Orange Beach May Again Extend Residential Building Moratorium

By: J. Thomas Wade
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News

August 18, 2026

ORANGE BEACH, Ala. Like several other cities in Baldwin County, Orange Beach has had to set certain moratoriums on certain types of residential building to slow down the pace a bit and those are about to expire.

Officials once again are talking about slowing down growth of the city by controlling some residential building projects and one way is by considering ordinances that would extend two moratoriums on certain developments within the city for almost another year through June 30, 2027.

The two current moratoriums that are in place restrict certain types of residential complexes that are within 15 feet of any wetlands.
But on August 18, 2026, the Orange Beach City Council will discuss the bans during its committee of the whole meeting on Aug. 18, which follows a regular session at 5 p.m.

Council will also discuss these items in a special-called work session at 11 a.m. in the south conference room at city hall. All council meetings are open to the public.
But the earliest it could come up for a vote in a regular session is Sept. 1.

While some city leaders are interested in slowing down residential construction, others are not as recent conversations have shown.

The residential moratorium affects projects with three or more housing units and subdivisions that have three or more residential lots under 9,000 square feet. This restriction was first put in place on March 18, 2025, and was extended in a November 2025 vote through Sept. 30, 2026 , but it does not curb single family dwellings or commercial construction.

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