Erica Techo
Vestavia Hills City Council Sept. 14
Engineer Brian Harris discusses a proposed neighborhood on Jacobs Road.
A rezoning ordinance for property on Jacobs Road drew discussion from the audience at Monday’s Vestavia Hills City Council meeting.
The rezoning, coupled with an annexation ordinance, brought the property from Jefferson County into Vestavia Hills and zoned the property for single family housing. It was approved by the council.
Anna Steel Properties, represented by Jody Henson, owns the property and plans to build 30 single-family houses. The houses will be on 75-foot lots and range in size from 2,800-3,500 square feet. The builder estimates the houses will sell in the $400,000’s.
Along with the houses on the property, there will be a half-acre detention pond at the front of the neighborhood. The pond will be used to manage water run-off in the event of rain, said engineer Brian Harris. The pond’s deepest point is 5 feet, but Harris said the water would only reach that depth in extreme weather conditions.
One resident said he was concerned the pond would pose a hazard to children in the area, especially if there was no fence around the pond.
“I would recommend to the council that a fence be required,” he said. “If there’s five feet of water, I see a hazard.”
Another resident asked about landscaping, fearing the pond would be an eyesore. Harris said there is a landscaping plan in place, and it has been approved by the design review board.
Construction of the detention pond also raised questions. The area could require blasting. Residents within a 500-foot radius of the project will have the option for an evaluation before any blasting. Resident Donna Johnson asked if residents who participated in the pre-evaluation would then be covered if their houses sustained damage following the blasting, to which the council answered in the affirmative.
The ordinance previously received a positive recommendation from the planning and zoning committee, and the council approved the request.
The council also approved several annexation requests. Councilman George Pierce said while it seems like a large number of annexations, each property owner went through an intensive process to make it in front of the council.
“The city is not out there promoting annexation,” Pierce said.
He also said each annexation is brought up to the school board. The school board’s opinion is used to determine how the annexation could affect the school system.
Most properties were annexed with no concerns, but Pierce advised that two properties included patches of road that may require repaving. By annexing the properties, the city would incur at least some of the cost of future repaving. Any repaving will be evaluated to see how it fits into the city’s five-year plan.
City Manager Jeff Downes also noted the new Vestavia Hills City Hall will soon open. On Oct. 15 and Oct. 16, the administrative offices will be closed. They will reopen on Monday morning, at the new location of 1032 Montgomery Highway.
In other news, the council:
- Approved a resolution authorizing the general fund budget, a special fund budget and a capital fund budget for fiscal year 2015-16.
- Approved an alcohol license for Newks Express Café. No representatives were present at the meeting, and the council amended the resolution to require a review of the restaurant’s alcohol policy and training practices for final approval.
- Approved a resolution for an alcohol license at Twisted Root Burger Co., a new restaurant that will open on Rocky Ridge Road. The restaurant will follow the ABC manual for employee training, and it is set to open in December.
- Approved an ordinance to annex 74 acres adjacent to the Cahaba River into the city. While concerns about liability were noted, City Attorney Patrick Boone said the city would not be liable for injury because the area is private property.
- Approved a resolution for grading, landscaping and the installation of new signage at the U.S. 280 and Dolly Ridge Road Intersection. The sign will identify Cahaba Heights.
- Approved a resolution for financing terms for city vehicles.
- Read an ordinance establishing the Rocky Ridge Road Entertainment District. The ordinance was new business at the meeting, and no action was taken at this time.
