FAIRHOPE, Ala. — On Friday morning, a stop-work order was placed on a construction project just south of County Road 32 on Scenic Highway 98, according to the city’s building department.

“We did issue the stop-work order,” said Barry Fulford, city building official, on Monday. “It is still in effect. It has not been lifted.”

Although the property is not within Fairhope city limits, certain building permits are required in construction projects there because the area is located within the city’s planning and police jurisdiction, Fulford said.

The property is owned by Point Clear resident William Dorgan, and is also within a county zoned area, according to county records.

City building department staff visited the site last week after the Fairhope Courier inquired whether the project had been permitted, and if not, whether permits were required.

The Courier had observed a backhoe clearing trees last week from the land next to a new road built close to areas submerged in water that might meet the definition of wetlands.

“All I was doing was putting a driveway on my property,” Dorgan said Monday. “We did have permits.”

The city requires land disturbance permits where “grading, filling, draining, excavating, ditching or other earth moving operation such as is likely to result in damage to adjacent lands, public or private, from erosion thereto or siltation,” according to the ordinance. The city also recently passed a wetlands ordinance that requires a permit before construction can occur in those areas.

“We do not have a permit in our file,” said Fulford, regarding the project. “There was no one on the property when we went out there. To get them to stop we posted a stop-work order and flagged it off so they could see it.”

On Monday, Fulford, Dorgan and staff from the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Department visited the site.

“They came to us late last year and a permit was issued after they had already done the work,” said Joe Ryan, the county’s code enforcement official, on Monday afternoon. “But additional work has been done there. I just learned about this today. We did not give a permit for the current construction. They have brought in fill and built a road.”

Ryan said he believes the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers made a wetlands delineation of the property in about 2001, showing where wetlands were, but that determination is only good for five years for construction purposes. It is also different from receiving a permit from the Corps, which is not required in all cases where wetlands have been delineated, he said.

“The difference now is they’re in what I think is a jurisdictional wetlands,” he said, referring to why the additional construction might also require a Corps permit, which has federal jurisdiction over areas it determines to be wetlands and therefore falling within its jurisdiction for federal environmental law enforcement purposes. “Their job is to make that determination. My job is to decide whether that determination needs to be made, which I have done. The road goes right through what I believe is a jurisdictional wetlands.”

A new ditch has also been dug on the property, which connects to an existing ditch that serves as a natural drainage concourse between Point Clear Creek and Bailey’s Creek and the area between. The new ditch runs from the existing ditch toward Scenic Highway 98 and Mobile Bay, next to another property owner’s land.

“Yes, we’re draining that ditch,” Dorgan said.

Dorgan also said “that might be the case” that the new construction will also include a new parking lot to serve the property and buildings he owns across Scenic Highway 98 on the bay, which could be a destination point for weddings and other events. The property is extensively landscaped with two privacy gates, and with a sign stating, “Dorgan’s Inn.”

Fulford said his office is currently gathering information about the project and determining whether what Dorgan has told him is accurate about whether a county permit existed for the current construction.

“We’ve got to find what that permit contains,” he said.

He said the city’s response could range from allowing the project to proceed under the county permit, to issuing its own permit, to assessing a fine.

City ordinances provide for a fine between $200 and $500 and up to six months in jail for violations of applicable city law. The county ordinances provide for a fine of not more than $150 per violation.

“We’re working with the city, the county and the Corps to proceed with the project,” Dorgan said.

The William Dorgan family, owner of the Krispy Kreme Doughnut Franchises in the Biloxi and Gulfport, Miss., area, presented Delta State University in Cleveland, Miss., with a $1 million gift in 2002, according to the Bolivar Bullet county newspaper in Mississippi.

“They must have all their permits in hand when they come to us in order to issue a land use certificate,” said Ryan, referring to any required corp wetlands permits. “Mr. Dorgan has ceased work at the request of the city of Fairhope and Baldwin County while the (Corps) makes a determination of the site. Mr. Dorgan has been most agreeable to resolving this issue as promptly as possible.”

Editor’s Note: The reporter of this story lives on property adjacent to the construction site.