Northport Council Moves Forward On Contentious Townhome Development

NORTHPORT, AL — The Northport City Council voted 3-2 to approve a conditional use request for a contentious townhome development during its regular meeting on Monday, which follows months of pushback from residents of the nearby Northwood Lake subdivision.

Council President Pro Tem and District 3's John Hinton, who represents the district, was one of the two votes against the development, citing impact to traffic and the wetlands in the area. He was joined in his opposition by District 4 Councilwoman Jamie Dykes, who also mentioned the unfavorable recommendation given to the development by the city's Planning and Zoning Commission.

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Builder's Group Development LLC saw the approval of its request for a conditional use of a property for a "performance residential development" consisting of 5.42 acres south of Clearlake Street and west of Resource Lane.

Holding up a Holy Bible following the public hearing portion of the measure being introduced, which lasted more than an hour and a half, Hogg quoted from the holy book about keeping to one's word, I.E. sworn oath of office. Citing the Book of Numbers, he was met with groans from the lobby of a crowded City Hall just prior to revealing his support of the conditional use request.

Hogg then capped off his point by arguing that there was no point in having city ordinances on the books if the city does not follow them as they are written when approaching different developments.

"We have a developer that's willing to work with people that want to work and I think we have people that don't want to work," Council President Jeff Hogg said of the debate and the opposition to the project.

Northport Mayor Bobby Herndon also said the conditional use approval "was not a building permit," as he mentioned the developer will ultimately have to return to the Council for such a request.

The project — dubbed The Towns at Clearlake — will consist of 51 units and 103 bedrooms total. The homes, one representative said, will range in price from the high $100,000 range to $250,000.

The residential development was met with substantial opposition from Northwood Lake residents, who again showed out in force Monday night to express their disapproval of the proposed subdivision.

The development narrowly failed approval from the city's Planning & Zoning Commission back in December, but went on for consideration by the full City Council with an unfavorable recommendation from the advisory board.

Opposition for the project mainly focused on the usual topics for longtime residents, such as traffic and connectivity concerns, stormwater infrastructure, danger to wildlife, current soil conditions, dam safety, impact to property lines and more.

Concerns over dam stability were raised by one resident speaking during the public hearing, who cited recent breaches of the private lake's dam. With more traffic going over the dam in the event the development is approved, this prompted concerns that it would further exacerbate the wear and tear on the "low-hazard" dam.

City Attorney Ron Davis explained that the city has no legal liability for the dam or the lake, both of which are privately owned by the Home Owners Association for the nearby neighborhood.

While the city does have the authority to maintain its right-of-way going over the dam, the rest of the maintenance falls on the HOA.

The timetable for construction of the project is not clear at this time.

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