Commission okays 2040 master plan

By Grace Lovins

Birmingham’s 2040 Master Plan, known as The Birmingham Plan, was approved by the city commission after a public hearing during the meeting on Monday, May 22, concluding the planning process that began in 2017.

A city's master plan serves as a guide that helps communities envision what they want to be and look like in the future. Some of the major considerations included in Birmingham’s master plan, according to planning director Nick Dupuis, include zoning and future land use, housing, sustainability, parks, multi-modal infrastructure, Woodward Avenue and commercial destinations.

During the public hearing, several residents who commented took issue with the plan’s recommendation for accessory dwelling units and neighborhood seams. Some said the accessory dwelling units are not a good advancement for quality of life, while others were concerned that the units would plummet the value of their homes when they look to sell.

An accessory dwelling unit, or ADU, is an independent dwelling unit on the same lot as a singlefamily residential unit, which Dupuis said is a major consideration for aging-in-place and affordability.

According to Dupuis, the plan recommends that staff study it in the future and enable ADUs in currently compatible zones where multiple units are allowed on the same lot already.

There are three neighborhood seams proposed in the plan including access, activity and buffer seams. Access seams focus on multimodal and street improvements, and activity and buffer seams propose housing changes to promote smaller multi-family type units, said Dupuis.

Commissioners Brad Host and Andrew Haig agreed they felt the plan wasn’t ready for approval. Host stated he wanted three items changed in the plan: eliminate the neighborhood seams, strengthen the language to make is clear the city doesn’t want commercial destinations in parks and prohibit accessory dwelling units.

Haig said the commission hasn’t had the chance to ask questions

Outdoor dining standards finally approved

By Grace Lovins

After roughly three years, Birmingham city commissioners voted unanimously to adopt a new outdoor dining ordinance at their meeting on Monday, May 22, creating a new set of standards from the previous ordinance that was initially adopted in 2007.

The city began working on the ordinance draft in the wake of the COVID19 pandemic, with the planning board holding three public hearings throughout 2022. Board members voted on December 14, 2022, to recommend approval and send the draft to the city commission.

At their public hearing in February, commissioners directed staff to scratch a sunset provision requiring nonconforming facilities to come into compliance by a fixed date. Instead, staff was tasked with adding language to phase out nonconforming facilities without the provision. Staff was also directed to add language ensuring facilities are set up to be used and add utilities to the list of items considered during reviews.

Other major changes written into the draft since the commission’s last review, according to planning director Nick Dupuis, included adding clarity and consistency to the language, incorporating several new design standards and adding a clause for the protection of public property.

The clause states that the city commission has the discretion to order removal of facilities and equipment, or objects associated with the facilities if deemed necessary for public interest, health, safety or welfare. Dupuis said the clause will be included in the city’s code of ordinances, outdoor dining license agreements and in special land use permits.

With the new ordinance, rules concerning outdoor platform height, windbreaks, materials, service stations and location in the furnishing zone were put into place. Platforms will need to be flush with the curb and are not allowed to be in the furnishing zone except for special circumstances.

Bringing up the ordinance’s new requirements that renovations would mean a nonconforming facility would have to be brought into compliance, commissioner Andrew Haig said the ordinance needs to be very specific about what is considered routine maintenance versus renovation. Haig suggested taking photographs of facilities for a baseline so if a business changes parts of the facility without approval, staff has objective proof.

Commissioner Pierre Boutros, who served as mayor during the start of the pandemic when temporary outdoor dining rules took effect, said he feels everyone will be happy with the new ordinance.

“Outdoor dining is very crucial to our downtown. It creates vibrancy. It creates interaction. It creates life. I think by us coming up with such a fair ordinance that satisfies the residents’ requests but also, most importantly, we want to keep our investors and business owners happy as we want them to survive and succeed. I really believe this is almost perfect,” Boutros said.

The commission voted 7-0 to adopt the new outdoor dining ordinance.

about the draft to the planning board like they had with the outdoor dining ordinance, and he didn't think they should rubber stamp it.

The rest of the commission disagreed, noting they have been working on the plan since 2017, have had multiple opportunities for the public to engage in the drafting and planning process and, if any rezoning or other implementations were to occur, there would still be a lengthy process that involves the opportunity for public input.

“Every [public] comment that has been made has been taken very seriously. That’s why we got where we are today. … It’s not a perfect plan – there’s no such perfect thing. Any change or any implementation of this will still involve a public hearing, will still involve us as residents,” said commissioner Pierre Boutros.

The commission voted 5-2 to approve and adopt the Birmingham Plan 2040. Commissioners Haig and Host voted against the motion.