ORANGE BEACH, Ala. — The Orange Beach City Council continued conversations about a law that would establish a minimum square footage for residential buildings last week at its regular meeting.

According to Mayor Tony Kennon, the law is meant to “respect neighbors” and “protect property value.”

Residents chimed in with varying viewpoints during an hour-long discussion; the council postponed a final decision for at least a few weeks after hearing suggestions from attending residents.

Letter of the Law

The ordinance amendment would apply to Section 4.07 of the Code of Ordinances, which currently only addresses minimum and maximum requirements for commercial and industrial buildings.

“It is silent in regards to minimum requirements for residential dwellings,” city planner Griffin Powell. “If we look at the International Residential Code, which we have done in the past, for a two-room residential dwelling, it can have a gross floor area of a little under 200 square feet.”

In the proposed ordinance, single family residences in zone RS1, which averages 9,000 square feet per lot, would require a minimum footprint of 1,025 square feet on the “first habitable floor.”

In zones RS2 and RS3, which average 5,000-square-foot lots, single family residences would be required to have a minimum footprint of 875 square feet.

“In cases with duplexes it would be 875 square feet, per unit. In multifamily homes, that’s three units per building, each unit would have a 500-square-foot minimum,” Powell said. “With hotels and motels, it would be 300 square feet per lodging room.”

The square footage has to apply to “living area,” which does not include screened porches, basements, or garages. The first habitable floor the story closest to the ground, as homes in Orange Beach don’t typically have basements, Powell said.

Respecting neighbors

Council members as well as locals present counterpoints to the proposed ordinance amid the public hearing last Tuesday.

“Is there a reason we can’t do it per lot size instead of by zoning?” Councilman Brett Holk asked, citing some lots in those zones vary from the average lot size.

“This community was founded as a fishing community, and you have small homes and small cottages. Some people continue to live in a small homes and are happy,” Councilwoman Pattisue Simpson said, also pointing out that some residents may want to “split” their floor plan for more buffer between their neighbors.

“I have an issue with having an ordinance in place in the community that would dictate to a homeowner, to a property owner what they could or should not build on that property,” Simpson said.

Simpson also pointed out that some homeowners may not be able to afford a larger home, but plan to build on later.

“This ordinance would take so much away from a property owner,” Simpson said.

Local resident Cecil Young agreed, advocating for a minimum requirement closer to 750 square feet.

“Everybody who comes to this city doesn’t have money,” he said, after recounting his own building story. “We’ve got to think of young people. We want young people to come to our city.”

Other residents recommended requiring a certain percentage of the floor plan be dedicated to the lowest story, if requiring an overall square footage of 1,025.

According to the planning commission, under the proposed ordinances, homeowners can obtain a variance due to hardship or “odd lot shape.”

Simpson said she didn’t understand the point of the ordinance if a homeowner could obtain a variance.

According to Kennon, the ordinance would institute some standards in residential areas in Orange Beach. It would also prevent property owners from building small boathouses in neighborhoods.

“I may be wrong, but I don’t know many cities anywhere that allow a 400-square-foot house inside their city limits,” Kennon said. “We don’t have folks lined up to build 400-square-foot homes. We have folks lined up to build maybe 400-square-foot fishing camps where they can park their boat and all their stuff and it ending up as a junkyard and abusing the neighbors on both sides.”

Kennon and the Planning Commission specifically referenced a boathouse on Marina Road with a modest primary building in front of a “million-dollar dock.”

A friend of the owner of the property spoke out, saying he was disappointed it was used as an example when the owner, a doctor, pumps funds into Orange Beach’s local economy every year.

Elizabeth Lehman, an Orange Beach homeowner, said families with children cannot live in 875 square feet. Standards are not something to discourage, she said.

“I don’t see anything wrong or shameful or discriminatory against any one particular group in expecting to have standards,” she said.

“I elected these people,” Lehman said after the meeting. “I expect them to lead, and to make good decisions.”

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