# General plan documents — birmingham-alabama Assembled by OpenPublica from the documents it serves for this government. Each section below is a separate publication by the government; page anchors (``) refer to pages of that section's own source PDF, linked in its heading. **Contains 1 document.** OpenPublica has pinned these slots for this government: combined. That is what we have looked for, not a statement that the government publishes nothing else — a plan element absent here may simply not have been reviewed yet. Last reviewed 2026-08-24. --- ## Complete Plan — City of Birmingham Comprehensive Plan (2012) - Source: https://s3.us-east-2.amazonaws.com/assets.birminghamal.gov/s3fs-public/2025-02/COB_CompPlan_AllChapters.pdf - Pages: 529 - Covers: circulation, combined, conservation, ej, housing, land_use, noise, open_space, safety - **Transcription findings were recorded for this document;** check figures against the source. # ThePLAN ## using our past to build our future ### B I R M I N G H A M # VOLUME 1—THE PLAN <
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> CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN OUR CITY | OUR VOICE | OUR PLAN UNITED FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY MAYOR WILLIAM A. BELL. SR. GOODY CLANCY ARCHITECTURE PLANNING PRESERVATION <
> # CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN City of Birmingham, Alabama Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. Birmingham Planning Commission Adoption by the Birmingham Planning Commission: October 2, 2013 – Comprehensive Plan without Future Land Use Plan Maps February 5, 2014 – Future Land Use Plan Maps **CONSULTANT TEAM** **Goody Clancy** | Boston, MA with **Kittelson & Associates** | Baltimore, MD **Mt. Auburn Associates** | Somerville, MA **KPS Group** | Birmingham, AL **Enclave** | Birmingham, AL **NHB Group** | Birmingham, AL **Bloc Global** | Birmingham, AL **Khafra** | Birmingham, AL # Acknowledgements ## CITY OF BIRMINGHAM **Mayor William A. Bell, Sr.** Virginia Williams, *Director of Capital Projects* **DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, ENGINEERING, AND PERMITS** Andre Bittas, *Director* Tom Magee, *Chief Planner* Doug Hale, *Principal Planner* **Planning staff:** Michael Ward Jason Hjetland Donald Wilborn Timothy Gambrel Tracey Hayes Phil Turkett **BIRMINGHAM PLANNING COMMISSION** David Fleming, *Chairman* Elizabeth Barbaree-Tasker Jennifer Clarke Dr. Doug Ragland James Steele Lawrence Walker Linda Nelson Brian Ruggs Keith Ray Patty Pilkerton Patrick Bodden Dr. Brian Johnson **BIRMINGHAM CITY COUNCIL** Roderick Royal, *President* Steven Hoyt, *President Pro Tempore* Valerie Abbott Johnathan Austin Maxine Herring Parker Kim Rafferty Jay Roberson Lashunda Scales Carole Smitherman ## CITIZEN PARTICIPATION **COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE** Charlie Williams Deborah Blalock Faye Oates Phillip Morris Chris Boehm Terry Smiley Michelle Amaral Darrell Howard Tad Snider Dr. Henry Panion Valerie Wilson Jeremy Erdreich Andre Natta Joseph Baker Curtis Anthony David Germany Duer Sharp William Robertson Sheila Chaffin Bobbie Knight Karen Rolen Teri Chafin Carol Clarke Dr. Brian Sims Adrienne Mitchell Edwin Marty Fraser Rolen Buddy Palmer Bunny Stokes Sara Hamlin Isabel Rubio A. Michelle Clemon Camille Spratling Cheryl Morgan Keith Johnston Selena Rodgers Jim Hansen Tammy Cohen Martha Emmett Joseph M. Hollis Don Erwin **COMPREHENSIVE PLAN WORKING GROUPS** Thank you to all local professionals, City staff members, and community advocates who participated in working groups and took time to review draft chapters of the Comprehensive Plan. **COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT PARTNERS** Thank you - for meeting spaces and assistance in reaching out to residents and other stakeholders: Birmingham Public Library Birmingham City Schools Boutwell Municipal Auditorium Birmingham Museum of Art Birmingham Business Alliance REV Birmingham REV/Main Street Birmingham Birmingham Water Works Birmingham CrossPlex Birmingham Parks & Recreation Local Businesses Neighborhood Leaders THANK YOU to all the citizens, neighborhood and business leaders, community advocates, and stakeholders who participated in creating this Comprehensive Plan by attending public meetings and engaging with one another, by sharing your experience and knowledge of Birmingham through interviews and meetings with the planning team, and by expressing your commitment to Birmingham’s future. Everyone can be part of putting this plan into action! Page intentionally blank # Contents **Preface** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . **1** **How to Use This Plan** . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . **5** **VOLUME 1 The Plan** **PART I—SETTING THE STAGE** **Chapter 1 — Vision and Principles** * 21st-Century Birmingham: A Vision for the City. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.3 * Principles to Guide the Comprehensive Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1.5 **Chapter 2 — The Community Speaks** * Community—Based Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 > Committee Structure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 > Public Outreach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.3 > Citywide Visioning Forum. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.4 > Community of Place Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.10 > Community of Interest Workshops . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.11 > Open Houses. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.19 > Citywide Forum on the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.22 > Public Review and Adoption . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2.25 **Chapter 3 — Understanding Birmingham Today** * The City of Birmingham and 21st-Century Trends. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.2 * Trends at a Glance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.7 * Population and Land Use Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.12 * Green Systems and Sustainability. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.24 * Housing and Neighborhoods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.30 * Prosperity and Opportunity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.41 * Strengthening City Systems and Networks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.46 * Fiscal Issues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.56 * 21st-Century Birmingham: Planning for a New Future . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.56 ## PART II—GREEN SYSTEMS ### Chapter 4 — Natural Resources and Environmental Constraints * Goals and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.3 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 * Topography, Geology, and Landscape Character . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.4 > Hydrology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.5 > Air Quality. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.8 > Habitats and Biodiversity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.9 > Urban Forest . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.11 > Conservation and Environmental Quality Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.13 > Green Infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.14 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16 GOAL 1—COMPREHENSIVE GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.16 GOAL 2—REINVESTMENT IN EXISTING COMMUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.22 GOAL 3—MEETING CLEAN AIR STANDARDS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.24 GOAL 4—MEETING CLEAN WATER STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.26 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4.29 ### Chapter 5 — Open Space, Parks and Recreation * Goals and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.3 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 * Parks and Open Space System. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 > The Olmsted Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.4 > Coal Mines to Zip Lines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.5 > City of Birmingham Parks System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.6 > Parks Organizations and Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.10 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.13 GOAL 1—ENSURING PARK ACCESSIBILITY FOR ALL RESIDENTS . . . . . . . . . 5.13 GOAL 2—SAFE AND WELL—MAINTAINED CITY PARKS AND RECREATION FACILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.16 GOAL 3—ACCESS TO CITY’S MAJOR NATURAL AMENITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.20 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.22 ### Chapter 6 — Sustainability and Green Practices * Goals and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.3 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 * What is Sustainability? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 > Sustainability Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.4 > Community Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.6 > Benefits of Sustainability . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.8 > Local Initiatives and Organizations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.9 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10 GOAL 1—CITY OPERATIONS AS A MODEL OF EFFICIENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.10 GOAL 2—REINVESTMENT IN EXISTING COMMUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.14 GOAL 3—SUSTAINABLE PLANNING AND DESIGN. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.18 GOAL 4—EFFORTS TO REDUCE AIR POLLUTION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.22 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6.24 ### PART III—NEIGHBORHOODS, HOUSING AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL ### Chapter 7 — Neighborhoods, Historic Preservation and Housing * Goals and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.3 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 * Understanding Neighborhoods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.5 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 GOAL 1—INVESTMENTS TO IMPROVE QUALITY OF LIFE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.8 GOAL 2—DEVELOPMENT OF URBAN VILLAGES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.12 GOAL 3—NEIGHBORHOODS HAVE A GOOD PUBLIC IMAGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.18 GOAL 4—CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PLAN IMPROVEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.18 GOAL 5—MAINTAIN AND ENHANCE HISTORIC DISTRICTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.20 GOAL 6—HISTORIC PRESERVATION SUPPORTS COMMUNITY RENEWAL . 7.22 GOAL 7—COMPREHENSIVE HOUSING POLICY TO SUPPORT QUALITY NEIGHBORHOODS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.26 GOAL 8—HOUSING THAT IS CODE COMPLIANT AND IN GOOD CONDITION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.30 GOAL 9—QUALITY HOUSING FOR ALL AGES AND ALL INCOMES . . . . . 7.31 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7.33 ### Chapter 8—Community Renewal * Goals and Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.2 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.3 * Special Strategies and Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.7 GOAL 1—BLIGHT IS SUBSTANTIALLY ELIMINATED IN BIRMINGHAM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.9 GOAL 2—CREATION OF LAND BANK AND REDEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.12 GOAL 3—STRATEGIC AND COMPREHENSIVE REDEVELOPMENT . . . . . 8.14 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8.21 ### PART IV—PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITY ### Chapter 9 — Growing Economic Base Industries * Goals and Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.3 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.4 GOAL 1—A DIVERSIFIED, KNOWLEDGE—DRIVEN ECONOMY . . . . . . . . 9.5 * The Health Care Industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.5 * Manufacturing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.7 * Tourism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.9 * Distribution. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.12 * The Financial Services Industry. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.13 * Life Sciences Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.15 * Life Sciences Industry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.17 * Medical—related Industry Niches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.19 GOAL 2—CITY FOCUS ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.20 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9.20 **Chapter 10 — Reinforcing the Building Blocks of the Economy** * Goals and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.4 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5 * Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5 GOAL 1—ALL STUDENTS GRADUATE FROM HIGH SCHOOL . . . . . . . . . . . 10.5 GOAL 2—A WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.9 GOAL 3—SUPPORTIVE SERVICES ARE IN PLACE TO ASSIST WORKERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.13 GOAL 4—A STRONG ENTREPRENEURIAL ENVIRONMENT . . . . . . . . . . . .10.14 GOAL 5—OPPORTUNITIES TO DEVELOP BUSINESSES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.17 GOAL 6—BIRMINGHAM IS A COMMUNITY OF CHOICE FOR WORKERS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.20 GOAL 7—LOCAL GOVERNMENT POLICIES ARE FAIR AND EFFICIENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.21 GOAL 8—REUSE OF VACANT INDUSTRIAL SITES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10.24 GOAL 9—MODERN INFRASTRUCTURE MEETS BUSINESS NEEDS . . . . 10.25 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10.27 **Chapter 11 — Sustaining Downtown** * Goals and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.3 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4 * Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4 * Downtown Management . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.4 * Real Estate Market Conditions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.5 * The Twelve Step Program for Downtown Revitalization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.5 * Downtown Sub—districts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.8 GOAL 1—DOWNTOWN IS A THRIVING MIX—USE CENTER . . . . . . . . . . 11.11 GOAL 2—DOWNTOWN IS A SAFE, FUN, AND EXCITING PLACE TO LIVE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.16 GOAL 3—DOWNTOWN IS A DIVERSE MIX OF CULTURAL/ ENTERTAINMENT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.18 GOAL 4—DOWNTOWN IS MADE UP OF CONNECTED DISTRICTS . . . . 11.20 GOAL 5—DOWNTOWN HAS A STRONG LEADERSHIP ORGANIZATION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.26 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11.27 PART V—STRENGTHENING CITY SYSTEMS AND NETWORKS Chapter 12 — Getting from Here to There: Transportation and Mobility • Goals and Policies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.2 • Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.3 • What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5 • Transportation Trends . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.5 • Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.24 GOAL 1—TRANSPORTATION SYSTEMS HELP CREATE URBAN LIVABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.24 GOAL 2—COMPLETE BICYCLE AND PEDESTRIAN NETWORKS . . . . . . 12.34 GOAL 3—TRANSIT SYSTEM IS FAST, EFFICIENT AND DEPENDABLE . . 12.38 GOAL 4—STREETS AND SIDEWALKS ARE ACCESSIBLE AND MAINTAINED . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.42 GOAL 5—STATE-OF-THE-ART INTERCITY PASSENGER TRAVEL AND FREIGHT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.43 • Traffic Calming & Active Transportation Safety Toolbox . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.45 • Street Sections . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12.57 Chapter 13 — Supporting Public Facilities, Services and Infrastructure • Goals and Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.2 • Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.3 • What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.6 • Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.6 GOAL 1—CITY HAS STATE-OF-THE-ART INFORMATION SOURCES . . . 13.6 GOAL 2—PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENTS MEET BEST-PRACTICES STANDARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.7 GOAL 3—WATER AND SEWER THAT MEETS LONG-TERM NEEDS . . . 13.9 GOAL 4—STORMWATER-MANAGEMENT BEST PRACTICES . . . . . . . . 13.10 GOAL 5—MITIGATE ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.16 GOAL 6—CITY FACILITIES ARE MODELS OF RESOURCE EFFICIENCY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.16 GOAL 7—MINIMIZED CITY FUNDING FOR CULTURAL FACILITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.22 GOAL 8—TWENTY PERCENT REDUCTION IN SOLID WASTE LEVELS BY 2030. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.22 GOAL 9—AN EFFECTIVE AND WELL-REGARDED SCHOOL SYSTEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.23 • Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13.25 PART VI—FROM PLAN TO ACTION **Chapter 14 — Future Land Use, Regulations and Urban Design** * Goals and Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.3 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4 * Land Use Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.4 * Existing Land Use Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.5 * Land Use Policy and Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.7 * Land Use Issues and Future Land Use Approach . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.8 * Zoning and Development Regulations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.12 GOAL 1—DEVELOPMENT PATTERN OF DOWNTOWN, URBAN VILLAGES, AND GREEN NETWORK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.16 > Strategic Policy Map . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.17 > Future Land Use Plan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.19 GOAL 2—ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS AND PROCEDURES REFLECT THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.22 > Best Practices Characteristics of Modern Zoning Codes . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.22 > Concept Plans: * Woodlawn Urban Village and Strategic Opportunity Area . . . . . . . . . . . 14.30 * Five Points West Urban Village and Strategic Opportunity Area . . . . . 14.32 * Parkway East Vision and Strategic Opportunity Area . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.34 GOAL 3—EXCELLENT URBAN DESIGN QUALITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.37 * Getting Started . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14.39 **Chapter 15 — Stewardship and Implementation of the Plan** * Goals and Policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.2 * Findings and Challenges. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.2 * What the Community Said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.3 * Recommendations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.3 * Purpose of Plan to Organize for Action . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.3 * Stewardship of the Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.3 * Planning Commission and the Department of PE&P. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.4 GOAL 1—REGULAR REVIEW OF PLAN IMPLEMENTATION PROGRESS .15.5 GOAL 2—INCORPORATION OF COMPREHENSIVE PLAN IN DECISION-MAKING. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.6 GOAL 3—INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL ACCOUNTABILITY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.8 GOAL 4—RESOURCES TO PROVIDE SERVICES AND PROGRAMS FOR REVITALIZATION. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.9 * Implementation and Action Plan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.12 * Implementation Tools. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.12 * Implementation Matrices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15.14 VOLUME 2—Appendix # I — Future Land Use Plan by Community * Figure A.1: Future Land Use * Figure A.2: Airport Hills Future Land Use * Figure A.3: Brownville Future Land Use * Figure A.4: Cahaba Future Land Use * Figure A.5: Crestline Future Land Use * Figure A.6: Crestwood Future Land Use * Figure A.7: East Birmingham Future Land Use * Figure A.8: East Lake Future Land Use * Figure A.9: East Pinson Valley Future Land Use * Figure A.10: Ensley Future Land Use * Figure A.11: Five Points West Future Land Use * Figure A.12: Grasselli Future Land Use * Figure A.13: Huffman Future Land Use * Figure A.14: North Birmingham Future Land Use * Figure A.15: Northside Future Land Use * Figure A.16: Pratt Future Land Use * Figure A.17: Red Mountain Future Land Use * Figure A.18: Roebuck – South East Lake Future Land Use * Figure A.19: Smithfield Future Land Use * Figure A.20: Southside Future Land Use * Figure A.21: Southwest Future Land Use * Figure A.22: Titusville Future Land Use * Figure A.23: West End Future Land Use * Figure A.24: Woodlawn Future Land Use # II — Market Reports for Five Locations * Carraway-Norwood Community Redevelopment Market Report * Ensley Community Redevelopment Market Report * Five Points West Community Redevelopment Market Report * Parkway East Community Redevelopment Market Report * Woodlawn Community Redevelopment Market Report # III — Blight Elimination and Code Enforcement Tools * How Community Progress Can Help You, Center for Community Progress * Turning Vacant Spaces into Vibrant Spaces, Center for Community Progress * City of New Orleans Code Enforcement Update, January 14, 2013 * Real Estate Market Analysis, The Reinvestment Fund * Re-Imagining Cleveland: Ideas to Action Resource Book * Re-Imagining Cleveland: Vacant Land Re-Use Pattern Book * REO and Beyond: The Aftermath of the Foreclosure Crisis in Cuyahoga County, OH. * Managing Foreclosures and Vacant Properties * Smart Management and the Turnaround of a City * Should the Site be Preserved? IV — Community Audit and Sustainability Tools * STAR Community Rating System * Sustainable Design and Green Building Toolkit for Local Governments * A Citizen’s Guide to Phytoremediation * Selecting and Using Phytoremediation for Site Cleanup V — Arts and Culture in Redevelopment * Creative Placemaking * Culture Clash: Addressing Conventional Urban Challenges Through Unconventional Partnerships * Developing Artist-Driven Spaces in Marginalized Communities VI — Foundation and Grant Resources * Cities for Financial Empowerment > About CFE Coalition > How We Work * Enterprise * Local Initiatives Support Corporation > Building Sustainable Communities * Surdna Foundation > Environmental Grant Guidelines > Strong Local Economies Grant Guidelines > Thriving Cultures Grant Guidelines * W.K. Kellogg Foundation > Growing Communities Where All Children Thrive * Ford Foundation > Connecting People to Opportunity > Expanding Access to Quality Housing > Promoting Metropolitan Land-Use Innovation * Code for America > What We Can Do For Your City * Reconnecting America > Possible Funding Sources for Sustainable Communities VII — Conference for Birmingham Neighborhoods Resources * Suggestions for the Birmingham Neighborhoods Conference <
> # CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN: ## People, Prosperity, Place, Partnership, Performance ### WHY WE DEVELOPED THIS PLAN This is the City of Birmingham's first full comprehensive plan since 1961 and the first comprehensive plan based on a community process. With community consensus behind it, the 2012 City of Birmingham Comprehensive Plan puts the city on a new strategic path for the 21st century towards a renaissance of city neighborhoods, a strong economy with more jobs, and more opportunity and quality of life for all. ### HOW WE DEVELOPED THIS PLAN The City of Birmingham Comprehensive Plan was developed through a process of broad public participation by citizens, business owners and other stakeholders. The planning process touched over 2,300 people whether through citywide forums, workshops in different parts of the city, topical workshops, or open house events. Stakeholders from all walks of life gave many hours of their time to serve on the Steering Committee that helped shape the plan. <
> ### HOW WE'LL PUT THE PLAN TO WORK The purpose of planning is to get to action. The Comprehensive Plan includes a detailed implementation plan setting out the What, How, Who, and When for specific actions to achieve the goals of the plan. A Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee made up of planning commissioners and citizens will serve as the stewards of the plan, advising government and other partners, and monitoring progress. Annual public hearings will give citizens a report on implementation and the plan will be used in capital improvement planning, work plans, and to guide land use decision making. Partnerships with residents, businesses, medical and educational institutions, and nonprofits will be critical to success. | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Establish working group to develop sports tourism development plan. | Lead: GBCVB. Support: Mayor's Office of Economic Development; venue owners and events organizers | | Conduct market study on increasing cargo service at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. | Lead: Birmingham Airport Authority | | Organize advocacy efforts related to life sciences research funding. | Lead: BBA. Support: Mayor, UAB, SRI | | Inaugurate local funding campaign to support expansion of life sciences research. | Lead: UAB. Support: local entrepreneurial support community | | Initiate strategic planning for expanding the applied research capacities of UAB school of engineering. | Lead: UAB. Support: BBA bringing relevant industry representatives to the table | | Capitalize Innovation Fund. | Lead: BBA. Support: UAB, private philanthropic investors; city | | Capitalize proof-of-concept fund. | Lead: BBA. Support: private investors; city | | Develop Entrepreneurial District Master Plan. | Lead: BBA and City Planning Division. Support: input from entrepreneurial support community | #### BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STRATEGIC POLICY MAP <
> **STRATEGIC MIXED-USE CENTERS** * Downtown Core * Urban Villages **STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY AREAS** * Neighborhood revitalization * Urban Agriculture Innovation District * Planned Development Area **ROBUST GREEN CONNECTIONS** * Major greenways * Parks and open space * Conservation **TRANSPORTATION CHOICE** * Enhanced transit <
> ### Birmingham's Vision for the 21st Century In 2032, the City of Birmingham leads the South as a community of choice and opportunity: diverse, prosperous, sustainable, and beautiful. * **People choose the City of Birmingham as a place to live.** Our neighborhoods are attractive, walkable, well maintained, and safe. The blighted properties of the past have been transformed into new or renovated housing, greenways and green open spaces, or other community assets. Across the city, there are appealing housing choices for all kinds of households: young singles and couples, families with children, empty nesters, and retirees. * **Birmingham has a connected network of walkable urban places.** Our compact, mixed use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood centers support an enhanced and efficient transit system, and a network of safe and attractive pedestrian and bicycle routes links neighborhoods with city destinations. * **Birmingham is innovative and prosperous, with a diversified and sustainable economy.** Education, innovation and investment have grown the economy and reduced poverty by creating new economic opportunities. As a community of learning, Birmingham offers excellent educational options for all age levels and interests, creating well-educated citizens and a modern workforce qualified for 21st century jobs. Vacant or underutilized industrial sites are finding new uses that benefit the city and its economy. Because our culture of opportunity supports innovation and creativity, our diversified economy supports entrepreneurial start-ups and creates new jobs, ranging from businesses that emerge from the interdisciplinary research of UAB to our acclaimed food culture and arts scene. * **Birmingham is the most sustainable, "greenest" city in the South.** The city has become cleaner, healthier, more energy- and resource-efficient, and more attractive as a place to live. We have worked within the city and through regional partnerships to improve air quality, preserve sensitive lands, and protect and enjoy our excellent water resources. Our parks and greenways provide convenient, safe environments for all residents to play and exercise. Everyone has access to our city's premier health services, healthy food choices, and healthy lifestyles. * **Birmingham's success is built on local and regional partnerships.** We created strong partnerships encompassing citizens, the business community, institutions, nonprofits, and governments to transform Birmingham into the best place to live, work, study, and play in the South. ### Fifty years after 1963: #### FULFILLING THE PROMISE FOR 21ST-CENTURY BIRMINGHAM Honor our past Meet the challenges of our present Build on assets for a future of opportunity ### TEN GAME-CHANGING STRATEGIES FOR THE CITY'S FUTURE: #### PEOPLE * ***Prepare students and workers for 21st century jobs through high quality career education and a coordinated and responsive workforce development system.*** * ***Reinvigorate the citizen participation process.*** #### PROSPERITY * ***Cultivate innovation: strengthen and promote Birmingham's entrepreneurial ecosystem.*** * ***Capitalize on the city's economic drivers by targeting life science, advanced manufacturing, and entrepreneurship.*** #### PLACE * ***Create transit-ready urban villages through investment in strategic neighborhood areas to make a visible difference.*** * ***Invest in quality of life: design excellence, complete streets, marked bicycle routes, well maintained parks.*** * ***Create and implement a Downtown Connections Plan to link all the attractions and neighborhoods in downtown.*** #### PARTNERSHIP * ***End working in "silos:" cooperate, coordinate and collaborate across municipalities, communities, constituencies, institutions, agencies, and departments.*** #### PERFORMANCE * ***Accelerate revitalization through a city redevelopment authority and land bank and a comprehensive property information system.*** * ***Prepare an annual public report on progress implementing the comprehensive plan.*** UNITED FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY MAYOR WILLIAM A. BELL, SR. GOODY CLANCY ARCHITECTURE PLANNING PRESERVATION OUR CITY | OUR VOICE | OUR PLAN WWW.BIRMINGHAMCOMPREHENSIVEPLAN.COM # WHAT'S IN THE # 2012 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM # COMPREHENSIVE PLAN? **IMAGINE ▶ PLAN ▶ ACT** The Comprehensive Plan covers a broad range of topics in 15 chapters about current trends, the planning process and all aspects of community life that affect the way our city can develop in the future. ### IMAGINE **What kind of place do we want** **to be in the 21st century?** * **Part I: Setting the Stage.** Our vision for the future, guiding principles for planning, the public process, and where we are starting from today. ### PLAN **How do we get there?** **Strategies to achieve the vision.** * **Part II: Green Systems.** Nature and environment, parks and recreation, and sustainability and green practices. * **Part III: Neighborhoods, Housing and Community Renewal.** Sustaining, enhancing and renewing neighborhoods to provide a good quality of life. * **Part IV: Prosperity and Opportunity.** Supporting and growing the industries that drive the city's economy, while reinforcing the economy's building blocks—education, workforce development, entrepreneurship, and quality of life to retain and attract talent—and continuing the downtown renaissance. * **Part V: Strengthening City Systems and Networks.** Expanding transportation choice based on land use strategies and providing excellent city services. ### ACT **How do we get started?** * **Part IV: From Plan to Action.** A new development framework of land use, regulation and urban design, with step-by-step actions to achieve the vision and monitor progress. *** ### BIRMINGHAM’S POWER OF PLACE High quality of life—resident satisfaction in daily living—is the foundation of successful 21st century communities. Businesses locate where people want to be, and good neighborhoods, along with a great open space system and a vibrant cultural life are among the key attractions that any city and metropolitan area can offer. With its ridge and valley topography, lush greenery, historic downtown, and neighborhoods that emerged from small towns, Birmingham has the pedestrian-friendly street grid, neighborhood centers, and local parks that people increasingly seek in a place to live. At the same time, the city’s large nature parks and emerging greenway system will make it possible for Birmingham residents to experience nature without leaving the city limits. *This combination of urban lifestyles with access to nature creates a powerful mix for quality of life.* *** # the big picture Birmingham has many assets—economic, cultural, historic—but it also has to grapple with many challenges. The city needs better tools, better systems, more internal and external communication, and enhanced partnerships to achieve Birmingham citizens' vision for the future. **Raise the city’s “information quotient” for data and evidence-based decision making** * A comprehensive property information database, a real estate market analysis on a block to block basis, detailed data on city jobs and enterprises, and an asset management system—result in more informed decision making and effective use of taxpayer dollars. **Use the right tools for each job** * A professionally-run Birmingham Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank along with a high profile system of coordinated code enforcement will deploy a variety of tools to eliminate blight and redevelop neighborhoods. **Be strategic, focused, and systematic to create visible success** * Target coordinated investments in housing, infrastructure, transportation, parks, facilities, and workforce and social services to areas with assets, so that visible successes can create confidence and increasingly leverage private investment. * Target incentives to support emerging industries, entrepreneurship and microbusiness, and revitalization in designated Urban Villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas. **No more silos: coordinate, cooperate, collaborate** * Create a Housing Policy Advisory Council that includes government, the housing authority, neighborhoods, housing developers, realtors, and economic development specialists. *** ### GREEN SYSTEMS **Natural Resources and Environmental Constraints** * Work with partners to protect and enhance water quality. **Parks and Recreation** * Work towards a goal of a park within walking distance of every resident. * Update the 1996 Park and Recreation Plan, and include a section on management and maintenance of the system. * Implement the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. **Sustainability and Green Practices** * Make City government a model of resource-efficient and green practices. * Develop incentives for green building and stormwater management. * Use natural drainage systems where possible. * Promote white roofs as an easy way to mitigate the urban heat island. <
