City Manager hosts ‘Lunch & Learn’ about development on U.S. 31

In response to a recent post on the “What’s Happening in Vestavia Hills” Facebook page, City Manager Jeff Downes hosted concerned citizens and business owners for a chance to discuss development in the U.S. 31 corridor.

The “Lunch & Learn” in the City Council chambers was focused on addressing the concerns commenters had about the city’s economic development initiatives, ability to enforce the zoning code and other issues with the general state of the area.

Downes broke the concerns and his presentation into general “themes” by grouping the comments together and addressing them thusly.

The first was the claim that the U.S. 31 corridor is in bad shape and “headed in a bad direction.”

“From my perspective, yes, Highway 31 has had better days in some areas,” Downes said, “but to make the statement that it is not going in the right direction, I think might be an overstatement, and there are facts that I think can show that out.”

Downes went through several projects that have been undertaken in the last few years, including the construction of the new City Hall, the Sprouts development, the Chick-fil-A development and the America’s First Federal Credit Union development.

Between city projects like the Community Spaces Plan, reductions in sales prices and economic development tax incentives, Downes said the city has “invested” more than $65 million in development or redevelopment in the U.S. 31 corridor to try to improve it.

“While this may not be exactly like the plan,” Downes said, referencing the original master plan for the area, “is it progress in the right direction? I think it is.”

When it comes to bringing in certain kinds of developments or businesses, Downes said it is all about creating a “destination” in Vestavia Hills, and doing so takes time.

“You can’t do it in a shotgun approach,” he said, adding that the city’s limited revenues also lead to the need to do things in stages.

Downes also addressed concerns about the city enforcing the zoning code or trying to “get rid” of certain types of businesses in the corridor.

“Zoning boards [and] cities cannot tell a property owner that they cannot use their property for what they have it zoned for,” he said, but noted that the city does work to enforce the zoning of a property, and also try to encourage property owners to move in a direction that residents want.

When audience members asked what can be done about businesses they don’t like, Downes suggested they vote with their dollars and demonstrate the kinds of businesses they approve of by supporting those and not supporting others.

He also said that “it’s an ongoing effort” to try to encourage certain property owners, like those of the older hotels, to mitigate the issue.

Finally, Downes said that he wants residents to understand that the only way the U.S. 31 corridor moves forward is if the city promotes “catalysts” of change, which he said in his opinion it has.

“We agree that Highway 31 has a ways to go. We agree that it takes too long, but we have not been, as a city, sitting on our hands,” he said. “We’ve not let private property owners as a whole just get away with murder, but what we have done is try to create a catalyst for positive culture change.”

If citizens still have concerns, he said that his ears and those of the elected officials are always open.