1996-2000 City Council

2000-2004 City Council

James P. Nix; Mayor

Timothy Kant; Mayor

Jeanette Pucket

Debbie Quinn

John Duck

Michael A. Ford

Michael A. Ford

Cecil Christenberry

Debbie Quinn

Robert Gentle

William Jones

Pauline Anders

James P. Nix; Mayor (1999)

Timothy Kant; Mayor (2000)

Lawrence Green; Chairman

Larry Green; Chairman

Richard Charles; Vice Chair

Richard Charles; Vice Chair

Pauline Anders

Lee Turner

Robert Gentle

Dan McCrory

Timothy Kant

Debbie Quinn

Lee Turner

Robert Clark

William Jones

Lawrence Green

Charlie Basset

George Roberds

Betty Jo Wolf

Robert Gentle

Trae Corte

Thomas Harris

Phil Norris

Ack Moore

George Gilmore

Denise Lores

Owen Bailey

Michael Ford

Dennis Frodsham

John Parker

Mac Walcott

Joe Petits

Aurthur Corte

Cindy McBrearty

George Klumpp

Planning Assistance

Staff

Gould Evans Goodman Associates, LLC

Kansas City, Missouri

Christopher D. Baker;

Director of Planning & Building

Betty Rivenbark;

Planning Commission Secretary

Section 1

Introduction

4

1.1

History of Planning

5

1.2

Planning Process

6

Section 2

Existing Conditions

9

2.1

Population and Employment

9

2.2

Existing Land Use

10

2.3

Existing Zoning

14

2.4

Architectural Resources

15

Section 3

Vision and Goals

16

3.1

Vision Statement

16

3.2

Goals and Policies

16

3.3

Physical Image/Environment

17

3.4

Community Identity

18

3.5

Development Framework

19

3.6

Infrastructure

20

Section 4

Land Use Plan

22

4.1

Alternatives

22

4.2

Preferred Plan/Framework

24

4.3

Village Centers

27

            Neighborhood Village Center

27

            Community Village Center

29

            Regional Village Center

31

Section 5

Form and Function

33

Section 6

Implementation

35

6.1

Development Toolbox

35

6.2

Strategies Matrix

37

The Fairhope Comprehensive Plan is a framework for future development decisions in the City.   It supplements and updates the August 7, 1995 Comprehensive Plan.  It is anticipated that these two documents be used as companion plans as future land use and community development issues are considered.

The Fairhope Comprehensive Plan was created by the citizens, City staff and elected officials of Fairhope and is intended to provide land use policy guidance as the City grows.  The Plan is general in nature and does not specify the exact lot-level development pattern of future Fairhope.  Instead, the Plan provides a future development framework that incorporates a mix of uses designed to allow flexibility to the City, property owners, and the development community.

Section 1.1 

History of Planning and Development

In many respects, Fairhope has been a “planned” community since its inception.  Founded by E.B. Gaston and a group of individuals from Des Moines, Iowa, Fairhope was developed as a utopian settlement.  Gaston and his followers believed in a concept called “cooperative individualism.”  They saw a great social danger in the monopoly of wealth and power.  They wanted to create a settlement that negated the competition of capitalism, while allowing an individual to enjoy the fruits of one’s own labor.  The group, thus, adopted a single governing principle: to make land value common property.

In 1894, Gaston called his followers to his office in Des Moines.  Their organization, called the “Single Tax Club,” voted to put this idea to the test.  Under their plan, land would be taxed in such a way that would eliminate the need for other taxes.  They looked at a series of sites in Tennessee, Louisiana, and along the Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay.  The Mobile Bay site was ultimately selected.

E.B. Gaston

In January 1894, the Fairhope Industrial Association was formed to establish a new model community or colony.  The colony was to have as its organizing principle an ideal mix between the extremes of socialism and pure private gain.

Building from what is now Bayfront Park, 2,800 acres was first assembled.  It extended up to what is now Section Street. One of the earliest buildings to be erected was E.B. Gaston’s house, others developed housing nearby, and the early business district formed roughly where the current Single Tax Corporation stands today.  The first school opened in 1896, in what had been the colony’s merchandizing store.  Schooling was mandatory according to the colony’s original constitution.

