Fairhope, Alabama
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| January 2026 Planning commission. |
STILL NEEDS COUNCIL'S APPROVAL
By a 8-1 vote the planning commission approved plans for a three story, 26 room boarding house at 301 Fairhope Avenue -- the former site of the old hardware store. Some changes were made to address commissioners' concerns from a previous meeting like the footprint of the rooftop terrace, adequate storage space, loading zone access, and utility placements.
A restaurant and medical-spa are planned on the first floor, and the roof-top terrace (for room occupants and their guests) -- with one apartment reserved for a resident manager. Only one on-site parking space is required for a boarding house under the old zoning ordinance, for the manager.
Commissioner Bryant was the only no-vote over concerns about enforcement of applicable zoning ordinance criteria, such as having a resident manager, and potential unauthorized venue activities on the rooftop terrace. (Planning commission attorney Williams replied he thought that the usual policing oversight mechanisms would suffice.)
Commission chairman Turner sympathized: "I hear Rebecca ... in this case ... I like it as a one-off ... not as a precedent ... think having one like this in town ... is a really neat thing."
BOARDING HOUSES NO LONGER ALLOWED
A zoning ordinance change approved by the city council last March removed 'boarding houses/dormitories' entirely as allowed uses in the city. No more such applications are accepted.
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| March 2025 zoning ordinance changes. |
PARKING STUDY RESULTS STILL COMING
Planning director Hunter Simmons told the Times afterward a parking study by Walker Parking Consultants commissioned by the city council last summer may finally be ready to present to the public during an upcoming council meeting.
Preliminary results presented last August found up to 700 new parking spaces may be needed in the downtown area.
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| Parking study. |