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Prattville planning commission approves Lower Kingston Road preliminary plat despite flag‑lot concerns
Summary
The Planning Commission approved a preliminary plat to subdivide two parcels on Lower Kingston Road into four lots, including two flag lots, after applicants supplied elevation data and erosion control measures.
The Prattville Planning Commission voted to approve the preliminary plat for Lower Kingston Road Plat 1, a proposal to combine two existing parcels at 614 and 624 Lower Kingston Road and subdivide them into four lots, at its April 17 meeting.
Commissioners and city staff said the plat meets subdivision regulations despite two of the lots being configured as flag lots — parcels served by a narrow access strip or shared drive. The applicant provided updated elevation data and a drainage mitigation plan, including riprap spaced roughly every 50 feet along a ravine on the property’s right side, to address neighborhood flooding concerns.
City staff presented the plat and told the commission that Lot 1 and Lot 2 sit near a FEMA-designated floodplain but that finished floor elevations and proposed home pads would be outside the base flood elevation shown on FEMA maps. James Monk of Alabama Land Surveyors confirmed the current submission retained the prior adjustments and that the base‑flood contours are near the road; he said Lot 2 is the only lot close to those contours.
Several commissioners questioned the use of flag lots. Commissioner Mullins (full name not specified on the record) noted the commission’s general reluctance to approve flag lots historically. Staff responded that only Lots 3 and 4 are flag lots because they rely on a shared 20‑foot drive stemming from Lower Kingston Road, and that the configuration complies with the city’s minimum frontage requirement.
Dustin Woodley of Alabama Signature Homes, speaking for the applicant, said the only significant change since the item was postponed was the addition of riprap to slow drainage and mitigate runoff that previously reached a neighbor’s property. He said neighbor Harvey had reviewed and accepted that approach.
After discussion, Chair read a resolution approving the preliminary plat; a member seconded, and the commission voted by voice to approve the plat. The motion record shows approval by voice vote; no formal roll‑call tally was recorded in the transcript.
The approval is for a preliminary plat only; final plats and residential building plans will require additional review and permitting by Prattville city departments before construction can begin.
