Baldwin County Residential Growth Prompts Call for Regional Planning Among 14 Cities
With 14 cities and 15 planning departments working independently, a new group called PLAN is calling for regional coordination as Baldwin County residential growth accelerates.
FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Baldwin County residential growth is prompting a call for regional planning in a county with 14 municipalities, 14 mayors, a County Commission and 15 separate planning and zoning departments, all of which operate independently of one another.
Uncoordinated decisions
In one example, Daphne and Fairhope each approved apartment projects on U.S. Highway 98 within about a mile of each other, totaling about 500 apartments. Three traffic lights and a school zone lie between the developments. The two cities did not coordinate on traffic or other effects of their separate decisions.
New planning group
Miriam Boutwell has helped establish Plan Lower AL Now, or PLAN, an organization focused on growth and planning in the region. Supporters hope the county’s municipalities and the County Commission will take part.
Growth by the numbers
Recent figures show the scale of residential growth in the county:
- Foley has seen a 545 percent increase in residential units added over the last two years, with 1,276 lots in more than 50 subdivisions in the final stages.
- Fairhope has 1,200 residential lots in 17 subdivisions.
- Orange Beach officials described 2018 as the biggest single year of development in the city’s history.
- Gulf Shores has approved 1,382 lots in 17 subdivisions.
- Daphne has approved 683 residential lots in 16 subdivisions.
- Unincorporated Baldwin County has issued 693 single-family permits and four multifamily permits.
Baldwin County’s estimated population was 212,000 in 2017, and growth is projected to add more than 100,000 residents.
