Margaritaville’s First 142 Cottage Lots Head to Orange Beach Planning Commission Nov. 9

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — The first homes in the residential districts of the Margaritaville Resort Orange Beach are moving closer to reality. The Orange Beach Planning Commission on Monday, Nov. 9, will consider final major subdivision approval for 142 cottage-style lots in two more areas of the resort on the north shore of the Intracoastal Waterway.

The commission will hold a work session at 3 p.m., followed by its regular meeting at 4 p.m., at Orange Beach City Hall, 4099 Orange Beach Blvd. Along with the Margaritaville lots, the agenda includes three zoning ordinance rewrites, a garage condominium request and two smaller subdivision items, several of which were pushed back from the commission’s Oct. 12 meeting.

142 Margaritaville cottage lots

Of the 142 lots up for consideration, 116 are part of the first phase of the resort’s residential districts, planned north of the main entrance, Margaritaville Way. The remaining 26 lots are in the second phase, planned on the south side of Margaritaville Way.

All 142 lots are planned for cottage-style residences, and all were part of the project’s original application to the city.

Final major subdivision approval, also called final plat approval, is generally the last step in Orange Beach’s subdivision process. Earlier reviews typically settle the layout of streets, utilities, drainage and access. Once a final plat is approved and recorded, the lot lines become official, allowing individual lots to be sold and building permits to be sought.

The request follows the commission’s Oct. 12 agenda, which included final subdivision approval for the Villas of Margaritaville at Wharf Landing, a separate gated enclave of 12 single-family lots beside the resort.

What is under construction now

The buildings the public can already see rising at the site, including the multi-story structure, are part of the resort’s Waterfront District. That district will contain 160 hotel rooms and 49 condominiums. When the entire site is complete, it will include 354 rental units.

According to city documents, other phases of the resort call for more than “50,000 square feet of entertainment, retail and dining outlets, a seven-acre amenity deck featuring multiple pools, waterslides and food and entertainment venues, all designed and operated under the Margaritaville brand.”

The development agreement also describes space for an arcade, pickleball courts and banquet and meeting rooms, along with “infrastructure, including utility connections, waterworks, sewers, bridges, grading, curbing, guttering and paving of roads and streets, surface parking and other public improvements.” Phase one also includes 42 transient boat slips for visiting boaters.

The resort is being built at The Wharf on more than 80 acres along the Intracoastal Waterway as a partnership between Margaritaville Holdings and Art Favre, owner of The Wharf, in a project representing more than $350 million in private investment. Developers broke ground in May 2025. As South Alabama News reported earlier this month, the resort’s Fins Up! Water Park, with a 900-foot lazy river and a 40-foot waterslide tower, and the first phase of waterfront amenities are expected to open in late 2027, with the full resort scheduled for completion in 2029.

Long Bayou Preserve planned to the east

East of the Margaritaville complex, another residential project is taking shape. Father-and-son developers Richard and Maury Cobb are planning Long Bayou Preserve, which calls for 37 homes, a marina and a large pool. The developers have said additional lots away from the waterfront could be added to the development later.

The north shore of the Intracoastal Waterway has become one of the most active development areas in Orange Beach as the city continues to grow beyond its Gulf-front condominium towers. The city previously enacted a temporary moratorium on multifamily residential projects and certain subdivisions to give officials time to evaluate infrastructure and update land-use plans, and large projects in the area continue to draw close attention from residents.

Zoning and sign ordinance rewrites return

Three proposed amendments to the city’s ordinances, deferred from the Oct. 12 meeting, are back on the agenda. The changes would amend sections of the zoning ordinance dealing with:

• Planned unit developments.
• Density calculations.
• Residential uses in business districts.
• Buffering between properties with different types of uses.

A separate amendment to the sign ordinance would establish rules for content-neutral signs and set measurable illumination levels for signs.

Cities across the country have been rewriting their sign codes since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2015 decision in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, which held that sign rules treating signs differently based on their message must meet the strictest level of constitutional review. Many local governments have since shifted to regulating signs by size, location, lighting and duration rather than by content.

Because these are changes to the city’s ordinances, the Planning Commission’s vote serves only as a recommendation. The Orange Beach City Council must vote on the amendments before they take effect.

Toy Chest garage condominium

The commission will also hear a request for conditional use approval for the Toy Chest garage condominium, a project with six storage buildings and a clubhouse at 5616 Roscoe Road. The item was also deferred from the Oct. 12 meeting, and it had previously been deferred from the commission’s September meeting.

Only the City Council can approve conditional uses, so the commission’s vote will again serve as a recommendation.

Two smaller subdivision requests

Rounding out the agenda are two minor subdivision items:

• Walker Estates: At the request of Richard T. Cowan, a change to the lot line between lots 1 and 2 of the Walker Estates subdivision at 4852 Caswell Lane. Caswell is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Orange Beach and is home to two houses that date to before 1900. This item was also deferred from Oct. 12.
• Bear Point Estates: At the request of Ethan Williams, a replat that would combine four lots of the Bear Point Estates subdivision at 29758 Low Drive into two lots.

How to attend or weigh in

Planning Commission meetings are open to the public, and residents may speak during public hearings on agenda items. Agendas and supporting documents are posted on the City of Orange Beach website, orangebeachal.gov, ahead of each meeting.

Items that the commission recommends, including the ordinance amendments and the Toy Chest conditional use, will move to the Orange Beach City Council for final action at a later meeting, where residents will have another chance to comment.