FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Despite the objections of 12 residents to the Ansley Landing project, including comments from Councilman Mike Ford (who owns adjacent property), the Planning and Zoning Commission voted Tuesday, after a two-hour hearing, to approve the request for a 56-unit apartment complex at Gayfer Road Extension just west of Bishop Road.

“We are well aware of the drainage issues in that area, and we know there are some serious issues there,” said Jean Wilson, commission chairman, after a third resident described the flooding problems in that area near Rolling Oaks subdivision.

One person who owns property in there showed a video of flooding that occurred in the area this past spring or early summer.

The commission heard a report from Richard Johnson, senior planning engineer with the Baldwin County Highway Department, regarding a study of drainage problems in the area and the proposed system to address them, which was requested by city staff.

At Wilson’s request, the commission heard from Chris Gill, the commission’s attorney, regarding the parameters for the commission’s review of this project, which is outside the city limits and zoning district but within its planning jurisdiction.

Gill said the commission’s review was limited to whether the applicant met the technical requirements of the pertinent regulations and law. He said the planning staff report and the county engineer’s report indicated those requirements had been met, and that denying the request would expose the city to a possible lawsuit if the applicant wanted to challenge its decision.

The commission voted 6-3 to accept the planning department’s recommendation to approve the project, but added an additional condition to the six stated by planning staff, to require a 35-foot setback around the project from any buildings to all property lines.

One of the planning staff conditions was that all outside agency permits had to be obtained before the city would issue a land disturbance permit. One such permit discussed, which may take four months of review before a decision is reached according to planning staff, is from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, regarding the project’s proposed use of a “sand chimney” system to drain water from an area that has been prone to serious flooding, according to comments made at the meeting by residents, a county engineer and city staff.

A request regarding a similar system in the same general area that proposed the use of sand chimneys to perk stormwater runoff into groundwater to preclude additional drainage problems in that low-lying area, was denied about five years ago by ADEM, according to comments made during the hearing.

“To date the ADEM permit has not been approved,” a city planner said.

In other business, the commission:

•Approved the request for a subdivision of property for the next phase of the Fairhope Village project (which includes the Publix Super Market and shopping center) into one half-acre lot and one of 38 acres. The request was made by Volkert & Associates on behalf of Arthur Corte, who sought to have “setbacks” instead of “wetland buffers” approved along the bank of Fly Creek because the initial planned unit development was approved before more stringent regulations requiring buffers were adopted. Gill told the commission that the law was “in a gray area” regarding the issue of whether the commission could require Corte to comply with the more recent regulations.

The commission also discussed the consequences of its decision, and whether Corte would donate the half-acre plot for use for a fire station as earlier proposed if he was required to comply with the more stringent regulations.

The commission voted to approve Corte’s application but required the use of buffers instead of the less environmentally protective setbacks along the Fly Creek property line.

“I was quite pleased with the way it turned out,” said Jim Horner, chairman of the Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board, who spoke in favor of buffers at the meeting. “Obviously, the question now is whether Corte is going to accept that requirement and give the city the land.”

Corte did not return a phone call received by an employee at his business, Corte Land and Cattle Co., seeking comment for this story.