The Mobile Planning Commission on Sept. 18 approved a major modification to a planned unit development at 607 and 800 West I‑65 Service Road South that would allow shared access and shared parking across three lots and the demolition of existing hotels to make way for a proposed multifamily development. The applicant told the commission the number of units has been reduced from about 240 to 217.

The change matters because it alters an existing PUD approval for three separate lots in the northwest quadrant of Airport Boulevard and I‑65, including an older Best Western Plus on the northern parcel and two aging hotels on the middle and southern parcels. The commission’s approval removed condition No. 9 from the staff conditions and amended condition No. 8 to reflect a reduction in required frontage landscape area from roughly 25,000 square feet to about 5,000 square feet.

During the public hearing, applicant representative Jay Watkins of Maynard Nexon said the central and southern hotels would be demolished and replaced with a multi‑building apartment complex and asked the commission for flexibility to substitute a playground for the site plan’s labeled pet park. Staff confirmed the landscaping shortfall appears in the staff report and noted that, because this is a site‑plan specific PUD modification, the commission may choose to adopt the submitted landscape plan.

Commissioners and staff raised questions about fire access. A staff speaker noted the fire department’s comment that the current design does “not meet adopted fire access” standards and that an emergency‑access‑only drive may be required by the fire ordinance rather than the Unified Development Code. The applicant said they would comply with any fire‑department requirements and, if necessary, would modify the site plan — including reinstating a previously shown gated emergency access with a Knox box — to meet those requirements.

The commission’s deliberation focused on whether the reduced frontage landscaping should be allowed under the PUD modification. Staff said approving the modification would require revising condition No. 8 to reflect the reduced landscaping and removing condition No. 9. A commissioner moved to approve staff recommendations with findings A through H, removing condition No. 9 and amending condition No. 8 to change the landscape square footage from 25,000 to 5,000; the motion passed.

No members of the public spoke for or against the application during the public hearing. The approval directs staff to implement the amended conditions during permitting; the applicant will still need to address any outstanding fire‑access requirements identified by the Fire Department before permits are issued.

The commission’s action applies only to the PUD modification on the three lots; any future changes to unit counts, site layout, or the addition of uses beyond the approved site plan would require further review and, if necessary, a new application to the commission or to the City Council.

Details that remain to be completed include final resolution of fire‑department access requirements and any necessary site‑plan adjustments to accommodate a second, emergency access point if required. The applicant and staff said they will work together to ensure compliance during permitting.