Baykeeper Presents Policy Blueprint In Fairhope

Mobile Baykeeper unveiled a proposal for how to minimize its impact on watersheds at a recent town hall session in Fairhope attended by more than 100 people, AL.com reported. It presented its “Smart Growth” policy blueprint, which Executive Director William Strickland said grew out of a series of listening sessions and other efforts to learn residents’ top concerns about the impacts of unplanned growth. The top five are construction runoff damaging waterways, sewage infrastructure failing and not always accurately reported, large developments that are not getting enough scrutiny, worsening flooding that is getting worse, and a desire for residents to be involved and heard earlier in the decision process on issues. Strickland said that because growth tends to happen on the fringes of cities, outside those cities’ jurisdictions, it falls to the county to deal with the issue. Consequently, most of the points in Mobile Baykeeper’s plan call for county action. Strickland called upon attendees to submit a letter to their county commissioners urging them to consider Baykeeper’s recommendations.