The Fairhope Times

Fairhope, Alabama thefairhopetimes.blogspot.com     SLOW DOWN NEEDED The Baldwin County Commission voted unanimously to suspend new rezoning applications to allow time for the incoming commission (Nov. 3) to find a new planning director and adopt a new master plan. The suspension includes renewable energy and data center projects as well, if any should come up.  Commissioner Ball said the shorthanded planning staff is being inundated with rezoning requests and thought a pause was in order; McKenzie agreed (Gruber was absent). Commissioner Underwood said she had been advocating for the pause for some time until the updated master plan could be implemented.  She actually had proposed one during a meeting last summer, but it died due to lack of support. From a June 2026 FT report: "Commissioner Underwood proposed a five month moratorium on new rezoning applications in the county’s planning jurisdiction to allow time for their master land use plan/land use map ...