Jury Rules Against Friends of Fly Creek in Lawsuit Over Fairhope Apartments
A Baldwin County jury ruled against Friends of Fly Creek after a six-day trial over the proposed Fly Creek Apartments in Fairhope.
BAY MINETTE, Ala. — A Baldwin County jury in Bay Minette has ruled against the plaintiffs following a six-day trial over the proposed Fly Creek Apartments in Fairhope.
The Lawsuit
The plaintiffs, Friends of Fly Creek, were represented by attorney Adam Milam. They sought to overturn legislative actions by the city of Fairhope, including planning and zoning and City Council decisions related to the project. In such cases, the burden of proof rests on the plaintiffs.
In a 2016 statement, Milam said, “Whether you want apartments or not in the Fairhope area is not the issue. The City Council and Mayor sold out Fairhope and Baldwin County residents when they bowed to political pressure in allowing a large apartment complex, parking lot, and all the attendant runoff, erosion and sedimentation impacts right in the Fly Creek Watershed, an extremely vital watershed that they swore to protect.”
Council Actions
The Fairhope City Council endorsed the project in October 2016. In April 2017, the newly elected City Council, with the exception of Councilman Jimmy Conyers, granted an extension of time for the project to proceed.
Testimony at Trial
During the trial, Corte, the project’s developer, told the jury he was a potato farmer rather than a developer and described the Publix shopping center and proposed apartment complex as a village similar to Seaside, Florida. The developer described residents opposed to the project as a small minority and told the jury the apartments would be luxury units that would provide housing for firefighters and police officers.
Testimony also addressed the project’s drainage plan and its potential effect on Fly Creek. The new plan calls for a single-point discharge at the outfall pipe, bypassing the current 1-acre retention pond and omitting from the plans an expansion to a 5-acre pond. Under the plan, excess stormwater from the apartment complex, combined with drainage from the Publix site, would flow into wetlands that drain into Fly Creek about 100 to 150 feet from the outfall pipe.
Next Steps
The project is expected to come before the Fairhope Planning Commission again for approval and then return to the City Council for another vote.
