The Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Commission tabled two subdivisions and approved a third in Planning District 14, despite a 180-day moratorium on new development following a June zoning referendum.

The subdivisions were all submitted to the Baldwin County Planning and Zoning Department ahead of the moratorium, which allowed the commission to act on Tealwood Estates and consider Highlands at Fish River and Elizabeth Gardens.

The commission allowed for a change to Tealwood Estates, a massive subdivision on the river, that would slow the pace of construction. And it tabled Highlands at Fish River, a 138-lot subdivision, and Elizabeth Gardens, a 260-lot subdivision, until September. The latter two subdivisions are within a quarter mile of each other, rapidly increasing the population in an already fast-growing area.

Highlands at Fish River and Elizabeth Gardens were submitted to the county at the same time, and thus their applications did not consider the other subdivision. As a result, the two developers were required to re-submit traffic studies to the department.

In the updated traffic study for Highlands, prepared by consulting firm HSA Columbia, the firm used an 8.1% growth rate for the area. Buford King, deputy director of the planning and zoning department, noted that the Eastern Shore Metropolitan Planning Organization typically uses a 2.6% growth rate.