MAA/Airbus ask Mobile council to waive $470,000 vacation fee for Lot 1, citing major local investment

MAA/Airbus representatives asked the Mobile City Council during the council’s Dec. 2 pre-meeting to waive a vacation/right-of-way fee tied to Lot 1 of the MAA ACDC Subdivision.

Mister Anderson, speaking for MAA/Airbus, said Airbus "paid $9,000,000 just for a long term lease" on 40 acres and that the disputed fee totaled about $470,000. He told the council the developers have already paid $357,000 to the city for demolition and other permits and that adding the vacation fee would push pre-construction fees to roughly $800,000. Anderson said the project will support a "250 to 300000000 dollar project" and cited a $44,000,000 grant for a new access road; he argued waiving the fee would aid redevelopment of a blighted property and bring taxable personal property to the rolls.

Council members pressed procedural questions about a revised resolution and a narrow amendment to remove a small portion of J Drive ("about 500 square feet"). Council members also asked about project timing; Anderson said delays related to property control had pushed construction back roughly a year but that demolition and some road work were already under way and the project team was "ready to go." Several council members expressed that waiving the fee could make sense for taxpayers given the redevelopment of a blighted parcel.

No formal vote on the fee waiver appeared in the pre-meeting transcript; the item remains before the council for consideration and may return with an amended resolution.

What’s next: The vacation/resolution is on the council agenda for further consideration; council members asked for procedural clarity on the amendment that would remove the small J Drive parcel from Lot 1.