When news got out of a proposed condominium project at the base of the bluff near the Fairhope Municipal Pier, public reaction rivaled the outcries against the Fly Creek apartment project and the construction of Walmart.

Since The Fairhope Times blog posted the news on Facebook on Aug. 13, it has received 242 comments, many of which consist of “No!” with varying numbers of exclamation points. An online petition against the proposal had drawn 295 signers as of Sunday night.

The proposal was withdrawn last week from the Board of Adjustments and Appeals agenda for this past Monday, but it has called public attention to the fact that tucked into Fairhope’s signature waterfront of public pier, rose garden, municipal beach, sidewalks and parkland is a piece of private property.

The parcel, 90 feet wide and 44 feet deep, is owned by Bob Pope, who says he has a right to do something with it.

“This is what I came up with that would be the least intrusive, the most attractive. It’s really an attractive building, just a pretty building,” Pope said.

When the blog describe the proposal as a three-story condominium project, Pope said people envisioned a Pleasure Island-style development in the middle of a scenic and unique public area, an eyesore that would rise above the bluff and block the view. That’s not what he had in mind.

The project consists of four condo units on two levels above a parking area. Fairhope allows nothing higher 30 feet, and the bluff rises 35 feet to 37 feet, Pope said. The parking would be laid out so that residents had ample room to turn around underneath and drive forward out into the normal flow of the circle around the pier entrance and rose garden.

“One of these I want for myself. I can build four of these and sell three, and maybe I can end up with mine paid for,” Pope said.

He also envisioned flowers and hedges in front of the building and container plantings on the roof so people on the bluff wouldn’t have to look down at plain roofing and HVAC units.

According to Fairhope’s Planning and Zoning Department, Pope requested variances to the front and rear setback requirements and a special exemption to allow construction of multi-family units. A public hearing was scheduled for Monday’s Board of Adjustments meeting before Pope pulled the proposal.

Fairhope Planning Director Wayne Dyess said that while the property’s zoning allows several business uses, regulations governing density, setbacks, parking and drainage limit what can be done because of its size.

“It is a very, very constrained piece of property,” he said.

The zoning allows a hotel, motel, restaurant, bar, offices, a grocery store and a bed-and-breakfast among other uses, Dyess said. And the property currently is the site of Down by the Bay, a café that Pope said only opens for lunch four days a week and dinner on weekends.

But Dyess said he would have to research how the café was allowed on the property in the first place, and any other use would be subject to the same regulations for on-site parking, density, etc. He also said there is a legal question about whether the Board of Adjustments could even consider granting a density variance.

Dyess, like many Fairhope residents, was surprised to learn the property was privately owned. Pope, however, said businesses have been on the site since at least 1900. Photos of the Fairhope Ice House from that time period are in the city museum and satellite courthouse, Pope said.

As refrigeration techniques improved, the ice house added a creamery. Pope said the site has also been the home of a Better Burger, a Hobie Cat dealership and a hairdresser.

Pope said he still wants to develop the property and will look at other uses.

“If somebody has a better idea other than me going and jumping in the bay, I certainly welcome it.”