Hugh drive to be demolished?
Another neighborhood is under the gun by an institutional "neighbor". We are seeking the support of the community by requesting your presence at the 6:00 P.M. January 22nd City Council meeting for a public hearing which will give residents an opportunity to stop a precedent-setting rezoning request.
The First Baptist Church of Birmingham on Lakeshore Drive (at Hwy 31) has over the last 10 years or so quietly bought up the entire inventory of houses on Hugh Circle and used them as rental properties while they formulated their master plan for growth. The church's proposal has now been finalized and was recently presented to the Homewood Planning Commission for their recommendation. The scope of the project included a new daycare center, a recreational facility and a larger parking lot. In order to accommodate this expansion, the houses and mature trees on Hugh Circle will be bulldozed and in their place will be a parking lot.
Most of the opponents to this plan who attended the meeting were residents of the adjacent neighborhood who spoke passionately to the commission requesting they not approve it. The reasons for opposition included the desire to not have a commercial size parking lot in their backyard, the concern of increased water runoff into Shades Creek from the bigger parking lot, increased traffic on Old Montgomery Highway (where a new exit will be added), and the loss of city tax revenue from the existing residential properties and occupants. Hugh Circle is currently zoned as an "NPD" area. For those who don't know, this stands for Neighborhood Preservation District. The church needs to have this rezoned to Institutional (I-2) before they can proceed. The Planning Commission approved the development plan and proposed rezoning, despite no compelling testimony to support it other than that the church wanted it. The matter has now been forwarded to City Council. This public hearing is the last opportunity for citizens to express their opinions before a decision is made.
Please lend your support, either by your comments or just your presence, to show that this disregard for neighborhood sanctity and green spaces is an unacceptable way of doing business in Homewood. Your neighborhood, it would seem, could be next.
If you have questions or want more information, feel free to contact any of the names listed below. Thanks.
Randy Mayor Doug Atkinson Maureen McCorkle
309 Clermont Drive 3500 Ashley Circle 3516 Ashley Road
871-8915 870-3629 879-4714
randy_mayor@bellsouth.net datkinson02@charter.net l