What is an overlay and where does it apply?

An overlay is a specially defined area that consists of specific parcels carrying with them certain requirements in addition to, or in place of, current City of Mobile zoning regulations. The City has a number of other overlay zones for things like historic preservation and business improvement. It is very important to understand that the proposed overlay does not apply City wide or even to the majority of the area within Spring Hill.

For the Village of Spring Hill, the proposed overlay---officially called the "Traditional Center District Overlay"---applies to three limited areas at the intersections of Old Shell Road and McGregor Avenue, Bit & Spur and Old Shell Road, and Museum Drive and McGregor Avenue. The exact parcels that are covered are shown on a "regulating plan," basically a set of maps, that are included in the zoning ordinance. Reduced size copies are shown below:

Overall Regulating Plan for the TCDO:

Old Shell & McGregor:

Bit and Spur & Old Shell:

Museum Drive & McGregor:

When reviewing these maps it becomes clear that there are three different colors; each indicates a different zone with different requirements (discussed in other posts). The TCDO has three zones to correspond to the level of "main street" feel or urban-ness.

The darkest shade of purple indicates the "Village Center" type, the middle shade represents "Neighborhood Center," and the lighter shade is "Neighborhood General." In terms of the conceptual drawings shown in The Blueprint for Spring Hill, the community's master plan, these roughly translate into the Old Shell and McGregor intersection, Bit & Spur and Old Shell intersection, and Museum Drive neighborhood, respectively.

What you also see on these maps are two types of road frontage indicated: primary and secondary. Each has its own requirements as defined in the ordinances. There are also planned roads (Rights of Way, or R.O.W.) that match those of the Blueprint.