BAY MINETTE — The Bay Minette Planning Commission will hold a called meeting at 5 p.m. today, following a lengthy discussion during a Jan. 27 informational meeting on the proposed land-use ordinance.

The ordinance has already passed a first reading by the Bay Minette City Council and will be the subject of a public hearing during the council’s Feb. 7 meeting.

Bay Minette Mayor Jamie Tillery and the city’s planning commission held the Jan. 27 meeting to give residents a chance to review the ordinance and ask questions.

Tom Mitchell, owner and operator of Temco Inc., commercial builders and Sonny Dobbins, owner and operator of Dobbins Builders Inc., expressed concerns regarding landscaping and parking requirements, particularly about section 8.4.4 of the ordinance, regarding maximum building coverage, states that “a minimum of 20 percent of the lot area shall be maintained as a landscaped open area,” which Mitchell called exorbitant.

“I've never seen 20 percent, or even 15 percent, anywhere in Baldwin County, even at Wal-Mart,” he said. “You can’t include the right-of-way, because you can only go to the property lines. Probably only 10 percent is landscaped, and that’s with the retention pond out back."

Additionally, Mitchell asked what qualifies as landscaping, because the term is not defined in the ordinance and is open to interpretation.

“Landscaping to Sonny, and landscaping to me and landscaping to Oscar (Waters, city building and planning supervisor) are three different things,” Mitchell said.

Dobbins noted the effect that such a requirement would have on business recruitment.

“If it was 15 percent already, then the warehouses wouldn’t have built there, CVS could have built there. You’d have lost three businesses,” he said.

Chastidy Piper, of the South Alabama Regional Planning Commission (SARPC), who developed the ordinance, said the provision was an attempt to avoid underuse of trees, shrubs and the like.

“We are just trying to add greenery,” she said. “We want to improve the look of that gateway (State Route 59). At the same time, we don’t want to hinder business.”

Mitchell said he wasn’t against landscaping requirements, but he would like to see the issue revisited before the ordinance is passed.

“If the intent is to see more landscaping, there’s got to be some compromise,” he said.

Tillery suggested Piper obtain a picture or site plan that would illustrate a 15 to 20 percent landscaped lot. Piper said she would do so, and agreed to conduct more research.

“I talked with other cities and counties,” she said. “I will go back and look at information from the region again.”

Another concern Mitchell expressed was in response to section 9.2.3.4, regarding parking spaces, particularly as it related to marinas.

The ordinance as it stands requires two parking spaces per berth. Mitchell said that, too, was exorbitant and unnecessary.

“You can take that out because it only applies to the city limits. And where in the Bay Minette do we have a marina?” he asked.

Piper said the article had been included in order to provide for any future annexations. Tillery agreed the line could be removed.

“We might as well take it out, because we can always add it later,” she said.

Given those expressed concerns, and others raised during the meeting, Tillery suggested the commission schedule another meeting before the public hearing to make sure the ordinance was ready.