> ### NEIGHBORHOODS, HOUSING, HISTORIC PRESERVATION, AND COMMUNITY RENEWAL Good neighborhoods are the foundation of successful cities. Regardless of household income level, neighborhoods should provide safety, decent and sanitary housing, well-maintained infrastructure, environmental and aesthetic amenities such as street trees, and easy access to parks, public spaces, and neighborhood retail and services. * Create a **community-based Housing Policy Advisory Council** including representatives of government staff, neighborhood organizations, for-profit and non-profit housing developers, realtors, and representatives of economic development organizations. * Create a **Public Facilities Working Group** to meet regularly on city, county, state, federal, and school facilities decisions in order to ensure they further city goals for development. * Establish a **rental housing code** to ensure that rental properties are fit for habitation. * Create a set of **Framework Plans** for 23 Communities in order to provide guidance on desired development. * Create a **historic preservation ranking system** to guide decision making about programs and incentives. ### COMMUNITY RENEWAL Many of Birmingham's traditional neighborhoods have experienced decades of disinvestment, with the large number of abandoned houses and stores, tax delinquent properties, and vacant lots bearing witness to this reality. In addition, there are “environmental justice” neighborhoods affected by the legacy of industrial pollution and residential segregation. * Pursue a **comprehensive and coordinated system to eliminate blight, assemble land and redevelop neighborhoods** in disinvested areas. * Create a **comprehensive property information system.** * Understand the details of neighborhood real estate markets by commissioning a **real estate market study at the block level.** * Establish a **professional Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank** to take charge of blight elimination and redevelopment activities to create mixed-income neighborhoods. * Focus **redevelopment activities strategically** on compact urban villages and their surrounding neighborhoods to create transit-ready centers and a visible difference to create confidence. Target coordinated housing, infrastructure, transportation, park, and service investments to create a successful mixed-income neighborhood. * Create an **Urban Agriculture Innovation District in Ensley** to develop a for-profit district of intensive food production through hydroponics and aquaponics in buildings and land-based agriculture. <
> ### PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITY: ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT Economic development recommendations for Birmingham revolve around four key priorities: supporting established and emerging industries; improving the education system for all; supporting entrepreneurship and the city's role as a center of innovation; and continuing robust support for creating a live-work-play downtown. *** **Established and emerging industries** * Cultivate entrepreneurs and make it easy for them to stay in The City. * Target a portion of money incentives to emerging industries. **Developing human capital** * Proceed with public school programs to improve student progress across the system * Coordinate the workforce development system. **Sustaining Downtown** * Develop and implement a plan for the Entrepreneurial District and strengthen the entrepreneurial ecosystem. * Develop and implement a Downtown Connections Plan to link downtown’s activity centers and residential areas with streetscape improvements, ground floor activities, popup events, public art, and transit. * Create a Contemporary Culture Future District from Railroad Park to Sloss Furnace to showcase Alabama fine crafts. * Develop and implement a plan for the southeast quadrant of downtown. *** ### STRENGTHENING CITY SYSTEMS: ### TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND ### PUBLIC FACILITIES AND SERVICES Offering more transportation choice—through better transit, bicycle facilities, and sidewalks—was at or near the top of Birmingham residents' desires for the city at every public meeting. While the city belongs to regional water and sewer systems, it controls the local road and drainage infrastructure. City facilities suffer from deferred maintenance. **Transportation** * Integrate **transportation and land use planning** to build up centers of density that can support enhanced transit systems such as bus rapid transit. * Expand opportunities to walk and bike safely: implement the **“complete streets” policy** adopted by the Planning Commission, and the Red Rock Trail system pedestrian and bicycle routes. <
> * Improve **transit** service through creation of SuperStops at Five Points West and other locations to facilitate transfers and establish express routes. * Develop policies to **make City facilities, buildings and operations models of resource efficiency** and sustainable practices. * Set long term priorities for infrastructure by funding and implementing a **municipal asset management system** (including pavement management) linked to an up-to-date GIS (Geographic Information Systems) database. *** ### IMPLEMENTATION The plan includes an implementation plan that lays out potential actions, responsible parties, time frames (short-, medium- and long-term), and potential resources. Implementation will require strong partnerships including business, neighborhoods, institutions, nonprofits, and citizens. **Where’s the money?** Serious plans attract funding and investment. Just having a plan developed through a participatory process demonstrates that the city knows where it wants to go, has a strategy to get there, and is creating the organizational capacity to get the job done. A wide diversity of funding sources must be pursued and coordinated. Over the long term, potential sources of funding to implement the strategies and achieve the goals of this plan include: * Capital improvements bond funding * Dedicated millages or sales taxes * Property and sales tax abatements as incentives * User fees and betterment fees to implement improvements and incentivize activities * Tax Increment Financing * Catalyst Funds (private investment funds with “patient capital”). * Federal grant programs that recognize the Comprehensive Plan is aligned with federal program goals * Cost savings from operating efficiencies * Leveraged private investment through incentives such as waived fees, below-market sales of vacant land, limited-time tax abatements * Foundation grants * Volunteer activities *** ### THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AS A LIVING DOCUMENT * *Designate a position in the City’s Planning Division as the long-range planner to be the in-house expert on the Comprehensive Plan and implementation coordinator.* * *Create a Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee to monitor progress.* * *Review implementation progress in annual public hearings at the Planning Commission and City Council.* * *Use the Comprehensive Plan in creating departmental work plans, the budget and the capital improvement program, required planning documents for federal funding programs, and grant proposals.* * *Schedule a public process every five years to review implementation progress on the Comprehensive Plan and to confirm or revise the Vision, Principles, and Goals.* * *Update the Comprehensive Plan thoroughly at least every 20 years.* *** **Mayor William A. Bell, Sr.** **Andre Bittas** DIRECTOR OF PLANNING, ENGINEERING AND PERMITS **Tom Magee** CHIEF PLANNER **Doug Hale** PRINCIPAL PLANNER **David Fleming** CHAIR, BIRMINGHAM PLANNING COMMISSION **Consultant Team** **Goody Clancy** LEAD CONSULTANT **Kittelson & Associates** **KPS Group** **Mt Auburn Associates** **NHB Group** **KHAFRA** **BLOC Global** **Enclave** THANKS TO ALL THE CITIZENS WHO GAVE THEIR TIME TO BE ON THE STEERING COMMITTEE AND WORKING GROUPS AND TO ATTEND PUBLIC MEETINGS. # Preface ## WHAT IS THE BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN? The *Birmingham Comprehensive Plan* is a 20-year policy and strategic guide for future decision making about our city’s growth, quality of life, economic prosperity, and environment. The Plan is guided by an overall vision for the future created through an unprecedented program of community engagement. This vision embodies the unique personality, culture, and heritage of our city. The Plan provides community-based goals, strategies to achieve the goals, and implementation actions for a broad array of issues that affect our citizens’ daily lives and opportunities in the future: from economic development, transportation and neighborhood revitalization to land use, public facilities, and natural systems and parks. Through an implementation process described in Chapter 15, specific actions are assigned to agencies responsible for implementation, along with potential partners from outside government. Committed citizens working together with the appropriate government agencies, the private sector and non-profit organizations can help to fully realize the vision and initiatives set forth in the plan. While local government through the Mayor and City Council must provide funding for many programs and capital improvements such as parks, sidewalks, and streets, the strategic framework in this community-based plan can also attract funding through competitive grants, philanthropy, and private investment. The City of Birmingham’s Comprehensive Plan is the product of many months of work by city staff, Planning Commission members, Steering Committee members, and citizens of the City of Birmingham. It was created to accomplish the following: * To identify and examine the city’s assets and the challenges it faces, and to identify appropriate strategies and opportunities that take advantage of the city’s existing and potential strengths. * To define a vision of Birmingham’s future that will inspire, guide and director growth in the city while being responsive to citizen needs and desires. * To develop a plan based on realistic and achievable goals, building on the city’s considerable assets and designed to restore and enhance basic services, attract and retain quality businesses and jobs, rebuild neighborhoods, reinvest in families and schools, and continue the city’s historic role as a leader in the region and the state. The *Birmingham Comprehensive Plan* is the city’s guide to future land use, transportation, and economic development decisions, and a unifying document that brings together many existing plans that guide and enhance growth in Birmingham’s communities. The *Birmingham Comprehensive Plan* is comprehensive because: * The Plan analyzes a broad spectrum of existing conditions to provide a clear picture of the current state of the city including population and land use trends, housing, neighborhoods, economic development, transportation, and public facilities and services. * The Plan covers a wide array of subject areas related to the future growth and development of the city, from land use, transportation, economic development, workforce development, and downtown and neighborhood development to the natural environment, parks and open space, and public facilities. * Fundamentally, the *Birmingham Comprehensive Plan* is about growth, redevelopment and revitalization. Birmingham is a city built upon a foundation of world-class health care, strong financial institutions, a diversified and entrepreneurial business community, and a lively culture of higher education, the arts, and entertainment. This Plan is supported by an involved citizenry, an active business community, a committed institutional, educational, and cultural sector, and city government. As the city redevelops, its future is dependent on the vitality of and cooperation among these groups. # STATE REQUIREMENTS FOR COMPREHENSIVE PLANNING Alabama law requires that: > *The [comprehensive] plan shall be made with the general purpose of guiding and accomplishing a coordinated, adjusted and harmonious development of the municipality and its environs which will, in accordance with present and future needs, best promote health, safety, morals, order, convenience, prosperity and general welfare as well as efficiency and economy in the process of development, including, among other things, adequate provision for traffic, the promotion of safety from fire and other dangers, adequate provision for light and air, the promotion of the healthful and convenient distribution of population, the promotion of good civic design and arrangement, wise and efficient expenditure of public funds and the adequate provision of public utilities and other public requirements.* — Alabama Code 5 11-52-9 The language of the statute is general in nature and allows local governments a broad degree of freedom in writing their comprehensive plans, while ensuring that the fundamentals of a good comprehensive plan are all present. The plan must help guide future development, protect and promote the health, safety, and welfare of the citizens of Birmingham, promote good civic design, and coordinate the efficient and adequate provision of public services. ## WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A COMPREHENSIVE PLAN AND A ZONING ORDINANCE? A **comprehensive plan** is a vision of what a community wants to become, and a framework for accomplishing that vision. A comprehensive plan consists of various elements that are separate but related to each other, such as transportation, community and neighborhood revitalization, the natural environment, and how land is used now and in the future. The elements share a set of common assumptions, such as the plan’s geographic area and the time horizon for recommendations and implementation. The elements are intended to work together and reinforce each other so that the plan sets forth a comprehensive and holistic strategy for where and how the city should develop and redevelop in order to provide existing and new citizens with a high quality of life, prosperity, and opportunities for success. In the State of Alabama, a comprehensive plan is *advisory* in nature and does not have the force of law. A comprehensive plan usually includes a *Future Land Use Plan* that is intended to help achieve the city’s long-range vision of growth. Birmingham’s Future Land Use Plan provides guidance and recommendations on the parcel level for the general type and density of new development within the existing city limits, which may be the same or may differ from current land uses. A Future Land Use Plan may be used by planning staff and decision-making bodies such as the Planning Commission and City Council as a reference for evaluating land use decisions that come before them. A comprehensive plan also contains narrative recommendations in the form of goals, policies, and strategies. The recommendations are intended to be implemented over the full time frame of the plan, with some being implemented in the beginning, and others later; some may not be adopted at all, depending on changing conditions or opportunities over time. These recommendations come in several forms. Some recommendations may be *capital projects*, such as a new park or a rehabilitated community building. Other recommendations are *programmatic*, meaning they recommend items that are not necessarily regulatory, such as providing information to the public or establishing new processes for how work is done in city government. Still other recommendations are *regulatory*, requiring changes in regulations or ordinances by standard procedures that require public hearings and City Council actions. For example, the Community Framework Plans recommended in the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan will include detailed analysis of Birmingham’s communities and may result in new zoning and development regulations. The important distinction is that, while the recommendations may advocate for change to legal requirements and documents such as the zoning ordinance, the recommendations are not enforceable unless legal changes are actually made to the regulations in question. Such changes require the review of the Planning Commission and the approval of City Council, with separate public hearings for each. A **zoning ordinance** is a regulatory tool used to implement plans and policies. It is a legal, enforceable part of City Code that is used to regulate the use of land within the city limits and the type, scale, and intensity of use on that land. Zoning ordinances are legally binding, and as part of City Code they have the force of law. Requirements of a zoning ordinance *must* be met, unless a waiver or variance is granted, and planning staff and decision-making bodies such as the Planning Commission and City Council must apply it to cases that come before them. A zoning ordinance may be amended from time to time, but it is not intended to have a limited timeframe. A zoning ordinance is one tool for implementing a comprehensive plan. ### WHAT IS THE LEGAL STATUS OF THE MAPS IN THE BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN? The *Birmingham Comprehensive Plan* contains many descriptive and analytical maps based on digital map layers. The digital map layers and map data were provided by the City of Birmingham and a few other entities (individual maps provide source information), and the maps were created either by the consultant team or the City of Birmingham. Because the Comprehensive Plan is an advisory document, the maps in the Plan are not legally authoritative sources on the location of natural or manmade features. They are intended for general reference, informational planning or guidance. The City and the consultant team make no warranty, express or implied, as to the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or currentness of the maps. # How to Use This Plan T he new Birmingham Comprehensive Plan is neither a *prediction* nor a *projection* of the future. It is a *plan*. Built on the ambitious vision of the people of the City of Birmingham, it recognizes the existence of obstacles and unresolved practical questions. It provides strategies for overcoming the obstacles and answering the questions. But no plan is self-implementing. A new era of partnerships—government, residents, businesses, institutions, and nonprofits all working together—can bring this ambitious vision to reality. ## WHAT’S IN THE PLAN? HOW SHOULD I READ IT? The Birmingham Comprehensive Plan includes an Executive Summary and covers a broad range of topics in 15 chapters about current trends, the planning process, all aspects of community life that affect the way our city can develop in the future, and implementation actions. The chapters are organized into six Parts, each of which starts with a summary of the contents of each Part. The plan can be read all the way through or selectively, according to the reader's interests. Government agencies, businesses, nonprofit institutions and others can choose specific topics relevant to their activities. There is also an Appendix to the plan containing technical reports and resources relevant to topics in the plan. * For a **quick overview of key themes**, major recommendations, and the process used to create the plan, read the Executive Summary. * To understand the **aspirations for the future and community values that are the foundation of the plan**, read Chapters 1–2. These chapters are based on an extensive community participation process and designed to answer the question: What kind of place do we want to be in the 21st century? They provide the vision for the future, guiding principles for planning, and a description of the public process. * To **understand the starting point for the comprehensive plan and how we got here**, read Chapter 3. It lays out the key existing conditions and circumstances of the city when the plan was developed in 2011–2012. * To find out about **specific topics**, from green systems to neighborhoods to economic development and infrastructure, choose the topics of interest to you from Chapters 4–13. Each chapter provides a table of goals and policies, an introduction with a brief list of priorities, a set of recommended strategies and actions to achieve the goals, and a final section, “Getting Started,” identifying possible early action items to get going on the recommendations of that chapter. Many of them are organizational and do not require new funding. * To find out about **recommended changes in land use, and principles for new zoning and urban design approaches**, read Chapter 14. * To find out about **how to make this a living plan and how to implement it**, read Chapter 15. There you will find a matrix of actions, responsible parties, timelines, and potential resources for Chapters 4–14. # Part I ## Setting the Stage **Chapter 1** **Vision and Principles** **Chapter 2** **The Community** **Speaks** **Chapter 3** **Understanding** **Birmingham Today** ### SUMMARY THEMES **Where do we want to go? A 21st-Century Vision for the City of Birmingham’s future** A 20-year Vision for the city’s future and a set of principles will guide the planning process and the implementation of the plan. The Vision for Birmingham as a community of choice and opportunity revolves around five statements for the future: * People choose the City of Birmingham as a place to live. * Birmingham has a connected network of walkable urban places. * Birmingham is innovative and prosperous, with a diversified and sustainable economy. * Birmingham is the most sustainable, “greenest” city in the South. * Birmingham’s success is built on local and regional partnerships. **How did the planning process ensure that the plan reflects the aspirations, needs and desires of people who live, work, study and own businesses in the city?** The public participation process for the comprehensive plan engaged over two thousand people in developing the vision and principles, discussing needs and improvements in the communities where they live or work, focusing on specific topics like transportation or neighborhood revitalization, and giving feedback as the plan developed. **What’s the starting point? In 2011–2012, what are the city’s assets and challenges, and how are conditions trending if we don’t make changes?** The baseline conditions in the City of Birmingham—in the region and the world at the time this comprehensive plan was written—serve as the launchpad for this plan: population and land use trends, environmental conditions and constraints, housing and neighborhood conditions, jobs and economic trends, transportation, and the city’s facilities and services. # Chapter 1 Vision and Principles <
> 1.2 # 21st-Century Birmingham: A Vision for the City This is the City of Birmingham’s first full comprehensive plan since 1961, a half-century ago. Developed during 2011–2012, this plan is a blueprint for Birmingham to become a successful 21st-century city—a city that honors its past, faces and overcomes the challenges of the present, and builds on its assets to create a future filled with opportunity. As this new comprehensive plan is being written in 2012, the city is preparing to celebrate the 50-year anniversary of Birmingham’s renowned role as a critical turning point in the struggle for civil rights and the end of racial segregation in America. The 1961 comprehensive plan was overtaken by events and few of the plan’s recommendations were implemented. Since then the city has experienced population decline, a profound economic transition from a predominantly manufacturing economy to a service economy, and—in recent years—an ongoing downtown revival bringing people to live in the city center. Birmingham has a rising national profile as a center of medical research and technology; it has built important new parks and sports venues; and it continues to be the region’s center of arts and culture. While the City’s 2004 downtown plan has served as a guide to downtown revitalization efforts, this new comprehensive plan is designed to encompass the entire city. The purpose of a plan is to get to action. This plan includes a common vision; a set of strategies to capitalize on opportunities that exist right now, as well as opportunities that will emerge in the future; and an implementation plan for positive change with concrete steps that citizens, businesses, the nonprofit sector, and government can take to advance the strategies towards the goals. Just having a plan can help make it a reality. A good plan supported by a community consensus and a government committed to implementation attracts partnerships, funding and private investment: * **A plan shows that the city and community know what they want.** Funders and investors like to know what to expect and what is expected of them, because it means that their investments can go to work more quickly. * **A plan shows that the city and community are willing to invest some of their own efforts and resources to achieve their goals.** For example, when a community makes public improvements or works hard to improve its effectiveness, it demonstrates its seriousness about making the plan a reality. * **A plan shows that the city and community know what to do with new resources.** Federal funds increasingly come with requirements for coordinated planning. Without a plan, funds can go unspent, even though needs are evident in the community. A citywide plan provides a framework of policies and strategies for using resources to accomplish goals. ### AN AMBITIOUS VISION Developing a vision statement is an essential early step in creating a city comprehensive plan. Vision statements focus attention on a community’s values, sense of identity, and aspirations. The vision statement tells a story and paints a picture of an ideal future. In creating their vision for the future Birmingham residents and stakeholders decided what they wanted to preserve and what they wanted to change. They articulated their desires and hopes, developed a consensus on an ideal future, and committed themselves to working toward that ideal. The City of Birmingham vision represents the guiding image for the community as it faces new challenges and complex choices. Accompanying the vision statement is a set of principles based on precepts that are important to Birmingham residents. The principles serve as a set of values that guide the master plan itself and its implementation. Together, the Vision and Principles are like the constitution of the comprehensive plan, setting the course for the future. The Birmingham Comprehensive Plan Vision and Principles emerged from an extensive public outreach program and series of community participation events. They distill many hours of community activity and the contributions of over a thousand Birmingham residents and stakeholders who participated in a citywide visioning forum, “communities of place” meetings in six locations throughout the city, “communities of interest” meetings on specific topics, and who commented online. After this community process, the draft Vision and Principles then went to the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee, which reviewed the detailed results of activities and community comment. After revisions by the Steering Committee, the draft Vision and Principles were endorsed by the City of Birmingham Planning Commission on March 6, 2012 and by the City Council on May 22, 2012. The Vision and Principles are the guiding framework for the elements of the City of Birmingham Comprehensive Plan. # Birmingham’s Vision for the 21st Century In 2032, the City of Birmingham leads the South as a community of choice and opportunity: diverse, prosperous, sustainable, and beautiful. > **People choose the City of Birmingham as a place to live.** Our neighborhoods are attractive, walkable, well maintained, and safe. The blighted properties of the past have been transformed into new or renovated housing, greenways and green open spaces, or other community assets. Across the city, there are appealing housing choices for all kinds of households: young singles and couples, families with children, empty nesters, and retirees. > > **Birmingham has a connected network of walkable urban places.** Our compact, mixed use, pedestrian-friendly neighborhood centers support an enhanced and efficient transit system, and a network of safe and attractive pedestrian and bicycle routes links neighborhoods with city destinations. > > **Birmingham is innovative and prosperous, with a diversified and sustainable economy.** Education, innovation and investment have grown the economy and reduced poverty by creating new economic opportunities. As a community of learning, Birmingham offers excellent educational options for all age levels and interests, creating well-educated citizens and a modern workforce qualified for 21st century jobs. Vacant or underutilized industrial sites are finding new uses that benefit the city and its economy. Because our culture of opportunity supports innovation and creativity, our diversified economy supports entrepreneurial start-ups and creates new jobs, ranging from businesses that emerge from the interdisciplinary research of UAB to our acclaimed food culture and arts scene. > > **Birmingham is the most sustainable, “greenest” city in the South.** The city has become cleaner, healthier, more energy- and resource-efficient, and more attractive as a place to live. We have worked within the city and through regional partnerships to improve air quality, preserve sensitive lands, and protect and enjoy our excellent water resources. Our parks and greenways provide convenient, safe environments for all residents to play and exercise. Everyone has access to our city’s premier health services, healthy food choices, and healthy lifestyles. > > **Birmingham’s success is built on local and regional partnerships.** We created strong partnerships encompassing citizens, the business community, institutions, nonprofits, and governments to transform Birmingham into the best place to live, work, study, and play in the South. <
> # PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN ## People <
> * Celebrate Birmingham’s diversity and welcome newcomers to live in the city. * Connect people across barriers of neighborhood, race and class to work together for a better Birmingham. * Celebrate our civil rights, cultural, and industrial history as a positive source of distinctive identity and contribution to the state and the nation. * Make Birmingham a center of education excellence at all levels, including workforce training and adult education. * Support holistic programs of social supports, community policing, and physical design to make every neighborhood safe. ## Prosperity * Establish a climate friendly to investment and entrepreneurs to create jobs and grow local businesses, building on the strength of our medical, educational, and other growing economic sectors. <
> * Ensure that Birmingham residents have the skills to compete for the full range of jobs in the city. * Build on our cultural institutions and artistic community and on our entertainment and sports attractions as a source of distinctive economic competitive advantage. * Streamline regulations while preserving appropriate safeguards for our resources and quality of life. ## Place * Create walkable neighborhoods of choice, including mixed-income opportunities and mixed-use commercial areas that support enhanced transit. * Continue the transformation of downtown into a vibrant urban center of employment, housing, culture, and entertainment. * Maintain and build on our park system by expanding greenways, bicycle and pedestrian routes to link neighborhoods and city destinations. * Celebrate our history and heritage by preserving distinctive historic buildings and sites by giving them new uses. * Make Birmingham a model clean, green, and healthy community by improving environmental health, promoting energy and resource-efficiency, and providing access to health care, exercise and nutritious food. * Ensure high-quality development by making public investments a model of excellent design and function and through quality design standards for private development. <
> ### Partnerships * Partner among citizens, government, business, institutions and nonprofits to achieve comprehensive plan goals and reach out to the region, other Alabama cities, and other regions to grow and sustain our community and economy. * Promote communication and transparency to keep residents, businesses and others informed about community conditions, decisions and options. * Reinvigorate civic engagement in neighborhood associations and other groups to ensure that all voices are heard, with an emphasis on engaging young people. ### Performance * Officially adopt the Comprehensive Plan as the framework for the city's future. * Incorporate the plan in city policies and decision-making at all levels, including capital planning. <
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> * Establish regular reporting on implementation progress, including an annual public hearing, and publicize implementation activities. * Strengthen coordination with city and regional partners to achieve comprehensive plan goals. ## PERSONAL VISIONS During the citywide Visioning Forum held in October 2011, participants were asked to share their personal visions for the future of the City of Birmingham. | PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS | | :--- | | Forum participants wrote personal vision statements to describe what they would hope to see in Birmingham twenty years from now. | | **A vibrant, 24-hour, visually attractive, inclusive, culturally rich, southern (people, culture) city—with a world-class education system, safe streets, a positive identity with positive perception... Basically, a progressive example of urban southern culture—complete with good food, music, and hospitality... A leader in sustainable development and an example of true civic communication and participation for the state of Alabama... A leader in medical research and technology nationally... An accessible city connected by green spaces, bike trails and mass transit... A city where children receive the best possible education and all families live in good affordable and adequate housing... A city that finally achieves its promise by fully embracing its motto "the people are the city"... A city where employment opportunities are plenteous... A reliable and effective transit system... The revitalization of existing historic neighborhood housing and commercial districts... A city where all schools, regardless of area demographics, have what they need to provide a quality education... Communities that are safe, with mixed incomes, functioning neighborhood associations, safe community sports complexes...** | # Chapter 2 The Community Speaks <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “I hope that we will have an entire city that is clean, green, and livable. [A city] that is united in such a way that progress will continue.” 2.2 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # A. Community-Based Plan Effective master plans are rooted in an understanding of the values, aspirations and concerns of the communities whose future they are intended to guide. The Birmingham Comprehensive Plan benefitted from a conscious commitment to extensive public outreach and citizen engagement that provided thousands of participants an opportunity to share their hopes and aspirations for Birmingham’s future. The public engagement process incorporated a variety of outreach techniques and activities, allowing residents to participate in ways that worked best for them. Residents, business owners and other stakeholders provided feedback to the planning team by attending the citywide Visioning Forum, meetings for “Communities of Place” focused on geographic areas, meetings for “Communities of Interest” focused on specific themes, open houses for feedback on the developing plan, and by contributing comments online through the project website. Some participated in advisory and working groups. The planning team used the community’s feedback and guidance to shape all aspects of the plan, from creating a Vision and Principles for Birmingham that reflected the aspirations of the community, to the strategies and actions needed to achieve that vision. ## 1. COMMITTEE STRUCTURE In the fall of 2011, Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. appointed a Steering Committee made up of a representative group of people from the public, private and nonprofit sectors to work with the planning team and provide guidance throughout the planning process. The Steering Committee met regularly in the fall of 2011 to provide information and guidance, and to ensure that the vision and principles reflected the values and priorities of the community. Steering Committee members also participated in the public meetings. In the summer of 2012, the Steering Committee met five times to review and comment on all sections of the draft Comprehensive Plan. The Steering Committee was also divided into four Subcommittees with additional members, such as city and regional agency staff and local professionals, invited because of their knowledge of the subject matter. The Subcommittees—Green Systems; Housing, Neighborhoods and Community Renewal; Prosperity and Opportunity; City Systems—met twice in 2012 to share information and ideas with the planning team and review preliminary plan materials. ## 2. PUBLIC OUTREACH Public outreach opportunities were designed to offer a variety of ways for residents to participate so that the planning team would receive input from a broad cross section of the City of Birmingham community. Because people prefer to contribute and receive information in different ways, whether in person, online or by telephone, a certain amount of redundancy was built into the process to allow more people to participate. Outreach opportunities included: **Birmingham Comprehensive Plan website.** The master plan project website, *www.birminghamcomprehensiveplan.com*, provided general plan information, background materials, a project calendar, and was used to make announcements about upcoming public events around the plan. Visitors to the site had the opportunity to sign up for email updates and meeting reminders so they could remain up-to-date with the plan’s progress and activities. Public meeting materials, including visuals, presentations, and result summaries, were posted to the site so that citizens could engage with the plan throughout the process. **Media and community outreach.** The planning team took out newspaper and radio advertisements to publicize large meetings, and local print and television media outlets reported on the major events and issues. All public meetings for the Comprehensive Plan were also promoted with e-blasts and flyers that were distributed through the school system and at public locations throughout the city. Nine public libraries served as information centers for the comprehensive plan. 2.3 ## 3. CITYWIDE VISIONING FORUM: “WE ARE MORE ALIKE THAN DIFFERENT...” <
> On Saturday, October 22, 2011, over 200 Birmingham area residents from a broad range of backgrounds and neighborhoods decided to spend a morning in the community meeting room at the new Birmingham CrossPlex on the former Alabama State Fairgrounds. They came to share their hopes and aspirations for the future of the City of Birmingham as part of the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan process. ### The purpose of the visioning forum * To provide a place for people who live and work in the City of Birmingham to meet and exchange ideas about their community. * To provide an opportunity for structured conversation to identify the community’s assets—the best things about Birmingham—and challenges. The discussion focused attention on assets that the community can build on as well as problems that need solving. * To take a few moments to think about their personal vision for Birmingham’s future and to share that personal vision with participants at their discussion table. * To identify together a common set of priority elements that should be a part of the city’s 20-year vision and statement of principles. ### What happened at the Forum **Registration and exhibits.** Participants registered as they came in and were asked to indicate on a map where they lived or worked. Each participant received a folder containing a handout giving an overview of the entire comprehensive plan project; a handout with selected data on current conditions in the city related to issues such as demographics, land use, economic development, and transportation; several worksheets for individual use during the Forum activities; and an announcement about future public meetings in six locations around the city. As participants moved from the registration counter to the stairs up to the meeting room, they had the opportunity to view exhibits of analytical maps. **Welcome and presentation.** Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. opened the Forum by welcoming participants and encouraging them to work together for the future of the City. His remarks were followed by a presentation by David Dixon, FAIA, principal of Goody Clancy (the firm leading the <
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> *At registration, every resident was asked to show on a large city map where they live (green dot) and where they work (red dot).* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS <
> consultant team working with the City on the preparation of the plan). The presentation focused on how cities are making a strong comeback in the 21st century and that Birmingham has many assets and the potential to be a successful comeback city. **Small group activities.** Participants were randomly seated at tables to maximize the opportunity for people who did not know each other to talk to one another. Each table had a base map of the city, as well as a few worksheets. Participants were first asked to list on one of the individual worksheets the things that they felt represented the best of Birmingham and to list the things that presented the most challenges. They also identified places that fit into those two categories on the base map, using blue for the “best” and red for the “challenges.” Participants then shared and discussed their individual lists. The next exercise was to develop the elements of an overall 20-year vision and a statement of principles to guide the remainder of the planning process, the plan itself, and ultimately, the implementation of the plan. First, participants were asked to write their personal vision for Birmingham, imagining that they were going to leave the city for 20 years and envisioning what they would want the city to be like when they returned home. Then, they shared their personal visions with the people around the table. The next step was to make a list on the map of all the elements of the personal visions that everyone could support. Finally, each participant used five dots to choose his or her top priorities among the list of elements. The top five priorities were then transferred to a worksheet that represented the joint work of all the people at each table. People responded with a powerful outpouring of ideas, thoughts, challenges, inspirations, and insights. Facilitators assisted the participants at each table. Many rich and thoughtful conversations took place. Through their discussions, participants’ revealed the values that are important to them, such as diversity, education, connection, and history. At the end of the meeting, a volunteer from each table reported back to the entire group on the priorities recorded at each table, giving the flavor of the table discussion. <
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> 2.5 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # The results The individual worksheets indicate significant consensus around what people from Birmingham see as the best aspects of the city as a community and as a place, and they likewise agreed on many of the challenges that the city faces. In a few cases, an issue appears on both lists. For example, while downtown was cited as one of the best things about Birmingham, some also felt that it is not vibrant enough. The Best. Birmingham’s landscape, history and cultural amenities (including its restaurants) were strongly valued by the participants in the Forum. They also saw the people and the sense of community that has been forged in many Birmingham neighborhoods as an important aspect of the city’s life. | the best | MENTIONS IN INDIVIDUAL WORKSHEETS | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Parks/landscape/Topography | 79 | | An important history and heritage, particularly with the civil rights era/Civil Rights Museum | 35 | | Strong sense of community/good neighborhoods | 33 | | A thriving restaurant scene that emphasizes locally grown food | 25 | | The people | 22 | | Downtown | 20 | | World-class cultural amenities (includes zoo and botanical garden) | 19 | | Over three dozen historic districts with an impressive housing stock | 17 | | Hospitals and access to medical services | 17 | | Universities/higher education | 15 | | Libraries | 10 | | Affordable housing options/ reasonable cost of living | 9 | | Communities of faith/Churches | 9 | | Diversity | 5 | | Access to airport | 5 | | Good climate | 4 | | Potential | 3 | | Art scene | 2 | The Challenges. There were more challenges listed, with a strong emphasis on two issues: lack of good transit and transportation alternatives to the car, and the state of the city’s public education system. Vacancy, blight and crime in many neighborhoods was also a top challenge, as were the lack of good food stores and environmental pollution. | the challenges | MENTIONS IN INDIVIDUAL WORKSHEETS | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Lack of transportation alternatives: an inadequate transit system and few bike trails or marked routes | 76 | | The public education system | 54 | | Significant vacancies and blighted properties within the neighborhoods | 36 | | Crime and the perception of crime/ lack of safety | 26 | | Lack of quality grocery stores/access to fresh food | 23 | | Leadership | 23 | | Many parts of the city are not pedestrian friendly/ walkable/with sidewalks | 21 | | Pollution/clean air/environmental issues | 19 | | Lack of businesses and jobs within city | 18 | | Lack of connectedness | 14 | | Quality retail | 13 | | Lack of bike lanes and walking trails | 12 | | Affordable housing | 8 | | Disaster Preparedness | 8 | | Social issues (including addiction, homeless) | 8 | | Downtown not vibrant enough | 7 | | County financial problems | 6 | | Access to medical services/ quality of services | 5 | | Airport | 5 | | Condition of parks/need for more parks | 5 | | Constitutional limits and state opposition | 5 | | Self image | 5 | | Lack of communication | 4 | | Recycling | 4 | | Attract and engage younger people | 3 | | Neighborhood newsletters/flyers | 3 | | Parking | 3 | | Race relations/issues | 3 | | Condition of streets | 2 | | Lack of funding | 2 | | New housing | 2 | | Northern Beltline | 2 | | Job Training | 1 | 2.6 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS **Personal vision statements.** The personal vision statements in many respects reflected the preferences and concerns expressed in the lists of the best things about Birmingham and the challenges facing the city. While some participants were more eloquent than others, most people wanted the city in 20 years to be more prosperous, with thriving neighborhoods free of blight, served by a variety of transportation options, more “green” in character and practices, and with a vibrant downtown reinforced in its role as the cultural capital of the region. **Top priorities.** After sharing their personal visions and discussing common elements, the participants around each table then focused on identifying the top five priorities for the city. A summary table and graph of the priorities across all the tables can be seen in Figure 2.1. <
> **FIGURE 2.1: VISIONING FORUM TABLE PRIORITIES SUMMARY** <
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> ### TABLE 2.1: TABLE PRIORITIES SUMMARY NUMBER OF TIMES THE IDEA APPEARED ON TOP FIVE TABLE PRIORITY LISTS | | | | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Improve education | 17 | Develop neighborhood centers | 5 | | Better public transit | 16 | City transparency / improve city government | 5 | | Bike/ walking routes and parks | 9 | Reduce crime | 4 | | Improve quality of life/ health | 9 | More grocery stores/ retail | 4 | | City beautification | 9 | Pollution | 4 | | Economic development/more jobs | 9 | Preserve neighborhoods | 3 | | Revitalize neighborhoods | 6 | Cultural/tourism | 3 | | Multicultural connections/diversity | 6 | Mixed use development | 3 | | Mixed income/affordable housing | 6 | Attract youth | 3 | | Vibrant downtown | 6 | Help homeless | 1 | | Improve perception of city | 6 | Technology hub | 1 | | | | New zoning | 1 | 2.7 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS <
> ### Participants’ evaluation of the Visioning Forum Participants were asked to fill out an evaluation form for the Visioning Forum. They were asked to rank various aspects of the event as Excellent, Good, Neutral, Poor or Very Poor. The form also included the following open-ended questions, as well as an area for any other comments: * In a few sentences, how would you explain what the group accomplished at this forum to a friend who did not attend? * Do you have suggestions for improvements to future comprehensive plan public meetings? Ninety-nine percent of the participants found the overall program to be Good or Excellent, and 100% ranked the table discussions Good or Excellent. This indicates how much value they put on the chance to exchange ideas with other people who care about the future of Birmingham. ### Representative comments from participants In answering the open-ended questions, participants were overwhelmingly positive about the Forum. In their own words: * Clarified that our community shares a common heartfelt vision for ourselves and our families. We are more alike than different. * It was a chance for people who believe in the city to meet, and share what we want to see our city become. The best part was realizing that there are people from every background and from every part of the city that all want the same things, and that all believe it is possible. * Our diverse table came to the same conclusion about Birmingham. So refreshing to agree with folks from very different neighborhoods. * We were able to see that most people are on the same page as to what we see as important to the city: mass transit, education, revival of downtown *and* communities, more grocery stores, removal and reuse of abandoned property, etc. * Open discussion and exchange of ideas, hopes, dreams, practical and sky is the limit. Listened to others. I learned from listening. Seemed to reach consensus on many goals. * We brainstormed about what we like about Birmingham, what our challenges are, and last, what our vision is for a perfect city in the future. We met new people, shared our ideas and left with a positive feeling about Birmingham’s Future. It was wonderful to see a wide range of ages in the group. We need input from a broad spectrum of our community, including Latinos & other groups. Find a way to convince people that the comp plan will be used to improve Birmingham and will guide our leaders. * Great dialogue with diverse people. ### TABLE 2.2: PARTICIPANTS’ EVALUATION | | EXCELLENT | GOOD | NEUTRAL | POOR | VERY POOR | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Presentations** | 50% | 46% | 4% | 0% | 0% | | **Table Discussions** | 76% | 24% | 0% | 0% | 0% | | **Facilitation** | 60% | 34% | 5% | 0% | 0% | | **Refreshments** | 46% | 47% | 7% | 0% | 0% | | **Meeting Facility** | 86% | 12% | 2% | 0% | 0% | | **Overall Program** | 76% | 23% | 1% | 0% | 0% | <
> 2.8 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # What did participants say about the Visioning Forum? <
> * We had thoughtful and serious discussion—a sense of goodwill was evident! * We realized that in general, we all share the same vision for our community. * The city took time out to listen to what regular people had to say. * The meeting was extremely beneficial and an opportunity to learn that we had a lot in common. * Long overdue! And VERY productive! * Involvement, cooperation, exciting, great. Well executed. Great workshop. * Good workshop. Very well organized. Developed a good list of priorities. * This was well planned and thought out preparation—job well done. * What a learning experience. Glad I didn’t miss the opportunity to voice my opinion. * This was really encouraging. I hope the rest of the meetings have as good of a turnout. Thank you! * Everyone in the group from different backgrounds seemed to want some of the same changes for the city. * A wonderful opportunity to let your voice and ideals for our city to be heard in a forum for our future as a vibrant and forward moving city. * Great ideas, wish attendance was 10 times greater, although it was a very good turnout. * A very enlightening event. * Persons from all backgrounds, races, neighborhoods came together in small groups to talk about what they feel is right and wrong with the city and they’d like to see the city become. * Thanks for providing facilitators. Our person tactfully kept us on course and helped our group make better choices. I appreciate being included in this decision making process. * Got people talking about the city and how to make it better. Came away with vibrant ideas for vision of what our city can become. * This was an amazing, watershed of community consciousness, conscience and future-visualizing. 2.9 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # 4. COMMUNITIES OF PLACE WORKSHOPS During the month of November 2011, six Community of Place meetings were held in different locations throughout the city. These place-based comprehensive plan workshops were held during the evening and covered all residential and commercial neighborhoods within the city. At each one of the workshops, there was a short presentation on the Draft Vision and Principles and on the existing conditions in that area of Birmingham. Participants then worked with facilitators in small groups around tables with maps to identify and rank the most important assets and the most important issues needing improvement in their part of Birmingham. These findings were categorized by: • Housing and Residential Areas • Commercial and Industrial Areas • Transportation, Infrastructure, and Public Services • Environment and Parks While each area reported unique assets and issues needing to be addressed, several important themes were prevalent at all six community workshops: 1. The value of parks and green spaces; 2. The need to deal with vacant and abandoned properties; 3. The need for more and better connections; and 4. The need for more neighborhood-serving retail and services <
> *Parks and green spaces were considered an important asset in all six Community of Place meetings.* ### FIGURE 2.2: COMMUNITIES OF PLACE <
> CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS <
> While well-maintained areas were also noted, concerns about vacancy and blight were voiced across the city. The city’s parks and green spaces were universally highlighted as important neighborhood assets, and in most cases the participants included recommendations to expand, enhance, or create new quality recreational spaces. Issues surrounding vacant and abandoned properties were prevalent and identified in nearly all parts of the city, along with requests for new policies to deal with them. However, well-maintained areas were also noted throughout the city by participants within both challenged and stable areas, the quality of the homes and their historic relevance were commonly noted attributes. More often than not, the participants called for rehabilitation and reuse over demolition. Improved connections were another theme evident at all workshops. Participants repeatedly made requests for improved transportation choices, more walkable neighborhoods, better pedestrian and bike systems, and connectivity between the city’s many parks, trails and greenways. Lastly, enhanced retail options—with a particular focus on providing quality and affordable grocery stores—was repeatedly mentioned as an important community need. <
> Residents called for more neighborhood-serving retail. ### 5. COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOPS In January 2012, there were four citywide meetings focused on the following topics: Green Systems and Sustainability; Transportation; Neighborhood Renewal and Downtown Revitalization; and Economic Development. At each meeting, planning team consultants presented existing conditions, issues and best practices and then asked the participants to take part in group exercises structured for the particular topics. The participants worked together in small groups at tables with maps. And the end of the exercises, each of the small groups reported back to the larger group to share the results of their discussions. 2.11 ### COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOP 1 #### SUMMARY RESULTS # 1 | JANUARY 10, 2012: GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE—TRANSPORTATION ##### A. What do you see as your highest transportation priorities for the City of Birmingham? Participants particularly emphasized the need for improvements in public transportation reliability, accessibility and facilities. There was also an emphasis on pedestrian and bicycle friendly culture, improving connections to parks and between neighborhoods, and a need for facilities to improve pedestrian and bicyclist comfort and safety. * **Public transportation:** Provide more reliable service with posted schedules at stops; develop dedicated bus lanes and/or light rail. Prioritize funding to increase frequency of priority routes and develop more “hubs” in desirable locations (shopping centers, UAB, entertainment districts, etc.) for people to transfer. * **Neighborhood connectivity:** Improve connectivity between neighborhoods with more reliable and frequent transit and pedestrian and bicycle trails. * **Connectivity to green spaces and parks:** Create designated pedestrian and bicycle routes to green spaces and parks within the City of Birmingham. Identify and implement rail to trail opportunities that could connect parks and green space to communities. * **Pedestrian and bicycle facilities:** Implement dedicated roadway space and right-of-way to improve pedestrian and bicycle safety and comfort. Implement complete streets concepts along major roadways in neighborhoods like Five Points West. * **Pedestrian and bicycle advocacy:** Educate drivers and transit to respect pedestrians and bicyclists, particularly along roads that have a speed limit of less than 25 mph. * **Perception of alternative modes:** Rethink Birmingham as a multiuse city for all. Improve the perception of transit and encourage biking, walking and taking transit to work. ##### B. What transportation improvements should the City of Birmingham implement early to improve livability, connectivity, mobility and economic vitality? Participants generally emphasized a need for better connectivity between neighborhoods at the urban and suburban scale as well as a need for more “complete streets” and better access to multimodal options. **General:** * More transit hub stations around the City at key crossroads with user amenities for convenience, comfort and safety * Bus service directly to the airport * A pilot program that seeks corporate transit riders, attracts all backgrounds and groups to ride the bus and encourages people that run the service to ride transit to improve the perception of transit. **For Downtown:** * Real time transit information at bus stops to improve reliability and user friendliness * Wider sidewalks and active storefront businesses * ADA compliance and maintenance of sidewalks, transit stops and downtown businesses * Bike friendly roads with dedicated space for bicycles as well as a grid of dedicated bike lanes * Prohibit right-on-red at major downtown intersections to improve pedestrian safety at crossings * A transit fare-free zone downtown * Prioritized funding for certain transit routes to improve reliability and frequency **For Urban Scale Neighborhoods:** * Reduce the priority for cars in urban neighborhoods like the UAB campus. Change the 9 to 10 blocks of campus to be more walkable and accessible with clean and safe transit shelters CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOP 1 * Emphasize a focus on transit with more hubs at desirable locations such as the Five Points West Shopping Center or UAB for connections where people ride **For Suburban Design Neighborhoods:** * Connect resources like the medical centers to the surrounding neighborhoods * Reduce or eliminate barriers for pedestrian and cyclists like the ones to schools and the medical center in the Huffman-Roebuck neighborhoods * Create routes to parks that connect neighborhoods to places like Red Mountain Park, CrossPlex and Central Park <
