Northport P&Z Split On Latest University Beach Zoning Request

NORTHPORT, AL — The Northport Planning & Zoning Commission was split 3-3 on Tuesday when they considered giving a favorable recommendation to the City Council for the creation of a Special District for the controversial University Beach development.

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Commissioners Brian Chandler, Kevin Turner and David Kemp voted against the conditional rezoning proposal, while Roland Lewis, District 3 Councilman Karl Wiggins and Clay Randolph voted for the favorable recommendation.

The measure will now go to the City Council for consideration without a favorable recommendation.

During a standing-room only meeting in City Hall that lasted almost three hours, the council chambers were filled to capacity — almost exclusively with residents opposed to the development who have raised questions ever since the project agreement was first announced early last year.

No one spoke out in support of the University Beach project during the public hearing portion of the meeting.

"This is not a destination city," Northport resident Bart Harper, who lives on the very edge of the project, said before calling on city officials to put the University Beach project on the municipal election ballot in August.

As Patch previously reported, developers from McKinney, Texas, entered into a partnership agreement with the Northport City Council to move forward on a massive lagoon-style resort that developers say would bring in $350 million in private investment to the area.

Developer Kent Donahue was also in attendance and gave a presentation on the proposed zoning changes, which included a rendering video of the development.

Click here to watch the new video on the University Beach website.

The city has already committed $20 million for the project, which will be used primarily for infrastructure work that supporters in City Hall say needs to be done anyways, regardless of the University Beach project.

Developers acquired the land for $5.4 million after borrowing $4.47 million from Texas-based PBREI, LLC, and now must secure $63 million in investment for the first phase of the project to meet the terms of the public-private partnership agreement.

"We did have to pivot and had to eat some design costs but I think at the end of the day it was meant to be," Donahue said when asked what had changed from the last time city officials heard the University Beach presentation. This included reorienting the proposed concert venue, moving the water park from the south side of the property and adding a peninsula for the phase one hotel.

The Special District Plan reviewed by the Planning and Zoning Commission, which will now go to the full City Council for consideration, would rezone 76.2 acres north of McFarland Boulevard and east of Harper Road.

If approved by the Council in the coming weeks, the rezoning from a commercial property to a Special District would consist of two distinct "Sub-Districts" — The University Beach Residential District and the University Beach Entertainment District.

Here's a map of the proposed layout, with the residential district in yellow and the entertainment district in red.

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

As part of the residential district, the developer is proposing building a maximum of 470 residential units, with a minimum of 50 being single-family, detached houses.

Donahue said 19 of the homes would be on beachfront property, with the properties starting at around $700,000 and some exceeding $1 million. The residential component is part of the second phase of the project, Donahue pointed out.

The creation of this residential sub-district would also allow the developers to build up to 420 multifamily residential units, with the closest similar development in size and scale being the 300+ unit development in Tuscaloosa known as The Lofts.

Here's a look at the zoning changes requested by the developer ...

The mixed-use development would also include an entertainment district that aims to establish the city as a regional destination. This sub-district would feature a 150-key hotel by a major brand, a 2,000-seat concert venue, a 10,000-square-foot beach club, restaurants, retail space, a boardwalk and other attractions.

Along with the proposed hotel, developers have also set aside 30,000 square feet for a two-story conference center and also raised the possibility of an additional hotel in the second phase of the project.

When asked about the incorporation of the hotel to be constructed in phase one, Donahue said it would be similar to one at the Evermore Resort adjacent to Walk Disney World in Orlando.

Clear Creek Colony resident Danny Higdon, who is running for the District 5 seat on the Northport City School, pointed out that there were still numerous questions that had not been answered, such as if a traffic signal would be installed on Highway 82, along with concerns about public safety.

"How will the fire trucks get down these areas, especially with these limited streets you're talking about?" Higdon asked. "And how are the large trucks for delivery going to park with limited parking and spaces, and condensed street width?"

Higdon then mentioned the 2,000-seat concert venue.

"There's only 1,500 public parking spots, so where are those people going to go and how are they going to get out?" he asked the Commission. "I just feel like a lot of questions haven't been answered and I feel we're risking public safety by chasing a dollar that might not be there."

Donahue responded by saying if parking does become an issue, those operating the resort would have the ability to do structured parking in some of those lots while also teasing the possibility of a parking deck — a hypothetical that prompted jeers from those in the audience.

ALSO READ: Northport's Higdon Enters District 5 Council Race On Eve Of Retirement From TCSS

For the water park component of the development, Donahue said plans called for the largest lazy river in the region.

And as he went down the long list of planned amenities, those in attendance could be heard laughing at one point after he mentioned the possibility of a "Vegas-style pool" when he went over the rendering video. One resident also challenged the Texas-based developer to show one project that he had shepherded to completion.

Commissioner David Kemp received cheers from the audience, too, when he brought up the list of allowable offerings that could go on the property if the Council approves the rezoning to a Special District — something the Commission was informed would be out of their control if the Council approves the re-zoning. This included self-storage units and a fully-enclosed commercial school, among other types of operations not directly related to the resort concept.

He also went on to mention how the development would compliment the city's $27 million youth sports tournament complex, which is set to open later this year. Donahue later mentioned that the development seeks to attract patrons from the 26 million people living within 200 miles of the city, while also capitalizing on the University of Alabama.

ALSO READ: Northport's $27M River Run Park Set To Open In August

"Ballfields are awesome but they're extremely competitive," Donahue said. "They need another hook to get them to those regional tournaments. This is that hook."

The developers say the 10-acre lagoon edge is intended to tie the entire district together with trails and activities that provide interaction with the large, man-made body of water.

The proposed zoning ordinance would require that special districts established by the city must contain 20% usable open space for active and passive recreation, with developers for University Beach saying it will feature roughly 30% open space.

What's more, "parks and/or plazas" will be provided in both sub-districts to help bring the presence of the lagoon and open space deep into the development, while private beaches will be accessible for residents and hotel guests.

The plans also said daily fees for public beaches would be provided.

Northport resident Tuffy Holland has been an outspoken critic of the project since the news first broke last year and said on Tuesday that the presentation showed little had changed.

"[Donahue] has loaded you down with a lot of different information," he said. "My suggestion to you is why don't you just table this? Go back, talk about it, ask him questions. Whatever it takes but table this so you know exactly what you're going to vote on. ... My concern is what was shown was highly aspirational. I would like to see from the developer something similar he has built."

Donahue then said he would not agree to tabling the measure when asked by Commission Chair Kevin Turner.

"If folks don't want it, they just don't want it," he said. "At the end of the day, I think they will be proud of what we're going to do."

The first reading of the proposed zoning ordinance could be some time in May at the earliest, due to advertising requirements.

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