A long-awaited overhaul of Mobile’s zoning regulations cleared another hurdle this week, but a proposed buffer zone meant to shield Africatown residents from encroaching heavy industry remains the one unresolved issue standing between city leaders and final passage of the new development code.
The Mobile City Council approved three amendments to the proposed Unified Development Code (UDC) during its regular meeting, moving the sweeping rewrite of the city’s development rules closer to a vote. But officials say the ordinance will not go forward until negotiators settle on language protecting the historic Africatown community from further industrial expansion.
The new code has been in the works for more than five years under Mayor Sandy Stimpson’s administration, aiming to replace zoning rules that in some cases date back decades. An earlier version of the ordinance failed to win the supermajority needed for passage, largely because of unresolved concerns from Africatown residents and advocates about industrial encroachment in and around the historic community, which was settled by Africans brought to Mobile aboard the schooner Clotilda, the last known ship to bring enslaved people to the United States.
The Mobile Environmental Justice Action Coalition (MEJAC) has pushed for a “safe zone” amendment that would classify all industrial operations within a designated Africatown overlay as non-conforming uses under the new code. Under standard zoning practice, businesses operating before new rules take effect are typically grandfathered in, but any expansion or change to their footprint could trigger a review that might not be permitted under the safe zone designation. Representatives of local industry and port-related businesses have objected to the proposal, arguing it goes too far in restricting future operations near the waterfront corridor.
District 2 Councilman William Carroll, whose district includes Africatown, told colleagues that both sides were nearing a compromise after extensive negotiations. He said talks had narrowed to a dispute over whether areas north and east of Papermill Road should be included within the protected zone, and he suggested the original MEJAC proposal needed to be scaled back to address industry’s concerns.
Carroll said he expects a resolution within the next couple of weeks, though he acknowledged the timeline could slip as participants in the negotiations take vacation time. He indicated he is prepared to intervene directly if the dispute continues to hold up the broader zoning overhaul, which affects development rules citywide.
Ramsey Sprague, president of MEJAC, said the safe zone proposal reflects the wishes of most Africatown residents, who have long complained about industrial facilities operating near homes, schools and historic sites in the community. Sprague said the goal of the amendment is not to eliminate industrial jobs or operations, but to create a framework in which residents and industry representatives negotiate future growth together rather than having it imposed on the neighborhood.
Africatown, founded by survivors of the Clotilda after the Civil War, has drawn renewed national attention in recent years following the discovery of the ship’s wreckage in the Mobile River and the opening of the Africatown Heritage House museum. Community advocates have said that recognition should come paired with stronger protections against further industrial buildout near residential areas.
Beyond the Africatown dispute, the council unanimously approved three separate amendments to the draft code. District 4 Councilman Ben Reynolds sponsored a measure requiring new short-term rental operators, such as those listing properties on Airbnb, to obtain Planning Commission approval before beginning operations. Existing short-term rental owners would be allowed to continue operating as a non-conforming use under the new rule.
Reynolds also sponsored a second amendment requiring in-home daycare operations caring for seven to 12 children to obtain planning approval, adding a layer of oversight for larger home-based childcare businesses that previously operated with less regulatory scrutiny.
A third amendment, brought by the Stimpson administration, redefines group homes as residences housing more than four unrelated adults. Under existing law, a group of four unrelated adults living together can still be classified as a family unit, and that threshold will remain unchanged under the new code.
Separately, the mayor’s office is renewing a push to direct $8 million in American Rescue Plan Act funding toward the redevelopment of the long-vacant Gayfer’s building in downtown Mobile. Gulf Coast Housing Partnership Inc., the project’s developer, has proposed converting the historic structure at 165 Dauphin St., across from Bienville Square, into 94 affordable housing units as part of a roughly $32 million renovation.
Most units in the proposed development would carry rents capped at 60 percent of the area’s median income for a family of four, according to the mayor’s office. Stimpson has argued the project would help address a persistent shortage of affordable housing downtown while restoring a building he described as an eyesore in one of the city’s busiest districts.
The administration had previously floated the Gayfer’s project for ARPA funding, but council members asked the mayor’s office to seek out additional development proposals before committing the money. Stimpson’s chief of staff, James Barber, told the council that of seven developers who submitted proposals for ARPA-funded housing projects, only four met minimum qualifications, and just one of those was located east of Interstate 65, prompting the administration to bring the Gayfer’s project back for consideration.
Carroll said he does not oppose the project on its merits but argued the funding might be better directed toward economically distressed areas of his district, including the Campground and Bottom neighborhoods, rather than downtown, which he described as already experiencing strong private investment. City officials countered that funding remains available for redevelopment in those areas, but that developers have shown limited interest in pursuing projects there. Carroll responded that the city has not done enough to prepare those neighborhoods for investment or to make projects there ready to break ground.
The Gayfer’s proposal is expected to go before the council’s entitlement committee, chaired by District 1 Councilman Cory Penn, in the coming weeks. Carroll said he favors delaying a final vote until the developer presents the project publicly and residents have an opportunity to ask questions, saying the community deserves a chance to weigh in before council members act.
Teresa Bettis of the South Alabama Economic Roundtable told the council she does not believe the Gayfer’s project satisfies federal requirements for ARPA spending, arguing the funds are intended for economically depressed areas and that downtown does not meet that definition. She pointed to neighborhoods such as Toulminville, Maysville and the Bottom as more appropriate targets for the funding, and suggested the money could instead be used to renovate existing public housing stock, including at the R.V. Taylor complex.