Dauphin Island Times

Here is more information on the Town of Dauphin Island public meeting tonight. The purpose of the meeting is to review and solicit comment on long range planning work being done on behalf of the town. Last fall the town let a contract totaling $88,000 to Five E's Unlimited to create a long range plan for the Town of Dauphin Island.

This is a debate about the future of Dauphin Island. If you're in the neighborhood you'll definitely want to attend.

Comments sought on Dauphin Island

Dauphin Island officials will seek feedback from town residents tonight as they begin to develop a new comprehensive plan for managing growth.

"Everything's on the table," said Mayor Jeff Collier. That includes the town's zoning and the popular requirement restricting building heights to 75 feet, he said.

Perhaps most importantly, the town must examine its vulnerability to hurricanes, he said. In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina ripped a mile-wide breach just a few hundred yards west of the island's westernmost houses, isolating the island's largest privately owned tract by separating it from everything else.

Collier said it's conceivable that a future hurricane could cut a breach through a developed portion of the island, wiping out houses and shearing profitable rental property from roads, water, sewer and power.

"We need to be prepared if we're going to continue to exist as a community after an event like that," Collier said.

Tonight's meeting is set to begin at 7 at the Dauphin Island Chamber of Commerce, 401 Levente St.

Late last year, the town hired Seattle-based Five E's Unlimited to create the new comprehensive plan for $88,000, Collier said.

"We need to hear from everyone on the island," Collier said. "We want input on the front end, not criticism after" the plan is complete, he said.

For more information about tonight's meeting, contact Nannette Davidson at Town Hall, 861-5525 ext. 25.