FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Although the first meeting of the new Fairhope Environmental Advisory Board waded into controversial waters this week, it caused few ripples among the public.

The newly reorganized citizen advisory committee’s first guest speaker addressed an almost empty City Council chambers.

“I really don’t know the best way to get the public interested in these issues,” said Jim Horner, the group’s new chairman. “But we will be upgrading our Web site and thinking about ways to get the word out.”

County government plans to enact zoning regulations in currently unzoned, unincorporated areas in Baldwin County was the topic of guest speaker Wayne Dyess, director of the county’s planning and zoning department.

“We don’t have some of the most basic land-use controls like other states in the Southeast,” Dyess said Wednesday. “We feel this is a long-needed measure.”

The goal of the proposal is to decrease damage from flooding in the county, he said.

The issue has caused a flood of controversy in Bay Minette and given birth to at least one organization, the Baldwin County Property Owners Alliance, to oppose the plans. Another new group, the Friends of Baldwin County, has stated that they will be supporting it.

Dyess was invited to the meeting to help educate the newly appointed citizen advisory committee about the issue, said Horner, who was appointed to the group with six other members at the Nov. 8 City Council meeting.

“We were getting background on this subject for our due diligence like we plan to do for other important environmental issues facing the area,” Horner said. “I hope we can establish enough credibility for the City Council to take our advice seriously.”

The new members and and the terms they will serve are:

For two years: Jim Horner (chair), Lisa Adams (vice chair), Gary Gover, Ron Heveran; and for one year: Jeanine Normand, Garland Sims and Harry Phillips. Kim Burmeister, environmental officer for planning department serves as secretary for the group. City Council members who serve as liaisons to group for the council are Council Chairman Bob Gentle and Councilwoman Debbie Quinn, who helped start the group in 2001.

Although the first official meeting of the group did not make a large splash, the group has nevertheless garnered some interest from one new elected official.

Trip Pittman, who was elected state senator for the area in a special election last month, attended the group’s organizational October meeting, one week before the election. He spoke positively about the importance of environmental protection for economic growth and quality of life in the county.

The group took the opportunity to invite him to a meeting about stormwater run-off legislation the following week, two days after the election. Pittman said he would try and make the meeting if he was elected.

“Yes, he was at the meeting,” Horner said.

Horner said the environmental advisory group is currently developing a list of 10 priority items and now would be a good time for interested members of the public to get involved.

The group’s meetings are open to the public. The next meeting is 9 a.m., Dec. 12, at City Hall.

For more information on the board, visit the city Web site: www.cofairhope.com.