City of Mobile and Mobile City Planning Commission v. Grizzard, [Ms. 2110169, Oct. 12, 2012] __ So. 3d __(Ala. Civ. App. 2012). Roland Francis Properties, LLC ("RFP") applied to the Mobile City Planning Commission for approval of a planned unit development ("PUD") to build an apartment complex in Mobile. The commission granted the request and the City Council upheld that action. Two neighboring property owners had objected, and they filed an action in circuit court requesting injunctive relief. The circuit court granted that injunctive relief, holding that the planned development violated a provision of the Mobile Municipal Code, which required access streets to be "adequate to meet the demands of the PUD." The City argued that it frequently allowed development conditioned upon later improvements, relying on a provision that allows the Planning Commission to approve a development plan "with modifications and/or conditions." The City argued that the developer could reasonably be allowed to improve the access street contemporaneously with developing the apartment complex, but the objectors argued that the prerequisites must be met "prior to approval," quoting an opinion from the Supreme Court. The Court of Civil Appeals holds that the objectors quoted that provision out of context, that the municipal code provision allowing approval with conditions "broadens rather than limits the authority of the Commission," and that the circuit court erred in granting the injunction.
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