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> CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOP 2 ## SUMMARY RESULTS ## 2 | JANUARY 12, 2012: # GREEN SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABILITY ### A. What aspects of Green Systems and Sustainability are you most interested in? Immediately before the small group discussions began, participants were asked what topics brought them to the Green Systems and Sustainability meeting. Responses were diverse but several topics had widespread interest: air and water quality, connectivity, parks, greening/beautifying the city, community health and sustainable development: * **Natural Resources and Environmental Constraints:** Improve and protect water quality through stormwater management, maintenance of sewer facilities, and other efforts; improve air quality; create an interconnected green infrastructure network; protect and plant more trees; and limit sprawl and greenfield development. * **Parks and Open Space:** Interconnect parks and open spaces through greenways; provide a variety of active and passive recreational opportunities, including for different age groups; continue investment in parks; promote recreational access to the Cahaba; and use Birmingham’s green amenities as development incentives. * **Sustainability:** Increase access to fresh, healthy food (i.e., through urban farming and community gardens); use alternative energies; support sustainable development practices (i.e., zoning improvements, reinvestment in existing areas, compact development, and green building design); increase recycling; and improve community health by changing the physical environment. ### B. What are your priorities for improving the City as it relates to Green Systems and Sustainability? Group discussions identified the following as priorities for the City regarding the environment, parks and open space and sustainability. Each of eight groups was asked to discuss and identify their top five priorities. Many priority recommendations echoed or overlapped with those of other groups: * Improve air quality * Improve water quality, protect and clean up waterways (i.e., Village and Valley Creeks); encourage best stormwater management practices/alternatives * Improve development regulations to support compact, sustainable development and design; provide incentives for green building design * Increase access to fresh food * Maintain habitat for [native] wildlife; protect biodiversity * Protect, promote, expand and link parks and open spaces through greenways and trails (including along streams) * Promote and expand recycling * Improve connectivity through better transit, bicycle and pedestrian facilities; dedicate annual funding to sidewalk and trail improvements * Increase public awareness on the importance of green systems and sustainability * Promote alternative energy sources and energy efficiency * Protect and increase Birmingham’s tree canopy * Clean up and re-use brownfields * Provide points of interest and activities along greenways and access to Cahaba * Finish what we start Many participants noted the connection between environmental quality, community health, alternative transportation modes and sustainable development. Participant groups also viewed transit (and other alternative transportation modes) as being critical to improving the city environmentally and economically. Almost every group included transit and/or walkability among their top five priorities. COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOPS 3 SUMMARY RESULTS # 3 | JANUARY 23, 2012: COMMUNITY RENEWAL AND DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION Participants worked in small groups focusing either on community renewal in neighborhoods or on downtown revitalization. ### A. Community renewal—where should we start? Participants working on Community Renewal were asked to consider criteria which could be used to guide decisions on where to make strategic interventions for neighborhood revitalization and to identify some areas in the city which meet some or all of the criteria. Suggested criteria included the presence of a large employment center, community assets (such as parks or schools), a commercial center, location near a major transportation route, and opportunities for new or renovated housing. The small groups were asked to identify their top three priority choices, which are indicated here by “Priority Choice.” **Additional criteria:** * Existing momentum * Good local leadership (neighborhood and merchant) * Walkability * Large parcels of surplus land **Potential locations for strategic action:** * Priority Choice: Norwood and 12th Avenue North > City and county employers > Greenway (Norwood Blvd) and potential Village Creek Greenway > Historic School (high performing) > Bus route—transit potential > Proximity to interstates and airport > Attractive housing with rehab potential—historic district > Vacant land > Momentum in place > Walkability > Commercial district at 12th Avenue North with a bus route > Farmers market pilot project * Priority Choice: Avondale > Proximity and access > Recent investment > Commercial district > Avondale Park and library > Walkability > School > Transit potential (train tracks underutilized at 1st Avenue South) > Good neighborhood leadership > Main Street District > Momentum * Priority Choice: Woodlawn > Transportation (all roads lead in / out of downtown) > Historic, intact commercial core > Woodlawn (renovated) High School > Momentum and partnerships > Interesting housing ready for rehab > Arts incubation > Walkability > Good local leadership > Large parcels for redevelopment > Main Street Birmingham District * Priority Choice: Downtown > Buildings to renovate for business to occupy > Restaurants > Southtown Public Housing—make it a mixed income neighborhood > Multi-use around Railroad Park area > Catalyze 7th Avenue South > Needs reliable transportation; entertainment throughout downtown; grocery store * Priority Choice: Northside Adjacent to Downtown—Druid Hill/Norwood/Enon Ridge > Good housing stock > Adjacent to downtown > Near future Village Creek greenway > Transit potential—extend DART beyond downtown > Commercial district > Renovated elementary school in Enon Ridge * Priority Choice: East Lake > Commercial development on 1st Avenue North > Good housing stock > Two good parks > Industrial park proposed by airport authority * Priority Choice: West End > Mixed use commercial on Tuscaloosa Avenue > Future Valley Creek greenway > Good housing stock for potential rehab CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOP 3 **Others areas mentioned include:** * North Birmingham > Historic commercial center > Vacant land for infill on US 78 > Potential for light rail line > Walkability > Historic school > Vacant light industrial property ready for redevelopment > Good neighborhood leadership > Main Street District * Fountain Heights at Civil Rights District > Employment center > Park with Recreation Center > New Affordable Housing > Master plan in place > Large parcels and vacant/tax delinquent property > Walkability ## B. Downtown revitalization: what issues need to be addressed for downtown to move to the next level? **Connections and Transportation:** * Public transit that is more than DART * Corridor development from 2nd Ave North to the Art Museum for walking; park once and then walk in downtown * Establish a good wayfinding system * Make downtown more pedestrian friendly * Create a bike trail link to Crossplex **Retail and Services:** * Affordable retail in the central part of downtown, not scattered in fragments * On Sundays, a farmers’ market and flea market * Attract a grocery store * Attract a movie theater **Downtown Lifestyle:** * Promote the 2nd Ave North lifestyle, exemplified by new restaurant opening (El Barrio), for young professionals * Build condos * Focus redevelopment to benefit the people who live in downtown **Downtown Character:** * Preserve historic buildings * Explore creating a water feature—bring the lake back to Lakeview * Brand the various downtown districts **Security:** * Install more and better lighting * Expand CAPS to more areas in downtown **Businesses:** * Recruit high tech businesses rather than car-dependent businesses * Move the car dealerships to more suitable locations * Streamline business and development processes and provide incentives CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOP 4 ## SUMMARY RESULTS # 4 | JANUARY 24, 2012: PROSPERITY AND OPPORTUNITY ### A. What are the 3 or 4 most important things the city can do to make the City of Birmingham a place where people want to work and do business? Participants particularly emphasized the need for improvements in public transportation, P-12 education, the business environment, and the city's general quality of life. Other frequently mentioned topics included downtown revitalization, enhancing the city's image, and governmental reform. Some of the specific ideas put forward included the following: * **Public transportation:** provide more reliable service with posted schedules at stops; develop dedicated bus lanes and/or light rail * **P-12 education:** enhance curricular offerings, improve staff and teacher capabilities; engage businesses in career exploration and exposure activities; provide trade schools and apprenticeships; increase the number of students entering post-secondary institutions * **Business environment:** streamline the process of starting a business and doing business with the city (e.g., permitting, licensing, inspections, contracting); provide incentives to startups and other small businesses; provide incentives for vacant or derelict property renovations; establish a business retention service; develop technology parks; establish a microloan program; make existing programs and incentives more transparent * **Quality of life:** develop more public green spaces; expand cultural offerings; create more livable neighborhoods with urban amenities; improve public safety; develop attractive business districts; repair urban infrastructure; make the city more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly * **Downtown revitalization:** provide incentives for property renovation and mixed use development; provide incentives for businesses to locate downtown; attract more retail businesses, particularly grocery stores; provide affordable space for business-startups; increase cultural attractions and other evening activities; improve transit options; improve lighting and other security measures * **Image enhancement:** increase marketing activities to the region and beyond; dispel negativism and misinformation in the surrounding region; more effectively showcase the city's assets; highlight positive developments * **Government reform:** increase government efficiency; restructure city council and school board to include at-large representation ### B. What kinds of industries, businesses, and jobs do you think the City of Birmingham is best positioned to grow and attract during the next five to ten years? Participants identified several industries and economic activities that they considered Birmingham well positioned to grow and attract. Most frequently mentioned were medical technology (e.g., pharmaceuticals, medical devices, diagnostics, and bioinformatics), health care, research (with a focus on life sciences), higher education, tourism (e.g., historic, cultural, recreational, ecotourism) and transportation/distribution. Others included automotive and light manufacturing, computer- and internet-related businesses, financial activities, food products, and green industries (e.g., green-standard manufacturing, green energy, energy efficiency, recycling). A number of participants noted the nexus between research, higher education, health care and technology industries, with UAB at the center. Some participants more generally emphasized the opportunity to shift from traditional to more knowledge-based industries. 2.17 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # COMMUNITY OF INTEREST WORKSHOP 4 ## C. How can business, government and residents best work together to support economic development? Some of the responses to this question focused on improving processes for engagement and collaboration while others identified key issues that should be the focus of collaborative efforts. Among the process-focused recommendations were the following: * Develop stronger mechanisms for resident and business input into economic development planning processes and demonstrate that this input is meaningful by incorporating it into public policy decisions * Political leaders must demonstrate greater internal unity and alignment on economic development issues in order to demonstrate to residents and businesses that their engagement will be productive * Integrate and align the various local and regional economic development planning initiatives * Participants also identified several issues related to economic development that they believe business, government, and residents should work collaboratively to address. These included the following: * Improving the city’s image by communicating its assets and successes * P-12 educational reform and greater business engagement with the schools around career development * Public-private partnerships to expand and improve job training and placement * Support for increased research funding to local research institutions and expanding the city’s research base * Developing a stronger entrepreneurial “ecosystem” through public and private investments * Improving public transit * Increasing governmental efficiency CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS # 6. OPEN HOUSES Three Comprehensive Plan Open Houses were held the week of March 12, 2012 at CrossPlex, the Central Library, and the Don Hawkins Recreation Center, and drew over 240 residents and other community stakeholders. The Comprehensive Plan Open Houses marked the halfway point in the comprehensive plan process. <
> The purpose of the Open Houses The Open Houses built on four months of analysis by the planning team and public discussion about the assets, challenges, issues, and opportunities facing each part of the city, as well as the Comprehensive Plan Vision and Principles. At the time of the Open Houses, the planning team was in the early stages of drafting the comprehensive plan. The purpose of the Open Houses was: * To provide an opportunity for residents and other stakeholders to view and comment on preliminary goals, strategies and actions, as well as talk informally with members of the planning team. * To help shape key components of the comprehensive plan and guide the planning team as the plan was being drafted. ## What happened at the Open Houses? The open houses were drop-in events in which participants could spend as much time as they wished during the three hours of the events. After registration, participants received a packet of handouts including the comprehensive plan vision statement and a Frequently Asked Questions handout to bring people up to date on the planning process so far and provide information on additional ways to comment. At each location, there were a series of posters with preliminary goals, strategies and actions listed under four comprehensive plan topic areas: Strengthening City Systems (Public Infrastructure, Facilities and Services); Green Systems; Neighborhoods, Housing and Community Renewal; and Prosperity and Opportunity. At registration, each participant received 8 green adhesive dots and 8 yellow adhesive dots. Green dots were used to identify items that participants felt *important to the city as a whole*; yellow dots were used to indicate items that were *important to the participants personally*. Participants could distribute the dots any way they chose—putting them all on one item or spreading them across different topics. Each topic area also included a blank poster where participants could give free comments by writing on a post-it and attaching it to the poster. ## Open House results Following the Open Houses, participants’ “votes” were tallied and all additional comments were compiled. The results of the Open Houses indicate community enthusiasm for goals and strategies that align with the results of previous comprehensive plan public participation events. Top goals and strategies are identified below, along with a summary of representative comments. Overall, several key priorities emerged from community input: * A strong transportation network that supports high quality transit, pedestrian, and bike connections, along with well-maintained streets. 2.19 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS * Improved public schools and education outcomes as a foundation for Birmingham’s prosperity—for instance, through further collaboration with the Birmingham Education Foundation. * Reinvestment in neighborhoods, including removal of blight, vacancy, sub-standard housing and more neighborhood-oriented retail (e.g., small grocery stores). * A strengthened downtown with a positive reputation, more entertainment options, and thriving businesses. * Connected parks, a robust recycling program, and less litter. ### OPEN HOUSE RESULTS | RANK | GOAL/STRATEGY | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | **MOST IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY** | **MOST IMPORTANT FOR PARTICIPANTS PERSONALLY** | | 1 | The City of Birmingham has a high quality transportation system of well-maintained streets, complete bicycle and pedestrian networks, and excellent public transportation connecting employment, community, and visitor destinations. | The City of Birmingham has a high quality transportation system of well-maintained streets, complete bicycle and pedestrian networks, and excellent public transportation connecting employment, community, and visitor destinations. | | 2 | Pursue and advocate for new funding strategies and for coordination among, the City BJCTA, ALDOT, the MPO, major employers, and adjoining municipalities for better transit service and efficient routing within the City and County. | Pursue and advocate for new funding strategies and for coordination among, the City BJCTA, ALDOT, the MPO, major employers, and adjoining municipalities for better transit service and efficient routing within the City and County. | | 3 | All students graduate from high school prepared for post-secondary education. | All students graduate from high school prepared for post-secondary education. | | 4 | Vacant industrial sites and buildings are prepared for new uses consistent with shifts in the city’s economic base. | Streets are maintained in good repair, with traffic calming elements where needed. | | 5 | The transit system is fast, efficient, dependable and user-friendly, with high ridership. | A comprehensive housing policy creates and sustains quality neighborhoods so that all housing is in good condition and code compliant, and quality housing meets the diverse needs of households at all income levels and all stages of the life cycle. | | 6 | Continue public school improvement initiatives, including the collaboration with the Birmingham Education Foundation. | The transit system is fast, efficient, dependable and user-friendly, with high ridership. | | 7 | Develop a marketing plan for downtown living and as a place to visit, building on the excitement over Railroad Park and the new baseball stadium. | People in the city and the region perceive downtown as a safe, fun, and exciting place to live and visit. | | 8 | Reinvestment in existing communities conserves resources and sensitive environments. | A comprehensive green infrastructure system provides access to and preserves natural areas and environmentally sensitive areas. | ## OPEN HOUSE RESULTS | RANK | GOAL/STRATEGY | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | **MOST IMPORTANT FOR THE CITY** | **MOST IMPORTANT FOR PARTICIPANTS PERSONALLY** | | **9** | Establish an office responsible to the Mayor with the authority to coordinate and organize the blight eradication activities of all relevant city agencies to clarify roles, ensure that offices and agencies work together to implement policy, and to make regular public reports on progress. | Pedestrian facilities are safe, functional, and attractive and connect residents to schools, parks and commercial areas. | | **10** | Support the academic improvement programs of the public school system and the Education Foundation. | Continue to recruit grocery stores and fresh food outlets for locations in or adjacent to neighborhood commercial districts. | | **11** | People in the city and the region perceive downtown as a safe, fun, and exciting place to live and visit. | The city makes every effort to help the region consistently meet or exceed clean air standards. | | **12** | Ensure strengthened connections for transit, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists between north and south, and linking downtown and adjacent areas. | Ensure strengthened connections for transit, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists between north and south, and linking downtown and adjacent areas. | | **13** | Water and sewer services meet the long-term needs of the city. | Coordinate streetscape improvements (sidewalk repair, tree planting, and so on) with street paving projects. | | **14** | Continue to recruit grocery stores and fresh food outlets for locations in or adjacent to neighborhood commercial districts. | Expand city recycling operations to include apartments and businesses. | | **15** | A comprehensive housing policy creates and sustains quality neighborhoods so that all housing is in good condition and code compliant, and quality housing meets the diverse needs of households at all income levels and all stages of the life cycle. | Every resident is within a ten minute walk of a park or publicly accessible, usable open space. | | **16** | A strong entrepreneurial environment supports new business ventures and small business growth. | The city's bicycle and pedestrian networks include marked bike routes and dedicated space for bicyclists. | | **17** | Strengthen partnerships between the public schools and business and the public schools and higher education, for example, by providing career exploration opportunities, contributing to curriculum development, and advising on management practices. | Continue public school improvement initiatives, including the collaboration with the Birmingham Education Foundation. | | **18** | Coordinate streetscape improvements (sidewalk repair, tree planting, and so on) with street paving projects. | Quality of life in Birmingham neighborhoods has been enhanced by public and private investments and city neighborhoods have a good public image. | | **19** | City parks and recreation facilities are safe, well-maintained and widely used. | Establish regulations and standards to support urban agriculture, community gardening and other programs to enhance food security for residents. | | **20** | Expand city recycling operations to include apartments and businesses. | Emphasize revitalization of strategically located "urban villages" that provide compact, walkable neighborhoods with the potential to support transit hubs. | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS ### Summary of representative comments #### Green Systems * More green jobs * Why can’t we recycle here and now? * Fight pollution like it’s nobody’s business. Clean AIR and H20 are our birthright. Without them we are unhealthy, unhappy, unproductive, and negative. Let’s clean it up in Bham * Get the parks connected as priority * Link existing sidewalk system to parks and open space #### Prosperity and Opportunity * Prosperity and opportunity begin with education, youth and adult * Improving our education system has to be priority #1 if we are to keep our age 25–40 group in the city—they move out, if possible, when kids are school age * Downtown area needs a grocery store and entertainment to draw in new residents * Allow small and minority businesses to use vacant city buildings as hubs and place of business for a small fee * Create an attractive environment for people and business: jobs, school, public safety, transportation #### Strengthening City Systems * Strengthening city systems begins with improving education for youth and adults * It is imperative to create better public transportation systems * Rail system would be nice * Libraries are an important component of any great city’s infrastructure * Tear down elevated highways—create boulevards and incentivize mass transit * Transparency in all activities #### Neighborhoods, Housing & Community Renewal * People are leaving the city because of poor housing conditions. The housing in many of the neighborhoods is substandard * Focus on neighborhoods * Tear down old homes and buildings that are falling apart * Streamline permitting * Get a Trader Joe’s grocery store * Provide permanent supportive housing for the chronic homeless * Keep Birmingham clean of trash, literally! --- ### 7. CITYWIDE FORUM ON THE PLAN On the morning of Saturday, August 25, 2012—almost one year after the Citywide Visioning Forum in October 2011—over 200 participants came to the Birmingham Museum of Art to hear about the Draft Birmingham Comprehensive Plan and discuss its recommendations. Fox News anchor Steve Crocker emceed the event, and Mayor William A. Bell, Sr. welcomed participants. He spoke about the need for implementation and active use of the plan once it is approved by the Birmingham Planning Commission. Participants viewed exhibits about the plan’s recommendation and the planning process and gave individual and group feedback about major implementation of the plan. <
> <
> CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS <
> As residents filtered into the museum, they were introduced to the project via a series of maps and posters that summarized key topics in the Comprehensive Plan. Each participant received an Executive Summary handout with information about the purpose, process, and major recommendations of the plan. One of the posters at the entrance was a “word cloud” of keywords that was signed by participants as they entered into the conference room, marking their commitment to contributing their energy toward the success of this plan. After Mayor Bell’s remarks, a two-part presentation by lead consultant Larissa Brown of Goody Clancy was followed by roundtable discussions to review participants’ priorities, table interviews where participants shared what they discussed in their table groups, and, finally, a question-and-answer session with a panel with local members of the consultant team, Herschell Hamilton of BlocGlobal, Nolanda Bearden of NHB Group, and Jason Fondren of KPS. The first half of the presentation, “The Big Picture: Shaping the 21st-Century Birmingham,” focused on the plan vision; building a community consensus; and national and local demographic trends. The second half of the presentation, “Investing in People and Places,” spoke to the core strategies and implementation actions being called for in the Draft Plan. Participants were randomly seated at tables to maximize the opportunity for people who did not know each other to talk to one another. There were roughly 10 people seated at each table. Following Part One of the presentation, participants reflected both individually and with those at their tables on “The Big Picture”. Individually, they completed worksheets on which they indicated their level of support for various plan recommendations. Following that reflection, they discussed their priorities and came up with “table priorities,” composite rankings of each topic based on the priorities of the individuals. The table below highlights the overall rank of each priority, based on the average rank position for each priority from all of the tables. After the second part of the presentation, participants at each of the tables went through a similar process to agree on a set of top three priorities for implementation. In addition to discussing and then ranking the priorities, participants provided numerous comments that highlighted their aspirations for what the Comprehensive Plan needed to address. Neighborhood revitalization and a variety of recommendation initiatives received repeated support in **TOP TABLE PRIORITIES FOR PART 1, “THE BIG PICTURE”** | PRIORITY | RANKING | | :--- | :--- | | **Revitalization and land use:** Do you support the creation of a citywide Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank with professional staff to deal with tax delinquent and abandoned properties and redevelop vacant property? | **1** | | **Transportation and land use:** Do you think that it makes sense to provide extra investment and services in compact, “urban villages” in order to create critical mass that supports better transit service, express buses, and eventually, bus rapid transit? | **2** | | **Neighborhoods:** Do you support the idea of having a Birmingham Neighborhood Futures Conference in 2013 to bring national funders and practitioners to the city to share successful strategies for sustaining and revitalizing Birmingham neighborhoods? | **3** | | **Systems:** Do you think it is a good idea to invest in comprehensive information systems about neighborhoods, real estate, businesses and jobs, and city facilities to support more-informed decision making? | **4** | | **Economic development:** Do you think the city should focus some of its economic development funding on initiatives to help move research and startup products into the marketplace, in order to expand the city’s economic base industries of the future? | **5** | | **Green systems:** Do you think that implementation of the Village Creek and Valley Creek Greenway sections of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System should be a high priority? | **6** | 2.23 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS **TOP TABLE PRIORITIES FOR PART 2, “PEOPLE, PLACE, PROSPERITY, PARTNERSHIP, PERFORMANCE”** | PRIORITY | RANKING | | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Education, economic development and jobs:** Do you support strengthening and expanding public school/business partnerships to give every student high quality career exploration and work experience? | 1 | **Transportation choice:** Do you think that transportation planning and improvements in the city should include attention to creating good connections and travel conditions for walking, biking, and transit, as well as for cars, and that truck routes should be designated and enforced? | 4 | | **Neighborhoods:** Do you support measures to maintain and improve neighborhoods such as a vacant property registration ordinance, a rental registration and inspection system, and reorganization of the code enforcement system to make it more effective and efficient? | 2 | **Land use and economic development:** Do you support investing in preparation of selected vacant industrial sites, for example, by extending infrastructure, so that the city can be more competitive in retaining and attracting business? | 5 | | **Downtown:** Do you support investment in a Downtown Connections program of streetscape improvements, public art programs, development incentives, and other initiatives, in order to link the various activity centers in downtown and stimulate more private investment in housing and businesses? | 3 | **Green systems:** Do you support providing incentives, such as expedited permitting, for “green” and sustainable site design and building practices related to energy use, stormwater management, and similar issues? | 6 | the public discussions. Participants also expressed concern about how the plan would be implemented and how to obtain resources for implementation. At the end of the event, participants were asked to fill out a sheet identifying how they might want to contribute to the implementation of the Plan. The results show that people in Birmingham want to be a part of the process to revitalize Birmingham in every capacity. There was an especially strong interest in improving neighborhoods and monitor- <
