FAIRHOPE — The Fairhope Planning Commission has officially adopted the city's resolution last week to temporary halt certain residential multiple occupancy projects and subdivisions within city limits.

Fairhope, along with the rest of Baldwin County, has grown rapidly over the past several years, and in order to address the growth and to work on necessary infrastructure upgrades to accommodate the booming population, the City of Fairhope will halt any new specified development applications for at least the next nine months through November. City council approved the measure last month, and now the planning commission follows suit.

During the nine-month moratorium, certain residential projects will be paused, specifically multiple occupancy project applications that contain three or more residential units and subdivision applications containing three or more residential lots smaller than 10,500 square feet per lot. City officials have also stated they are looking into rules and regulations that could propose a permanent cap on multi-unit housing.

The nine-month pause will only apply to future applications and will not affect development applications that have already been submitted to the city. Fairhope officials say they hope the pause will give them the time and an opportunity review the city's zoning code and subdivision guidelines as well as implement improvements to the city's infrastructure to meet the city's needs and demands.

Fairhope has plans for improvements to its water and sewer services that this resolution would help in easing the hardship on resources during the span the pause is in effect, giving them time to work on upgrades. Councilman Jack Burrell has previously said the city hopes to increase its water capacity up to 30-40% over the next couple of years.

This isn't the first time Fairhope has issued a pause on residential projects. With the city's growth, Fairhope has issued a few building moratoriums over the years, with most recent one being in December 2021, which lasted a year.