Here are some of the highlights from today's Birmingham City Council Meeting

ITEM 1

Following a presentation from a development group, the Council voted down an appeal for a car wash to operate on University Boulevard.

Earlier this year, the Council voted to impose a moratorium on car washes from obtaining new business licenses.

The sunset date on the moratorium is December 5th while city officials work on finalizing framework plans to ensure these businesses are appropriately located moving forward. The main concern is the increased traffic as it relates to pedestrian infrastructure and noise pollution in residential areas.

This proposed car wash is located at 2310 8th Ave. South, directly adjacent to the new Edgewood Development that is intended to increase pedestrian foot traffic and public transportation in the area. City officials expressed concerns over a car wash operating in this busy corridor.

The vote failed in a 3-3-1 vote (one abstention).

“My concern with all of this has always been focused on our residents. We’ve seen a trend of these businesses wanting to open in high traffic corridors, ones that we are actively trying to make safer for pedestrians and other modes of transportation besides cars,” Council President Darrell O’Quinn said. “What we are trying to do now is fix that, and ensure these businesses only operate in areas that do not pose a problem to residents or pedestrians and are in line with current land use plans for the city.”

ITEM 2

The Council voted to revoke the business license and all associated permits of The Quest LLC, following an uptick in violent incidents and police reports at the location.

During the public hearing, the Council heard from local law enforcement officials regarding the amount of incidents that have occurred at the 24-hour club. In the last year there have been 109 calls to police from the location, including a double homicide, robbery, assault, disorderly fights, trespassing and drug possession.

In addition to that, on Tuesday morning, the Birmingham Police Department sent a plain clothes officer to the location, and they were able to walk into the establishment with a concealed firearm without incident.

Councilor JT Moore said that he visited the club last month and was not screened by security and witnessed people inside the establishment openly using drugs.

“We realized the current ownership have not been good stewards, especially with the privilege they’ve had of being able to operate as a 24-hour establishment in our city,” Councilor JT Moore told reporters following the meeting. “They’ve shown us multiple times that they can’t handle that level of responsibility to the public. Today’s action was about increasing safety for individuals in our city while holding ownership accountable for their lack of action.”

Councilor LaTonya Tate, who chairs the Council’s Public Safety Committee, explained that ownership was repeatedly made aware that their current safety plan was not sufficient and that serious changes needed to be made. As of Tuesday morning, guns were still getting through security unnoticed.

“We’ve told them on multiple occasions that they were not taking the necessary steps to keep patrons and employees safe,” Councilor Tate said. “They showed us today that they clearly haven’t made any improvements in that regard. They’ve been in business since 1982, they should know what it takes to implement a safety plan and adhere to that.”

Tuesday’s unanimous vote to revoke the club’s business licenses is effective immediately. However, representatives of The Quest LLC indicated they would be seeking a temporary restraining order to keep the club open.

ITEM 19
 

The Council approved an agreement with Cornerstone Revitalization Foundation Inc to provide home repair services in District 8, a project funded by Councilor Carol Clarke’s discretionary American Rescue Plan Act funding.

The group will provide housing rehabilitation for up to 13 houses in the district – this is aimed to assist moderate to low-income households in need of minor repairs. The funding for the agreement totals $370,000.

“I wanted to bring note of this incredible work and the importance of this for helping beautify our communities,” Council President Pro Tem Wardine Alexander said. “In my colleague Carol Clarke’s absence, I thought it was important to shine a light on this and let residents know how this federal funding is being utilized in our neighborhoods.”

This vote comes one week after the Council approved similar home repair agreements, totaling nearly $1 million for the communities of Smithfield, Graymont, College Hills and North Birmingham.

Boards and Agencies

 
There is currently a vacancy on the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority for an unexpired term following the resignation of one of Birmingham's appointed members.
 
This body regulates the public transit system and plays an important role in improving and expanding these options for our residents.
 
The Birmingham City Council is currently taking submissions to fill the vacancy. If you are interested in serving the remainder of the vacated term, please email your resume and letter of interest to Kimberly.Phillips@birminghamal.gov by Friday, September 20th. For more information, you can contact Council President Darrell O’Quinn’s office at 205-254-6679
 
Only qualification is that you are a resident of Jefferson County.

Public Input Meetings

 
We have some incredibly important public input meetings that are taking place over the next month. The next installment for the Southern Area and will take placeTuesday, September 10that the Highland Golf Club
 
Council President O’Quinn explained the importance of residents providing feedback to the proposed rezoning plans.
 
“These meetings are really crucial for our residents, because you need to understand what’s going on with zoning plans and upcoming changes in Birmingham,” President O’Quinn said. “I’ve had a situation recently where someone wanted to do business within the city of Birmingham. They’ve identified a location that used to be a commercial retail establishment, but somehow in the 1990s it was rezoned for residential. Now he has to go through the entire rezoning process to secure a business license. We don’t want that to be the case for people moving forward and we hope to have a great turnout for these public input meetings over the next month.”