Orange Beach council OKs outdoor food court east of Lartigue’s on Beach Road; turn lane coming to Canal Rd. East

Orange Beach council OKs outdoor food court east of Lartigue’s on Beach Road; turn lane coming to Canal Rd. East

By John Mullen
West Beach is not the place for outdoor music in Orange Beach.
While approving an outdoor food court plan for beach road east of Lartigue’s Seafood on June 5 as part of the Beach Village planned unit development, it was made clear music would not be part of the attraction.
Also, during the meeting, the council began the process of taking over maintenance and control of Canal Road from Alabama 161, or the Doc’s Seafood Shack intersection, to its end at Perdido Gate subdivision.
“With the staff conditions implemented and, on the record, as being included, especially outdoor music shall not be permitted,” Councilman Jeff Silvers said in his motion to OK the project.
Further west, Big Wave Dave’s opened with the same mantra – no outdoor music. Projects considered for the same spot, a Bob Marley-themed restaurant and one by Bob Baumhower, both stalled because of the restriction.
With this change, the owners, are seeking to develop the project on the north side of beach road where a self-service carwash and an empty lot are now. Cottages of Romar is listed in Baldwin tax records as the owner of the empty lot that is part of larger parcel and DR LLC of Gulf Shores is listed as the owner of the carwash property.
“They want a PUD modification on .51 acres west of the Village of Tannin and rezoned from general business to planned unit development,” City Planner Griffin Powell told the council. “And also construct a food court development on the southwest corner of this development. Planning commission considered this at the May 18 meeting and gave it a positive recommendation.”
The food court is planned to be six storage containers with a variety of food available at each. Five of those are about 320 square feet and one is planned to be 157 square feet.
“There will be only one vendor and each container will have a certain theme, Mexican, barbecue or donuts,” Powell said.
Also planned for development is 1,800 square feet of outdoor dining space in two separate areas.
“One located in the middle where all the containers are and that’s about 1,500 square feet,” Powell said. “There will be an observation deck by the restroom facility of about 300 square feet for dining as well.”
The Beach Village is a 69-lot subdivision that will be vacation rental cottages when complete. There was no change in the PUD regarding the subdivision.
Proposed ALDOT Redesign
Before the official city takeover of Canal Road east of Alabama 161 the state is going to pave it at a cost of more than $650,000, Community Development Director Kit Alexander said. “The city then will find a contractor to put in a middle turn lane on the road east to Wilson Boulevard. Alexander said with the widening is a $1.8 million project funded mostly with RESTORE Act money.
“Tim Tucker raised concerns about the elevation change because it’s been resurfaced so many times and the effects it’s had on the sidewalks,” Alexander said. “It includes milling the asphalt to get that elevation down so we don’t continue to have the problem with the grade change.”
The intersection of Alabama 161 will remain the responsibility of the state, Alexander said.
“The city plans are to add the center turn lane to Wilson and a possible roundabout at some point,” City Administrator Ken Grimes said. “We then can control it and decide if something changes. But that’s the plan for now based on the RESTORE project.”
And with the takeover, the city has more leeway on landscaping along the sides of the roadway as well.
“One of the nice things about us taking over it’s very difficult for us to do beautification with the strict federal highway standards,” Alexander said. “This is will allow us to do beautification along this roadway.”
During The Meeting, The Council Also:
• Passed a resolution approving a settlement between Cottages at Romar and the city and authorizing the Mayor to undertake all actions necessary to complete the settlement.
• Approved a special liquor license for Gilbey’s for an Independence Day event at The Wharf and approved a retail common carrier liquor license application by Dolphins Down Under’s two boats docked at San Roc Cay Marina.
• Discussed appointing members to the Solid Waste Disposal Authority. The city’s current contract runs out on Dec. 31 and must be rebid. Members of the authority work toward getting a new contract for waste removal.
• Agreed to pay Thompson Consulting up to $7,500 to update the city’s disaster debris management plan.

• Passed a resolution authorizing the Mayor to execute an agreement with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to implement a coyote management plan.
• Voted 5-0 to revoke Itty Bitty Towing’s spot in the rotation for wreckers used by the police department for six months. Chief Joe Fiero said the company has had two incidences where customers were overcharged for a tow. The company is only revoked from towing for police during the six months. The suspension began in May so the company will be part of the police rotation again beginning in October.
• Announced a June 19 dedication at noon at Orange Beach City Hall to honor its heritage by unveiling a municipal complex historical marker. All are welcome to attend the unveiling ceremony. The historical marker was written by local author Margaret Childress Long.
The Council Also Discussed:
• A resolution to pay $16,240 to cover the cost of a one-time lump sum payment to eligible retirees and beneficiaries through the State of Alabama Employee’s Retirement System.
• A resolution authorizing the mayor to work with the state for maintenance work on the pedestrian crossing signal at the Flora-Bama. In a related matter, also discussed an ordinance to reduce the speed limit to 35 on beach road or roughly the last quarter mile of the road before it goes into Florida.