Fairhope, Alabama
UPDATE 2: This project was pulled off the January 7 meeting's agenda.
UPDATED: We have been advised this item may be removed from the agenda (at bottom) for Thursday's meeting. Check back in the morning for further updates.
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| Carmel Park Flats |
THURSDAY'S COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING
A proposed 242 unit luxury apartment complex on Twin Beech Road (at Thomson Hall) just outside of city limits is facing stiff opposition from citizens and at least one organized petition group called Fairhope Quality of Life Llc; but it is being recommended for approval by county planning staff anyway because it meets all applicable county subdivision requirements.
Traffic is one of their major concerns; turning lanes were added to the entrance by developers recently in response.
The meeting at the central annex, 22251 Palmer St. in Roberstdale, begins at 4PM ... but this item is last on a 14-item agenda.
The developer is 68 Ventures, LLC of Spanish Fort.
NO ZONING THE PROBLEM?
No doubt, the fact the property is in the un-zoned county will come up as it often does in such cases, where just about any use is currently permitted.
Citizens living there have resisted past efforts to enact zoning, in county planning district 17.
CONTRARY TO FAIRHOPE"S COMPREHENSIVE PLAN?
One prominent member of the city's own planning commission told the Times recently he thought the project was in the "wrong place," should be closer to Hwy 181.
The city's comprehensive growth plan calls for higher densities near major intersection "nodes" but enforcing the plan outside city limits is highly problematic.
If approved by the county planning commission, a multiple occupancy project technical approval will still be needed at some point from the Fairhope Planning Commission as well though (since it is within the city's ETJ, extra territorial jurisdiction).
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| January 7 planning commission agenda. |
Comments
While 68 ventures is likely a new "local" company, you can bet many of the players in the venture have been associated with other similar companies, on other geographic areas. However, the basic concept and practices of these businesses is always the same. They pop up in areas which are adjacent to metropolitan/heavily populated areas where the quality of life is diminishing. They target their growth strategy to the smaller communities on the outskirts of the metropolitan area, where many of the affluent live because the quality of life is better (less crowded, less crime, better schools, etc). They systematically buy up land and stack track houses in them. Typically, they'll scatter these neighborhoods, rather than lump them together, so the "over-building" isn't as obvious.
Initially, most residents are happy about this because it causes home values to rise and new services businesses such as more/better restaurants become available. They'll make alliances with city government officials, who in many cases are land owners who profit from the development. (In case you weren't paying attention the Truland group helped Mayor Karin with her 2016 election) All is well for a few years.
Ultimately, the area becomes congested, the quality of life in those areas starts to diminish, as do the quality of the schools, due to overcrowding. City/County taxes in these areas have to be increased to pay for infrastructure such as roads, bridges, and expanding city services like the electrical grid, water, sewage and drainage. These costs are passed on to the residents, rather than the developer who created them. Ultimately, the residents of these areas realize their once rural area has become similar to the very metro area they once fled and ultimately housing prices falter. By this time, the develops and their LLCs are long gone because they employed the "build out and get out" strategy.
Areas that are already an example of this are Hernando/Horn Lake MS, Alabaster AL, Madison/West Huntsville AL, Sarasota/Bradenton FL, the area around Tyler TX, the area around Atlanta-particularly the north side, and the area around Greenville SC. I've lived in these areas before and the transformation normally has devastating effects.
Managed growth is inevitable and can be good. We all must hold our officials accountable to make sure the growth in our area is done in an organized and sustainable manner. If you do nothing/say nothing, it's as much your fault as it is the developers.