A packed house at Mountain Brook city hall on Jan. 30. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
The council chamber at Mountain Brook City Hall was full for nearly three hours Monday night as council members heard from the two sides of a planned unit development (PUD) on the Shades Valley Presbyterian Church property.
The primary point of contention is whether the development will be accessed via Chester Road, a short cul-de-sac down the hill from the development.
Developers plan to build a pair of condominiums and 14 single family homes. One of those houses is in Homewood and was not part of Monday’s discussion.
Dan McCrary, primary spokesman for Chester Road residents, acknowledged that the developers have amassed a good team that has done good work, including some in Mountain Brook.
“We think they will make a nice project,” McCrary said. “But we think they can make a nice project that doesn’t access Chester Road and doesn’t involve buildings of the massive scale that they've proposed.
“We’re concerned about the size and scale (and) we’re concerned about accessing Chester Road,” McCrary continued. “If they can solve those problems – and I think they could – then I think it would be a good development.”
Margi Ingram, a principal of the project, said change has always been a part of Mountain Brook, “when a developer in the 1920s decided to take beautiful virgin earth and turn it into a small town.”
“I'm sure there were some who didn't want that to happen, but it did and it made all the difference,” Ingram said. “Even Chester Road. It was a quaint little street with charming homes. Over time, some of those homes have been torn down and beautiful ones have been built. Indeed, that was a change. Yes, what we're proposing is a change from what there is now. We feel we're making a good, healthy change for all of Mountain Brook.”
McCrary said Chester Road residents are seeking singular access to the development via Montclair Road. He said the developers have been unwilling to alter their plans to make that reality.
Jeremy Taylor of MTTR Engineers presented at least two alternatives that McCrary said appear to be a very viable way to achieve that “single point of access that all of the other PUDs (Planned Unit Development) in the city use, single access to a major road.”
Jane Grant, another Chester Road resident, said this matter should concern persons throughout the city.
“We need Mountain Brook to understand that if they do it a little Chester Road, everyone is at risk that a big developer can come in and take away your quiet, quaint, small little neighborhood,” Grant said. “It is upsetting.”
Council President Virginia Smith opened the 5 p.m. meeting by acknowledging that no decision would be made on the proposed rezoning. Later in the evening, council members started gearing toward a subsequent hearing at a date and time to be determined.
“There were lots of questions asked, and I think both sides were fairly represented,” Smith said. “Certainly, the council had some questions. We decided beforehand we would not vote (Monday) tonight because we wanted to hear what the proposal was and have time to absorb the details of it.
“The neighbors on Chester have made it clear that they're not opposed to something happening there,” the council president said. “They do recognize that something will happen. It's a church that needed to sell its property. They are trying to achieve what is perhaps the best neighbor to them.”
In other business:
The council established the city’s employee performance evaluation scoring criteria for eligibility for merit pay increase.
“Jefferson County Personnel Board has changed the criteria as to how you can evaluate your employees through more of a rating system,” City Manager Sam Gaston said. “It gives you more flexibility so we basically adopted it. Every employee, even if they’re not eligible for a merit raise, still should be evaluated by their supervisor. It sets goals and objectives.”
The council also authorized executing the $300,000 deductible for worker’s compensation insurance coverage and claims administration services for the policy year beginning Feb. 1.
“Up to a certain amount, we’re self-insured,” Gaston said, “then insurance kicks in.”