> **BE A GAME CHANGER: ACTIONS PARTICIPANTS WOULD UNDERTAKE TO SUPPORT THE PLAN** <
> 2.24 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS ing the implementation process. The City’s Planning Division will contact participants who filled out this form. # B. Public Review and Adoption After the August Citywide Forum, the plan was revised and reviewed by the City’s Planning Division. It was posted on the plan website and a hard copy distributed to public libraries in Spring 2013 for a public review process. The Birmingham Planning Commission held a public hearing on April 4, 2013, to receive public comment on the plan. At the request of several groups, the Planning Commission extended the period for written public comment to June 4, 2013. All public comments were documented along with a response from the consultant team. The Planning Division staff worked with the Birmingham Planning Commission, individuals, and groups to develop mutually acceptable revisions on issues where there were concerns. The final draft of the plan with public comments was submitted to the City of Birmingham Planning Commission for review and adoption in September, 2013. After several public hearings, the text of the plan in Volume I was officially adopted by the Birmingham Planning Commission on October 2, 2013. After additional public hearings on the Future Land Use Plan Maps, the Land Use Plan Maps were officially adopted on February 5, 2014. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 2 THE COMMUNITY SPEAKS 2.26 # Chapter 3 Understanding Birmingham Today ...for a Better Birmingham Tomorrow <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “A city that values and builds off its historic assets and character.” # 1. The City of Birmingham and 21st-Century Trends The 21st century is an urban century. The majority of the world’s people now live in urban centers. Increasingly, it is metropolitan centers that are competing for people and resources, even though states and nations remain important. Strong central cities are essential to the success of metropolitan regions. “Next Economy” is the term increasingly used for the era of innovation and opportunity that is emerging from the economic crisis of the Great Recession.[^p55-1] The Next Economy will be built on technological innovation and advanced production, exports, resource-efficiency and clean, reliable and affordable energy. It also requires a workforce with the education and skills to take advantage of the millions of new jobs and occupations that will provide a good quality of life. Metropolitan areas and cities will be in the forefront of creating and benefiting from the Next Economy, but they must plan and invest for this future. How can the City of Birmingham meet the challenges of the 21st century? In early 2012, the Economist Intelligence Unit was asked to compare several hundred global cities for competitiveness. Defining competitiveness as “the demonstrated ability to attract capital, businesses, talent and visitors,” they analyzed the cities in terms of eight categories: economic strength, human capital, institutional effectiveness, financial maturity, global appeal, physical capital, environment and natural hazards, and social and cultural character.”[^p55-2] When they asked global businesses what kinds of location criteria they used, “quality of life” along with availability of human capital and talent, were among the top criteria. One company indicated that they looked for cities that are “forward thinking,” because the firm wants to make long-term commitments.[^p55-3] In addition to this global world of urban competition, the 21st century ushered in a new generation—the Millennials or Gen Y—the first generation to come of age in the new millennium. It is this generation that will shape and inherit the City of Birmingham envisioned by this comprehensive plan. The numerically biggest generation in American history, Millennials are the first generation born into the digital age, the most educated generation ever, the most racially and ethnically diverse, and more likely to live in *** [^p55-1]: Bruce Katz, “How to Build the Next Economy,” February 14, 2011, http://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/02/how-to-build-the-next-economy/71160/ [^p55-2]: Economist Intelligence Unit, Hot Spots: Benchmarking Global City Competitiveness (2012), p. 5. http://www.citigroup.com/citi/citiforcities/pdfs/hotspots.pdf. The Economist Intelligence Unit is the research and analysis arm of the company whose flagship product is The Economist magazine. [^p55-3]: Ibid., p. 17 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW central cities than other post-World War II generations.[^p56-4] The Urban Land Institute (ULI), the research institution of the real estate development industry, identified them as “technologically savvy, highly mobile, and hungry to build careers while delaying families. They gravitate to more urban places looking for jobs and crave interactive environments that nurture social diversity and fun. They prefer flexible working situations, want to live in stimulating neighborhoods, and don’t mind dealing with less individual space. At the same time, new immigrants and less well-educated young people seek places that allow financial and cultural growth.” Other trends the ULI identified in a 2011 report include:[^p56-5] * ***Technology will reshape workplaces.*** *Office tenants will decrease space per employee, and new office environments will need to promote interaction and dialogue. Offices will be transforming into meeting places more than work places, with an emphasis on conference rooms, break areas and open configurations. Developers will craft attractive environments to attract young, talented workers.* * ***Major companies will value space that enables innovation.*** *They will continue to pay more for space in a global gateway served by a major international airport, or in 24-hour urban centers. Hard-to-reach suburban work places will be less in demand.* * ***The influx of Generation Y, now in their teens through early thirties, will change housing demand.*** *They are comfortable with smaller homes and will happily trade living space for an easier commute and better lifestyle. They will drive up the number of single households and prompt a surge in demand for rentals, causing rents to escalate.* * ***For most people, finances will still be constrained, leading to more shared housing and multi-generational households.*** *Immigration will support that trend, as many immigrants come from places where it is common for extended families to share housing. This may be the one group that continues to drive demand for large, suburban homes.* * ***The senior population will grow fastest, but financial constraints could limit demand for adult housing developments.*** *Many will age in place or move in with relatives to conserve money. Developers may want to recast retirement communities into amenity-laden “age friendly” residences. Homes near hospitals and medical offices will be popular, especially if integrated into mixed-use neighborhoods with shops, restaurants and services.* * ***Energy and infrastructure take on greater importance.*** *Businesses cannot afford to have their network connections down, and more will consider self-generated power or onsite generator capacity.* What does this mean for the City of Birmingham? First, it demonstrates how an educated and skilled workforce, quality of life, distinctive character, effective governance, and economic success are all interrelated. Second, it illustrates the importance of planning and a strategic approach to the future. This comprehensive planning process and [^p56-4]: Pew Research Center, Millennials: A Portrait of Generation Next (February 2010), www.PewResearch.org. [^p56-5]: Urban Land Institute, What’s Next? Real Estate in the New Economy (October 2011) www.uli75.org. 3.3 > **[page 57 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** document is Birmingham’s first full citywide plan in 50 years. During the last half > **[page 58 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** * **Establishing a record of performance.** New leadership in the private and public sector is establishing a record of ral systems of water and air underlie and influence all our human uses of the land and stewardship of the environment. * **Housing and Neighborhoods.** This section focuses on the way we live on the land as an urban community. * **Prosperity and Opportunity.** The city’s economic conditions influence the levels of opportunity and prosperity available to residents and businesses. * **City Systems.** The man-made infrastructure systems, facilities and services make it possible for neighborhoods and the economy to function in the city. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW # trends at a glance **FIGURE 3.1: POPULATION CHANGE BY COMMUNITY, 2000–2010** <
> **Population Change (%)** * -25% or more * -15% to -24.9% * 0% to -14.9% * 0% to 15% * 15.1% or more * Community Boundaries CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW FIGURE 3.2: OWNERSHIP VS. RENTAL <
> 49% 51% OWNER-OCCUPIED RENTER-OCCUPIED SOURCE: 2010 CENSUS FIGURE 3.4: HOUSEHOLDS BY TYPE <
> TOTAL: 97,779 HOUSHOLDS SOURCE: 2005-2009 ACS FIGURE 3.6: POPULATION CHANGE FOR SELECTED CITIES, 1900–2010 <
> SOURCE: 2010 US CENSUS FIGURE 3.3: CHANGE IN POPULATION AND HOUSEHOLDS, 1970-2010 <
> SOURCE: 2010 US CENSUS FIGURE 3.5: TRADITIONAL NUCLEAR FAMILIES* <
> * Husband, wife, and their own children under 18 SOURCE: 2005-2009 ACS ### What does it mean? * The number of households is more important than the number of people. Birmingham’s loss of 37% of its population between 1960 and 2010 is not unique. Most industrial cities peaked in population in 1950 or 1960, before the suburban expansion of the second half of the 20th century. Households were bigger then, too. Cities today have many single-person households and families are smaller than they used to be. Although the City of Birmingham lost 30% of its population between 1970 and 2010, the total number of households declined by only 10%. * Families with children are leaving the city. Between 2000 and 2010, the number of family households with children under 18 declined by nearly 30%. The number of traditional nuclear families—a married couple with their own children under 18—declined by 43%. Birmingham does not have to have a majority of family households, but the city needs to be a place that families believe is a good place to raise children. 3.8 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW | FIGURE 3.7: GETTING AROUND WITHOUT A CAR | | | :--- | :--- | | 34 | Number of bus routes | | 13.5%* | Percent of city households with no car | *28,000+ people <
> There is no premium public transit service that could attract riders who have other alternatives. The transit system has been in a continuing crisis over operational funding for a number of years. ### FIGURE 3.8: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM—HOW RESIDENTS GET TO WORK <
> ### FIGURE 3.9: GETTING AROUND METRO BIRMINGHAM COMPARED TO THE NATION | | | | :--- | :--- | | <
> | Fourth-highest average miles driven per day in the US at an estimated cost of $7,000 a year | | <
> | Third worst city in the US for biking | | <
> | 16th out of 54 metro areas in preventable pedestrian deaths over the last decade | 3.9 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW ### FIGURE 3.10: HOUSING UNITS (OCCUPIED & VACANT) BY TYPE <
> SOURCE: ESRI ACS HOUSING SUMMARY (2005-2009 ESTIMATE) About 8,000 housing units are vacant and out of the housing market, and there are thousands of vacant lots in residential neighborhoods. <
> Most of the city is made up of residential neighborhoods, and the majority of housing units are single-family homes. <
> Many neighborhoods need more occupied housing units to support retail and services in their neighborhood commercial districts. ### FIGURE 3.11: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM—HOUSING UNIT OCCUPANCY, 2010 <
> SOURCE: 2010 US CENSUS 3.10 *Birmingham has an extensive park system: over 3,000 acres of parks and nature preserves owned and operated by the City and nonprofit organizations.* <
> *Large vacant or underutilized sites remain as a legacy of Birmingham’s mining and industrial history.* <
> <
> *In the last decade, new housing construction has created a City Center neighborhood of about 4,000 people living in apartments and condos.* # What does it mean? The power of place * **Birmingham is getting greener.** Railroad Park, Ruffner Park, and Red Mountain Park are creating new city and regional destinations. Valley Creek and other floodplain areas are planned to become parks and greenways. The Our One Mile campaign will include the city in a network of regional greenways. * **The city’s neighborhood park system has limited funding.** Three major parks—Avondale, Cooper Green and Crestwood—have been renovated with capital bond funding. However, funding for everyday maintenance and programming is very constrained. * **Birmingham has a variety of neighborhoods that could attract new residents.** Older housing stock needs to be renovated and supplemented with new housing. The fate of many neighborhoods will depend on the outcome of the generational transition that will occur over the next two decades as elderly homeowners pass on. * **Blight—abandoned and derelict housing, vacant lots—is a critical challenge** in many neighborhoods, especially those closer to the city center. * **Commercial corridors and many neighborhood commercial districts have vacant stores and lots.** Many neighborhoods need more occupied housing units to support retail and services for their needs. * **Pollution remains a concern.** Contamination at vacant industrial sites and adjacent areas, pollution of waterways, air pollution with elevated ozone levels, and lead paint in older housing and in soils are among the issues that can affect human health and safety, as well as constraining economic redevelopment. * **There are few practical alternatives to getting around by car.** Transit routes, frequency, and overall service do not attract riders who have a choice. A vision plan for bicycle and pedestrian routes has existed since 1995, but there has been little progress in its implementation. * **City government has limited control over basic infrastructure.** It has responsibility for the storm drainage system and local streets, but water, sewer, and other utility systems are owned and operated by other public or private entities. ### A NOTE ON THE DATA Data for the comprehensive plan was gathered from public and private sources. Census 2010 data is used when available. Some data is from the American Community Survey (ACS). The US Census Bureau no longer collects housing and economic data in census years through the long form census form. Instead, the Census Bureau conducts surveys every year and releases data based on rolling three-year averages through the ACS. Proprietary databases, such as ESRI Business Analyst and EMSI, were also used to make estimates when data from public sources was unavailable. For example, the State of Alabama does not provide employment data by city, so the planning team used proprietary data by zip code and land use data to estimate the number of jobs in the City of Birmingham. # 2. Population and Land Use Trends ## A. THE CITY HAS LOST POPULATION TO THE REGION BUT REMAINS THE REGION'S JOB CENTER. ### 1. Birmingham is the core city of a large metropolitan region. The City of Birmingham, comprised of 152 square miles of land and water, is at the center of the Birmingham-Hoover Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). The MSA is a seven-county region of 5,332 square miles, with a population of 1,127,741[^p65-1] at the time of the 2010 census.[^p65-1] Population in the MSA grew 7.2% in the 2000 to 2010 decade. Nonetheless, in 2010, 75% of the MSA population was concentrated in Jefferson and Shelby Counties. The city’s 2010 population density is 1,396 persons per square mile, with 588 households per square mile. While the city continues to be the region’s biggest employment center, as a whole it has been losing population to suburban communities and semi-rural (sometimes called “exurban”) locations since 1970. Population grew rapidly in Shelby, St. Clair and Chilton counties between 1970 and 2010: more than 400% in Shelby County alone. St. Clair County, east of the city along I-20, has also been growing rapidly in recent years. The suburban and exurban growth on former agricultural and forest land is characterized by low-density, single family housing served by strip commercial development, forming bedroom communities concentrated along transportation routes to the City of Birmingham, which continues to be the region’s most important employment center. **Governance in the region is fragmented by multiple jurisdictions.** Unlike many cities in the South and West, Birmingham is surrounded by other municipalities and has relatively little unincorporated land on its borders. There are 52 municipal jurisdictions in Jefferson and Shelby counties alone. The municipalities on the southern border of the city, such as Mountain Brook, Vestavia Hills, and Homewood, tend to be more affluent, while other small cities that began as mining or industrial camps are often struggling. In many respects, the City of Birmingham’s role and its experience within its metropolitan region has more in common with the experience of formerly industrial Northeastern and Midwestern cities, sometimes known as the Rustbelt, than with the recent growth of other southern cities like Charlotte. Rustbelt cities, like Birmingham, were once powerhouses of industrial manufacturing and their regions are typically divided into many smaller jurisdictions. “New South” cities like Charlotte became prosperous based on services and real estate development and have been able to expand by annexation to include economically diverse neighborhoods. **Regional organizations focus on the metropolitan area.** Regional organizations that play an important role for the city’s long-term destiny are the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and the Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA). The MPO is the federally designated regional [^p65-1]: The seven counties are Bibb, Blount, Chilton, Jefferson, St. Clair, Shelby and Walker counties. | TABLE 3.1: TOTAL POPULATION BIRMINGHAM METROPOLITAN REGION | | | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | **2000** | **2010** | **CHANGE** | | **City of Birmingham** | 242,820 | 212,237 | **-12.6%** | | **Birmingham-Hoover MSA** | 1,052,238 | 1,128,047 | 7.2% | | **MSA without City** | 809,418 | 915,810 | 13.1% | PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW FIGURE 3.12: TOTAL JOBS | BIRMINGHAM VICINITY BY CENSUS TRACT <
> organization for transportation planning in Jefferson and Shelby counties and is housed in the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, which has an advisory planning role for the seven-county MSA. The MPO works with local jurisdictions in Jefferson and Shelby counties to plan and program federal transportation investments. It is responsible for creating a long-term Regional Transportation Plan, as well as programming short-term funds. The BBA focuses on promoting economic growth and development in the seven-county Birmingham-Hoover MSA. It was created in 2009 by the merger of the Birmingham Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Metropolitan Development Board. In 2010, the BBA released *Blueprint Birmingham*, a five-year strategic plan for regional economic growth. **Total Jobs** * 20 - 2,500 * 2,501 - 5,000 * 5,001 - 10,000 * 10,001 - 20,000 * 20,001 - 40,389 3.13 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW ## 2. The city is part of an emerging “megaregion.” Birmingham is included in the emerging Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion—one of eight major regions in the United States identified by researchers as areas with interrelated economic systems within a common ecosystem and linked by shared transportation systems. The Piedmont Atlantic Megaregion stretches from the Carolinas, through the Atlanta region, to Birmingham, generally following the I-20 and I-85 corridors. It is called an “emerging” region because of the significant extent of rural area remaining between the metropolitan areas. Moreover, as is the case in the Birmingham metropolitan area, intra-metropolitan coordination remains limited. However, as the metropolitan areas in megaregions grow more connected, with increasing demands on transportation and water infrastructure for example, the value of coordinating policies over a broader geographic scale will grow.[^p67-2] ## B. HISTORIC GROWTH, DEVELOPMENT, AND PLANNING Like many other cities, Birmingham’s post-Civil War, nineteenth century roots can be found in the nexus of natural resources, transportation, and real estate speculation. The city’s development has been marked by the boom and bust cycles of the mining and industrial economy, the struggle for civil rights, the legacy of residential segregation by race, and the ongoing transition from a primarily industrial economy to a service-based economy. ### 1. The railroad crossing becomes “The Magic City.” Birmingham’s founders named the city in the hopes that it would emulate its English namesake as a manufacturing metropolis. Founded after the Civil War in the Appalachian piedmont where coal, iron ore, and limestone were abundantly available in close proximity to make steel and at the point where important railroad lines were converging, Birmingham in 1871 was destined to be a company town.[^p67-3] The physical development of the city was marked by the region’s topography—the steep mountain slopes to the north and south of Jones Valley and the floodplains of Village and Valley Creeks—as well as by the location of industrial furnaces or mines and the railroads that served them. Outside of the original city located around the railroad reservation, mining and industrial communities sprang up spontaneously to house workers, and industrial firms later laid out company towns for their employees. Growth was so fast between 1881 and 1920 that Birmingham was nicknamed the “Magic City.” Like all industrial and mining boom towns, early Birmingham was an uncomfortable, unsanitary, and dangerous place for everyone. From the beginning, the work force was both black and white and the two racial groups tended to live on different blocks or in different company-built camps or towns even before legally-defined racial segregation. A major annexation in 1910 added 70,000 people and 48 square miles to the city, including the towns of East Birmingham, North Birmingham, Thomas, and Ensley. In the late nineteenth century, Birmingham’s industrial elite lived in the South Highlands and Forest Park neighborhoods, while new suburbs were built for the white working class in Eastlake, Woodlawn, Ensley and West End. By the 1920s the affluent elites were beginning to move “over the mountain” to areas that eventually become separate municipalities such as Mountain Brook and Homewood. In the early 20th century, most of the African-American population lived in areas considered less desirable—in the floodplains of the creeks, along railroad lines and near heavy industry, and in alleys. These neighborhoods lacked paved streets, streetlights, and sewer and water infrastructure. However, the small African-American middle class and professionals tended to live in Enon Ridge and Smithfield (where the black architect Wallace A. Rayfield designed many houses). ### 2. Birmingham’s early plans were innovative—but not implemented. The City Plan. Birmingham’s first City Plan was issued in 1919. It contained recommendations on transportation, natural resources, parks, downtown, and a land use system based on the idea of neighborhood centers. It also proposed the establishment of zoning districts. Created by Warren H. Manning, who had worked with the firm of Frederick Law [^p67-2]: For more on megaregions, see http://www.america2050.org/megaregions.html [^p67-3]: The brief review of Birmingham’s land use and planning history in this section is heavily indebted to Charles E. Connerly’s “The Most Segregated City in America:” City Planning and Civil Rights in Birmingham, 1920-1980 (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2005). PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW # Planning in Birmingham, 1919–2004 | 1920 | 1930 | 1940 | 1950 | 1960 | 1970 | 1980 | 1990 | 2000 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1919**
City Plan of
Birmingham (not
implemented except
for civic center) | **1926**
First zoning
ordinance (includes
zoning by race) | | **1952**
“Preliminary
Plan” issued by
Planning Board as
prerequisite to urban
renewal | **1961**
First Comprehensive
Plan (very limited
implementation) | **1971**
Neighborhood
Planning Program | | **1991**
Birmingham
Comprehensive Plan
update (generalized
policy statements) | | | **1925**
Olmsted Park Plan
(not implemented) | **1943**
Birmingham
Planning Board
created. | | **1958**
Economic Report | **1964**
“Design for Progress”
downtown plan by
local AIA chapter | **1974**
Citizen Participation
Plan
___________________
**1980**
Master Plan for
Downtown | | **2004**
City Center Master
Plan | | Olmsted, the plan included many innovative proposals, such as the creation of neighborhood centers, a park system to retain floodwaters, and separate water systems for drinking water and for recycled graywater for industrial cooling.[^p68-4] Except for the establishment of zoning seven years later, the only part of the city plan that was implemented was a “city beautiful” style plan for the downtown civic center (the public buildings surrounding Linn Park). **The Olmsted Plan.** The Manning plan was followed in 1925 by a parks plan created by the nation’s foremost landscape architects and planners, the Olmsted Brothers. Building on the City Plan, it proposed a network of parks, including management of the Village Creek floodplain by making it open space. The plan was never implemented but interest in the plan has been revived in the last decade. **The First Zoning Ordinance.** Efforts to establish a zoning ordinance came to fruition in 1926. This ordinance created a system of racial zoning, despite the fact that in 1917 the US Supreme Court had struck down a law prohibiting real estate sales to African-Americans (*Buchanan v. Warley*). The Birmingham ordinance was fashioned as a “separate but equal” system that prohibited whites from living in areas zoned for blacks and blacks from living in areas zoned for whites. Less desirable areas, such as floodplains and industrial areas, were designated for black occupancy. Legal challenges to Birmingham’s racial zoning system began in the late 1940s and the US Supreme Court found it unconstitutional in 1951. **Planning Board.** The Birmingham Planning Board was created in 1943 to advise on planning issues, but by 1950 the city had no subdivision regulations, no housing code, and no planning staff except for the city engineer and a draftsman. ### 3. The struggle for civil rights is intertwined with Birmingham’s planning and development history. **Legacy of substandard housing.** During the first half of the 20th century, repeated housing surveys found that a significant percentage of the city’s housing stock was substandard, with poor sanitary conditions, and lacking in public services, especially in neighborhoods zoned for African-Americans. In 1950, 45% of the housing stock had no indoor plumbing, and 85% of blacks lived in substandard housing. The enforcement of health and sanitary codes after World War II also resulted in demolition of housing in black residential areas. As the city grew, black demand for housing grew, while the areas zoned for blacks did not. Challenges to racial zoning by African-Americans who moved into North Smithfield, which had been zoned for whites, sparked the bombings that made the neighborhood into “Dynamite Hill.” # Annexation History | | | :--- | | **1910**
Annexation of mill towns
adds 48 square miles and
70,000 people, including East
Birmingham, North Birmingham,
Thomas, Ensley | | **1949**
Six new census tracts added by
annexation | | **1959**
Attempted annexation of
suburban communities fails | | **1964**
Attempted merger with Mountain
Brook, Homewood, Fairfield,
Irondale, Midfield fails | | **1971**
“One Great City” annexation
proposal fails | | **1970s–80s**
Annexation of 69 sq miles:
Oxmoor, Smithfield Heights/
Daniel Payne area; extension
to Birmingham; small areas to
