RPC presents first draft of master plan for downtown

The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham shared a draft master plan for the future of downtown Homewood at tonight's City Council planning and development committee meeting.

Lindsay Puckett from the RPC presented the highlights of the Heart of Homewood plan, which has been under development since spring after a series of surveys and forums beginning in September 2017. The master plan outlines not only the current state of a 161-acre area defined as downtown — including from Rosedale Drive and Vulcan Park on the north side to Oxmoor Road on the south, with U.S. 31 and Central Avenue as the eastern and western borders, respectively — but also a vision for the next five to 10 years and projects and policies to achieve that vision.

“We’ve heard a lot of comments, and we’ve digested it,” Puckett said, noting that participation in the forums and surveys was "out of the ballpark."

The overall vision of the master plan, as Puckett described it, was of downtown as a pedestrian-friendly space that offers entertainment and shopping, public spaces used for a variety of purposes, pedestrian connections to surrounding neighborhoods, affordable housing and street landscaping and beautification.

Among the highlights of the downtown area's present-day condition, Puckett noted there are about 650 businesses (105 of them retail or commercial) employing about 4,400 people. Around 680 people live in the area that the RPC has studied, with 55 percent of them owning their home and only about 11 percent of residential spaces vacant.

Owner-occupied housing downtown has an average value of $446,674, making the area's residential properties more than 26 percent more valuable than homes in the rest of Homewood.

The downtown area has 834 public parking spots and 1,212 private parking spots, Puckett said. Public lots on street level are at or near capacity during peak business hours, but the deck under Rosewood Hall only has about 40 percent of its space in use at peak times. Puckett attributed this to lack of awareness that the garage is public, as well as poor lighting and lack of cameras causing some potential parkers to feel unsafe.

Puckett said 85 percent of downtown is covered with impervious surfaces, leading to water runoff issues, and only 27 percent of the streets have sidewalks.

Puckett presented a number of projects that would contribute to the overall master plan vision:

• Redesigning the plaza in front of city hall with greenspace, shade options and space for events such as food truck rallies.
• New and additional landscaping and amenities at the plaza on 18th Street in front of the Trak Shak.
• New lighting, paint, security cameras, repaving and signs for the pedestrian tunnel under U.S. 31 at Oxmoor Road.
• New paint, lighting, security cameras and signs to encourage parking in the garage under Rosewood Hall.
• The streetscape project on 18th Street South, to add sidewalks, landscaping, parking and mid-block crosswalks, as well as consistent design in landscaping, lighting, brick patterns and furnishings such as benches and trash cans.
• A "road diet" narrowing lanes on 18th Street from 28th Avenue South to Valley Avenue, making room for sidewalks and parking, as well as the possibility of bike lanes.
• More housing options around the Spring Park area, such as townhouses or duplexes.
• A plan for consistent signs, city gateways and branding throughout the area.
• A creek restoration and greenway at Griffin Creek, which would connect to area parks.

The Heart of Homewood plan also includes a number of policies for the city to consider adopting:

• A map for future land use to guide zoning decisions and try to make the density of development decrease as it moves outward from the Rosewood Hall plaza. Puckett said the land use map also presents the opportunity to consolidate the city's multiple commercial zoning districts and add live-work mixed developments as an accepted use.
• Set up a collection of design standards (appearance, property setbacks, height, window glazing and other factors) as well as a design review process to ensure downtown businesses are aesthetically appealing. Through the public surveys, Puckett also has information on residents' preferences on architectural and landscaping styles, from trees to sidewalk materials to benches.
• Fix damaged sidewalks and construct new ones for greater connectivity, especially to nearby neighborhoods and Vulcan Park's new trail system. Add bike lanes and provide shelters at downtown bus stops. Puckett also suggested the city adopt a Complete Streets ordinance, which would "legally require that any time you have a new roadway, you’re going to accommodate all users” including pedestrians, bikes and wheelchair or stroller accessibility.
• Enforce parking time limits through a full-time parking officer, and publish a downtown parking map for residents and visitors. Puckett also recommends the city meet with owners of private parking lots to discuss the idea of a management system, which would include consistent hours of operation and towing rules, as well as the possibility of parking fees, in exchange for the city handling upkeep on the lots.
• Pursue opportunities for greenspace including landscaping, pocket parks, funding of existing parks and consideration of public/private agreements that new developments will include a certain amount of greenspace. This also includes stormwater management and other design choices with low impact on the environment.
• Promote use of empty space such as food truck events, pop-up shops, farmers markets and incentives for business owners to improve the appearance of their storefronts.

The master plan came with suggested partnerships and action steps for the city to achieve the projects and policies presented.

“I love the idea of greenspaces in Rosedale. I think it’s a fabulous idea … and I was also intrigued by coming up with the design review guidelines,” said Ward 5 Representative Peter Wright.

After presenting the draft to the committee, Puckett said she intends to present it to the Planning Commission in August for adoption. If approved, it will then return to the City Council for adoption in September, and the RPC can then begin working with a consultant on changes to downtown zoning and sign ordinances based on the master plan goals.

Puckett said even once the master plan is adopted, it will remain a guide, and the city is not bound to complete everything within the master plan. See the draft master plan here.

Related to the issue of parking downtown, Allan Chappelle came to the planning and development committee to ask for special all-day parking passes for the second story tenants of his building at 1747 Reese Street, which has retail on the first floor and offices on the second. Increased city enforcement of parking laws has led to an uptick in tickets, and Chappelle said some employees feel unsafe in the city's parking garage or walking there after dark.

Chappelle said the loss of all-day parking has also made it harder for his office tenants to bring clients for meetings, and at least one tenant is considering moving out of the building.

Members of the committee were concerned that allowing a special parking pass would lead to other businesses requesting the same and defeating the point of enforcement. They encouraged Chappelle to talk with owners of nearby private lots to work out a deal to lease additional space.

Along with the planning and development committee, the council's finance committee met tonight and briefly discussed incentives proposed by Milo's Tea Company for the business to relocate its headquarters from Bessemer to Homewood.

City attorney Mike Kendrick described the proposal from Milo's as an abatement of nearly every fee the city imposes, including sales and property taxes for 10 years and building permit fees. Kendrick said Milo's will have 80-plus employees working there.

Discussion by the finance committee was brief, but they encouraged Kendrick to talk with Milo's about far less extensive incentives for the move.

The Public Works committee also heard a series of complaints about flooding issues at 212 Bonita Drive, 212 Malaga Avenue and a group of homes on Huntington Road near Lancaster Road. All of the homeowners have experienced flooding recently due to undersized infrastructure for carrying the water away from their homes or their nearby neighbors causing additional runoff due to new construction or rerouting their water runoff.

Robert Robertson, the Bonita Drive resident, said severe rain can cause such a pressure buildup in the pipes near his house that it will cause the caps over the stormwater pipes to pop up from the ground.

“It’s not that rare an occurrence,” Robertson said of the flooding.

At Bonita and Huntington, the Building, Engineering and Zoning Department is working with homeowners on different options to reduce flooding impact. Due to the Birmingham Water Works Board's ownership of property where stormwater runs off at Malaga, the committee recommended homeowners contact the BWWB for assistance. The issues will continue to be discussed at future committee meetings.