Controversial apartments going back before planning commission

Controversial apartments going back before planning commission
By John Mullen
Even if residents won a reprieve on an apartment complex they don’t want in their neighborhood, they still left a recent Gulf Shores City Council meeting with questions.
Mayor Robert Craft has asked the city’s planning commission to revisit the application for Regency Place it approved in June.
“The mayor has just asked that the planning commission clarify why they gave their approval and to clarify how we meet the ordinance and meet the local laws,” architect Stuart Povall said. “It’s not a reapplication. This is a by-right development so we are doing everything that ordinance tells us to do and we are not asking for anything outside of the ordinance.”
Residents filled the hall to standing-room only and were pleased at the delay and a second look by the planning commission. They still left city hall chambers with questions.
“How are you going to fix the street so we don’t get all the traffic?” Ron Glaus asked. “It’s mindboggling. Every place around there is full. And then you’re going to put another 500 cars in there?”
Glaus’ questions came after Povall, representing Chartre Consulting and owner Clarence Chapman, made a presentation he hoped would calm some of the fears residents have over the 206-unit complex that will be on 10 acres in the center of Gulf Shores. It’s surrounded on all sides by condo developments and neighborhoods containing nearly 300 units or homes.
“I wanted to clear up some misconceptions about what this development will be,” Povall said. “I don’t expect to win any hearts and minds I just want to hit some bullet points on what the development is going to be. I think it’s important what this owner’s actually bringing to this community and is representing.”
Concerns were raised earlier in the process about the possibility of short-term vacation rentals allowed by the multi-family zoning in the complex. Or that it would be a transient population of interchanging residents and lots of turnover. Some of Chartre’s developments have subsidized government rent programs. Povall said Regency Place will not be one of those.
“This development, at every turn, is a high-end, luxury apartment development,” Povall said. “This is not low income, it’s not subsidized, it’s not even middle of the road. This is a high-end, class A apartment community. All of our leases are one- and two-year leases.”
The luxuries will include plush interiors with quality materials, Povall said.
“The interior of these units are stainless steel, granite countertops, wood floors, ceramic tile,” Povall said. “All the things any of us would walk into a for sale home and say ‘this is nice.’ All apartments are accessed by interior air-conditioned corridors with elevators to all floors. It’ll have a 5,000-square-foot clubhouse, club room, amenities, fireplace, kitchen, luxury pool of more than 2,000 square feet, two hot tubs and a sauna.”
Povall said the 10-acre parcel was initially planned as phase 2 of The Enclave condominiums directly to the south of the Regency Place site.
“It has the same density that has always been planned there,” he said. “It’s a density that’s consistent with the zoning.”
Residents against the project, including many from The Enclave, asked Craft to see if there is anything they can do to curtail the number of units and address other concerns they have.
On Aug. 6 Craft gave a detailed response saying the city can ask the commission to revisit the application using a section of the zoning ordinance that calls for several questions to be asked before it can be approved.
“On the advice of the city attorney, I have by letter requested the chairman of the planning commission to have the planning commission revisit this application at its earliest convenience and adopt a resolution satisfying the requirements of Section 3-3.E,” part of Craft’s statement to the crowd said.
Planning Director Andy Bauer said following that portion of the zoning ordinance will cause the planning commission to take a closer look at the application.
“The planning commission can approve with conditions or deny a site plan based on the following findings of facts,” Bauer said. “There are about 10 items in there that they must concur they have looked at and agree that the site plan meets all of those. The planning commission always adopts the resolution and typically our staff report covers those items. The city attorney said the resolution specifically must state that a site plan meets those items. The resolution did not read specifically how that site plan meets those items.”
Bauer was unsure if the reapplication will be heard at the next planning commission meeting on Aug. 28.
Also, during the session, the council:
• Heard a request from the developers of Seagrass Village Assisted Living to amend its original conditional use permit to include 120 units and eight independent cottages. The original application in March misstated that there would be 109 units and 11 cottages.
• Heard a request to rezone 162 acres on the north side of County Road 8 or the recently renamed Coastal Gateway Boulevard, from agricultural to single-family residential. The Raley Farms developers want to subdivide the land into 486 lots near the Stonegate Subdivision.
• Heard a request from Brooks Delaney for a conditional use permit to construction two storage buildings for boats and RVs at 16961 Fort Morgan Road.
• Heard a request from Team Magic for a public assembly permit for the Brett Robinson Alabama Coastal Triathlon for Sept. 8 at the Hangout.
• Heard a request from the city for a public assembly permit for the Halloween 5K run and ride on Oct. 19 at Gulf Place.
• Heard a request from the Gulf Shores Kiwanis Club for a public assembly permit on Jan. 1 for the annual Polar Bear Dip at Gulf Place.
• Heard a request authorizing Mayor and City Clerk to execute FAA Grant Agreement for a grant of almost $129,000 confirming the Authority’s application, acceptance and execution of FAA grant agreement.
• Received requests for liquor licenses for Wacked Out Weiner in Pelican Place Shopping Center and Gourmet World at 3800 Gulf Shores Parkway. And a request from the Gulf Shores Lions Club for a special event liquor license for Dinner in the Dark on Sept. 14 at the Erie Meyer Civic Center.
• Received a request to accept a land donation of a quarter acre from Mr. and Mrs. John Jay on Third Street West near the intersection of Windmill Road on the south side of Third. It is a waterfront canal leading to Little Lagoon. The Jays are asking for a written valuation of $2,500 to them for tax purposes.
• Heard a recommendation that Brooke Taylor finish the term of Jim Bauer on the Beautification Board after he resigned his position. It also included recommendations for the reappointment of Margaret Griffin and Rodney Powell to the board.
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Mayor’s Regency Place Statement

Mayor Robert Craft read the following statement on the city’s call for Regency Place Apartments to reapply for site plan approval for a 206-unit complex on Regency Road.
• On the advice of the City Attorney, I have by letter requested the Chairman of the Planning Commission to have the Planning Commission revisit this application at its earliest convenience and adopt a resolution satisfying the requirements of Section 3-3.E. I have also noted that, while under the Zoning Ordinance a public hearing is not required during the Site Plan Review process, given the active public discussion of this project a public hearing by the Planning Commission would very probably be beneficial.
• Without expressing any view that the approval given by the Planning Commission was or was not in error, the City Attorney has observed that the written Planning Commission approval resolution failed to set out the express findings and conclusions on the suitability of the project as specifically required by Section 3-3.E. of the Zoning Ordinance.
• There is nothing before the City Council for its consideration relating to the Regency Place Site Plan.
• Under the Zoning Ordinance, Site Plan approval requires both consideration of the proposed project’s conformity with the Zoning Ordinance’s area and dimensional requirements and consideration of the project’s consistency with the purpose and intent of the City’s overall zoning plan and the impact of its design on all external relationships.
• Citizens have strongly expressed their concern that the Planning Commission did not properly evaluate the external impact of the project in the process of giving its approval.
• Pending receipt of a Planning Commission Resolution satisfying Section 3-3.E., the City will be unable to issue any building or land disturbance permits to the Applicant.