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Photo by Lexi Coon.
Architects Brian and Lauren Barrett address Planning Commission members regarding the changes to the Overton Condos development at the meeting on April 2.
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Courtesy of the city of Mountain Brook.
The proposed condominium with changes. The white represents the portion of the development which is on the back side.
Nearly four months ago, Mountain Brook City Council denied the request to rezone parcels of land on Fairhaven Drive from mixed-use to residential, which would allow for a condominium and townhome development. This was after a preceding council meeting, from which the initial public hearing was carried over.
The developer — Overton Partners, LLC — has since revised its plans, and the new proposal was brought before the Planning Commission for review on April 2.
Architects Lauren and Brian Barrett, representative Charlie Beavers and developer Ron Durham spoke to the changes that have been made regarding the plans.
“We think our revised plans address some of the concerns we have heard,” Durham said.
The plans presented in 2017 were for what Durham called “empty nesters,” and he said that targeted demographic remained the same in the new plans. While the plans for the development previously called for 44 living units in both Mountain Brook and Vestavia Hills, however, that has since been reduced to 27 living units: 23 stacked flats and four townhomes.
All portions of the development in Vestavia were pulled from the plans, and the developer removed four additional condominium units from the Mountain Brook portion. Lauren and Brian Barrett also said the height of the building was altered so a previously approved height variance was no longer needed.
These decisions regarding height were made to “eliminate the looming factor” for surrounding single family homes, they said, which was a popular concern for neighbors. “We tried to bring the scale down to be more in keeping with the residential area adjacent to us and behind us,” Lauren Barrett said.
The reduction in the number of living spaces also reduced the number of required parking spaces, some of which were originally located in Vestavia.
Beavers said too that the service yard — which was previously located in an area near single-family homes — was moved to the back of the development close to the adjacent shopping center. There will be no dumpster at the development either, as they are employing a trash valet service.
Walter Schoel with Schoel Engineering said the water drainage systems match the predevelopment flows that the ordinance requires, too.
“It’s overall a pretty small project,” he said.
Some residents were previously concerned with the effect the development would have on Mountain Brook schools, and director of Planning, Building and Sustainability Dana Hazen noted, that on average, there were 0.08 students per stacked flat and 0.17 students per townhome in the city in 2017.
If using those numbers, that would be two students for the portion of stacked flats and 1 student for the townhomes.
Hafiz Chandiwala, a representative from the surrounding residential community, spoke on behalf of his neighbors. He said the changes do not seem to be substantial enough on the Mountain Brook side to be considered and turned in a petition with about 700 signatures against the development.
He also said the roads still will be affected by the new residences.
Beavers addressed potential concerns regarding traffic by stating that the developers asked Skipper Consulting to review the current site plan. According to the letter that was submitted to the commission, the previous conclusions — that the development would not heavily affect traffic in the surrounding area — remained the same.
Chandiwala said existing residences still will be affected by the height of the development, however. He lives behind the proposed development.
“It might be under height variance, but it’s still right over our home, looking in our master bedroom and looking in our backyard,” he said.
Chandiwala asked the commission to delay their decision until a meeting between residents, the city of Vestavia Hills and the developer takes place on April 11.
Commission chairwoman Susan Swagler acknowledged that a plan for a mixed-use development, with 44 units and 18,000 square feet of retail, was presented and approved for the same site 10 years ago. But in those 10 years, the neighborhood has changed greatly, and so has the plan for this area.
Commissioner and councilman Phil Black also said there are many examples of a high-density living area working with both commercial and residential districts in the city, such as English Village.
“There are several places in Mountain Brook where it has been that way for 60 years,” he said. “I think if it is done well and with the proper oversight, that it can have a good outlook.”
The commission voted to recommend approval for the project and rezoning as submitted. This included approving alternate exterior materials, which remained unchanged from the first presentation in 2017. It will now go before Mountain Brook City Council for a public hearing at a later date.