Original Map

Boating became a major part of the area’s economy.  The Eastern Shore of Mobile Bay was dotted with piers.  That lasted until 1927, when the first causeway opened at the head of the bay.  The area also promoted its climate and scenic views for tourism.  Hotels and cottages built along the blufftop and its picturesque downtown quickly became favorite tourist spots.  Although still a tourist destination, Fairhope has scant accommodations compared to these early days. The Fairhope Pier remains a major community attraction.

Today, Fairhope’s climate and scenic views still attract tourists.  The Grand Hotel in nearby Point Clear has a strong relationship with Fairhope. Downtown’s boutiques provide a destination for area tourists.  Fairhope’s climate and physical charm also help to make it a desirable retirement community, as well as a setting for year-round residents. The Single Tax Colony remains, perhaps, as Fairhope’s single most influential property owner.

Downtown

From its downtown district to its older neighborhoods, Fairhope presents a scale and character of development unsurpassed in  nearby cities. Much of Fairhope was developed in a bygone era of bayboats and cottages. Growth, however, continues and Fairhope is developing to a new, automobile oriented scale.  Today, many older houses are being renewed through renovation. Often, however, new and larger dwellings replace them.  Newer subdivisions and commercial properties are being developed, but in a pattern that is dissimilar to Fairhope’s past.

Growth in Fairhope is inevitable.  There is concern about the nature, quality, and scale of this growth.  An important question for this planning process is if future growth can occur in harmony with the scale and character of Fairhope’s past.

New Development

1.2  Planning Process

The accompanying diagram illustrates the planning process utilized for the development of the Fairhope Comprehensive Plan.  Through a community based process, participants were led through a series of planning activities starting with broad planning perspectives, the development of planning goals, and moving through a discussion of alternative futures to the selection of a preferred direction, plan development, and adoption.

Town Hall meeting at which participants identified and prioritized key planning issues.

Steering Committee meeting at which basic planning direction was affirmed.

The plan was developed through an extensive community participation process.  Over the course of several months, the process sought the input of the broader community through a series of town hall meetings.  They were attended by hundreds of Fairhope residents, property owners, business leaders, and others with a stake in the future of Fairhope.  Additionally, a broadly based steering committee of community leaders was formed to give ongoing advice concerning the planning process and planning issues.  Finally, a number of individual and small focus group meetings were held with governmental officials and community leaders.

Fairhope Planning Process

The intent of this process was to seek a wide range of community input into the planning process and, thus, to have a broader understanding among citizens during the adoption and implementation process.

Issues Identification

Early in the process, through a meeting with the Steering Committee and at town hall meetings, key community issues and priorities were sought.

The issues and broadly ranked priorities are as follows:

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To create a mixed-use village in one concept

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To maintain the center of Fairhope as a village

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To keep Fairhope a small town

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To develop a formula for size of house related to size of lot

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To maintain the beauty of place in Fairhope and to look to similar desirable places for guidance

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To promote new growth as walkable and human scale, not cul-de-sac subdivisions

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To address preservation of architectural integrity

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To retain affordability and diversity in housing

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To make downtown more friendly to bicycles and create a bicycle plan

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To approach development differently than adjacent communities

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To support the success of community businesses

From these meetings, as well as through focus groups, it was clear that the participants recognized the unique history and qualities of Fairhope.  They also believed that the City was approaching a crossroad in its developmental history.

The critical choice was whether to follow development-as-usual practices as promulgated throughout the United States, or to seek a future that promotes scale and character of all types of development in accordance with the vision of the Founders.  The first choice would lead ultimately to a proliferation of strip retail development centers and sprawling cul-de-sac subdivisions.  The alternative choice would lead to the promotion of village-centered, walkable neighborhoods, as well as preservation of the existing community’s scale and character.

These choices were documented for presentation and discussion during a series of community meetings.  Through these meetings, the second choice became the overwhelming favorite.  To provide the necessary guidance to meet this framework, a series of implementation strategies has been developed and documented in Section 6 of this Plan.