When Hurricane Katrina hit in August 2005, Mobile County Alabama suffered a great deal of damage. The citizens of Mobile County worked with FEMA and the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) to produce a Long Term Recovery Plan for Mobile County. As part of this effort, residents of South Mobile County realized their needs were not being heard. After a meeting coordinated by Smart Coast, residents of Coden, Heron Bay, Alabama Port, San Souci, and Fowl River decided to form an organization that would give voice to their concerns.

Their initial meetings were held in March of 2006 and after a full year of coming together, South Bay Communities Alliance has a very active Board of Directors and a new building leased from the Mobile County Commission. They have brought their message all the way to Congress and the Governor of Alabama.

South Bay Communities Alliance has applied for 501c3 non-profit status and is now planning how the organization can serve the whole community. Smart Coast has connected them to an organization called the Institute for Sustainable Communities, an international group that will work to build their leadership capacity and their effectiveness as a community organization.

In 2006, Smart Coast worked with Mobile County and its municipalities to compile a countywide plan for recovery from Katrina.

The yearlong project produced a planning book, which described each project being proposed for Katrina funds allocated by Congress.

Smart Coast's role was to coordinate the town meetings and work with the unincorporated areas in south Mobile County to identify projects to be included in the overall recovery plan.