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Debate Over Master Plan For Spring Hill Area

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By Steve Alexander Reporter

M30o93H7pQ09L8X1t49cHY01Z5j4TT91fGfr Debate Over Master Plan For Spring Hill Area

Published: Thu, May 01, 2008 - 8:00 pm
Last Updated: Thu, May 01, 2008 - 8:10 pm

Steve Alexander

There was plenty of debate Thursday afternoon over what the Spring Hill area of Mobile should look like in the future.
The Mobile City Planning Commission gave the public a chance to speak on a new zoning plan covering everything from traffic and parking to the height of buildings.
A non-profit group called the Village of Spring Hill raised money and hired a planning firm to put together a new master plan for the area.
The group's president told News Five that when discussions on the plan first began, merchants approached the organization about finding ways to improve business in the area.
Linda St. John said, "Right now, it (Spring Hill) is mostly vehicle-oriented. It (the plan) is to make it both vehicle-oriented and pedestrian-oriented so that if people choose to walk, they can. If people to choose to drive, they can. "
But some people who live and work in the area were not happy when they saw details of the master plan.
Dr. Fred Bodie, a dermatologist, has an office on Old Shell Road.
He says,"We do not want them to narrow Old Shell Road and further strangle the traffic."
Bodie is also concerned about parking under the master plan.
He says, "What they wanted to do was decrease the parking for each subdivision, for each development so that they were eventually going to have to have parking decks to cover it. They have this concept of zoning that makes all these changes mandatory and when they're mandatory if we want to change the footprint of our building, re-develop it, we have to do it just the way the say."
Mobile City Council Member Gina Gregory attended the planning commission meeting.
Afterwards, she said, "My mindset now is that there has to be compromise."
St. John said, "We asked them (the planning commission) to delay the vote so that we can get together with some of the landowners, take their concerns under consideration, re-write the draft and submit a final draft back to the planning commission in about five weeks."

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