Fairhope Planning Commission to Weigh 43.6-Acre Annexation for Tower Homes at County Road 13

Fairhope's planning staff are recommending approval of a request to annex 43.6 acres at the southeast corner of County Road 13 and Mosley Road and zone the land for low-density single-family homes — a subdivision to be called Tower Homes. The Planning Commission takes up the request, filed as case ZC 26.06, at a public hearing Monday, July 6, 2026.

The case was filed by S.E. Civil, LLC on behalf of the property owner, Krhut Enterprises, LLC. It seeks a conditional annexation — a mechanism by which unincorporated land enters a municipality with a specific zoning classification attached as a condition of the move. The requested designation is R-1, Low Density Single-Family District, which requires a minimum lot area of 15,000 square feet.

Planning Commission cover sheet for ZC 26.06 Tower Homes, with zoning and aerial maps — Jul 6 meeting packet.

The 43.6-acre tract is made up of four parcels, identified in Baldwin County records under PPIN numbers 24484, 109974, 113514 and 234578. Most of the land is currently zoned Rural Agricultural in the county, with a single parcel zoned Residential Single-Family; the site lies just west of the Pecan Ridge subdivision and north of Carye Pointe Estates, both already inside the city. The request comes as Fairhope continues to weigh a pause on new residential development while it rewrites its zoning code.

A rezoning request does not require a development plan, so no lot layout was submitted. But the applicant did file a voluntary "Statement of Density Commitment" capping the project at a maximum of 1.4 units per acre — roughly 60 homes across the site. Planning staff note that R-1 zoning without that self-imposed limit could support about 2.9 units per acre, so the cap would cut the potential lot count by roughly half. Under current Baldwin County rules, staff estimate the land could hold only about 17 lots.

Fairhope zoning dimension table showing R-1 standards (15,000 sq ft minimum lot) — Jul 6 meeting packet.

In their written report, city planning staff recommend that the commission approve the annexation and R-1 zoning, subject to a single condition: that the site be held to the 1.4-units-per-acre maximum. Staff found the request consistent with the Fairhope Comprehensive Plan, which designates the area a "Suburban Residential" place type, and in keeping with neighboring city zoning — even though it is more intensive than the surrounding county districts.

Staff report for case ZC 26.06, with the zoning location map of the annexation parcels — Jul 6 meeting packet.

The packet also includes one citizen comment, from a resident of the neighboring Pecan Ridge subdivision whose property abuts the site. He raised questions about whether the land is tied to a trust associated with the Fly Creek watershed, how future development might affect drainage, and how added traffic could affect Mosley Road. Staff responded that they are aware of no such trust — county records show the largest parcel has been owned by Krhut Enterprises since at least 2001 — and that drainage and traffic studies are not required at the rezoning stage, though they would be before any future subdivision. Staff also flagged potential wetlands on the property that would require delineation before development.

The item appears as new business, and the staff report notes no prior planning or zoning cases on the property, making Monday's session the commission's first formal hearing on it. The hearing is set for 5:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers of the Fairhope Municipal Complex, 161 N. Section St. Chairman Lee Turner will preside, and public comment will be taken.

Because an annexation takes legal effect only when the Fairhope City Council adopts it, a favorable recommendation from the planning commission would send the case to the council for a separate vote on both the annexation and the zoning.

Also on the July 6 agenda, the commission takes up a site-plan request from Murphy Oil for a gas station at the corner of Highways 181 and 104.