Members of the crowd at special meeting of Mountain Brook city council on June 20. Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
The Mountain Brook City Council approved the planned unit development (PUD) rezoning of the former Shades Valley Presbyterian Church property, disappointing the residents of Chester Road who fought so hard against it.
The council approved the rezoning on a 4-1 vote with Billy Pritchard casting the only no vote.
The meeting – the third of three during which elements of the development were debated – began with attorney Charlie Beavers and others from the development team giving updates to tweaks to the plan. They were followed by those speaking for Chester Road and against the development.
Council President Virginia Smith said she was almost offended by the notion that the council had not scrutinized the developers’ application, “that the developer is just entitled to it and therefore we’re just going to them. That is absolutely not how this council works,” she said.
“We’ve listened to everybody,” she said, citing varied concerns and considering the city’s Gateway Ordinance. “I do like this plan much better than the previous plan with two large condominiums. I like the tiered approach … to the back which is not as imposing on the Chester neighborhood as the condominium. I feel like the changes that have been made have satisfied me.”
Pritchard cited his issue was that the proposal is not in keeping with the character of the surrounding neighborhoods.
“This property has been zoned Residence B for decades,” he said. “My fundamental concern is trying to preserve the character of the neighborhood. The density here is just overwhelming. I was hopeful that the plan [presented by Chester Road residents] would be something the neighborhood could get behind, the developer could get behind and everybody could be satisfied,” he said. “That hasn’t happened.”
Dan McCrary, the primary spokesman for the Chester Road residents, delivered a closing argument that PUD laws contain certain absolutes.
“It says the PUD must be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood in terms of density and size of buildings,” McCrary said. “I have yet to hear anybody address that. That’s frustrating because it’s a requirement, it’s not a suggestion.”
Beavers, the attorney for the developers, cited several changes to the initial plan, including:
- Removal of a stand-along garbage building, gone.
- Removal of a swimming pool.
- A privacy wall.
- Burying power lines.
- Placing restrictions on construction vehicles accessing the development via Chester Road.
- Providing a process through which Chester Road residents can use development parking as overflow from their events.
McCrary was not impressed.
“I don’t consider either of those to be meaningful concessions,” he said. “I’m glad that (the pool and garbage building) aren’t there, but to me, those things don’t go to the fundamental issue of the density problem on Chester and it doesn’t go to the size of the building incompatibility,” he said. “It doesn’t go to our core issues.”
“This thing’s ground on for 2 1⁄2 years or so,” McCrary continued. “At some point, there’s nothing else to do, at least not before this council. I don’t know what the appellate rights are relative to a decision like this but I presume there is some review process. I just don’t know what it is.”
Beavers said he’s seen a number of developments that were heavily opposed that once done, received a different reaction from neighbors.
“The people who opposed it often come back and say, ‘We thought it was going to be bad but it wasn’t,’” he said. “There are a number of developments around Mountain Brook that have had that reaction once they were put in.”
Prior to the hearing, the council passed a resolution to sign closing papers in the purchase of private property for right-of-way for the Old Brook Trail bridge project.
“We had to buy that portion of private property for the bridge,” Assistant City Manager Steve Boone said. “This has been in the works for a year.”
The next regular meeting of the city council will be 7 p.m. on June 26.
