§ 1.1. About Santa Rosa County

Santa Rosa County is located in northwest Florida bordering the Gulf of Mexico and Santa Rosa Sound. The County is bounded on the west by Escambia County, on the east by Okaloosa County and on the north by Escambia County, Alabama. Map 1-1 depicts the regional setting of Santa Rosa County.

The total area of Santa Rosa County is approximately 655,048 acres, including land and water. Approximately 33% of the county consists of military reservation lands and conservation lands (Eglin Air Force Base comprises 10.2%, Naval Air Station Whiting Field and NOLFs comprise almost 1.0%, and Blackwater River State Forest comprises approximately 21.8% of the total county land area). The county's three municipalities comprise only about 1% of the entire county area. The unincorporated area of Santa Rosa County (including Eglin, Whiting and Blackwater Forest) comprises approximately 431,949 acres, most of which is rural in nature. Table 1-1 provides the breakdown of total County land in detail.

Table 1-1. Municipalities and Major Land Uses in Santa Rosa County

Land Use Category	Acreage	Percentage of Total County
Municipalities	6,886.86	1.05%
Jay  Milton  Gulf Breeze	1,046.10   3,117.20 2,723.56
Eglin Air Force Base Military Reservation	66,760.56	10.13%
Naval Air Station Whiting Field and Naval Outlying Fields (OLFs)	6,264.43	0.95%
Blackwater River State Forest	147,122.60	22.33%
Remainder of Unincorporated Santa Rosa County	431,949.31	65.55%
Total	658,983.76	100.00%

 

* Note: The total acreage for Santa Rosa County listed here was calculated based on the County GIS database for Property Appraiser Department of Revenue (DOR) land use code boundaries. This figure does not precisely match acreage figures used in the 2000 Census Information and in other databases from various agencies utilized for information in other elements of this Plan.

Source: Santa Rosa County Community Planning, Zoning and Development Division GIS, 2015