441-lot subdivision could come soon to Gulf Shores

Council hears concerns about PUD proposal

By Crystal Cole
Posted 4/26/17

Gulf Shores officials got to hear staff and public comments about a proposed new 441-lot subdivision seeking planned unit development (PUD) approval near County Road 6 last week. Planning Director …

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441-lot subdivision could come soon to Gulf Shores

Council hears concerns about PUD proposal

Posted

Gulf Shores officials got to hear staff and public comments about a proposed new 441-lot subdivision seeking planned unit development (PUD) approval near County Road 6 last week. Planning Director Andy Bauer told council members the developers were seeking to rezone 211 acres from R-1-4 medium density single family residential to a PUD. “Included in those 441 lots is a 40-lot senior community,” Bauer said. “169 acres of wetland are on the site, but are not included in this proposal. The developer has indicated they will protect those wetlands, and the wetlands are buffered from the development by a required 30-foot buffer.” Bauer said the reasons for the proposed PUD request were the applicants were seeking to reduce setbacks and lot sizes. “Generally, the proposed lot sizes parallel the lot sizes within the R-1-4 and R-1-5 single family residential zoning, which are between 6,000 and 11,000 square feet,” Bauer said. “The land use ordinance indicates this property should be developed as low density residential with one to five dwelling units per acre. Aventura proposes 2.08 units per acre, which is well within that criteria.” Bauer said the proposal was originally brought up at the October 2016 planning commission meeting, with the commission having concerns about what the development could mean for traffic in the area. “They had concerns not only about County Road 6, but regional traffic flow within this area,” Bauer said. “Some of the residents also brought up questions about the proposed lot sizes.” Bauer said between that time and March 2017, the developers worked with city staff to address the questions and concerns raised by the planning commission, and the commission recommended approval of the proposal at its March meeting. Bauer said the planning commission asked staff and the developer to look at regional traffic in the area due to existing amenities like the Sportsplex as well as other neighborhoods already built in the area, so the city engaged an independent traffic consultant to study the matter. Bauer said another resident concern was the property’s location near the landfill and concerns about leeching of groundwater from the landfill. “These were very valid concerns,” Bauer said. “The city has received records from ADEM from the last five years for their monitoring of this landfill. ADEM has four monitoring wells at the landfill site. Over the past five years, there have been no significant violations and this is monitored monthly.” Bauer told the council staff recommended approval of the proposal if the developer would conduct an environmental impact study for Phase 1 of the development. Mayor Robert Craft said it was important to note the trust the developer was placing in the city by making this request. “There is a significant amount of goodwill that this developer has offered to the city,” Craft said. “They could have done anything they wanted with no restrictions in the county. Unboned in the property means there are no rules. They could do anything and not improve anything. This is a reputable developer that we discussed coming to the city, but that doesn’t mean we’re going to approve anything that is wrong. I think there is evidence that we’ve got a developer that is wanting to do things the right way and gives us the authority to approve these restrictions on there.” Several residents spoke to the council giving their concerns about bringing the new development into their neighbor hood. “If we back up and think about what’s going on on the west side of 59, we also have to think about the east side of 59,” resident Robert Muck said. “If you think about the growth we’re seeing in that area, we’ve got another 100 houses coming to bear in Craft Farms, there’s the new zoo coming online in mid 2018 and I just learned recently about a new subdivision that will be between the new zoo and Craft Farms North. All of that traffic will flow onto County Road 6 on the east side of 59. It’s going to be an absolute choke point - it already is on a Friday afternoon.” Bauer said a regional traffic impact study was done so that the city would know about the impact not only of the newly proposed development would bring, but the impact of existing traffic and already known developments coming to the area. Local resident Craig Skaggs, who worked for DuPont for 30 years, said he was concerned about the problems developing near the landfill could bring. “You don’t know what’s in the bottom of that landfill,” Skaggs said. “If you put that many homes in that area there, that much construction alone can changed the land enough that the hydraulics of the land will change dramatically.” Baldwin County Board of Education member Angie Swiger questioned how the development could impact the schools for the area. “When they go through the development process, are there projections done on what type of homes there are and what type of projections of school-aged children they will be bringing in?” Swiger asked. Craft told her in a typical development in this type of area that about 25 percent of the homes would provide one child into the school system. The council will take up the PUD proposal and could set a public hearing for it as soon as May 22.