Daphne and Montrose bluff and bay-front planning

Get to know your waterfront

Daphne was incorporated on July 8, 1927, and counted 27,462 residents in 2020, the most of any coastal Eastern Shore city. Its bay-front limits begin about latitude 30.582 and include Village Point. To the south, Montrose has no town of its own. The bay shore runs from Red Bluff and Ragged Point north past Daphne's bluff, with Yancey Branch, Jordan Brook and Rock Creek draining into it.

History · TIGERweb Census 2020 layers (Incorporated Places / Census Designated Places), POP100 and HU100 fields · TIGERweb Census Current (2026) Legal and Statistical Entities, Incorporated Places layer (January 1, 2026 vintage), point-in-polygon queries · GNIS Domestic Names - Alabama (DomesticNames_AL.txt, file dated 2026-09-30)

Two cities, one county, and a bluff behind every wall

Look up the parcel before you call anyone. In Montrose, two neighbors on one street can answer to different offices.

Which office handles your lot

The Montrose point and Red Bluff test inside the City of Fairhope, whose limits run north to about latitude 30.582. Grid sampling shows unincorporated gaps between the city's pieces along this shore. The Montrose ZIP area, 36559, has about 79 percent of its land outside any city. Census boundary layers

Daphne's coastal article, in plain terms

Article 20 of Daphne's land use code applies to land below 10 feet above mean sea level. It requires a development permit and an erosion control plan. The environmental programs manager runs it and gives public notice of coming permits. Daphne land use code That 10-foot line matches the state's regulated coastal area. ADEM coastal rule

• Erosion fixes must use non-structural methods to the maximum extent practicable.
• Groins, jetties and breakwaters are allowed only when no other technically feasible option exists.
• Copies of the Corps and State Lands permits go to the city before the structure is installed. Daphne land use code

Two more local rules can bite. New subdivisions and commercial sites need a 40-foot setback from steep slopes on coastal bluffs. The code defines a steep slope as at least a 1:2 slope with 10 feet of rise. Daphne land use code Streams need a 50-foot vegetated buffer on each side, and delineated wetlands need 30 feet. Daphne land use code

Red Bluff: the wall is half the job

The Red Bluff stretch, roughly from Sibley Street south to Rock Creek, has steep slopes with big erosion problems. A slide about half a century old has grown to roughly half an acre. South of it, owners have used a mix of bulkheads, retaining walls, riprap, groins and plantings. Eastern Shore watershed plan

Hurricane Danny's rains in 1997 set off landslides along the Eastern Shore and left a few homes teetering on the edge. One home had to be moved back. NWS Mobile Danny report Red Gully carried an estimated 15,590 tons per square mile a year, the highest on the shore. Eastern Shore watershed plan

• Ask for a slope and drainage plan, not only a wall design.
• Find where roof and street water leaves the lot, and route it away from the face.
• Keep the toe protected, since a new wall can pass wave energy to its neighbors.

At the south end of the stretch, the Rock Creek mouth is held with riprap and a bulkhead. Eastern Shore watershed plan A wall that works at the creek mouth may not suit the slope above it. Ask a geotechnical engineer to look at both. See soil loss and drainage for the warning signs behind a wall.

Natural shore, public beaches and the park project

Daphne still has long natural stretches. In the Jordan Brook and Yancey Branch reach, 13,888 of 17,273 feet were natural in 2009, about 80 percent. In the Rock Creek reach, 9,961 of 16,671 feet were. Eastern Shore watershed plan The same plan notes erosion and accretion at Bay Front Park and Village Point, and beach erosion near Ragged Point.

