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Council approves rezoning for Overton Village property

by

Lexi Coon.

Lexi Coon.

Lexi Coon.

Mountain Brook City Council voted 4-1 to approve the rezoning of property located near Overton Village from mixed use to residential during a public hearing on May 14, after months of meetings and two sets of public hearings over three council meetings. This decision effectively allows the proposed development for the Overton Village Condos to proceed.

The initial development was first rejected by the council in December, and development representative Charlie Beavers and architect Brian Barrett spoke first to the council addressing the changes that were made to the project since that decision.

In addition to removing the portion that would have existed in Vestavia Hills, developer Ron Durham agreed to take two units off each side of the third story of the development to lower the ends to two stories. Both reductions — the one in Vestavia and the one on the top floor of the condominiums — cut the living units from 44 units to 27. Four of those 27 units will be townhomes. 

While this reduction was aimed at lowering the density of housing, it was also hoping to address “the looming effect” that nearby residents brought up in previous meetings. The overall height was reduced as well so a previously approved height variance is no longer needed.

Finally, an access drive was created exiting to Poe Drive, which Barrett said will be gated and for emergency vehicles only. 

“Residents will not be coming and going through that access,” Barrett said.

If for some reason the developer is unable to build the access drive, a hammerhead turn is already in the plans — although currently listed as extra parking — and could be used for emergency vehicles. Regardless, city attorney Whit Colvin said that would be the responsibility of the developer.

Three residents who live in the area spoke against the development, citing different concerns. While changes to the height of the condo building were made, Hafiz Chandiwala, who has spoken at previous meetings, said they could have done more with the height. Other concerns pertained to traffic in the area and with the schools.

Beavers discussed traffic in the last planning commission meeting and submitted a letter from Skipper Consulting that said the development would not heavily affect traffic in the surrounding area.

Samantha Ebert, a Mountain Brook resident, said she was still worried about the impact the development may have on schools and what effect construction may have on nearby businesses.

“I’m for development, 100 percent,” Ebert said. “We’re just not there under this circumstance in my opinion.”

Ebert also said she and other local residents felt defeated by this project. It was a sentiment echoed by Frances Wang, who was concerned about traffic in the area both during and after construction. She — who along with Chandiwala spoke as elected representatives for residents in that area — said there are people who still oppose it. 

“As a community, we fought so hard to have this be something that works for our neighborhood and for the surrounding homes ... this is not substantially different from what was proposed before,” she said. “Part of the reason you don’t see a huge number from the community is we feel very defeated in our fight for this.”

Council president Virginia Smith verified that everything presented by Durham and his team meets the standards and codes of the Village Overlay for that area, to which Director of Planning, Building and Sustainability Dana Hazen said it does.

The planning commission unanimously approved the project twice, councilwoman Alice Womack made clear, and she, along with Smith, councilmen Phil Black and Lloyd Shelton, voted in favor of the rezoning. Councilman Billy Pritchard said he did not think enough progress was made during the revision process and voted against the rezoning.

“I think that, again, this does meet our … Village Master Plan,” Smith said, explaining that the Village Master Plan calls for more dense housing towards the center of the villages. “If you followed along with that plan, you knew that it was probably going to be a mixed-use [development] and this is not that; this is at least going to be single family … and it doesn’t have the retail component that the original plan had.”

Josh Johnson, director of planning for MAX transit authority, also presented an idea that was proposed by the chamber of commerce to help alleviate parking and get customers into shops: a circulator that will run between the three villages.

Under the proposed circulator, a 30-foot BJCTA/MAX bus would run Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturdays from 9 a.m to 10 p.m. The proposed route — which tentatively starts in Crestline, goes southwest to Mountain Brook Village and then north to English Village — would take about 30 minutes to travel and was suggested to stop near popular destinations such as Lane Parke or Emmet O’Neal Library.

Johnson said it would cost around $215,000 per year, although if their current proposal is approved that could drop to $176,000 per year.

The pilot program would run at no cost for three to six months, Johnson said, and they would use existing technology in the buses to collect data regarding ridership, peak hours and popular stops. WiFi is also available on all BJCTA/MAX buses, which customers could use while riding or to view where the bus is on the route through the My Stop app.

Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce Suzan Doidge said the idea was well received by chamber board members and noted that they would be able to work with Johnson on designating the best route for customers, store owners and the city.

Johnson said that the circulator could possibly be designed to match the structure of the Magic City Connector, which serves downtown Birmingham and costs 25 cents per ride. The other price option was $1.25 per ride. 

City council members responded positively to the idea. Doidge said she would like to start the pilot program closer to the holidays and MAX could gather data from there. Johnson said this would give him plenty of time to work on marketing and education regarding the program as well as collaborate with the city to create the optimal route between villages.

Also during the council meeting, members:

The next meeting will be on Tuesday, May 29. 

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