Developers present Colony Village concept; neighbors raise traffic, runoff and density concerns

Developers presented an informal concept plan for a 148-acre project called Colony (referred to in materials as Colony Village) and asked the Fairhope City Planning Commission for guidance on design and zoning options on Oct. 6. The session was an informal review — not a public hearing — and the commission took no regulatory action.

Christian Pruis, a landscape architect with CPLA representing the project team, described the proposal as a “traditional neighborhood” that would emphasize green infrastructure, preserved wetlands and a connected network of parks and trails. He said the plan includes a mix of product types — townhomes with rear alleys, cottage lots, manor lots and estate lots — and that over a third of the site would be preserved as civic green space. “We are fronting the homes on the majority of the green spaces, utilizing rear loaded alleys and really making it intentional how every home is oriented,” Pruis said.

Pruis and his team said they are pursuing design solutions to treat stormwater on-site and to use wetlands and restored corridors as amenities rather than constraints. He described a three-acre civic park, a greenway spine, pocket parks, dog parks and a splash pad; the team said they have not completed engineering and the plan is still conceptual.

Residents and nearby homeowners used the commission’s annual public…