Primarily Residential BOUNDARIES: The Northwest Neighborhood is located in the northwest quadrant of the City. Its boundaries are Beal Parkway NW to the north; the Beal Parkway Neighborhood to the east; Jet Drive, Silva Drive, Willard Road and Holmes Boulevard to the south; and Wright Parkway to the west. ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITIES: The Northwest Neighborhood includes a full range of land use types. Most of the land is comprised of single family residential homes in subdivisions. There are also some multiple family projects primarily located on the fringes of the neighborhood along collector streets such as Wright Parkway and Robinwood Drive, and along Alabama Avenue. Strip commercial development is located along Beal Parkway lying south of its intersection with Yacht Club Drive. Heavy businesses, including moving companies, warehouses and automotive repair and servicing are located along Industrial Street and Hollywood Boulevard in the southeastern portion of the neighborhood. Silver Sands Elementary School is located in the Northwest Neighborhood. The neighborhood is well provided with recreation facilities such as Jet Stadium, Jet Drive Park, a neighborhood park which has active recreation facilities, and Memorial Drive Park which provides passive recreation opportunities. Three other parks provide 12.6 acres of additional open space, although they have not been developed. The Northwest Neighborhood also includes the City-owned Beal Memorial Cemetery and the U.S. Postal Service Office. The diversity of land use types has created some land use conflicts between single family residential areas and more intense commercial/industrial zoning and land use. The Northwest Neighborhood does contain City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 197 Statistical Information some of the more desirable inland areas to reside in, such as Bayou Woods and Vesta Heights Subdivisions. It also contains some of the areas which require attention by the City to see that properties are properly maintained. OAKLAND CHARACTERISTICS: Residential BOUNDARIES: The Oakland Neighborhood is bounded by Northwest Neighborhood to the east, Hollywood Boulevard and the City of Mary Esther to the south, the City of Mary Esther and Mary Esther Cutoff to the west, and Mary Esther Cutoff to the north. ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITIES: The Oakland Neighborhood’s predominant land use is detached single family residential homes in platted subdivisions. This neighborhood also has a number of multiple family projects, primarily zero-lot line and townhomes. Strip commercial development is located along Mary Esther Cutoff and that portion of Beal Parkway lying south of its intersection with Yacht Club Drive. Businesses, such as warehouses and automotive repair and servicing are located along Hollywood Boulevard in the eastern portion of the neighborhood. There is a small convenience commercial area along Wright Parkway north of Hollywood. Bruner Middle School is the only school located in this neighborhood. The neighborhood is well provided with recreation facilities such as Fred Hedrick Community Center, the Municipal Tennis Center and Oakland Heights School Athletic Fields. Cecelia Park is a mini-park that provides passive recreation opportunities. The Oakland Neighborhood also includes the City’s Public Works Maintenance Yard located on Hollywood Boulevard between Jet Drive and Memorial Parkway and Liza Jackson Charter School. SEABREEZE CHARACTERISTICS: Mixed Zoning, Waterfront BOUNDARIES: The Seabreeze Neighborhood extends from Hollywood Boulevard on the north, Bass Avenue and Robinwood Drive to the east, Santa Rosa Sound on the south, and the City of Mary Esther on the west. ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITIES: The Seabreeze Neighborhood is one of the most diverse neighborhoods relative to land use, including single family residential in the Santa Rosa Park, Seabreeze and Santasia Park Subdivisions, multiple family residential in the Fountainhead and Jackson Trail Apartment Complexes, professional offices in complexes like Paradise Village, highway commercial uses like the restaurants, hotel/motels and new car dealerships, light industrial uses like the United Parcel Service and Keego Brick; and utilities like Gulf Power Company. There is an abundance of public and quasi-public land uses such as schools (Edwins Elementary and Fort Walton Beach High) and churches (St. Mary’s Catholic, First Church of Christian Science, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, Nazarene Church, and the Seventh Day Adventists). St. Mary’s also has a parochial school for First through Eighth grades. Public parks include Liza Jackson Park and the Memorial Park/Senior Citizens Center. SOUTH BAYOU CHARACTERISTICS: Residential, Waterfront BOUNDARIES: The South Bayou Neighborhood's southern boundary is the major arterial road Beal Parkway NW. The eastern boundary is where the City limits abut those of the Town of Cinco Bayou. To the west lies unincorporated Okaloosa County near where Mary Esther Cutoff (SR 393) intersects Beal Parkway. ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITIES: The South Bayou Neighborhood is one of the most prestigious in the City. Many fine homes are located along the waterfront on large lots at the end of the numerous cul-de-sacs. Most of the streets begin at Beal Parkway and wind toward the waterfront. This area also has a nice tree canopy along many of the streets. There are several passive parks located throughout the neighborhood, Briarwood Park, Mimosa Park and Ewing Park. The neighborhood is almost entirely composed of single family detached residential subdivisions. The lone exception is a small commercial area located at Howell Drive/Beal Parkway comprising an office for a cellular phone company and a medical office. W.E. COMBS CHARACTERISTICS: Primarily Commercial BOUNDARIES: The Combs-New Heights Neighborhood is comprised largely of the City’s Commerce and Technology Park. It is bounded on the north by unincorporated Okaloosa County, on the east by the Sylvania Heights area of Okaloosa County and Mary Esther Cut-Off, on the south by the City of Mary Esther and to the west by Hurlburt Field, which is part of the Eglin Air Force Base Complex. ATTRIBUTES AND QUALITIES: The Combs-New Heights Neighborhood includes Combs-New Heights elementary school, which gives the neighborhood its name, and dates to the 1950’s and 1960’s when most of the residential areas were platted. These subdivisions were annexed to the City by special election for large areas and by individual voluntary requests during the early 1960’s. The residential area is a quiet area which lies between Gap Creek and Lovejoy Road and until the early 1990’s had no sanitary sewer or paved roads. The residential area’s proximity to the industrial and heavy business area to the south and west as well as the very rundown unincorporated area, Sylvania Heights, located to the east, provides a myriad of incompatible land uses. Hurlburt Arms, a multifamily subdivision/apartment complex, is an enclave that lies between Mary Esther on the south, east and west, and the City’s Industrial Park on its north, near Anchors Street. A large portion of this neighborhood is industrial, warehousing and wholesaling enterprises, which were developed on land owned and strictly controlled by the City from the1960’s until 1994. Most of the industrially zoned lands are developed although there are still several tracts that have never been sold. City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 198 Statistical Information LOCATION Jacksonville Fort Walton Beach Tallahassee Orlando Tampa Miami WEATHER Summer Temp. 89°F Winter Temp. 61°F Annual Rainfall 66” LOCAL AREA ECONOMY Top 10 Employers *Includes military, civilian, and contractor personnel **Includes military and civilian personnel ***Includes County Commission, Clerk of Court, Property Appraiser, Sheriff, Supervisor of Elections, and Tax Collector City of Fort Walton Beach, FL 199  Statistical Information Non-Agricultural Employment by Industry Other Services, 5.0% Government, 21.5% Leisure & Hospitality, 24.1% Mining, Logging, & Construction, 8.1% Construction, 11.7% Education & Health Manufacturing, 3.6% Services, 13.2% Trade, Transportation, & Professional & Business Utilities, 22.6% Services, 22.3% Financial Activities, Information, 1.6% 7.9% DEMOGRAPHICS FWB Population by Race