FAIRHOPE, Ala. — Although the Planning and Zoning Commission gave the green light last month for plans to build an apartment complex in an area subject to flooding and approved a “sand chimney” method for handling drainage caused by the project, the developer’s attorney sent a letter to the city that resulted in the commission going into executive session Monday night to discuss the likelihood of a possible lawsuit.

“At the Sept. 8 meeting of the (commission), the (commission) considered a request for approval of Ansley Landing, a 56-unit multi-occupancy project,” wrote Chris Gill, the commission’s attorney, in a letter he presented at the Oct. 5 commission meeting. “As you will recall, this matter was approved per the staff recommendation, but with an additional increase in the setbacks applicable to this project of 35 feet all the way around the property.”

Gill’s letter was required by the Alabama Open Meetings Act, with a statement by a licensed attorney that such a closed executive session was warranted. After the presentation of the letter, a roll call vote of the commission followed, which voted unanimously to meet in private to discuss the matter.

“Following the (Sept. 8 meeting), I received a letter dated (Sept. 15) from (an attorney) who represents Mr. Bowman,” Gill wrote in the letter he presented at the Monday meeting. “The letter from (the attorney) indicates that Mr. Bowman is clearly assessing his legal options with respect to the imposition of the 35-foot setback applicable to the property.”

At the Sept. 8 meeting, the commission heard from about 12 residents who live or own property close the proposed project at Gayfer Avenue Extension and Bishop Road, all of whom objected to the project, most alleging that the existing drainage problems would be exacerbated by the new development.

The commission also heard from Richard Johnson, a senior engineer with the Baldwin County Highway Department, who said he had studied the issue and believed that the use of sand chimneys was an acceptable approach to handle drainage problems at the site.

The commission voted in favor of the project with a number of conditions recommended by the planning staff, as well as the 35-foot setback. Dick Charles, commission vice chairman, and Fran Faust Slade voted against the project, with the other seven members voting in favor of it.

The commission returned from executive session Monday night but took no formal action, according to city staff.

In other business, the commission:

• Heard a request for informal review of a two-lot subdivision called Strayhorn Place at 101 N. Ingleside Ave. For the property to be subdivided, the commission would have a to grant a waiver from subdivision regulations regarding minimum area and dimensional requirements, according to a planning department staff report.

“(Granting a waiver in this case) would set a precedent,” Planning Director Jonathan Smith told the commission. “We do have many people around town that have this similar situation.”

The commission took no action other than making several recommendations to Harriett Strayhorn, who presented the request Monday, which included that if she continued with a formal request to subdivide the property, she provide evidence that her neighbors did not object to the subdivision.

• Approved an inquiry from Smith, regarding whether the commission would like to have a presentation on sand chimneys and whether the commission would like to consider adopting regulations that would limit their use in any revision of the city’s subdivision regulations. The commission approved the planning department to obtain an expert or experts to make such a presentation to include documentary information concerning that method of handling drainage problems.

Gill recommended that a local engineering firm, Hutchinson Moore and Rauch, not be used as one of these experts, stating that the company “represents a lot of developers and it could be seen, at least in the public’s eye, as a conflict of interest.”

Mayor Tim Kant, who is a member of the commission initially voted against the Ansley Landing project at the Sept. 8 meeting, raised questions about the sand chimney method regarding its impact on local drinking water supplies. He said the method does not remove potential contaminants from automobiles and other sources that could enter the ground through the sand chimney.

“They’re not taking any of that out,” Kant said. “I doubt they’re going to get a permit (from the state environmental agency) because they’re so close to our (water) wells. The only (drinking water) source we have is in the ground.”

• Heard a report from planning staff about plans for proposed revisions of the city’s subdivision regulations in coordination with Baldwin County regulations.