SPANISH FORT — The Spanish Fort Planning Commission has a lot on their hands for the near future.

During a work session on Monday, the commission looked at several agenda items that include proposals for several new businesses and structures. These include applications for site and land approvals for a new convenience store, a grocery/retail area and two new hotels. Some of the representatives of the developers were present to discuss their plans.

Not a lot of progress was made, however, as there is still work that needs to be done before finals recommendations can be made. For the convenience store, the proposal likely will not be ready for the next planning commission meeting as there are a few concerns the commission brought up, such as traffic, including trucks being able to enter and exit the property properly.

The grocery store project is described as an "Eastern European grocery store" by a representative of the developer who also mentioned they have talked to several businesses that showed interest in opening up shop in the retail space. They said they want to work with the planning commission in hopes of addressing their comments and to help bring this project to life in order to bring new businesses and potential jobs to the area.

Proposals featuring hotels from both Hilton and Marriot were also discussed. There were discussions about parking spaces for the Hilton, and the commission members said they think everything else is fine. However, for the Marriot, there are some developmental concerns that there might not be enough space to accommodate the hotel's requirements. It is not known exactly how the developer will address this before the next planning commission meeting.

Spanish Fort's next regular planning commission meeting will be on March 10 at 6 p.m.