Venice resident urges pause on Flamingo Ditch pipeline plan, cites flood and property-value risks

Madeline Zubik, a Venice resident, urged the City Council to pause a consultant recommendation to route water from Flamingo Ditch down Harbor Drive into Deertown Gully in Gulf Shores, saying neighbors learned of the option late and fear increased flood risk.

"Because many neighbors were unaware that the city decided to include this pipeline without any input from residents in Gulf Shores," Zubik said, adding she formed a residents' committee and plans to mobilize attendance at the city's April 8 capital improvement meeting. She said adding water to gullies could push nearby homes into higher-risk flood zones and force owners to obtain flood insurance, potentially lowering property values.

Zubik said the public outreach around earlier meetings left residents frustrated: an online capital-improvement meeting limited comments, and pending lawsuits over prior flooding increased concern that city legal staff should have been present. She urged council to evaluate and discuss options with affected neighborhoods before advancing a pipeline that would move water into Gulf Shores.

City Manager remarks later in the meeting clarified that any rerouting to Deertown Gully was a recommendation in a feasibility report and that the proposed route was not on the immediate CIP agenda for April 8; staff said the topic will be the subject of future discussion and public meetings where residents can comment.

The council did not take immediate formal action on the pipeline during the meeting; the clerk directed interested residents to the upcoming CIP discussion where staff will provide more information.