Northport Council Approves University Beach Rezoning Request

NORTHPORT, AL — The Northport City Council on Monday voted 3-2 to approve a rezoning request for the controversial University Beach resort project.

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District 4 Councilwoman Jamie Dykes and District 5 Councilman Anwar Aiken voted against the measure, which creates a special district for a mixed-use residential and commercial development.

As Patch previously reported, the Northport Planning & Zoning Commission was split 3-3 in April when the rezoning request was given an unfavorable recommendation to the City Council for the creation of the special district.

When the project was first announced, the Texas-based developers said they expected it to attract $350 million in outside investment and immediately drew pushback from the community after the City Council entered a partnership agreement Donahue and developer John Hughes.

ALSO READ: Northport Appoints University Beach Developer To Visit Tuscaloosa Board

The City Council chamber was standing-room only as University Beach managing member and development partner Kent Donahue once again went over a presentation of the sprawling project.

Click here to watch the full University Beach presentation video.

Donahue said the request called for modifying the previous commercial zoning for the 76-acre property to become a special district, which would allow the developers to move forward with a mixed-use resort development that also has a major residential component.

Donahue again touted specific amenities of the development, pointing out that it would have the "biggest lazy river in the southeast," along with a 30,000-square-foot conference center, an event island big enough to host a 300-person wedding, a 2,000-seat concert venue and other offerings.

Perhaps the most illuminating update provided by the Texas-based developer came when he went over numbers from an updated feasibility study — numbers that some in attendance Tuesday night argued they had never seen.

Indeed, the developer's projections for the first year of operations anticipates 273,150 in-state visitors and 333,850 from out-of-state. University Beach would also created 671 jobs around this time, with that number expected to grow slightly over time.

Sales tax revenue predictions were also provided, with the developers saying the City of Northport would generate $61 million over the first 10 years, while Tuscaloosa County would generate $51,679,000. This is aligned with the terms of the 30-year partnership agreement that requires Northport to provide up to $61 million in sales tax revenue to the developer.

Over the 30-year term of the partnership agreement between University Beach developers and Northport City Hall, the project is expected to generate a staggering $254,408,000 in sales tax revenue.

These numbers were met with vocal skepticism from those crowded into the City Council chamber and Donahue was the only person to speak in support of the project during the public hearing as several Northport residents aired their grievances ahead of the council vote.

Northport resident Tuffy Holland has been one of the most outspoken opponents of the project and has even sued the city over access to certain University Beach records.

Holland pointed out that the city has already committed $22.65 million for the development — money that city leaders have said will primarily be used for the initial infrastructure improvements in the area of Harper Road.

Holland insisted these funds would be better spent on essential services like public safety as opposed to being used to finance a "high-risk tourist attraction."

"Even if built, there's no guarantee this project will succeed," he said. "The developers behind the project have no verifiable history of completing a project on this scale."

Holland then implored the council to table the rezoning request due to "deadlines being missed and wholesale changes being made" to the project's plans.

"I argue that Northport should pursue growth in line with its size," he said. "Let's end this tonight."

Other concerns presented during the public hearing focused on potential noise issues from the proposed concert venue, flooding concerns, filling the hundreds of jobs once the development opens and the developer's unwillingness to table the rezoning request when it was proposed during its public hearing with the Northport Planning & Zoning Commission.

"Something is going on if [Donahue] won't consider an extension," Northport resident Tim Beasley said to the council. "All of this could have been avoided to start with had the citizens of Northport been allowed to vote on it."

Gambling is another concern that's loomed over the project since it was first announced, with some worried University Beach could be home to a new casino if the state legislature legalizes casino gambling.

"No casinos," Donahue told the council after the question was raised. "I'm not a casino guy. We don't have enough land for a casino."

Holland returned to the podium for a second time as the public hearing came to a close and again urged the City Council to table the request and take a closer look at the feasibility study.

"You have this opportunity — shelve this vote," he said. "Go back and read [the feasibility study], get with your people and see how it fits in. You have the opportunity to avoid a possible bullet right now."

The motion to approve the rezoning request was made by District 3 Councilman Karl Wiggins and seconded by District 2's Woodrow Washington III.

Dykes asked if the council could table to measure and City Administrator Glenda Webb explained that while is was a legal possibility, a motion had already been made and to do so would require a rescission of the motion.

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