Ono Island Unit One:
The Original Old River Waterfront Plat

A detailed look at the 52 waterfront lots, Ono Boulevard, recorded measurements, easement language, shoreline boundaries, and what today’s buyers and owners should understand.

When I study an older recorded plat, I am looking for much more than numbered lots. I want to understand how the land was originally divided, where the road rights run, what the shoreline language says, how the lots change through a curve, and which questions still require a current survey or title review.

Unit One Plat Map

The attached drawing answers the first big question very clearly: this is the recorded plat for Ono Island Subdivision, Unit One, in Baldwin County, Alabama. The title block identifies it as Drawing No. 1 of 3, prepared by Polyengineering, dated June 4, 1970, at a scale of 1 inch equals 300 feet.

Unit One is a long, early waterfront section of Ono Island arranged along Ono Boulevard. Its lots lie between the road and Old River, while Bayou St. John is shown north of the road corridor. The plat crosses portions of Sections 1 and 11, Township 9 South, Range 5 East.

“Unit One is a linear Old River waterfront neighborhood: 52 individually numbered lots, one curving private-road spine, varied shoreline geometry, and recorded rights designed to serve owners rather than dedicate the property to the general public.”

Recorded Plat at a Glance

Where Is Unit One?

Unit One follows the western-to-central Old River side of Ono Island. On the recorded sheet, the lots begin near the island’s western approach and continue eastward in one continuous sequence along Ono Boulevard. Old River forms the southern waterfront edge. Bayou St. John is mapped to the north, across the road corridor and adjoining land.

This orientation matters. These are not canal lots, interior lots, or Bayou St. John-front lots. The platted homesites shown on this sheet are Old River waterfront parcels. From a boating standpoint, Old River is the broad waterway running between Ono Island and Perdido Key, with access toward Perdido Pass and the Gulf.

The vicinity map also places the subdivision in relation to Alabama Highway 182 and Pensacola, but the small inset is contextual rather than a parcel-level location survey.

Map note: Google Maps is provided for general geographic orientation. It does not display the recorded Unit One boundary, legal lot lines, easements, setbacks, mean-high-tide boundary, or a surveyed building envelope.

How Many Lots Are Shown?

The plat shows 52 residential lots, numbered consecutively from Lot 1 through Lot 52. They form a single row between Ono Boulevard and Old River. I do not see a second tier of interior lots on this Unit One sheet, and the land north of the road is specifically identified in places as not included in Unit One.

Because the road and river both curve, the parcels are not identical rectangles. Some lots are close to rectangular, while others are tapered, fan-shaped, or substantially deeper where the shoreline bows away from the road.

Lot Measurements and Geometry

The most consistent dimensional pattern is the frontage along Ono Boulevard. Many lots are marked with approximately 100 feet of road frontage. Several lots show wider 120-foot frontages, while tighter portions of the eastern curve include narrower frontages around 70 to 80 feet. Lot 1 has a wider, irregular western frontage shown at approximately 133.22 feet.

Old River frontage is also frequently shown near 100 feet along the plat’s reference line, but it varies with the shape of the shoreline. One clearly visible callout is approximately 70.10 feet in a curved section. The side-lot dimensions are individually labeled and many appear to be in the 200-foot-plus range; several irregular parcels are deeper. Because this is an old, reduced scan, the exact side-line dimension for a particular lot should always be taken from a legible certified copy and confirmed with a current boundary survey.

A practical approximation from the repeated frontage dimensions suggests that this 52-lot run approaches a mile in length. That is an orientation estimate, not a substitute for a surveyed total.

What Does the Plat Say About Old River and Mean High Tide?

One of the most important notes on the sheet explains that the lot courses shown along Old River are placed on a reference line and that the lots extend to mean high tide. In plain language, the straight measurement line printed on the plat is not necessarily the same as the natural, changing edge of the water.

This is a meaningful waterfront distinction. A buyer should not use the drawing alone to determine present shoreline acreage, riparian limits, pier placement, bulkhead position, beach area, or the relationship between deeded land and submerged land. Those questions may require a current survey, title work, elevation information, permitting review, and site-specific guidance from the appropriate professionals.

Ono Boulevard: A Private Road Framework

Ono Boulevard is labeled as a private road. The certification language says there were no streets, alleys, or public grounds intended to be dedicated to the public. The owner’s recorded language further explains that the road and easement areas were not dedicated for use by the general public.

At the same time, the plat reserves rights for the subdivision’s owners and related users to travel over the roads and to use easement areas for utilities, drainage, maintenance, repair, and related purposes. That is the foundation of a shared private-road and service-easement system rather than a conventional public-street dedication.

Are Easements Shown?

Yes. The recorded notes expressly refer to roads and easements for utilities, maintenance, repair, drainage, and related uses. They reserve nonexclusive ingress and egress rights and utility-related rights over, along, across, and under the road and easement areas shown on the plat.

What I would not do is assign an exact modern easement width to every lot from this reduced scan. Some labels and lines are too faint to read confidently, and an easement affecting one specific parcel may also appear in later deeds, restrictions, amendments, utility documents, or surveys. For a purchase or construction decision, I would want the title commitment, all exception documents, and a current survey reviewed together.

Are There Building Setbacks?

This copy of the 1970 plat does not give me a sufficiently clear, separately dimensioned modern building-setback envelope for each lot. That does not mean a parcel has no setbacks. It means the plat by itself is not the right document from which to promise the current buildable area.

For any Unit One property, I would verify all current requirements that may affect placement of a home, pool, garage, generator, bulkhead, pier, boathouse, septic or sewer facilities, and other improvements. Depending on the project, those controls may include recorded covenants and amendments, Ono Island Architectural Control Committee requirements, Baldwin County rules, flood-zone and elevation requirements, coastal or environmental permitting, utility easements, and the present mean-high-water relationship.

Are There Common Elements?

The plat does not present “common elements” in the condominium sense, and I do not see a separately platted recreation parcel on this sheet. What it does establish is a system of shared private rights: subdivision owners may use the private roads, and easement areas serve access, utilities, drainage, maintenance, repair, and related functions.

The distinction is important. Shared use rights do not necessarily mean that every strip of road or easement is owned equally by every homeowner. Ownership, maintenance responsibility, and enforcement rights should be confirmed through the deeds, covenants, association documents, and title work applicable to the parcel.

Questions I Would Answer Before Buying or Building

Why Unit One Still Matters

Unit One is a revealing piece of Ono Island’s development history. It shows a simple but valuable waterfront concept: a private road following the island, a continuous line of Old River homesites, and lots shaped by the natural relationship between land and water.

For me, the appeal is not just that these are waterfront properties. It is the combination of Old River views, direct boating access, proximity to the western approach of the island, and lot-by-lot individuality. Two properties may appear similar from Ono Boulevard yet have very different shoreline width, depth, elevation, improvements, water depth, and building potential.

Considering a Unit One Property?

I live on Ono Island and enjoy helping buyers and owners understand the details behind a waterfront property—not simply the view, but the plat, shoreline, boating access, survey, easements, construction questions, and resale considerations.

The recorded plat is a starting point, not a substitute for a current survey, title examination, legal advice, engineering, permitting review, or written approval from the appropriate governing bodies.