The fate of Proposed Planning District 14 lies in voters’ hands today at Summerdale. The district lies east of Fish River and south of Silverhill. A small portion of it surrounds Silverhill.
Voters will not decide on a specific zoning designation or ordinance, but the vote will determine whether the Baldwin County Commission has planning and zoning authority over the area. This means the county could regulate growth and development in the area depending on voting results.
Polls open at 7 a.m. and close at 7 p.m. today at the Marlow Volunteer Fire Department off County Road 32. This is the only polling location.
Matthew Brown is a planning director for the Baldwin County Commission. He said zoning efforts have their pros and cons.
“[Zoning] does create some new rules for the area and some new requirements for the area,” he said. “But it does give some voice for the people in that community to help determine what is compatible and have a say in the future of their community.”
Baldwin County residents first reached out to the commission last fall. A resident saw zoning efforts in the Barnwell area and wanted something similar. Citizen organizers then proposed the boundaries of the district and had 120 days to collect signatures from 10% of the area’s registered voters. The judge of probate scheduled the election within 90 days.
Baldwin County has allowed citizen-led zoning efforts since 199, but Brown said citizen calls for zoning procedures is a somewhat recent phenomenon.
“With the rapid growth we’ve seen in Baldwin County, in almost every case, citizens reach out to our department to initiate this zoning process because there’s been developments in their community,” he said. “Ten years ago, they never thought [these developments] were in the realm of possibility. Time ends up having a big impact.”
Brown said the Baldwin County Commission supports zoning efforts and hopes the community makes the decision that is right for them.
“We understand that zoning is right for some communities and not right for some communities,” he said. “What we want to see, as a result of this election, is for the community to consider what the pros and cons could be of this. That’s why this process exists. We just are very supportive of the fact that this is a citizen-driven process.”
If Proposed Planning District 14 passes, the county commission will appoint five registered voters to serve on a citizen advisory committee. The committee and commission would meet six to eight times over six to eight weeks. If the district does not pass, the community has a two-year bar on zoning efforts for the proposed area.