Bayfront Park closed on October 27, 2025 for a $15 million amphitheater, with completion expected in spring 2027. City of Daphne Other public bay points include Belrose Bay Access, McMillan Bluff and the D'Olive Bay boat launch on Yacht Club Drive. City of Daphne

Storms and the D'Olive drainage

Zeta's debris lines in the Daphne and Spanish Fort areas reached as high as 7 feet above ground, with waves on top of the surge. NHC Zeta report Nate's surge in 2017 was highest along the Eastern Shore. NWS Mobile Nate report

Inland, the creek program has spent about $16 million restoring D'Olive Creek and its branches, and prevents about 28,662 tons of sediment a year. MBNEP D'Olive program Daphne says the basin shifted from farming to development over 40 years. City of Daphne Work in those creek basins should keep silt out of the bay. See Spanish Fort and D'Olive Bay next door.

What the state asks you to rule out first

ADEM bars a bulkhead or riprap unless it stands no lower than mean high tide. The applicant must also show that a non-structural fix would not work. ADEM coastal rule The options it lists include restoring beaches, wetlands and grass beds, shoreline nourishment, and retreat. ADEM alternatives rule

State Lands leans the same way. Its rule calls for riprap and similar methods in place of vertical seawalls wherever feasible. State Lands rule Daphne's own code points the same direction, so expect to document why a softer design will not hold your bluff.

• The Joe Faust Act lets a residential owner dredge sand from the riparian area for a living shoreline, at half the usual State Lands dredge fee. Alabama living shoreline law
• Plan to apply at least 90 days before construction for a living shoreline. Sea Grant guide

Flood rules and the city code

Daphne's codes include the 2024 International Residential and Building Codes with amendments. Flood maps effective April 2019 apply, and certified floodplain managers are on staff. City of Daphne The city defines a bulkhead as a structure that separates land and water and resists earth pressure. It sets the flood protection elevation at the regulatory flood plus one foot. Daphne land use code

Katrina's surge reached 8 to 12 feet along Mobile Bay's northern and western shores and flooded several miles inland. NHC Katrina report FEMA's follow-up study found marks over 13 feet NAVD88 north of Fairhope, where the bluff limited how far the water went. FEMA Katrina study

Daphne calls itself the Jubilee City. City of Daphne Keep that late-summer routine in mind for work near public beaches.

What could the work cost?

Ask bidders to list the slope and drainage design, the toe protection and any erosion-control plan as separate lines, since Daphne's coastal article asks for an erosion plan. The State Lands application costs $100. See costs per foot.

Orange Beach permit values are what applicants declared for fee purposes, not invoices. Public bids carry bonding and county terms. Prices for steel, concrete, composite and aluminum come from outside Alabama and are labeled with their geography.

Find the relevant permits and records

Prepare the questions for the responsible office.

A Daphne and Montrose pre-bid checklist

Four public-record steps to finish before any contractor bids.

1. Fix the jurisdiction

   Check the City Limits layer on the county parcel viewer. In Montrose, repeat it for each lot you rely on.

   Permitting FAQs | Baldwin County Building Department · TIGERweb Census Current (2026) Legal and Statistical Entities, Incorporated Places layer (January 1, 2026 vintage), point-in-polygon queries

2. Ask Environmental Programs about Article 20

   Ask whether the lot sits below 10 feet and whether a coastal permit and public notice apply.

   Permits, Fees & Requirements | Daphne, AL · City of Daphne Land Use & Development Ordinance (codifications through July 3, 2025)

3. Map the slope, buffers and streams

   Mark the bluff slope, any stream within 50 feet and any wetland within 30 feet before design.

   City of Daphne Land Use & Development Ordinance (codifications through July 3, 2025)

4. Search public records for neighbors' work

   Use the county permit search, or the Alabama open records law, which gives residents a right to inspect public records.

   Search Permits, Reports, Certificates of Occupancy, & Elevation Certificates | Baldwin County Building Department · SB270 Enrolled (2024 Regular Session), enacted as Act 2024-278, amending Code of Alabama Sections 36-12-40 and 36-12-41 and adding 36-12-43 to 36-12-46

Keep planning

Nearby waterfront guides

Fairhope bayfront & Fly Creek, Spanish Fort, D'Olive Bay & the Causeway, Point Clear, Battles Wharf & Mullet Point

View the local guide directory.