Gulf Shores will keep boat launch open

Gulf Shores will keep boat launch open

After citizens spoke out against the city’s plan to remove the public boat launch underneath the south side of the Hwy. 59 bridge at a work session days earlier, Gulf Shores City Council approved an extension of a lease agreement with the Alabama Department of Transportation to maintain the launch at the following week’s city council meeting.
City Council has made a concerted effort to create a secondary mixed-use district to the Beach District and this included creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment along the Intracoastal Waterway.
The city created the Waterway Village Zoning Overlay District to develop the East Gulf Shores area into a walkable, mixed-use downtown entertainment district with extensive public parking that would also allow for reduced on-site parking for businesses. The zoning specifies that public parking facilities and shared parking between uses will allow a smaller parking supply to meet the combined peak parking demands of the district, according to city staff.
Councilman Joe Garris spoke out against closing the boat launch on Aug. 17 because it would
“The ICW boat ramp does not allow charter boats on trailers to run out of it. It’s a limited number that the Orange Beach city lets run out of it,” he said.