Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Rezoning Blair Mantle topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Planning commission backs RSF1→RSF4 rezoning on Fort Morgan strip despite staff concerns
Summary
Commissioners voted to recommend rezoning two 0.55‑acre lots in Fort Morgan from RSF1 to RSF4, reversing staff’s denial which cited coastal high hazard and floodplain provisions that discourage increased density in the area.
The Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Commission voted May 1 to recommend approval of a local rezoning that would change two lots in Fort Morgan from RSF1 (single‑family with large minimum lot widths) to RSF4 (a single‑family designation allowing narrower lots). Staff had recommended denial, citing local provisions that limit increases in density within the coastal high hazard and flood hazard areas.
Several Fort Morgan residents spoke in support of the change. Tony Mandel, a property owner in the neighborhood, told commissioners his goal is not to increase density but to reconfigure three existing lots into two, giving his neighbor additional space to build a garage. Mandel said: “We're not making more lots. We're making less. We're turning 3 lots into 2 lots.”
Staff explained that Planning District 25 includes unique local provisions restricting rezonings that increase density or intensity in coastal high hazard zones and flood hazard areas. Staff said those restrictions are why it recommended denial. The Fort Morgan advisory committee submitted a unanimous note opposing upzoning, saying it saw no justification for the change.
Commissioners discussed the irregular historical lot pattern — many lots were platted at 50 feet before the RSF1 standard — and whether a zoning change would produce nonconforming lots or intensify nonconformity. After debate the commission voted to forward a recommendation for approval to the County Commission. The county will hold a separate public hearing and make the final determination.