northeast and east; Cahaba area | [^p68-4]: Lance M. Neckar, “Developing Landscape Architecture for the Twentieth Century: The Career of Warren H. Manning,” *Landscape Journal*, (Fall 1989), 85-86. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW **City planning after 1950.** After the federal government passed urban renewal legislation in 1949, the city identified three poor African-American areas in Southside, Ensley and Avondale as candidates for urban renewal. The federal law required an urban renewal plan that was consistent with a city comprehensive plan, which the city did not have. In 1952, therefore, the Birmingham Planning Board issued a “Preliminary Report” to serve as a comprehensive plan that included general recommendations on transportation and public facility improvements as well as identifying the urban renewal target areas. As was the case in cities around the country, urban renewal projects and interstate highway construction during the 1950s and 1960s displaced many residents without providing sufficient alternative housing and reinforced de facto residential segregation. **The first comprehensive plan.** In 1957, the group which later became Operation New Birmingham called for a citywide comprehensive plan. This effort led to the creation of a series of documents: a 1958 report on the economy and the city’s first comprehensive plan in 1961. The economic report recommended diversification of the economy and investment in quality community facilities such as schools, parks, and streets in order to attract new kinds of industry and new residents to the city. The Birmingham manufacturing economy was stagnating and its retail and trading economy was not as competitive as those sectors in other southern cities. The 1961 comprehensive plan focused on improving the city’s facilities and amenities—such as a recommendation to expand the city park system by 1,700 acres—and emphasized the importance of a strong downtown. The park system was closed in 1963 during the civil rights struggle, but Birmingham leaders did focus on downtown redevelopment. In 1964, the local architectural community developed the Design for Progress plan which became the general guide for downtown development until the 1980 Downtown Plan. **Annexation after 1950.** Birmingham’s leading role in the civil rights struggle was behind three unsuccessful annexation efforts from 1959 to 1971. The white leadership of the city attempted to annex or merge with surrounding white suburbs. These efforts failed because of school desegregation, which was at the root of the “white flight” that increasingly affected the city during the 1960s and 1970s. Annexation initiatives since 1971 FIGURE 3.13: ANNEXATION HISTORY | 1960-2011 <
> 3.16 have focused either on small, predominantly African-American communities or on unbuilt land with water supply protection, development and fiscal potential. The annexation of the Cahaba area during the 1980s under the administration of Mayor Richard Arrington, proved to be particularly valuable for the city, as the US-280 corridor became the location for new retail and office development. During the 1990s and 2000s, annexation has been limited to smaller areas. ## C. LAND USE ### 1. Land use is not the same thing as zoning. “Land use” is an umbrella term for the activities that actually occur on a given parcel of land, such as residential, retail, industrial, agricultural, or transportation uses. Land uses can change over time—for example, when a farm becomes fallow land and then is turned into a residential subdivision. Zoning is the tool that a local government employs to regulate the uses of the land. Land use and zoning are not identical. For example, land that has nothing built on it can be zoned for a use that has not yet been developed; land uses can be “grandfathered” or “nonconforming” (meaning that they existed before the land was zoned for a different use); and zoning categories can permit more than one use—for example, an area zoned for industrial uses may also permit commercial uses, which may come to predominate in the area. The Existing Land Use Map shown in Figure 3.14 is based on the City of Birmingham’s land use map, whose content was updated in fall 2011 by the city’s Division of Planning for the purposes of this comprehensive plan. The City’s land use map includes a much more detailed range of land uses than Figure 3.14. For this map, land uses were aggregated into a smaller number of categories so that the overall pattern of land use in the city would be more easily understood. According to the City’s land use data, half of the land area within the city limits does not have buildings or structures on it: parks and open space account for 17% of the total land, agriculture (which is really forestry since it is almost all timber land) takes up 16% of the total, and another 16% is more generally categorized as vacant. The city’s large nature parks—such as Red Mountain and Ruffner—help give it a large amount of unbuilt land, as do the more recently annexed and mostly undeveloped areas on to the north, southwest and southeast. Some 22% of the total land is residential, with commercial and industrial uses occupying another 12%. Within these residential, commercial and industrial areas, however, there are vacant buildings and unoccupied lots. ### 2. Land use is regulated by the zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations. The City of Birmingham zoning ordinance and subdivision regulations are the primary tools by which the city regulates land uses. Municipal authority to regulate land use arises from the police power, which is the power to protect public health, safety and welfare. Zoning initially arose as a way to separate noxious land uses, such as highly polluting industry, from residences. Zoning also typically regulates lot size, density, and building dimensions such as height and massing. For the most part, the Birmingham zoning ordinance is a modified cumulative or pyramid zoning system, in which the most restrictive zoning districts (single-family homes) are permitted in subsequent less restrictive zoning districts. For example, Birmingham’s business districts also allow residential uses. The city’s zoning ordinance has ten residential districts, four business districts, four industrial districts, two agricultural districts, as well as two mixed-use districts and several special zoning districts for health care, institutions, planned recreation and other special cases. Two overlay districts, for the US-280 corridor and for the Highland Park neighborhood, provide additional standards that “overlay” the base zoning requirements. The Highland Park overlay district establishes “form-based” zoning requirements for this neighborhood. Form-based zoning, which has emerged in the last twenty years as an alternative to traditional “Euclidean” zoning (so named from the US Supreme Court case in 1916 that established municipal zoning authority), focuses on building form, rather than separation of uses, in order to create or preserve a human-scaled environment that is pedestrian-friendly. FIGURE 3.14: EXISTING LAND USE <
> Existing Land Use | | | |---|---| | | Single Family Residential | | | Two Family Residential | | | Multi-Family Residential | | | Commercial | | | Industrial | | | Open Space/Passive Recreation | | | Parks/Recreation | | | Agriculture | | | Public/Semi-Public | | | Resource Extraction | | | Transportation & Utilities | | | Parking | | | Vacant | | | Community Boundaries | SOURCE: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM GIS ### TABLE 3.2: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM LAND USE | LAND USE | ACRES | PERCENT | | :--- | ---: | ---: | | Residential | 19,348 | 22% | | Commercial | 3,383 | 4% | | Industrial | 7,179 | 8% | | Parks and open space\* | 14,633 | 17% | | Agriculture/Forestry | 14,150 | 16% | | Public /semi-public | 4,491 | 5% | | Resource extraction | 715 | 1% | | Transportation/utilities | 9,344 | 11% | | Parking\*\* | 233 | 0% | | Vacant | 14,383 | 16% | | **TOTAL** | **87,861** | **100%** | \* *Designated parks and open space, such as cemeteries, flood protection and floodway lands, water protection land.* \*\* *Parking as a primary use (parking structure or lot), not parking accessory to another use.* SOURCE: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM GIS LAND USE Subdivision regulations control the development of multiple lots and the streets and other infrastructure needed to access the lots. The purpose of these regulations, updated in October 2011, is to ensure that the soils, topography, geological and hydrological conditions, and other circumstances are suitable for safe development of the properties for the desired land uses and that the new development conforms to design standards for infrastructure. Subdivisions of 15 or more lots must make available suitable land for parks and/or schools, or obtain a waiver from the Director of Parks and Recreation and/or the Superintendent of Schools. The Birmingham Planning Commission has adopted a “Complete Streets” policy for both new and retrofit projects within the city. Complete Streets are designed to accommodate all users: pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and motorists. The policy is advisory to the city and to the regional planning organizations. ### 3. Development trends are mixed. The City of Birmingham is experiencing a mixture of development conditions, reflecting vastly different markets and circumstances in different parts of the city. As of early 2012, real estate market conditions favor rental properties and six large rental developments have been announced—in several locations including downtown, Oxmoor, and Southside. **Downtown.** Over the course of the last decade, downtown Birmingham experienced new investment and development in a variety of forms: redevelopment of existing buildings for residential and commercial use; new construction of residential and mixed use projects; revitalization of cultural icons like the Alabama Theater; Park Place, a successful mixed-income HOPE VI residential development; creation of a major new amenity in the form of Railroad Park; and additions and renovations to the medical district and the UAB campus. Downtown was one of the very few areas of the city to see an increase in population and households between the 2000 and 2010 censuses. With a slowdown in private development as a result of the financial crisis of the Great Recession, several private projects, such as the Pizitz Building, are taking longer to complete than originally hoped. Projects supported by public funds are going forward, including a Westin hotel at the Birmingham-Jefferson County Convention Center and a new baseball stadium near Railroad Park. **Older neighborhoods.** Many of the older neighborhoods of the city, with the exception of the southside neighborhoods, have experienced disinvestment since the 1970s as population has declined. This disinvestment is manifest in the number and growing extent of abandoned and vacant properties in residential areas. It is not uncommon to find enclaves of several blocks of attractive and well-maintained housing with blight and vacancy in nearby blocks. Similarly, the combination of fewer households to support sales and changes in retailing over recent decades has resulted in empty storefronts in the traditional, main street style commercial districts that used to serve these older Birmingham neighborhoods. These neighborhoods are designed to be urban in character, with sidewalks and relatively small lots. In a number of locations over the decades, poorly designed and constructed multifamily developments were inserted in these older neighborhoods and in some cases, these developments have also become vacant. Real estate markets in these kinds of neighborhoods are very weak. Revitalization efforts in some older neighborhoods have brought an infusion of philanthropic and public funds to support new housing (for example, the the Woodlawn Foundation and Tuxedo HOPE VI development) and commercial spaces, and several individual developers have created small portfolios of renovated single family homes for sale or rent in neighborhoods with good housing stock, such as East Lake. A few small market-rate subdivisions built in recent years can also be found. The older city neighborhoods that continue to be stable, with strong real estate markets, are on the south side of the city adjacent to affluent suburban communities. These neighborhoods have high amenity values—historic character, parks, and nearby neighborhood-serving retail—and are urban in character with relatively dense, pedestrian-friendly environments. Both single-family and multifamily housing attracts residents without difficulty. The continuing success of these neighborhoods, as well as the rise of downtown, shows that neighborhoods with urban character can be competitive in the Birmingham region. **Suburban-style neighborhoods.** In contrast to the city’s older neighborhoods, with their history as independent small towns, suburban-style neighborhoods emerged in areas farther from downtown such as Roebuck-Huffman to the northeast and Oxmoor to the southwest. Developed mostly from the 1960s on, these neighborhoods were built to be car-dependent and many do not have sidewalks. Retail areas were developed on major arterial streets with strip shopping centers, large expanses of parking in front of the stores, and no expectation of walking access. ### FIGURE 3.15: POPULATION CHANGE FOR SELECTED CITIES, 1900–2010 <
> SOURCE: 2010 US CENSUS **Vacant industrial sites.** Birmingham’s transition from a manufacturing economy to a service-based, knowledge economy has left a legacy of large vacant and underutilized industrial sites, many of which are also brownfield sites. A few, such as the Trinity Steel site, have been remediated and are ready for new uses. **Significant vacant commercial and institutional sites.** There are a number of large vacant properties in the city, such as Carraway Hospital and Century Plaza Mall. Trinity Medical Center, which is moving to a location on US-280 which will still be inside the city limits, will also leave its current site on Montclair Road. # D. POPULATION COMPOSITION AND TRENDS ## 1. Total population numbers have declined since 1960. **Total population.** The City of Birmingham’s total population peaked in 1960 at 340,887 and has declined 37% to 212,237 over the fifty years to 2010. Although there may have been some undercounting during the 2010 census, which is not uncommon in urban areas, the trend remains clear. While the intensity of the civil rights struggle during the 1960s and the establishment of school desegregation during the 1970s produced a particularly strong white flight reaction in the 1970s and 1980s, Birmingham’s population decline also resulted from broader trends that affected industrial cities throughout the country. Figure ### TABLE 3.3: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM TOTAL POPULATION 1960-2010 | CENSUS YEAR | POPULATION | PERCENT CHANGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1960 | 340,887 | | | 1970 | 300,910 | -11.73% | | 1980 | 284,413 | -25.38% | | 1990 | 265,968 | -6.49% | | 2000 | 242,840 | -8.70% | | 2010 | 212,237 | -12.60% | SOURCE: US CENSUS CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW 3.15 shows that Birmingham’s general population trend over the 20th century has not differed much from cities such as Pittsburgh, Baltimore, Cincinnati, and Boston. However, towards the end of the 20th century, a few of these cities saw a slight increase in population. While population decline was a common experience for many older cities between 1960 and 2000, some of these cities were retaining population and attracting new residents by the early 21st century. The demographic composition of these new populations was not the same as in 1960 and total populations were unlikely to reach the 1960 highs, but urban living was once again highly attractive in cities with a strong economy and quality of life. Population decline in the second half of the 20th century does not have to presage a destiny of permanent urban decline. The decline in total population numbers is only part of Birmingham’s demographic story. The composition of today’s population—number and type of households, as well as the composition of the population by gender, age, race and ethnicity—also tells us how the city is faring. ## 2. Households include fewer families and more singles. **Number and size of households.** Although many US cities lost population in the last 50 to 60 years, the decline in the number of households has typically not been as steep because the average number of people per household (“average household size”) declined steadily until 2000. (The Great Recession produced a slight increase in average household size in the 2010 census because young adults and others did not form new households, living with parents or doubling up.) Compared to 1950 and 1960, there are many more households made up of only one or two people. In 2010, 27 percent of all US households were made up of one person, more than double the 13 percent of single person households in 1960. The 2010 average household size in the US was 2.69 persons. Cities typically have smaller household sizes and the City of Birmingham follows this trend. In 1990, the average household size was 2.26 persons in Birmingham, decreasing yet again to 2.17 in 2000. In 2010, however, still following the national trend, average household size in Birmingham was somewhat higher at 2.27 persons. | TABLE 3.4: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM HOUSEHOLDS 2010 | NUMBER | PERCENT | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Total households | 89,382 | 100% | | Family households* | 49,155 | 55% | | Nonfamily households | 40,227 | 45% | | Households with individuals under 18 years | 24,494 | 27% | | Households with individuals 65 years and over | 20,474 | 23% | | Householder living alone | 33,690 | 38% | *Families = persons related by blood or marriage SOURCE: CENSUS 2010 | TABLE 3.5: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM FAMILY HOUSEHOLDS 2010 | NUMBER | PERCENT | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Total family households | 49,155 | 100% | | Husband-wife without own children under 18 in household | 15,172 | 31% | | Husband-wife with own children under 18 | 7,057 | 14% | | Female-headed households, no husband, own children under 18 | 10,868 | 22% | | Male-headed households, no wife, own children under 18 | 1,349 | 3% | SOURCE: CENSUS 2010 | TABLE 3.6: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM HOUSEHOLDS WITH INDIVIDUALS UNDER 18 YEARS | NUMBER | PERCENT | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Total Households with individuals under 18 years | 24,494 | 100% | | Husband-wife with own children under 18 | 7,057 | 29% | | Female-headed households, no husband, own children under 18 | 10,868 | 44% | | Male-headed households, no wife, own children under 18 | 1,349 | 6% | SOURCE: CENSUS 2010 3.21 **Type of households.** The census divides households into “family” and “nonfamily” households. Family households are made up of persons related by blood, marriage, or adoption, including married couples who do not have children living at home. Nonfamily households include single person households and households made up of unrelated people. (They do not include people who live in institutional settings such as college dormitories, nursing homes, or prisons—the Census counts these people as living in “group quarters.”) Household trends in the City of Birmingham are consistent with a number of long-term, national changes in types of households. While in 1960, 85 percent of all households in the US were family households (and most of them were married-couple households), by 2010 only 66 percent of all households were family households. The nuclear family household—a married couple with children under 18 living under the same roof—made up only 21 percent of all American households in 2010. Today, both men and women are waiting longer to marry, more couples live together without marrying, more people live alone at some point in their lives, and life expectancy has increased. **Family households.** In Birmingham, in 2010, only 14 percent of the family households were made up of a married couple with their own children under 18 living at home. (These married, two-parent families constitute only 8% of all Birmingham households, nearly two-thirds less than the national average.) A quarter of all family households are single parent families with their own children at home (the vast majority are single female households). (See Table 3.5) **Households with children.** Another way to look at families is from the point of view of households that include children under 18 years old. Seventy-nine percent of the City of Birmingham households with children include at least one biological or adoptive parent. The remainder of the family households with children are headed by grandparents or other non-parent relatives, or other caretakers. ### TABLE 3.7: CHILDREN UNDER 15 YEARS OLD | | 2000 | 2010 | CHANGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **City of Birmingham** | 50,880 | 38,058 | **-25.2%** | | **Birmingham-Hoover MSA** | 219,064 | 223,612 | 2.1% | | **MSA without City** | 168,184 | 185,554 | 10.3% | SOURCE: US CENSUS **Family households are a significant source of Birmingham’s population decline.** According to the Census, there were 30,603 fewer persons in the City of Birmingham in 2010 than in 2000, including 10,132 fewer family households. The number of family households with children under 18—whether married couple or single parent families—declined by nearly 30% between 2000 and 2010. The number of households made up of a married couple with their own children under 18 declined drastically—by 43%. In contrast, the number of families with children in the Birmingham-Hoover MSA outside of the city grew modestly over the same period. ## 3. The city’s age composition is similar to the region as a whole. ### TABLE 3.8: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM MEDIAN AGE | 1990 | 2000 | 2010 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 33 | 34.3 | 37.5 | As the baby boom generation ages, the City of Birmingham, like most communities across the country, is getting slightly older, but the overall age composition of the city’s population has not changed very much. Often, older industrial cities with declining populations like Birmingham’s tend to have a relatively higher proportion of older residents as the younger working-age population seeks employment opportunities elsewhere. However, in Birmingham, the age composition of the city’s population is much like that of the Birmingham-Hoover MSA, with the exception of a slightly lower percentage of children under 15 and a somewhat higher percentage of youth in the late teenage and early adult years, probably because of the college student population in the city. The city’s elderly population is slightly lower than in the MSA as a whole. <
> SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS <
> SOURCE: 2010 U.S. CENSUS ### 4. The city is predominantly African-American. Nearly three-quarters of the City of Birmingham population is African-American. Whites make up 23% of the population, Asians account for 1%, and a remaining small percentage is made up of people who identify with other racial categories. <
> SOURCE: 2010 U.S. CENSUS Hispanics/Latinos can be of any race. At the time of the 2010 census, they made up 3.6 percent of the total city population. Two-thirds of the city’s Latino population is of Mexican origin. Although this group’s 7,704 persons is a relatively small number, it grew significantly in the last 10 years. ### 5. School enrollment has declined steadily for decades. Public school enrollment in the City of Birmingham has declined by approximately 50% in the last thirty years, from about 50,000 in 1980 to approximately 25,000 in 2011. Over 80% of students are eligible to receive free or reduced lunch, which means that they come from low-income families. While smaller families have resulted in fewer schoolchildren in many communities around the country, Birmingham’s falling public school enrollment is also the result of declining public confidence in the school system over many years. Parents with choices have either enrolled their children in private schools or, increasingly, have moved from the city into suburban jurisdictions with better schools. ### 6. Because of demographic trends, the city will not reach its 1960 peak population soon, if ever. Population projections are based on past trends. Population *projections* are not the same as population *predictions*. Projections are based on historic population changes, known future housing and economic development projects, and evaluations of trends in the economy and development. Future population is composed of the net result of births minus deaths and in-migration minus out-migration. While it is important to understand likely outcomes if current trends are extended, it is also important to be aware that if conditions and trends change, population movements can change as well. Using population projection methodology based on current trends produces projections of continued decline for most of the City of Birmingham. The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (RPC) provides the most detailed population projections for the metropolitan area and sub-areas. The most recent projections to 2035 forecast continued population decline for most of the City of Birmingham and continued sprawling development patterns for the region as a whole, unless there are “significant redevelopment efforts.” The only exception is downtown, which is projected to have a population of over 6,700 by 2035. The RPC points out that the “traditional large neighborhoods of the City of Birmingham,” such as East Lake/Woodlawn, Tarrant Airport Area, North Birmingham, Pratt City/Ensley, and West End/Midfield, “consist of some of the oldest housing within Jefferson County.” Birmingham’s downtown contains the only two census tracts with significant population growth between 2000 and 2010. The strategies in this comprehensive plan are intended to help the City of Birmingham community—government and its partners—change the conditions that have led to fifty years of population decline. However, because nationwide and local demographic trends are very different in the 21st century than they were in 1960, the city will not CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW return to the population and household configurations of 1960. Today, families are smaller and there are many more small households and single person households. Rather than focusing on population numbers per se, it is more important to focus on improving quality of life, which will help retain and attract people to live in the city. # 3. Green Systems and Sustainability In recent years there has been growing community interest in enhancing Birmingham’s green systems. This has resulted from increased generational awareness, public discourse on local, national, and global environmental issues, and success stories in conservation and parks development. Numerous state, regional and local public and governmental agencies and private organizations are involved in the creation, conservation and maintenance of open spaces and corridors, in addressing and promoting awareness of environmental quality and environmental justice issues, and promoting and implementing sustainability initiatives. Since 2000, there has been a surge in the number of nonprofit groups and advocacy organizations whose missions in some way relate to Birmingham’s green systems. Public authorities, utility providers, major developers and landowners, and a variety of business interests are also playing an important role in the conservation of open space, resource management, and influencing public policy on environmental and sustainability issues in the Birmingham area. ## A. NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS The City of Birmingham lies in the Ridge-and-Valley Appalachian ecoregion which is located between the Blue Ridge Mountains and the Cumberland Plateau in parallel ridges and valleys of various heights and widths stretching northeast to southwest.[^p77-5] The area abounds in natural resources—from the rich mineral deposits in its mountains to the rare aquatic life in its waterways. The city’s piedmont location is a geographic transition point that supports significant, unique biodiversity, notably on the Cahaba River and Turkey Creek. ## 1. The city is located in the Black Warrior River and Cahaba River watersheds. A watershed is all the land area that drains precipitation into a stream or waterway, or that supplies the stream with ground water. There are five major watersheds partially in the city: Valley Creek, Village Creek, Five Mile Creek, Shades Creek, and the Cahaba River. Shades Creek flows into the Cahaba River and the other creeks flow into the Black Warrior River. With the exception of the Cahaba River and Shades Creek, where the predominant land uses in the city’s portion of the watershed are forestry and open land, all of the watersheds are predominantly residential with a mixture of other land uses. Because of the lack of historical data and early stages of the current monitoring system, the City’s stormwater management consultant found in 2009 that “it’s not possible at this time to make any hard or statistically significant conclusions regarding water quality needs.”[^p77-6] However, Village Creek has been listed as an impaired stream (pathogens and agricultural pesticides). The upper watershed contains the Birmingham-Shuttleworth International Airport and is mostly residential otherwise, while the middle and lower watershed is predominantly industrial. The Cahaba River and the Black Warrior River provide drinking water to metropolitan Birmingham. The Cahaba River has also been listed for impairment due to siltation that affects habitat. The Cahaba River is the longest free-flowing river in Alabama, draining over 1,800 square miles in central Alabama, and is recognized for the diversity of its aquatic life, as well as its general habitat and recreational value. Portions of the Cahaba River have also been listed for impairment due to siltation that affects habitat. Lake Purdy, a water reservoir owned by the Birmingham Water Works Board, is located in the Cahaba watershed. Much of the city is located in the headwaters of the Black Warrior River Watershed, which drains 6,276 square miles [^p77-5]: An “ecoregion” is a relatively large geographical area that contains characteristic and distinct groups of natural communities and species. [^p77-6]: FY2008-2009 NPDES Annual Report. [Malcolm Pirnie] in northwest Alabama. Like the Cahaba, the Black Warrior River is notable for its aquatic diversity and recreational value. The Black Warrior River is also Birmingham’s link to the gulf port of Mobile for shipment of coal, lumber, and other commodity goods. ## 2. The Birmingham area includes significant biodiversity, especially in the Cahaba River watershed. According to the Alabama Natural Heritage Program, a number of rare, endangered or threatened species have been reported in Jefferson County, including several globally rare species. Some of these species may exist in the city’s natural areas. According to the Nature Conservancy, the Cahaba River includes “at least 69 rare and imperiled species in this watershed, 12 fish and mussel species listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act, and 131 species of freshwater fish, more than any other river its size in North America.”[^{7}] ## 3. Major projects have resulted in significant environmental successes. As Birmingham continues its transition from an economy based on mining and industry to one driven by health care and other services, vacant mines and foundries are seeing a second life as regional parks (Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, Red Mountain Park and Vulcan Park), greenways, and historic landmarks (Sloss Furnaces). In 2003, a consortium of local governments including three counties and twenty cities developed the Upper Cahaba Watershed Study. This planning process has raised the level of regional dialogue on water quality and other environmental issues. Over the years of industrial dominance, waterways like Village Creek and Five-Mile Creek (at the northern edge of Birmingham) became polluted and efforts are currently underway to improve water quality and restore the natural habitats. The Freshwater Land Trust (originally known as <
