The Master Plan is intended as a guide for the Baldwin County Commission, Baldwin County Planning Commission, and Planning and Zoning staff to help ensure development within the County takes place in a manner that conforms with the vision and priorities of Baldwin County’s citizens. This guide will be used to create some policy recommendations that Planning and Zoning staff can pursue and the County Commission can later adopt within the Zoning Ordinance or Subdivision Regulations. This guide will also provide review factors for use during the evaluation of all rezoning applications.

Alabama Law requires that Baldwin County “make and maintain . . . a master plan for the physical development of the unincorporated areas of Baldwin County.” See Alabama Code § 45-2-261.03.

Work on this guide began in late 2021. Staff have set a goal to complete and adopt the guide by November 2022. Prior to adoption, the completed guide will be presented to the Baldwin County Planning Commission for review. These board members will review the guide, and when satisfied, will recommend adoption to the County Commission. The guide will then be presented to the County Commission for adoption.

Baldwin County has teamed up with the well-known firm, Design Workshop, to develop this guide. Design Workshop was selected from four firms that responded to the County’s request for proposals. Three firms were invited to in-person interviews. Design Workshop stood out for its work in similarly situated counties in the southeast as well as their commitment to adapt to the needs and priorities of Baldwin County through the plan development process.

To create this guide, Baldwin County and Design Workshop engaged with numerous stakeholder groups in the community. The process was launched in September 2021 with a series of “Orientation” meetings to help the consultant understand key issues facing the County. Orientation meetings were held with the County Commission Chairman, P&Z Staff/Planning Commission, Development community, environmental & agricultural groups, Board of Education representatives, County Engineer & MPO, and the economic development alliance.

This effort was followed by an online “Community Pulse” survey that generated nearly 2300 responses and highlight broad community priorities. In January and March, Baldwin County hosted an elected officials meeting and several community meetings to allow the public to have even more engagement in an in-person environment.

The first round of community meetings was followed by a second survey that garnered over 600 responses. This was followed by a second elected officials meeting in July along with four Rural Community Workshops in Rosinton, Barnwell, Elberta, and Crossroads and culminated with an online virtual community meeting and farmland committee meeting in mid-July.

Baldwin County has ensured that there are many ways the community can engage in the guide development process. Consider attending one of the many community meetings (you can find recording of some of the past meetings on this page). The time and location of meetings are updated on baldwinourvision.com as they are scheduled. Please also consider participating in the periodic community surveys posted on the website. Finally, once the guide is complete it will be presented as part of a public hearing in front of the Planning Commission and the County Commission. The public will be given an opportunity to voice their opinions and provide input at these meetings. Baldwin County Planning & Zoning welcomes the public to reach out with any concerns or questions about the process by emailing planning@baldwincountyal.gov.

This guide will only apply to the zoned areas of the county. While the opinions of community members in unzoned areas are taken into consideration equally as much as those of zoned areas, the guide itself will not be used for development purposes in these unzoned districts. This is because the approval of development in unzoned districts is more of an objective process that makes sure the applicants meet all technical standards. There is not review of compatibility in an unzoned area. The guide may make policy recommendations related to the Subdivision Regulations that could impact the unzoned areas if those amendments were later adopted.

When it comes to zoned areas, there is a more subjective zoning or land use process that allows Planning & Zoning staff members to evaluate the community as a whole and how the proposed development would impact the community. This guide will be one of the many tools staff uses to make these decisions in a zoned district.

In a zoned area a residential subdivision development must go through two steps. The first step is a rezoning. The second step is a subdivision application. Both steps involve a public hearing before the Planning Commission, but different factors are evaluated.

The zoning step currently involves a higher-level review of “compatibility” and ensure the proposed develop fits within the transition from more intense to less intense uses. Issues related to drainage and traffic carry may weight in the rezoning review, but only to the extent they impact the question of compatibility. The Planning Commission (and later the County Commission) are granted broad authority in the evaluation of whether a rezoning is compatible. This guide will be one of the factors used to evaluate compatibility, which is one reason the guide is an important tool.

The subdivision step involves a more objective, technical review that usually includes a drainage study, traffic study (developments over 50 lots), wetland delineation, etc. If the applicant meets the technical requirements of the subdivision regulations, the Planning Commission has must less discretion when it comes to approving or denying the application.

The County does not have the same legal authority as municipalities to issue development moratoriums. As a result, a moratorium between now and the guide adoption (just a few months away now) is not likely.

This guide does not change any existing zoning designations. In fact, this guide does not change or mandate anything in Baldwin County. Instead, it gives the community and staff of the County a guide for evaluating future development.

No. When this guide is adopted, the only thing that will change is the way new developments are reviewed in zoned areas. The guide will provide a score card to help evaluate rezoning requests. Other than that, it will not affect any current ordinances or other processes within Baldwin County. The guide may recommend certain policy changes, but those will be optional and would need to be acted on separately by the County Commission.