The final settlement of a lawsuit between the Alabama Department of Transportation and Coastal Resort Properties over land the state claimed for the new bridge project has some Geno Road residents concerned.

At the conclusion of the lawsuit, ALDOT deemed the lot, or property, under the bridge could not be accessed for right of way. Coastal Resort Properties is planning a subdivision at the end of Geno Road on about 24 acres with 46 single-family homes with an accompanying 46-slip marina.

With that access denied, the focus turned to both the paved part and dirt part of Geno Road to serve as access to the new development.

"We have had discussions with ALDOT about the possibility of accessing this proposed subdivision through the right-of-way that was acquired for the new bridge," Gulf Shores City Administrator Jon Walker said. "We have been informed that this property was acquired as 'denied access' right-of-way with no intent to provide access from adjoining properties."

Resident Scooter Fredrickson was more direct.

"This has turned into a pissing contest between ALDOT and Coastal Resort Properties, and it's threatening the sanctity of our quiet neighborhood," Fredrickson said.

Fredrickson and some of his neighbors in the Geno Road neighborhood said they don't mind if Coastal Resort Properties wants to build the houses. But he and his neighbors don't want their road to provide access to the project and the traffic it will create during construction and after its completed.

"Geno Road is inadequate now," resident Dennis Hutcheson said. "And, we're fine with it the way it is. We want them to go under the bridge instead of using Geno. We have a private neighborhood, and they are going to take it away and give it to some new people on the water. They are going to put up a gate and we can't go in there, but they'll drive through our neighborhood every day. We're a small dead-end community that they are trying to make a through community."

When the plan was first revealed, the access was going to be on a road under the new bridge once it's completed.

"It's already built," Fredrickson said of the road. "It was going to be like the road under the Beach Express bridge in the original design. All of the original drawings showed that. They said in 2019 they would not use Geno Road and they were going this way. They said it right up until now, and now it's changed."

Fredrickson said city officials, Mayor Robert Craft and Mayor Pro Tem Philip Harris told him and other neighbors they would do their best to prevent Geno from being the access road to the new project.

"We went and had a meeting with them, and they were like, 'We hate it for you, but there's nothing we can do about it,'" Fredrickson said. "None of us are against The Cove subdivision. We want them to build it. We just don't want them to use ingress and egress by us because we cannot handle another 100 to 120 cars a day on that road."

His address is on Coral Circle east of Geno, but the back of his lot abuts the dirt road terminus of Geno Road with the new project directly south of his lot.

Walker, the city administrator, said it's not a done deal that Geno will be used but that it is part of Coastal Resort Properties' proposal for the development.

"There is no approved plan for the development at this time," Walker said. "The current proposal utilizes Geno Road as the roadway access for the proposed development."

The paved part of Geno Road ends at Peed Place, and the rest of it up to the Coastal Resort property is dirt road and not part of the public right of way, Fredrickson said. While most of the lots in the subdivision are in Gulf Shores, some are still in the county and the Geno Road right of way is still owned by the county. On the dirt portion of the road are signs saying "Private Drive," "No Trespassing" and "No Turnaround."

"The dirt portion has never clearly been turned over to the county," Fredrickson said. "There are some title issues."

Gulf Shores City Council was scheduled to give the mayor authorization to negotiate with the county to take over the paved portion of Geno Road at their Oct. 28 meeting, but that item was pulled. About 40 people from the neighborhood showed up.

"All of a sudden in the 11th hour and they are about to vote and give the mayor authorization, and they canceled all this," Fredrickson said. "I think they had found out they cannot prove clear title to (the dirt portion). Even the county sent us an email from one of their title researchers, and she said we cannot give clear right of way. It'll have to be settled in court."

Walker said Geno Road is under county maintenance and that "concerns about ownership of the right-of-way have been brought up and need to be addressed."

Fredrickson and some neighbors forwarded 75 letters against having Geno Road as access to the new project, sharing them with city council, county commission, state Sen. Chris Elliott (R-District 32), state Rep. Frances Holk-Jones (R-District 95) and Gov. Kay Ivey.