Orange Beach to Weigh Rezoning So Bubba's Mini Golf Can Add Bumper Cars

A beachfront mini-golf course wants to add bumper cars, and because Orange Beach's zoning code allows bumper cars only in industrial areas, making room for them takes a rezoning. The City Council is scheduled to hold a public hearing and take a first reading Tuesday on the ordinance that would allow it.

Council options and drone aerial of Bubba's Mini Golf, looking southwest — Jun 16 meeting packet.

Drone aerials of Bubba's Mini Golf site, looking north and south — Jun 16 meeting packet.

Bumper car illustration with reference photos and rendering of proposed ride — Jun 16 meeting packet.

Boundary and topographic survey of the Bubba's Mini Golf parcel — Jun 16 meeting packet.

Staff report listing zoning details and site history for Bubba's Seaside Mini Golf — Jun 16 meeting packet.

The request, Case No. 0503-PUD-26, would amend Ordinance No. 172 — the city's zoning ordinance — to create a Planned Unit Development on about three acres at 24621 and 24645 Perdido Beach Boulevard, rezoning the property from General Business to PUD. The owner and applicant is 411 OBA LLC, according to the staff report.

The rezoning is needed because of a quirk in the code. Bumper cars are classified as an "amusement and recreation service," and Section 4.01 of the zoning ordinance permits that use only in Industrial (I-1) zoning — not in the General Business district where the mini golf sits. The PUD, with a requested deviation from Section 4.01, is the mechanism that would let the ride operate there.

The proposed bumper car building would be 40 feet wide and 82 feet deep — about 3,280 square feet — and would attach to the existing ticket office, the staff report states. It would be built with concrete-block walls painted red, metal roll-up shutters on the sides, and a metal roof. The ride would join a 36-hole miniature golf course already on the site and an ice cream shop that received site-plan approval last year.

The staff report also weighs parking and open space. It includes a parking count covering the miniature golf course, the ice cream shop, the ticket office and the new bumper car facility, and notes that a Planned Unit Development must keep at least 20 percent of the site as landscaping or common open space.

The city's Planning Commission reviewed the request at a public hearing May 11. No members of the public spoke, and the commission recommended approval on an 8-0 vote, the packet states.

The staff recommendation carries two conditions: approval of the deviation that permits bumper cars outside industrial zoning, and a requirement that all lighting comply with the city's wildlife-friendly lighting ordinance. The council may approve the request, approve it with conditions, or deny it.

Tuesday's vote is a first reading. Even if the council advances the ordinance, a second reading and final adoption at a later meeting would be required before it takes effect. Residents may speak during the public hearing, which is part of the regular meeting beginning at 5 p.m. Tuesday in the City Hall Council Chambers.