> [^{7}]: The Alabama Natural Heritage Program is based at Auburn University and maintains a database by county of rare and endangered species. It is part of an international network of data sources on ecology established in all 50 states and Western Hemisphere nations. www.alnhp.org; http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/alabama/placesweprotect/cahaba-river-landscape-conservation-area.xml the Black Warrior Cahaba River Land Trust) was funded by Jefferson County during its first ten years as part of the consent agreement with the EPA. The land trust was a “Supplemental Environmental Project” intended to acquire riparian and greenway properties to reduce nonpoint source pollution and enhance stream corridor and aquatic habitat. Since its creation, the land trust has acquired a total of 4,300 acres in fee and 200 acres in conservation easements along multiple waterways and in other strategic locations. Acquisitions by the Freshwater Land Trust led to the establishment of, and additional acquisitions for, Red Mountain Park. The Trust has created a leadership group, Village Creek Champions, to highlight stewardship activities for Village Creek. In addition, the Trust managed the planning process for the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail system, a greenway master plan for Jefferson County, funded through the county’s Health Action Partnership. The plan identifies routes for interconnected walking trails, bike paths, sidewalks and blueways to connect neighborhoods, parks and other community destinations. The Southern Environmental Center, at Birmingham Southern College, has developed ten “ecoscapes” as outdoor learning sites and neighborhood amenities using vacant and abandoned lots. One is located on the campus of Birmingham-Southern College but the others are located in neighborhoods such as Arlington-West End, Brown Springs, College Hills, North Birmingham, Seven Springs, and Woodlawn. ### 4. Air quality has improved but requires continued vigilance. In late 2011, the EPA proposed that the Birmingham metropolitan area be certified as complying with federal air quality standards for the first time in two decades. The American Lung Association in 2013 ranked Birmingham as the 14th most polluted metropolitan area for ozone and the 24th most polluted metropolitan area for particulate matter.[^p79-8] This is a significant improvement over previous years. Many businesses, citizens and non-profits have collaborated to improve air quality, such as programs like CommuteSmart, a program to reduce Single-Occupancy-Vehicle (SOV) commuting by providing services to support car- and van-pooling, as well as other transportation alternatives. ### 5. Environmental justice is an issue in some neighborhoods. Environmental justice programs focus on the need to redress existing and prevent future inequitable distribution of environmental burdens and impacts. For example, low income and minority communities throughout the country typically have been more likely to experience adverse environmental impacts such as pollution from industrial facilities or transportation projects. Another example of an environmental justice initiative is the use of U.S. EPA authority to order cleanup of hazardous substances in North Birmingham neighborhoods including Collegeville, Fairmont and Harriman Park. Birmingham has a history of residential streets in close adjacency to sites with heavy industry use. ## B. PARKS AND OPEN SPACE Within the City of Birmingham there are over 3,500 acres of park land for public use owned and managed by the City and other groups. This gives the city approximately 17 acres of park land per 1,000 persons, a commonly-used metric. According to the Trust for Public Land (TPL), this puts Birmingham slightly below the median of 20.3 acres for the group of low-density cities in which the city was included.[^p79-9] A significant portion of the parks inventory can be found in two major nature parks, Ruffner Mountain and Red Mountain. While these are wonderful resources, they do not meet the day-to-day needs of many Birmingham residents for community and neighborhood parks. The TPL and other urban park advocates emphasize the accessibility of parks—how many residents can reach a park within a ten-minute walk—as much as total acreage in evaluating city park systems. The TPL conducted a Recreation and Open Space Needs Assessment in 2008 for the Jefferson County Greenways Commission that found that people would be more likely to use parks and open space if they [^p79-8]: www.stateoftheair.org; also see www.asthmacapitals.com (Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America) [^p79-9]: Trust for Public Land, 2011 City Park Facts, page 13. http://cloud.tpl.org/pubs/ccpe-city-park-facts-2011.pdf could walk or bike to the parks. Hiking, walking, and biking trails, as well as new parks, were supported by 82% of respondents to the survey.[^p80-10] Much city-owned park land is legally dedicated to park use and cannot be transferred, sold or used for another purpose without a public referendum vote. Similarly, land created through flood mitigation must remain open land. City-owned park land which has not been dedicated could potentially be sold or developed. ### 1. The 1925 Olmsted Parks Plan is a source of inspiration nearly a century later. In 1925 the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board published the Olmsted Brothers’ “A Park System for Birmingham.“ This countywide plan, based on the 1919 City Plan, recommended acquisition of a network of strategic lands to protect the drinking water supply, the preservation of floodplains, natural drainage systems and ridge tops, as well as numerous park expansion and development projects. Although several individual parks were created, the plan as a whole was not implemented. However, in recent years the Freshwater Land Trust and other groups in Birmingham have increasingly recognized this visionary plan as a foundation for contemporary park improvement goals. The Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail plan is one of several initiatives inspired in part by the environmental principles of the Olmsted Brothers’ plan. ### 2. The City of Birmingham park system is governed by a board appointed by City Council. The board provides direction to the Parks and Recreation Department and establishes park policies. The five member Parks Board holds 124 individual properties, which comprise over 2,000 acres throughout the city. However, the Parks Board does not have any independent funding, so all staff, capital projects, and maintenance are paid for by the City. Major renovations were recently completed at Avondale Park, Greenwood Park, Cooper Green, and Crestwood Parks. A list of City-owned parks can be found in Chapter 4 of the Birmingham Data Book prepared by the City’s Department of Planning, Engineering, and Permits as an adjunct to this comprehensive plan. The city system includes a variety of park and greenspace types, from pocket parks and neighborhood parks to public golf courses and greenways. Operation of the park system involves interaction among multiple city departments in addition to the Parks and Recreation Department. The Department of Planning, Engineering, and Permitting acts as the project manager for parks and recreation improvements and new construction. The Public Works Department is responsible for park maintenance. Maintenance staff within the parks department was transferred to the Public Works Department in the 1990s. A commensurate portion of the expanded Public Works Department’s budget was to be reserved for park maintenance as a part of the reassignment of staff. City financial constraints have recently made full funding of park maintenance and operations difficult. Some city parks are also supported by a number of “Friends of the Park” community organizations. Several special city-owned park properties, such as Vulcan Park, Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, the Birmingham Zoo, Railroad Park and the Botanical Garden are managed and operated by public-private partnerships. The Community Development Department (CDD) and the Floodplain Management office have also contributed to the city’s park system. Historically, a portion of Community Development Block Grant funds managed by CDD was available to the parks department for park improvements. However, those funds are no longer available. The Floodplain Management office has engaged in past flood-mitigation efforts, which have included floodplain buy-outs, in coordination with FEMA, the Army Corps of Engineers, and CDD, along Village Creek in Ensley and Vanderbilt Road. These efforts created opportunities to develop new park facilities, such as the planned Greenwood Park. ### 3. A number of unique parks serve the entire region. The City is fortunate to include several unique and well-used public parks. Some are formally part of the city parks system while others are managed and, in some cases, owned by other entities. [^p80-10]: Draft 2035 Birmingham Regional Active Transportation Plan (August 2011), p. 1-1. * **Kelly Ingram Park** is located adjacent to the Civil Rights Institute and includes interpretive features about events of the Civil Rights Movement, many of which happened at or near the park. The Civil Rights Institute and Urban Impact, Inc., provide tours of the park’s historic interpretive elements. * **Vulcan Park and Museum** sits atop Red Mountain overlooking downtown. Owned by the City and operated by the Vulcan Park Foundation, the 10-acre park includes the iconic 1904 Vulcan statue, the world’s largest cast iron statue, and an interpretive museum of industrial history. Adjacent to the park is a one-mile rail-trail that runs along the north face of Red Mountain. * The **Birmingham Botanical Gardens** is a 67.5-acre park owned by the City and operated by the Friends of the Botanical Gardens. Adjacent to the zoo, the park serves both as an environmental education facility as well as a tourist destination, attracting 350,000 visitors each year. * The **Birmingham Zoo** occupies 45 acres of its 123-acre site south of Red Mountain and is owned by the City and by the nonprofit Birmingham Zoo, Inc. It is one of the largest zoos in the southeast drawing some 450,000 visitors each year. * **Railroad Park**, an urban recreational park in downtown Birmingham that opened in 2011, was created and is now operated by the nonprofit Railroad Park Foundation on a four-block former brownfield. The park has been a tremendous success and symbol of the continuing revitalization of downtown. * **Ruffner Mountain Park** is an urban nature preserve of 1,011 acres established in 1977 in northeast Birmingham and operated by the nonprofit Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. It includes 11 miles of hiking trails and an environmental educational center. * **Red Mountain Park** is overseen by the Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission, which was created by the State Legislature in 2007. Like Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain Park was once an iron mine. Opened in 2012, the park is restoring the environment while also honoring its industrial history with interpretive elements. ### 4. Recreation centers and stadiums serve local and regional groups. The city operates 18 recreation centers with activities six days a week, 17 public swimming pools, 2 public golf courses, and 4 public tennis centers staffed by a tennis pro (as well as tennis courts in many parks). The city is also home to two historic stadiums and a new downtown baseball stadium that has opened for the 2013 season. * **Legion Field** is a 70,000-seat football stadium located in McLendon Park west of Downtown Birmingham. In 1996 the facility was used for preliminary soccer matches as part of the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta. It currently serves as the home field for the UAB Blazers. The City Parks and Recreation Department is housed in the ground floor of the stadium. * The oldest surviving professional baseball stadium in the United States, **Rickwood Field** is owned by the City and operated by Friends of Rickwood Field. Rickwood hosted several farm teams until 1987, when the Birmingham Barons moved to a modern facility in suburban Hoover south of Birmingham. The stadium was renovated in 2005 and remains an important site in professional baseball history. * **Regions Field**, Birmingham’s new downtown baseball park, is located at the southwest corner of Railroad Park. The Birmingham Barons moved back to the city when the 8,500-seat stadium was completed. The project also includes a Negro Leagues Museum on 16th Street. ## C. SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES The Birmingham community is making progress in incorporating green practices and sustainability thinking into everyday life. ### 1. City government is beginning to take steps to incorporate sustainability. As part of the 2009 federal stimulus program, Alabama Power, UAB and Southern Company Services were awarded energy efficiency funding and the City of Birmingham was awarded an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant of $2,469,900 which was used to install CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW geothermal heat pumps in eight recreation centers. The Mayor has designated a staff member to be responsible for environmental initiatives. ## 2. Universities often take the lead in sustainability. Colleges and universities around the country have been among the leaders in promoting sustainable practices for practical reasons—because they are long term stewards and users of buildings and sites—and as part of their educational role. Green initiatives at UAB provide an example of local efforts. The 2011 College Sustainability Report Card program gave UAB an overall “C” grade for sustainability, but the institution is making progress by establishing new efforts and programs. UAB initiatives include: * First greenhouse gas emissions inventory is underway * Rooftop solar panels to charge electric vehicles on campus * Four buildings meet LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a green-building certification program) criteria, and there is a green roof on the Hulsey Center * Use of water conservation technologies and practices * Use of energy conservation technologies and practices for lighting and mechanical equipment * GreenLight—sustainability-themed student living * Bike paths on major campus arteries * Bike sharing program with 10 bikes * Partners with CommuteSmart * Car-sharing program through Hertz * Endowment invested in renewable energy funds In early 2012, UAB held a sustainability conference and announced the establishment of the Sustainability Smart Cities Research Center, with plans to focus some of its efforts on Birmingham. ## 3. Birmingham offers recycling. The City of Birmingham’s Public Works Department provides curbside and drop off recycling for most single-family detached dwellings but lacks recycling-specific trucks that can make the process much more efficient. Tenants in multifamily buildings are less likely to recycle because building management must provide the opportunity. The Alabama Environmental Center has long provided drop off services at its Downtown Recycling Center and special events such as an electronics recycling day. In late 2011, it received a grant through the Jefferson County Department of Health to expand recycling services including glass and office paper pickup service for Downtown Birmingham, expanding UAB’s recycling program, purchasing 20,000 curbside recycling bins for Birmingham residents, and providing recycling at events and festivals. It is also notable that over 90% of the debris from the April 2011 tornado was recycled. ## 4. Alternative energy sources. Alabama has some limited incentives for energy efficiency and alternative energy. The state has an opportunity to enhance its existing incentives. ## 5. Green building design is becoming more widespread. Like their counterparts throughout the country, architects and developers in the Birmingham region are increasingly incorporating green building practices that reduce energy and resource use in new development, and designing buildings that meet LEED standards. LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design and is a certification program created by the US Green Building Council. There are several LEED-certified buildings in the City of Birmingham, including the Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, a dormitory at Birmingham-Southern College, and the APCO Employee Credit Union, and some new buildings meet LEED criteria without certification. The Birmingham Airport’s renovations will include state of the art green elements including greater use of natural sunlight; energy-efficient LED lights and sensors; harvesting rainwater for use in toilets and urinals; solar water heating; recycling of construction materials; energy-efficient heating and air conditioning; use of native, drought-resistant plants in landscaping; and green housekeeping and maintenance practices. Despite a doubling of the size of the terminal, it is expected that these “green” aspects of the renovations will cut water costs by 40%. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW ### 6. Urban agriculture is expanding. Urban agriculture is a growing national movement, especially in cities with vacant land, to strengthen local food systems and public health, and to bring environmentally sustainable uses to vacant land. Birmingham is the site of one of the most well-known urban farms in the country, the Jones Valley Teaching Farm. It is both a production farm that sells produce through farmers markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) programs, and sales to upscale restaurants, and an educational program for youth and the community at large that provides experiential learning about sustainable agriculture and nutrition. In addition to Jones Valley Teaching Farm, there are several community garden sites in Birmingham neighborhoods, such as the West End Community Garden. ### 7. Green infrastructure is becoming more widespread. Green infrastructure in the broadest sense includes all the interconnected natural systems that keep the environment healthy. The term is increasingly used to refer to the use of natural systems for stormwater management, including swales, rain gardens, detention ponds, pervious pavement, and constructed wetlands. The purpose is to promote natural infiltration of stormwater rather than transfer it through pipes to streams. Much of the city’s stormwater system is in traditional storm sewer pipes, but Birmingham’s flood-mitigation projects are creating a green infrastructure system in the floodplain of the major creeks. # 4. Housing and Neighborhoods ## A. HOUSING ### 1. The majority of Birmingham homes are single family houses. Nearly two-thirds of the housing units in the City of Birmingham are single-family houses. An additional 23% percent of the units are in small to medium sized multifamily buildings with fewer than 20 units, and only 10% (approximately 10,000 units) are in buildings with 20 or more units. | TABLE 3.8: HOUSING TYPES | | | :--- | :--- | | **HOUSING TYPES** | **PERCENT** | | Single family | 64.4% | | Two family | 1.9% | | 3–9 Units | 12.5% | | 10–19 units | 10.5% | | 20 or more | 10.0% | | Other | 0.6% | SOURCE: CENSUS BUREAU ### 2. City of Birmingham households are almost equally divided between owners and renters. Forty-nine percent own their housing units and 51% rent. In the Birmingham-Hoover metropolitan area as a whole, about 71% of households are owners and 29% are renters. There is often an assumption that a higher percentage of owners rather than renters is always preferable because homeowners have a stake in keeping up the neighborhood. Birmingham’s greater proportion of renters is not unusual for urban centers, nor does a high rental rate always <
> SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW correlate with lower incomes. In Table 3.20, Boston and Washington, DC, (which are growing cities) have higher percentages of rentals than cities such as Birmingham and Pittsburgh, which continue to decline in population. The cities of Youngstown, OH, and Flint, MI, which are often identified as true “shrinking cities,” actually have lower percentages of rentals than many growing cities. ### 3. Nearly 20% of housing units are vacant. While there are nearly 109,000 housing units in the City of Birmingham, only 82% were occupied at the time of the 2010 census. Some of these were units on the market for rent or for sale, but nearly 8,000 were not being marketed at all. Moreover, the 2011 Jefferson County assessor’s list shows 10,812 tax delinquent properties “in the hands of the state” located in the City. This is 42% more than the 7,546 tax delinquent properties found only five years earlier in a 2005 study.[^p84-11] The tax liens on these properties were brought to auction and not sold. The owners may redeem these properties for another three years. Some of these are vacant lots, and therefore not counted as housing units, and a small percentage are non-residential properties. [^p84-11]: Mary Elizabeth Evans, *The Prevention, Management and Re-Use of Jefferson County’s Tax Delinquent Property*, Joint Center for Housing Studies, Harvard University, April 2005, page 3. | TABLE 3.9: HOUSING OCCUPANCY | NUMBER | PERCENT | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Total housing units | 108,981 | 100.0% | | Occupied housing units | 89,382 | 82.0% | | Vacant housing units | 19,559 | 18.0% | | For rent | 8,417 | 7.7% | | For sale only | 2,105 | 1.9% | | Rented or sold, not occupied | 640 | 0.5% | | For seasonal, recreational, or occasional use | 481 | 0.4% | | All other vacants | 7,956 | 7.3% | SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS 2010 ### 4. Market-rate housing in Birmingham is affordable compared to many other cities—but many people need “affordable” housing that is below market rate. Housing is typically defined as “affordable” when a household pays no more than 30 percent of its income for housing-related costs. For rental housing, this figure includes rent and utility expenses; for homeowners, it includes mortgage payments, taxes and insurance. The “no more than 30% of income” standard is used by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) for its housing programs. A wide variety of people need below-market affordable housing. They include persons on fixed incomes (the elderly and disabled), working individuals and families who earn low wages, and homeless and special-needs populations with supportive-service needs. In Birmingham, this group can include people like restaurant workers, maintenance workers, retail salespersons, and health care aides. Members of these households are productive members of the area workforce and essential to some key economic sectors, such as health care. ### 5. The housing market in much of the city is weak. Much of Birmingham has long been a “weak market” city, experiencing declining real estate values as a result of years of population decline and disinvestment. The national housing and foreclosure crisis that began in late 2007 has exacerbated these conditions. The areas that typically have stronger residential markets are the southside neighborhoods. In-town neighborhoods and northern neighborhoods tend to have lower values than other parts of the city. According to the real estate website Trulia.com, the sales price of City of Birmingham homes has declined 27.5% over the last five years (in contrast to a national decline of 11% and statewide decline of 16%). From September to November 2011, the median sales price for homes in the city was $116,000.[^p84-12] Although much of Birmingham’s housing is relatively old, age alone is not the issue, as the values of many historic neighborhoods demonstrate. However, in weak market [^p84-12]: www.trulia.com CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW <
> SOURCE: TRULIA neighborhoods, the older housing is often small, does not meet the needs of modern households, and has not been maintained. For too long, investing in improvements has been more costly than the value of the house itself. Except for scattered infill housing and small subdivisions in the southside neighborhoods and a few other locations, new market rate housing development during the 2000–2010 decade occurred primarily in the city center as urban rental housing, and in the Oxmoor area, where several suburban-style subdivisions were built. Building permits for single-family homes have declined from 313 in 2006 to 117 in 2010, with an average cost of construction of $171,402. As mentioned earlier, market rate rentals are under development as of early 2012. According to real estate professionals, one of the difficulties in the city real estate market is that there are a number of stable subareas of neighborhoods where housing is in good condition and can attract buyers, but where appraisals for mortgages are based on a wider area that includes disinvested blocks. As a result, even after the buyer and seller have agreed on a price—clearly the “market price”—the appraisal will be lower, which then pushes values down. ### 6. The median household can afford to buy the median house for sale in the Birmingham region. The Alabama Center for Real Estate’s Housing Affordability Index for the second quarter of 2011 found that the median sales price for a single-family house in the Birmingham-Hoover MSA was $148,732, requiring a minimum household income of $30,127 to buy the house at prevailing mortgage rates. This was the approximate median income in the City of Birmingham in 2009, indicating that the median household could afford the median house in the region. ### 7. The foreclosure crisis has also had a significant impact on the Birmingham market. A snapshot of the housing market as of late December 2011, showed 1,539 homes listed for sale in the City of Birmingham, of which the most expensive was priced at over $600,000 in Crestwood and the least expensive (a two-bedroom, 800 sf home) was priced at $2,800 in Wahouma. Thirty-eight percent of the homes listed for sale on Trulia.com were in foreclosure, including the property in Wahouma. Twenty-five houses were for sale at less than $10,000. December is the usual low point for housing sales. Six months later in June 2012, two houses were selling for over $1 million in Forest Park. There is a range of rental housing available in the City of Birmingham, including single-family homes, townhouses, and apartments. A recent report calculated that a household making the estimated average hourly wage for a renter ($12.46/hr) could afford a rent of $663 a month. A minimum wage earner ($7.25/hr or approximately $15,000 per year full time) could afford rent of $377 a month.[^p85-13] [^p85-13]: National Low-Income Housing Coalition, Out of Reach 2011, p. 17-18, www.nlihc.org ## 8. There continues to be a high need for subsidized affordable housing in the city. According to the most recent Census Bureau estimates, 41% of City of Birmingham homeowners and 50% of renters spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Nearly 30% of renters spend 50% or more of their income on housing. Assisted-housing programs have many technical requirements. In most, households pay no more than 30% of their income, and the government pays the difference. Standard definitions are based on an "area median income" (AMI) that is calculated annually by HUD for metropolitan areas. The FY 2012 AMI for a household of four persons in the Birmingham-Hoover area is $61,400. Most HUD programs target households with 80% or below the AMI, adjusted for household size. For a family of four in the Birmingham-Hoover area, that would be $50,250. Because incomes within the City of Birmingham tend to be lower than in the rest of the metro area, assisted housing programs in the city typically serve households at 50% or below the area median. **Assisted housing programs.** Government programs have been created to help people obtain decent, affordable homes. "Assisted housing" is housing that is made available at below-market cost through government programs to households who meet income-eligibility requirements. The role of housing assistance varies according to the strength of the local housing market and the cost of housing. In high-cost markets, subsidies are required if affordable housing is to exist at all. In weak and/or low-cost housing markets, like many parts of Birmingham, many market-rate housing units—both rental and ownership units—are inexpensive and meet the standard for affordability for many low-income households. While a segment of Birmingham's market-rate housing inventory, both rental and ownership, is very affordable, much of it is in poor condition. Assisted housing programs in Birmingham are administered primarily by the Housing Authority of Birmingham District (HABD) and the City's Community Development Department. Nonprofit organizations also provide some housing assistance. Housing Choice Vouchers (HCV, previously known as "Section 8") provide federal funds to make up the difference between what a tenant can afford to pay (30% of income) and the monthly rent, up to limits set annually by HUD. Tenants with vouchers are not tied to a particular location, and the holder of the voucher can go anywhere in the United States to rent a place to live. In practice, most remain in the City of Birmingham. In 2011, HABD owned or managed 5,531 public housing units of which 3,534 were occupied, and managed 4,933 Housing Choice Vouchers. There are 14 public housing developments with an average of 331 units each. HABD has successfully transformed several public housing developments into mixed-income developments through the federal government's HOPE VI program. HABD has planned a program of improvements and modernization for many of the authority's developments and is pursuing funding for large scale redevelopment along the lines of HOPE VI for four public housing developments. As of 2011, the average annual income of public housing households was $9,249. **Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Program.** Through 2007, 51 housing projects (16 with new construction) in the city had been redeveloped or newly constructed with the aid of federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits.[^p86-14] Tax credits are the major source of financing for mixed-income projects around the country, and in Birmingham they have created 3,574 affordable units (901 new) and 148 market-rate units (all new). **City of Birmingham housing programs.** The Community Development Department manages housing programs focused on homeownership including down payment and closing cost assistance; deferred loans (up to $25,000) and grants (up to $600 for critical repairs, which can be requested by the same resident again every three years); and loans to upgrade and rehabilitate substandard or multifamily housing. The department receives a total of about $5.5 million a year in federal funds for homeownership, rehabilitation and supportive housing programs. Because housing resources are limited and the need is great, they are provided only to households with very low incomes (30% of AMI or below) and the resources are spread throughout the city. [^p86-14]: Created by the 1986 Federal Tax Reform Act, the LIHTC program has become the major source of financing for affordable rental housing in the United States by providing tax benefits to developers of housing that meets specific criteria. The LIHTC program provides a dollar-for-dollar reduction in a developer's tax liability for a ten-year period. **Nonprofit housing partners.