The Walton County Development Review Board voted to recommend approval of a Holiday Inn Express development application for a 104‑room hotel on about 2.57 acres along U.S. Highway 98 West in District 5, with conditions tied to material and color verification and excluding monument and directional signage.

Staff said the project had received a conditional Technical Review Committee approval and noted several items for coordination, including lighting photometrics (foot‑candles and Kelvin temperature) because single‑family residences are nearby, and the spacing of corridor trees per section 11.9(a) of the county checklist. The staff presentation also described the normal review path: the applicant will proceed to the county planning commission and then to a special magistrate before a final order is issued by the Board of County Commissioners.

Curtis Smith, representing the civil engineer for the applicant, stressed the need to follow engineering recommendations for traffic controls and told the board about a new state requirement — Senate Bill 1080 — that establishes an approximately 180‑day timeline (and new penalties) for some application processes. Smith said the Holiday Inn Express application’s critical deadline is March 15 and that the project currently has time to meet required review steps.

Architect Joseph Gabriel said rooftop mechanical screening will use metal louvers color‑matched to the façade so the screening “will blend with the whole overall building exterior.” Staff and board members asked for verification of Sherwin‑Williams/Munsell color matches and noted some insert pages included full brand standard sign packages that the applicant was not asking to have approved at this hearing.

Board members raised concerns about the prominence of mechanical screening and asked that the screening materials and color be coordinated with the exterior so it does not appear as a foreign element on the elevations. Staff and the applicant also discussed a proposed backup generator that would be installed only if a fire pump is required; applicant representatives said a hydroflow test indicated the pump is likely not required.

A board motion to approve the Holiday Inn Express recommendation carried with the condition that staff verify the Munsell color matches to the Sherwin‑Williams palette submitted and that monument, directional and other site signage be excluded from approval at this time and returned as separate permits or deviations.

The applicant will return with a building permit submittal and separate signage master plan; staff will verify the color and photometric items flagged tonight before finalizing its recommendation to the planning commission.