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Planning commission denies variance for RV park short of 3‑acre minimum; floodplain concerns cited
Summary
The Planning and Zoning Commission denied a variance request May 1 for an RV park on 2.82 acres, ruling the shortfall and ongoing code enforcement issues, plus location within the floodway, do not establish the extraordinary hardship required for a variance.
The Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Commission denied May 1 a variance request to allow an RV park on a 2.82‑acre parcel that falls short of the subdivision regulations’ three‑acre minimum for RV parks.
Staff recommended denial, saying the property is in the floodway and the hardship claimed by the applicant appears to be self‑inflicted. The parcel has an active code‑enforcement action: staff presented a June 8, 2022 notice of action and said the property had been occupied by multiple RV units without an approved planned unit development. Staff said the owner must disconnect unauthorized utility connections and reduce occupied units if the variance were denied.
Attorney Richard Davis, representing the owner, asked the commission to grant the variance so the owner could pursue a planned‑unit‑development (PUD) application and an H&H (hydrologic and hydraulic) analysis to address flood concerns. “I’m asking you to let these folks who are trying to comply with the law, just to give us this 1 variance,” Davis said. He also said the electrical permit the owners obtained referenced an RV park during their early permitting steps.
Staff and the commission emphasized two issues: first, the site is largely within the regulatory floodway and encroachments in the floodway are restricted under the county’s floodplain ordinance unless an engineering analysis demonstrates no increased base flood elevations; second, code enforcement found multiple unauthorized RV hookups in 2022 and staff treated the shortfall as a self‑inflicted condition. The commission voted to deny the variance and included staff’s recommended conditions if denial stood: disconnect unauthorized utilities, inspect removal of units and limit connected RVs to no more than two unless otherwise approved.
The denial does not preclude the owner from later pursuing a PUD and the necessary H&H study; staff said a PUD application and a full H&H analysis would be required if the commission ever granted a variance in this location.
