Cahaba Heights celebrates 20 years since annexation

On May 14, 2002, more than 1,500 Cahaba Heights residents made it known they wanted to join the city of Vestavia Hills in a referendum.

Following that vote, which saw 1,627 residents vote “yes” and 866 vote “no,” the city of Vestavia Hills officially annexed Cahaba Heights on May 20.

Twenty years later, one of the three major areas in the city of Vestavia Hills continues to grow and provide a “neighborhood” feel for its residents.

Getting the word out

Margaret Hess had lived in Cahaba Heights for about seven years before building a house near what is now Vestavia Hills Elementary Cahaba Heights.

When she heard talks of annexation, she and her husband had not thought about using the school system. Still, when she heard about how being annexed would not only mean access to the school system but city services such as police and fire, she realized how beneficial being part of Vestavia could be. She also feared the area might be annexed by another city without the reputation and resources of Vestavia, causing property values to decrease.

Hess, along with a number of other residents, spent time knocking on doors and holding community meetings about the annexation, telling residents why it would benefit Cahaba Heights. This was in the days before social media was the norm for neighborhood interaction, so the group worked hard on a grassroots campaign, relying on face-to-face interaction.

“It was a great way to meet neighbors,” Hess said.

Twenty years after the vote, Hess sees the annexation as a positive. “I see property values skyrocketing,” she said.

The area now has thriving businesses and is part of a highly regarded school system, she said. “I’m not sure all of that would have happened if we had not been annexed.”

Growing pains

Karen Odle, executive director of the Vestavia Hills Chamber of Commerce, said the annexation was a “move that was long needed,” connecting the older part of Vestavia along U.S. 31 and the Shades Mountain area to Liberty Park.

The Cahaba Heights area with the Heights Village shopping center was full of potential, she said. Shopping center owner Raymond Gottlieb put a lot of money into the shopping center once it was annexed, something he said he would not have done without the annexation.

Gottlieb called the annexation one of the “best things to ever happen” to the area. The stores at Heights Village have done well, and the city has been willing to listen and help when needed, he said.

Since the annexation, Odle noted the growth along Pump House Road and Dolly Ridge Road, including Martin’s BBQ and more. The corner now occupied by Martin’s was an “eyesore” for a while, Odle said.

The area has undergone some growing pains, causing traffic strains and congestion along Crosshaven Drive, a main thoroughfare, she said. But the city is finishing up work to widen and improve the road, while Jefferson County works to improve the intersection at Green Valley Road.

The addition of sidewalks adds to the area’s walkability, one of its key positives, Odle said. The area is also a great place to host events, from Heights Village to Oliver Square, Odle said.

A true community

Like many other cities around the state, Vestavia Hills was hit hard by a tornado on April 27, 2011. Cahaba Heights bore the brunt of that disaster.

“I just started walking the neighborhood,” said Linda Allison, who was on the City Council at that time.

Allison recalled making many sandwiches for first responders and getting them food from nearby Mudtown as well.

“It was pretty horrific,” Allison said of the aftermath.

Katherine McRee said the tornado hit in her backyard. It’s something she won’t ever forget. In the aftermath, it took her two hours to walk to her store at Heights Village. Roofs had been lifted and set back down. The Federal Emergency Management Agency stepped in to provide tents while businesses stepped up to provide food, ice and other essentials, even as owners dealt with damage to their own shops, McRee said.

“It made us grow up quickly,” McRee said.

Cahaba Heights has always been a close-knit community, and the tornado only strengthened those bonds, Allison said. “People rise to the occasion.”

100 years of education

Like the rest of Vestavia Hills, Cahaba Heights takes pride in its school, which was well regarded before annexation and has only continued to collect accolades.

Jupie Lindley has taught kindergarten at the school for 37 years and is the last remaining teacher from the pre-annexation days, back when the school was called Cahaba Heights Community School.

“It’s always been a great, great school,” Lindley said. “Every child belongs to everybody.”

Class size was reduced from averaging anywhere between 25 and 27 students in the county to a limit of 19 students in the city, which helps teachers, Lindley said.

“You can do a lot more, progress faster,” she said.

The city has also invested a lot of money into the school over the years, Lindley said. Although she could have left when the school became part of Vestavia, Lindley chose to stay because she knew it would be the same students and families coming back the next year. Those families have made Cahaba Heights not just an enjoyable place to work for Lindley, but a great place to call home as well.

“It’s like a small town in a big city,” Lindley said. “Kids recognize you in the grocery store; they’ll honk at you in the front yard. … It’s always been that way.”

In 2024, the school will celebrate 100 years of educating students in the area, and Lindley said she hopse to stay until then. While there won’t be any pre-annexation teachers left once she leaves, many teachers have been at the school since it became part of Vestavia, she said.

“Once you’re in a great place, you want to stick around a while,” Lindley said.

Economic and city impact

McRee moved to Cahaba Heights in 1996 and opened The Lili Pad and Gigi’s with her sister in 2004.

“Cahaba Heights was an up-and-coming place,” McRee said.

It was a “big blessing” when the area was annexed by the city of Vestavia Hills, she said.

McRee said before annexation, residents had to pay separately for garbage and fire service, instead of those being included in property taxes.

Once annexation took place, McRee said the addition of police and fire protection, along with property values increasing, made an immediate impact.

Over the years, the area has continued to bring in new businesses, such as Martin’s BBQ, Leaf & Petal, Troup’s Pizza and, coming soon, Biscuit Love. The goal has always been to “keep the uniqueness of the community,” McRee said.

Cahaba Heights is a small-town community, where people support each other, McRee said, describing it as “very homey.”

Economically, the area provides “eclectic, locally-owned shops” that produce on average about 7% of the city’s total sales tax revenue, an amount of roughly $23.1 million, Vestavia Hills City Manager Jeff Downes said.

However, the value from the city standpoint was not just dollars and cents, but gaining a “group of residents that loved their homes, loved their community and volunteer at an extremely high rate,” Downes said.

Some of those volunteers include not just City Council members, but Deloye Burrell, “Mr. Cahaba Heights,” who passed away in 2018 after serving on the Planning and Zoning Commission and helping volunteer in other capacities after annexation.

Downes said he hopes people who have lived through the 20-year period since annexation have seen the benefit from being part of Vestavia Hills.

The city is hosting an event honoring the 20th anniversary of annexation May 21 from 6-9 p.m. at Heights Village. There will be music, food and fun, Downes said.

While the event will celebrate the past 20 years, Cahaba Heights has much to look forward to over the next 20 years, Downes said.

“The future is bright for it.”