Map courtesy of city of Vestavia Hills
A developer is proposing to build 59 townhomes on 4.3 acres on Bellwood Drive and Autumn Lane in the Cahaba Heights community in Vestavia HIlls, Alabama.
The Vestavia Hills Planning and Zoning Commission on Thursday night unanimously recommended the City Council approve the rezoning of two pieces of land in Cahaba Heights for 65 townhomes despite a crowd against one of the rezoning efforts.
The opposition was to a request from developer Taylor Burton to rezone 4.3 acres off Bellwood Drive and Autumn Lane to accommodate 59 townhomes. Some of the land already is zoned for townhomes, but the rest of it is zoned for an R-4 medium-density residential district.
Numerous residents argued that 59 townhomes is too many to put on 4.3 acres and said they were concerned the development would add to traffic congestion, stormwater problems and safety concerns.
Many of the streets in Cahaba Heights were built when the community was in unincorporated Jefferson County and don’t meet current requirements for Vestavia Hills streets. Many streets are too narrow and don’t have curbs, gutters or sidewalks, creating safety concerns, residents said.
Resident Rich Melville said that since 2002, the population of Cahaba Heights has almost tripled, but the city’s master plan shows no committed funding or timeline for road or infrastructure improvements in Cahaba Heights.
“The gap between development and infrastructure investment keeps widening,” Melville said. “This is creating unacceptable risks for residents.”
Charles Cochran, a traffic engineer with Sain Associates who did a traffic study for the developer, said this development is expected to generate 389 daily vehicle trips. Residents said that’s too many for already overburdened infrastructure.
Resident Steve Gargis said he’s concerned about children walking to and from school “Some child is going to get hit,” he said.
Another resident who wrote a letter opposing the townhome development said it’s out of character with the surrounding neighborhood, which is characterized mostly by small single-family homes. This development doesn’t match the design or character of the community and would disrupt the visual harmony of the neighborhood, resident Megan Brasher wrote.
One resident said he might could live with 20 to 30 townhomes, and another said the developer likely could build 10 $1 million single-family homes and still make a decent profit.
Photo by Jon Anderson
About 60 people attended the Oct. 9, 2025, meeting of the Vestavia Hills Planning and Zoning Commission, most in opposition to a proposal for 59 townhomes by Taylor Burton in Cahaba Heights.
Burton said there’s not a market for 10 $1 million single-family homes in that area. He said he did initially plan for 30 to 40 townhomes, but the current owner of the land doubled the price on him. The numbers no longer worked, so he had to double the number of homes to make it a worthwhile investment, he said. He came to the city with a proposal for 67 townhomes and later downgraded it to 59, he said.
Nearby resident Anna Velasco said after the meeting that the number of homes on the property shouldn’t be determined by the price of the land. Burton has no God-given right to develop that piece of property, and “nobody’s forcing him to buy the property,” Velasco said.
Plus, “not every piece of land need to be developed,” Velasco said. “That’s why we have stormwater problems.”
Resident Amy Gargis said Vestavia Hills needs to consider leaving some open spaces so rainwater can filter into the ground better. “This is an insult to our community,” she said.
Burton said his proposed development actually is going to help the stormwater problems because he plans to build a detention pond that will slow the water down and he’s doing more with the detention pond than the city requires. Joey Miller, an engineer working with Burton, said there would be 10% less water coming off the site than there is currently.
Burton also said his development actually will help the community with its infrastructure issues because he has committed to widen the roads where his development sits and add sidewalks.
It would be up to the city or another party to widen the other side of the road and sidewalks elsewhere to create connectivity, he said.
Lori Beth Kearley, Vestavia Hills’ public services director, said that area of town has been designated as a priority area for sidewalks but no funding has yet been set aside for the city to add more sidewalks there.
Some residents have complained that the townhome development would cause a burden for schools, but Burton said Superintendent Todd Freeman has indicated there is room for more children in schools, except for Vestavia Hills Elementary East, which is in a different part of town.
Resident Robert de Buys said if the developer is going to develop townhomes, he should have to use the R-8 townhome zoning instead of the R-9 townhome zoning that Burton is requesting. The R-9 townhome zoning, which has fewer restrictions when it comes to things like setbacks, is supposed to be reserved for pieces of property that are otherwise unbuildable, he said.
Sketch courtesy of city of Vestavia Hills
Developer Taylor Burton is proposing to build 59 townhomes on Bellwood Drive and Autumn Lane in the Cahaba Heights community in Vestavia Hills, Alabama.
Also, if the zoning board does approve Burton’s request, it should put a condition on the property that the townhomes be owner-occupied instead of properties used for rental purposes. About 50% of the housing units in that area are being rented, and there needs to be more owner-occupied homes, he said.
Zoning board Chairwoman Lindsay Cochran said whether the home owners association for this development allows townhomes to be rented is not an issue for the zoning board to decide.
Cochran also said she voted in favor of the rezoning because what Burton has planned is better than what is on the property right now and that more development in the area will only lead to more improvements such as sidewalks being added.
Zoning board member Jonathan Romeo, who lives in Cahaba Heights, said he’s not a big fan of the density of this development but he believes this allowing this development to happen will improve the road and stormwater conditions in the area.
The zoning board also on Thursday night recommended the council:
- Rezone .38 acres at 3951 Wall Street in Cahaba Heights from a B-2 business district to an R-9 townhome district for six townhomes by developer Jason Kessler. That property currently has one house on it, Assistant City Manager Cinnamon McCulley said. Nearby residents supported the rezoning, saying they prefer a residential use over a business use.
- Allow West Alabama Bank to build a bank location on 1.1 acres at 3122, 3128, 3134 and 3136 Sunview Drive in Cahaba Heights. The bank would have two drive-through lanes and 20 parking spaces. The property previously was approved for a hair salon and office/commercial use, but that project never came to fruition.
City planner Conrad Garrison said the Vestavia Hills City Council likely will vote on the zoning board’s recommendations at the council’s Nov. 24 meeting.
