Orange Beach council approves Turquoise Place change and a slate of purchases, contracts and rezonings

The Orange Beach City Council on Jan. 7 approved multiple ordinances and resolutions across a range of city operations, from land-use ordinances to equipment purchases and intergovernmental agreements.

Key legislative and land-use actions The council adopted three zoning/rezoning items by unanimous roll call: an ordinance approving a rear-setback waiver for Lot 231 in the Terry Cove Harbor PUD (case 12-02PUDA24); an ordinance adopting the Turquoise Place PUD modification for the Turquoise Place South Lot (order number 1702); and an ordinance to rezone 8.53 acres on Roscoe Road from RM-1 to a PUD to allow a 60-unit townhouse subdivision (site plan: 10 buildings, 60 townhouses, clubhouse and pool). For the Roscoe Road townhouse proposal staff said the design provides 190 parking spaces where 132 would be required, reduces the right-of-way and lot-width standards typical for single-family subdivisions to reflect townhouse lot lines, and models access for the Fire Department.

Resolutions, contracts and purchases Council approved several routine but budgeted items recommended by staff, including: - A task order and geotechnical/materials testing for the Coastal Alabama Sea Turtle Center not to exceed $7,500 (Geocon Engineering). - Purchase approvals for municipal equipment: a mower for the golf center ($49,949.52), a public-works vehicle ($65,124), an excavator ($126,708.26), a public-works mower ($110,254.60) and four fire-department vehicles ($239,191). - Authorization to execute a professional services agreement with McCullough Architecture for lifeguard building design services (not to exceed $52,800). - Approval of a law-enforcement services contract with Baldwin County and an intergovernmental agreement to use county voting machines and custodial support for the municipal election. - Authorization to negotiate and execute a real-estate purchase agreement for property acquisition from Cayman Grill (details and price not specified in the discussion).

The council also certified routine cash-requirement approvals and carried a resolution postponing award of a request-for-proposals for administration services tied to a first-responders safe-room program until the Jan. 21 meeting. In addition the council approved a resolution to execute a professional-services agreement with Coastal Wave Diagnostics to provide cardiovascular screening services for city employees.

Votes and procedure Most of the purchase and contract resolutions were adopted by voice vote with unanimous “aye” responses; several ordinances were adopted after unanimous-consent motions to suspend typical readings and proceed immediately. Council roll-call votes recorded yes votes from Council Members Silvers, Johnson, Mitchell, Blaylock and Boyd and Mayor Kenning on the ordinances listed above.

What’s next Approved land-use ordinances now move to permitting and subdivision steps as required by city code. Staff noted that the Roscoe Road townhouse conversion will need preliminary and final subdivision approvals after PUD adoption; the Turquoise Place item will require final civil plans and state/coastal permits before building permits are issued. The council scheduled its next public hearings and meeting dates and directed staff to continue standard follow-up on permitting, contracts and advertised bids.