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Responsible Growth

“There is no power for change greater than a community discovering what it cares about.” —Margaret Wheatley

With over 44% population growth from 2010 to 2018, it is no surprise that leadership for responsible growth and development was the number one concern. Possessing no strategic planning, the City was allowing developers to define our future. There is only one Fairhope. Protecting its character and our quality of life required immediate action. The first director I hired was a new Planning Director and then I made dramatic changes in the Planning Commission. The approval process with increased community and developer communications has been paramount in early intervention for which will benefit the City for generations to come.

The under-staffed Planning Department struggled to process applications which left little time for proactive planning. After three short years, we’re expecting a green light for the City’s Comprehensive Land Use Plan in 2020.

We have made great strides in creating a collaborative environment for planning among departments composed of first-class teams.

 

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The new Comprehensive Land-Use plans ties in all city services, environmental impacts and smart growth objectives which will serve as a true roadmap for our future. The $650k RESTORE-funded, community-engaged plan will start this summer.

This project will engage our community to determine policy priorities relating to the impacts of this rapid growth, including, but not limited to utility infrastructure, traffic, pedestrian Circulation, impact on schools, environmental concerns, job markets and public amenities.

How do you manage growth?

Planning is now a collaborative approach among staff of various departments. This collaborative approach early in the development process has resulted in better coordination and several cost share agreements with developers to upgrade adjacent, but off-site City Infrastructure, such as drainage and utilities to better serve the larger areas.

The refined application review process now includes an interdepartmental Development Review Meeting with key staff from Public Works, Utilities, Building Inspections, Economic and Community Affairs and others. A comment letter noting any deficiencies, comments, or concerns is provided to the applicant, prior to a full DRC meeting that is held in an open format where any issues are discussed between applicant and staff. If the comments are satisfactorily addressed, the development application is placed on the Planning Commission agenda.

Two-thirds of the area that makes up “Fairhope” is un-zoned. Therefore, pretty much anything can be developed and affect your quality of life. Planning must include enforceable regulations for development through a comprehensive land-use plan. Contiguous property, if annexed, would enable the City to fully enforce a standard for which property owners, developers and their neighbors will benefit. 

Regulatory Amendments

  • A newly proposed review process for Planned Unit Developments, which, among other things, introduces an expiration clause, has favorably passed Planning Commission and awaits final vote of the City Council.
  • Modifications and modernization to uses within M-1 zoning district.
  • Clarification/amendments of setbacks on waterfront lots.
  • MOPs now require both a preliminary and final plat process for approval.
  • Amended/clarified parts of the zoning ordinance related to lot coverage, non-conforming structures, fences/walls, and driveways.

    • Regional Collaboration

  • Meet monthly with other planning departments around Baldwin County to share ideas and solutions.
  • Attended the initial meeting of, and continue to support, a group of Baldwin County GIS Users in a collaborative effort to collect and analyze data.

    • Zoning Code Enforcement

  • Began enforcing the new short-/long-term rental ordinance, which has resulted in 595 new business license applications. In addition, the new employees hired in 2018 increased the City’s ability to better enforce both existing and new codes.
  • Moved inspections away from paper and into a database, which allows us to better track progress.
  • To improve water-quality, outreach began to assist property owner associations better understanding retention/detention maintenance.
  • Initiated a water testing/sampling program for our local watersheds.
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    Blue shaded area depicts what is INSIDE City limits. Most of the White shaded area known as Fairhope is located OUTSIDE City limits (the White shaded area makes up over 80 square miles of our Police Jurisdiction).

     

    To start this process, there must be a value for those who live outside the City limits. Otherwise, there is no incentive to change anything. The map above shows the blue areas inside and white areas outside our City limits. The Airport is the non-contiguous South parcel. As you can see, developers have a great deal of flexibility to do what they want in most of the area that makes up our great City.

    Proper planning encourages those who own contiguous property to annex into the City and become part of a bigger more collaborative development plan. Because this has not been in place for so long, developers are defining our future.

    In order to manage the growth and ensure the quality of life you enjoy, the mindset must shift from "I want to be able to do whatever I want with my property" to "I want to be a part of a bigger plan that elevates us all." We all benefit from planned growth – land & homeowners, developers, and our neighbors! Otherwise, the very things we love about living here will change and change quickly.

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