Council amends Lane Parke PUD plan, green lights drive-thru coffee shop
The Mountain Brook City Council on Monday, Sept. 23, voted 4-1 to approve an ordinance that amends the Lane Parke Planned Unit Development (PUD) plan and OKs the installation of a drive-thru coffee shop.
The revised PUD plan changes the base zoning standards to allow four drive-thrus instead of three, with the additional location slated for the Treadwell’s block in Lane Parke’s second phase. That phase is scheduled to be built in 2020.
The Treadwell's block will be adjacent to Lane Parke Road, and drive-thru tenants there will be limited to a financial institution, pharmacy or dry cleaners. Lane Parke developer Evson Inc. excluded coffee shops and fast casual restaurants from its list of potential tenants in that block in response to resident complaints voiced at the Aug. 12 City Council meeting.
The revised PUD plan also requires Evson to conduct a traffic analysis and seek council approval whenever a new drive-thru tenant is proposed.
“In the current approved PUD, that requirement does not exist," said Mel McElroy, an attorney representing Evson. "So this gives the city and the City Council an opportunity to review any drive-thru location to review that it would not have a negative impact on traffic, either within the development or on the public roads adjacent to the development.”
The council reviewed and approved one future tenant at Monday's meeting. A drive-thru coffee shop, likely Starbucks, will take residence in the Regions Bank block of Lane Parke’s second phase. That block will be adjacent to Montevallo Road.
Many residents expressed their opposition to the drive-thru coffee shop, citing an uptick in traffic congestion as one of their chief concerns. An analysis conducted by engineering firm Skipper Consulting found that the drive-thru won’t be able to contain all vehicles during peak business periods. The overflow will spill onto Jemison Lane and temporarily block traffic.
That didn’t sit well with Lloyd Shelton, who was the only councilor to oppose the ordinance. He labeled the coffee shop a “fast food drive-thru” and said that it doesn’t align with what residents want.
“When we look at the integrity of our villages, this just seems to contradict, in my opinion, what we’re trying to do all over the city,” he said.
Councilors Billy Pritchard, Phil Black and Alice Womack, along with Council President Virginia Smith, all voted in favor of the changes.
“I feel like we have to allow the developer to develop the property,” Black said.
Sam Heide of Crawford Square Real Estate Advisors, which now manages Lane Parke, called the council’s decision a step in the right direction. He said the project as a whole has started to gain momentum.
“We have a plan to win,” Heide said. “Our team is invested in this. We want this to be a success just like you do.”
Council approves feral cat ordinance
At its meeting, the council also voted to amend its feral cat ordinance. The step was taken in response to the complaints of Crestline residents who said there is an abundance of feral cats in their neighborhood.
At the Aug. 26 council meeting, John Allen Roberts said he and other residents who live off of Euclid Avenue between Fairmont Drive and Lorena Lane have dealt with feral cats for about a decade. But in recent years, he said, the issue has worsened. He attributed the increase in feral cats to a neighbor who has been feeding them.
The new ordinance outlaws that.
“The authority to deal with feral cats is already there,” said Whit Colvin, the city attorney, “so we just needed something which would prohibit people from essentially attracting them and maintaining them.”
The council also asked Police Chief Ted Cook to change the way it handles feral cats. In the past, Cook said it has been the pattern and practice of the city’s animal control department to capture them, spay or neuter them, clip their ears and then return them to where they were found.
Councilor Black encouraged Cook to look into trapping the cats humanely and then relocating them.
Council to examine adding stop signs on Vine Street
The council determined at its meeting to gather input from the Mountain Brook Board of Education in regard to installing additional stop signs at the intersection of Vine Street and Dexter Avenue, near Crestline Elementary.
According to Richard Caudle of Skipper Consulting, there used to be stop signs on Vine but not Dexter. Since June 2016, they have been on Dexter and not Vine. Caudle said it’s the only four-way intersection on Dexter that doesn’t have a four-way stop.
Resident Teresa Callahan brought the issue to the council’s attention, calling it an incredibly dangerous arrangement with potential for tragedy. She wants a four-way stop there, and Caudle signaled that it’s a good idea.
In examining crash reports from the past three years, he found that three of eight crashes near the intersection were at a right angle. A four-way stop could have prevented them.
“I would consider three being significant,” Caudle said.
He recommended the council meet with the school board, make the intersection a four-way stop and then monitor traffic.