** Community-based non-profits that partner with the City and others to provide permanent and temporary housing opportunities include Habitat for Humanity; Worldchangers Rehabilitation; Rising West Princeton; the YWCA; First Light; Cooperative Downtown Ministries; Aletheia House; BEAT (Bethel Ensley Action task Force); and the Interfaith Hospitality House. **Homelessness is a significant problem in Birmingham.** One Roof, a coalition of homeless program providers, estimates that 7,500 to 9,000 people in Jefferson, Shelby and St. Clair counties experience homelessness at some point in a year. The 2011 annual one-night survey found 1,950 homeless persons (with slightly more than half in shelters), of whom 536 were chronically homeless. Family and teen/youth vulnerability to homelessness is a problem. Chronically homeless persons often suffer from substance abuse, severe mental illness or both. Studies have found that providing housing and supportive services for chronically homeless persons is less expensive than the hospital, mental health, and legal system costs that result when they access services on an emergency basis. The City of Birmingham, following national policy, has adopted a “Housing First” plan focused on providing housing and supportive services. ## B. NEIGHBORHOODS Birmingham neighborhood identities are based on the city’s history of annexing independent towns and, more recently, the development of subdivisions. The older neighborhood identities predate their absorption into the city, and Birmingham residents have a very strong sense of neighborhood. In the 1970s, residents created a system of neighborhoods with identified boundaries grouped in “communities” made up of two or more neighborhoods. There are now 99 recognized neighborhoods and 23 communities. These groupings have not been significantly changed since the 1970s, except to add new neighborhoods and communities. ### 1. Birmingham’s Citizen Participation Plan was one of the first in the nation. The changes in the city as a result of the civil rights struggle and requirements for federal funding led to a neighborhood planning process in the 1970s and the creation of the City’s Citizen Participation Plan, one of the first in the nation. The neighborhood and community system mentioned above was created at this time (See Figure 3.22). Neighborhood leaders are elected by residents, these leaders then meet in the 23 communities to elect community leaders, and then these leaders make up the Community Advisory Board. The program focused for many years on how federal community development funds were to be distributed among neighborhoods, with a guaranteed minimum amount for every neighborhood to be used for projects or events in the neighborhood. The Department of Community Development and the Mayor’s Office of Citizen Assistance remain the major liaisons with the neighborhood/community system, but funding for neighborhood activities and capacity building has become scarce. Federal community development funds for the City of Birmingham have declined by 46% since 1980, while the general fund budget has increased by over 400% in the same thirty years. At the same time, population loss has changed the profile of many neighborhoods. The decline in funding and population has weakened the effectiveness of the citizen participation program. ### 2. Commercial Revitalization Districts are intended to promote good design. There are 28 Commercial Revitalization Districts established by ordinance. Many cover downtown and adjacent areas but the city’s traditional neighborhood centers and shopping strips on major arterials are included. Projects in these districts are subject to design review and, in many cases, offer rebates for façade and other improvements. ### 3. The Main Street Program targets nine commercial districts. The Main Street revitalization program, which was developed by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, has a four-point approach: * **Organization:** Volunteer committees, usually anchored in merchants’ associations, govern the program and do much of the work. * **Promotion:** Marketing, events and other campaigns create a positive image for the area. * **Design:** Physical improvements and attractive design create an appealing environment for shoppers, workers, and residents. * **Economic Restructuring:** A competitive and balanced commercial mix meets consumer needs and brings new businesses into vacant or underutilized spaces. The Birmingham Main Street Program is a nonprofit organization that typically has received about half its funding from the City. Unlike most Main Street programs, many of the Birmingham districts lack a strong merchant association and volunteer base and cannot support Main Street managers. Because of funding constraints and neighborhood conditions, the Birmingham program has focused efforts on Woodlawn (where the program office is located), Avondale, East Lake and Ensley. Dependent on City funding and grants, the program has focused on renovating space and marketing it to creative businesses and on creating a distribution system for fresh food. As of spring 2012, Birmingham Main Street has merged with Operation New Birmingham to form REV Birmingham. ### 4. Widespread scattered blight and vacancy is a huge challenge. Blight, inadequate housing, and environmental concerns are not peculiar to recent decades in Birmingham. As noted earlier, nearly half of Birmingham housing had no indoor plumbing in 1950 and the city had no housing code until 1957, when it was adopted under federal pressure as a condition of receiving urban renewal funds. The city’s early development pattern of workers’ camps and villages surrounding mines and plants sometimes left a legacy of environmental issues. Black neighborhoods under segregation typically had poor housing conditions and few amenities. Although by 1990 almost all of Birmingham’s housing units were connected to the water and sewer systems, the upheavals and economic dislocations of the previous three decades had produced a legacy of vacancy and housing deterioration. The large number of tax-delinquent properties in the hands of the state, as mentioned earlier, is a critical issue for revitalization. Figure 3.25 shows that tax-delinquent properties are widely distributed across city neighborhoods. ### 5. The lack of grocery stores has become symbolic of limited neighborhood-serving retail and services in many parts of Birmingham. With high rates of obesity and related illnesses, such as diabetes, in the population, Jefferson County and the City of Birmingham are focusing on promoting healthy lifestyles. A recent study commissioned by Main Street Birmingham found that the eastern and northern parts of the city can be considered a “food desert” because of the lack of full service grocery stores, and that a much larger portion of the city lacks “food balance,” which is defined as having closer access to fast food vendors than to a grocery store. Another study that included data from Birmingham, concluded that access to fast food was a stronger indicator of poor food choices than the presence or absence nearby of a grocery store. In any case, grocery stores are often the anchor stores of neighborhood shopping areas and attract smaller retailers that serve residents. #### TABLE 3.10: TAX-DELINQUENT AND VACANT PROPERTIES CITYWIDE | | PARCELS | ACRES | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Tax Delinquent Properties in hands of the State** | 10,812 | 2,604 | | **Residential** | 10,067 | 2,187 | | With Structure | 4,271 | 1,265 | | Without Structure | 5,796 | 922 | | **Commercial/Industrial** | 745 | 417 | | With Structure | 369 | 305 | | Without Structure | 376 | 112 | | **Vacant but not in Hands of State** | 17,185 | 59,176 | SOURCE: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM (JEFFERSON COUNTY ASSESSOR, 2010 DATA) <
> FIGURE 3.22: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM NEIGHBORHOODS AND COMMUNITIES | ID | NEIGHBORHOOD | ID | NEIGHBORHOOD | ID | NEIGHBORHOOD | ID | NEIGHBORHOOD | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 1 | Apple Valley | 26 | Wahouma | 51 | Central City | 76 | South Titusville | | 2 | Sherman Heights | 27 | Collegeville | 52 | Crestwood South | 77 | Belview Heights | | 3 | Sun Valley | 28 | East Lake | 53 | East Thomas | 78 | Oakwood Place | | 4 | Spring Lake | 29 | North Birmingham | 54 | Crestline | 79 | Dolomite | | 5 | Echo Highlands | 30 | Brown Springs | 55 | Oak Ridge | 80 | Germania Park | | 6 | Hooper City | 31 | Acipco-Finley | 56 | Forest Park | 81 | West End Manor | | 7 | Killough Springs | 32 | Sandusky | 57 | South Pratt | 82 | Woodland Park | | 8 | Bridlewood | 33 | South East Lake | 58 | Southside | 83 | Green Acres | | 9 | Liberty Highlands | 34 | East Birmingham | 59 | Smithfield | 84 | Overton | | 10 | Huffman | 35 | Kingston | 60 | College Hills | 85 | Jones Valley | | 11 | Roebuck | 36 | North Pratt | 61 | Bush Hills | 86 | Mason City | | 12 | Maple Grove | 37 | South Woodlawn | 62 | Redmont Park | 87 | Powderly | | 13 | Pine Knoll Vista | 38 | Gate City | 63 | Five Points South | 88 | Oxmoor | | 14 | Brummitt Heights | 39 | Norwood | 64 | Ensley | 89 | Riley | | 15 | Penfield Park | 40 | Evergreen | 65 | Graymont | 90 | Garden Highlands | | 16 | Smithfield Estates | 41 | Thomas | 66 | Tuxedo | 91 | Tarpley City | | 17 | Fairmont | 42 | Oak Ridge Park | 67 | Highland Park | 92 | Industrial Center | | 18 | Zion City | 43 | Crestwood North | 68 | Wylam | 93 | West Goldwire | | 19 | Brownsville Heights | 44 | Eastwood | 69 | Ensley Highlands | 94 | Grasselli Heights | | 20 | Roebuck Springs | 45 | Druid Hills | 70 | Fairview | 95 | Hillman | | 21 | Airport Highlands | 46 | Central Pratt | 71 | North Titusville | 96 | Roosevelt | | 22 | North East Lake | 47 | East Avondale | 72 | Arlington - West End | 97 | Hillman Park | | 23 | Harriman Park | 48 | North Avondale | 73 | Rising - West Princeton | 98 | West Brownville | | 24 | Inglenook | 49 | Enon Ridge | 74 | Central Park | 99 | East Brownville | | 25 | Woodlawn | 50 | Fountain Heights | 75 | Glen Iris | | | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW FIGURE 3.23: COMMERCIAL REVITALIZATION DISTRICTS <
> FIGURE 3.24: MAIN STREET PROGRAM <
> 3.38 PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW FIGURE 3.25: TAX DELINQUENT AND VACANT PARCELS <
> 3.39 FIGURE 3.26: GROCERY STORES <
> ### C. HISTORIC RESOURCES Birmingham has 146 individual sites and multi-site historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including three National Historic Landmarks: Bethel Baptist Church, Sloss Furnaces, and the Sixteenth Street Baptist Church. There are 40 National Register Historic Districts with multiple properties, and special groups, including ten historic fire stations and three historic apartment hotel groupings. National Register listing is an honor but only requires that the federal government evaluate and mitigate any impacts that result from federal projects. Otherwise, property owners are free to alter or demolish listed properties, as long as they comply with state and local law (including local historic district regulations). Like other cities, Birmingham has also designated nine local historic districts. In these nine local historic districts, property owners have agreed to a design review regulatory process based on an adopted Historic Preservation Plan in order to protect the historic character of a defined area from inappropriate alterations, additions and demolition. The City’s Design Review Committee is the regulatory body. Buildings or districts listed on the National Register, eligible for listing, or meeting state legislative criteria, may be designated as local historic districts. A list of historic resources in Birmingham can be found in Chapter 4 of the City of Birmingham Data Book prepared by the City’s Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits for the comprehensive plan process as an adjunct to the plan. # 5. Prosperity and Opportunity Although the iron and steel industry that created Birmingham still has a presence in the city, it began declining after World War II, and by the 1980s the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) was already the city’s biggest employer. The transition from manufacturing to services as the city’s economic base and the diversification of the city’s economy has been underway for 50 years. ### A. ECONOMIC CONDITIONS ### 1. The city remains the largest employment center in the region. The City of Birmingham is increasingly facing competition from other communities in the metropolitan area and the nation and some of the local industries with high concentrations of employment are also industries that show significant employment declines in 2000–2010. Retaining existing economic assets and expanding the number of jobs is a critical task for the city’s future. **Employment in the City of Birmingham declined during the 2000–2010 decade in contrast to growth in the Birmingham region as a whole as well as the state and the nation.** While all of these areas have lost jobs since the Great Recession of 2008-9, Birmingham’s decline has been more severe. At the same time, the city’s employment decline of four percent during the decade was only about one-third as great as its population decline, indicating some degree of strength in its economic base. **Birmingham’s health care industry is its largest single industry by a wide margin.** The industry has experienced strong growth during the past decade, particularly in its ambulatory care segment. It also employs more Birmingham residents than any other industry. Other important industries are retail, “other services” (notably personal household services and religious organizations), finance and insurance, and professional, technical and scientific services. **Employment trends among industries show a mixture of growth and decline.** The strongest growth has occurred in “other services,” health care, management of companies and enterprises (e.g., corporate offices), and finance and insurance, while the most severe declines have occurred in manufacturing, construction, information, and retail. **Local industries in the strongest competitive position, as measured by relatively high concentrations of employment, include utilities, information, management of companies and enterprises, health care, and wholesale trade.** However, utilities, information, and wholesale trade experienced high CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW FIGURE 3.27: JOBS LOCATED IN THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, BY INDUSTRY, 2010 <
> SOURCE: EMSI rates of employment decline during the 2000–2010 decade, indicating a declining role in the city’s economic base. Among the regional target industries identified in the Birmingham Business Alliance’s (BBA) *Blueprint Birmingham*, the city is in the strongest position in health care, finance and insurance, biological and medical technology, and arts, recreation, and tourism, with some potential niche opportunities in diverse manufacturing. The city economy has a diverse occupational structure with a mix of jobs by skill and wage levels. The largest occupational categories are office and administrative support, sales, health care practitioners, and management. The fastest growing occupations are personal care and service, business and financial operations, education, and health care practitioners. Over the last decade, the number of middle income jobs has declined, with growth at both ends of the wage spectrum (although much higher growth at the low end.) ## B. THE CITY WORKFORCE ### 1. Birmingham has many challenges in workforce development and reducing disparities. A competitive city and region for the Next Economy depends on a skilled and educated workforce. Because of lower educational and skill levels, city residents, particularly African-Americans, are less likely to hold the higher-paid jobs in the city than residents of other communities in the region. City residents are more likely to be unemployed than residents of the region as a whole. They are also more likely to be outside the labor force altogether than their peers elsewhere in the region, the state, or the region. These differences are especially significant for African-American residents of the city. City residents are employed in a wide range of industries and occupations. Among industries, they are most likely to be employed in health care, followed by retail, education, manufacturing, and accommodation and food services. Among occupations, they are most likely to be employed in office and administrative support, followed by sales, transportation and material moving, food 3.42 preparation and serving, and production. Residents employed in some of these occupations, including office and administrative support, transportation and material moving, and production, may be vulnerable to job loss since city employment in these occupations has declined significantly over the past decade. In general, **city residents are somewhat more likely to be represented in lower-wage occupations** and less likely to be represented in higher-wage occupations. Educational attainment among Birmingham residents is somewhat lower than their peers at both the regional and national levels. A lower percentage of residents 25 and older have obtained high school diplomas, although the difference is not great. The more substantial differences are in the proportion of residents who have obtained post-secondary degrees, which are increasingly a key to obtaining well- paying jobs. **Lower educational attainment and employment levels have contributed to income disparities between Birmingham residents and their peers at the regional and national level.** Birmingham households earn considerably lower incomes and experience higher poverty rates. Among Birmingham residents, the non-white population earns considerably less income and experiences higher poverty rates than whites. **Occupations of Birmingham residents vary significantly by race and ethnicity.** Whites tend to be much more heavily represented in management and professional occupations than other racial and ethnic groups. FIGURE 3.28: JOBS HELD BY CITY OF BIRMINGHAM RESIDENTS, BY INDUSTRY, 2009 <
> SOURCE: EMSI **Educational attainment varies significantly by race.** More than double the percentage of whites has obtained bachelor’s or graduate degrees than either African-Americans or Hispanics. **Unlike many mature cities with declining populations, Birmingham has not seen a disproportionate aging of its population relative to the region or the nation.** In fact, it actually has a higher proportion of residents in the prime working-age 25–44 year age group. ## C. INCOMES AND EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT ### 1. City residents have lower incomes and higher poverty rates on average than other residents of the region and the nation. **Incomes.** Lower occupational skills and education attainment levels typically correlate with lower incomes. Income levels in the City of Birmingham are considerably lower than the average for the Birmingham-Hoover MSA and the nation. Among *all* Birmingham households, the median income in 2009 was $30,000, 68 percent of the MSA average, and only 61 percent of the U.S. average. Among *family* households, the median income of $39,700 lagged the MSA and national by similar ratios. Per capita incomes were also lower, but by smaller ratios, suggesting that some of the differences in median incomes may be accounted for by smaller household and family sizes in the city. **Poverty.** Poverty rates are also substantially higher in Birmingham. The city’s poverty rate of 28 percent in 2009 was almost double the MSA and national rates, which were about equal. Approximately 40 percent of children under 18 live in poverty. Income levels and poverty rates in Birmingham vary considerably by race and ethnicity, with whites having significantly higher incomes and lower poverty rates than other groups. <
> <
> ### 2. Although fewer city residents overall have a post-high school degree, residents in the 25-34 age group are more likely to have post-secondary education than their peers in the region and the nation. **Education.** City of Birmingham adults 25 or over are slightly less likely to have a high school diploma than adults in the region or the country. They are substantially less likely to have a post-high school degree: 71 percent of Birmingham residents 25 and over have not obtained a post-secondary degree. The percentage of Birmingham residents with at least an associate’s degree is only 85 percent of the MSA average and 83 percent of the national average. The differentials in higher-level degree attainment are even higher. At the graduate or professional level, the percentage of Birmingham residents who have obtained a degree is 75 percent of the MSA average and 67 percent of the U.S. average. However, there is a positive trend, because city residents in the 25–34 age group are more likely than older residents to hold post-secondary degrees, including bachelor’s and graduate degrees. In fact, Birmingham actually outperforms the nation in this regard, which has seen a decline in educational attainment from the 35–44 age group to the 25–34 age group. **Disparities in educational attainment.** Educational attainment varies significantly by race. Twenty percent of African-Americans and 46 percent of Hispanics age 25 and over have not graduated from high school compared to 20 percent of whites. Conversely, 38 percent of whites have received a bachelor’s or graduate degree compared to 14 percent of African-Americans and 15 percent of Hispanics. Asians are far more likely than all other groups to have reached this level. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW FIGURE 3.31: MEDIAN INCOME <
> FIGURE 3.32: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT FOR BIRMINGHAM POPULATION BY AGE GROUP, 2009 <
> SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, 2009 FIGURE 3.33: EDUCATIONAL ATTAINMENT FOR POPULATION, 2009: BIRMINGHAM, BIRMINGHAM-HOOVER MSA, AND U.S. <
> SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS, AMERICAN COMMUNITY SURVEY, 2009 3.45 # 6. Strengthening City Systems and Networks ## A. TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ### 1. The City of Birmingham and the entire metropolitan area is extremely car dependent and development over recent decades has made it more so. While the City of Birmingham remains the major employment center, development outside of the city means that residents of the Birmingham metropolitan area drive approximately 34 miles a day—the fourth highest average daily mileage in the United States at a cost of $133 a week or nearly $7,000 a year. The most traffic congested corridors are I-65 and US-280, which bring commuters to the city center. In 1970, nearly 11% of all trips in the City of Birmingham were by transit, while in 2009 the corresponding number was 2.5%. Increasing traffic congestion, rising gasoline prices, downtown housing growth, and greater interest in healthy lifestyles have all begun to spark more interest in transportation alternatives. The Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) has completed numerous plans that would enhance transit and increase options for bicycling and walking. Regional leadership organizations, such as the Birmingham Business Alliance, have expressed support for the expansion of transit. **Roadways.** There are 2,337 miles of roadway within the city. Roadway projects within or near the city include: * **Corridor X/Interstate 22.** This new interstate begins at US-31 and will link the city with Memphis. It is expected to be completed in 2014. * **I-20/-I-59 project.** Although a feasibility study has been completed on the concept of lowering I-20 at the I-59 interchange downtown, Alabama DOT is focused on rehabilitation of the elevated highway. * **Northern Beltline project.** A proposal to construct a 52-mile interstate through northern Jefferson County to fully connect the interstate system serving the City of Birmingham is popularly known as the Northern Beltline. ### 2. Birmingham has the largest transit system in Alabama, but needs improvement in reliability and a dedicated funding source. Birmingham falls well below the U.S. average transit mode share of 5% and faces many barriers, such as lack of coordination, local support, and funding, that prevent transit from improving. The net effect is a chronic inability of BJCTA to effectively make the most of the resources that are available. Surveys shows that the current system is viewed as unreliable, unappealing, and transportation of last resort. However, within the city, an estimated 13,307 households do not have access to a private vehicle. At the average household size of 2.7 persons, this could cover as many as 30,000 persons. It has been estimated that while <
> #### TABLE 3.11: TRANSPORTATION MODE SHARE COMPARISONS, 2009 | AREA | DRIVE ALONE | CAR-POOL | PUBLIC TRANSIT | WALK | OTHER MEANS | WORKED AT HOME | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **City of Birmingham** | 78.8% | 13.7% | 2.6% | 2.4% | 0.8% | 1.8% | | **Greater Birmingham only** | 85.4% | 9.4% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 0.6% | 3.2% | | **Mobile** | 84.5% | 10.8% | 0.5% | 1.6% | 0.7% | 1.9% | | **Montgomery** | 83.9% | 10.7% | 1.1% | 1.7% | 0.8% | 1.9% | | **Huntsville** | 86.3% | 7.5% | 0.6% | 1.5% | 1.4% | 2.7% | | **Alabama** | 84.% | 10.3% | 0.4% | 1.3% | 1.0% | 2.5% | 98% of the zero-vehicle households were located near a bus stop, bus routes gave them access to only 29% of the jobs in the region.[^p100-15] Inexpensive parking downtown, which can cost as little as $3 per day, as well as the unreliability of the circulator trolley, both function as disincentives to trolley ridership for those who have a choice. With a transit mode share to work of about 2.5% (in 2009), half the U.S. average, the city still has the highest mode share of any municipality in Alabama. Despite a decrease in ridership since 2004, participants in the comprehensive plan process placed an improved transit system among the highest priorities for the city’s future. **Bus and paratransit.** Public transportation by bus is provided by the Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) in 38 fixed routes (of which 34 are within the city), as well as a door to door demand-response service for disabled persons. This is the largest transit system in the state of Alabama. The fixed route system is radial, focused on downtown, though a few routes act as circulators within neighborhoods. Bus headways (the time between service) are typically 30–60 minutes. Additional paratransit service for senior citizen and disabled populations are provided by a number of nonprofit agencies, with ClasTran (Central Alabama Specialized Transportation) consortium of agencies as the primary provider. Buses operate on compressed natural gas (CNG) and have bicycle carriers. | TABLE 3.12: BJCTA UNLINKED PASSENGER TRIPS BY YEAR | | | :--- | :--- | | **2000** | 2,646,784 | | **2001** | 2,755,563 | | **2002** | 2,950,501 | | **2003** | 3,632,884 | | **2004** | 3,913,067 | | **2005** | 3,833,954 | | **2006** | 3,678,559 | | **2007** | 3,253,691 | | **2009** | 3,223,156 | | **2010** | 2,942,097 | Operational funding for the bus system is limited to fares and funding from local jurisdictions. Unlike most regional transit agencies, BJCTA receives no state funds for operations. (Alabama is one of four states that give no funds for transit.) The City of Birmingham is required to pay 10% of its property tax for transit, Jefferson County is required to pay a smaller percentage of property taxes according to a formula, and other municipalities that desire transit service pay according to a formula based on cost per hour times the number of service hours. Additional small amounts of funding come from a portion of the beer tax and proceeds earned from the Birmingham Racing Commission. Funding for capital expenses is available from the federal government but a local match is generally required. Even when federal funds have been appropriated, the local match has not always been forthcoming. A recent study included the BJCTA in an analysis done for the Memphis transit system of peer transit systems.[^p100-16] The other systems were Jacksonville (FL), Tampa (FL), Louisville (KY), Norfolk (VA), Charlotte (NC), Dayton (OH), Nashville (TN), and Columbus (OH). The City of Birmingham had the third lowest average population density of core cities within this group (only higher than Nashville and Jacksonville). In comparison to these transit systems, the BJCTA had the lowest transit usage per capita (4.4 unlinked passenger trips per capita compared to a peer average of 16.4), the highest operating cost per passenger trip ($8.15 compared to the peer average of $5.37), the highest operating cost per passenger mile ($1.53 compared to the peer average of $1.11), and the highest subsidy per trip ($7.33 compared to the peer average of $4.40).[^p100-17] **Visionary transit plans.** The Birmingham regional MPO has created a long-range vision for a regional transit system for six major corridors in the region. It distinguishes commuter and circulator service types and introduces the concept of superstops. This would change today’s system, which requires that every route travel through the downtown Central Station where passengers can make transfers, to a system where transfers can be made at several superstop. This would improve efficiency and convenience for most riders. Two projects with more detailed planning are: * *The In-Town Transit Partnership (ITP) Project.* ITP is a transportation plan for downtown and adjacent neighborhoods designed to connect key destinations in the City Center, including the UAB/Hospital District, and [^p100-15]: Adie Tomar, “Transit Access and Zero-Vehicle Households,” Brookings Institution Metropolitan Policy Program (August 2011). [^p100-16]: Memphis Area Transit Authority Peer Review Draft, May 2011, Nelson\Nygaard. [^p100-17]: Ibid., Figure 19, page 45. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW Five Points South, the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center and proposed Entertainment District, the new Intermodal Center, government buildings, arts and culture destinations, the Civil Rights District and the Entrepreneurial District. The plan includes dedicated bus lanes (eventually to serve as part of a regional Bus Rapid Transit system), amenities at bus stops, and connector routes to link with surrounding adjacent neighborhoods. It is intended to support new development and redevelopment in the city center around transit stops. Funding for this project has not been identified and it currently lacks the champions from the downtown community to move it forward. * Southwest Corridor Transit Study. Underway in 2012, this study will analyze ways to improve transit (with a focus on a potential Bus Rapid Transit line) on the US-11/Bessemer Highway corridor from downtown towards McCalla. Inter-Modal Center. The Birmingham Intermodal Transit Facility, in planning since the mid-1980s, is advancing to construction. The downtown center will include the BJCTA, intercity bus (Greyhound), intercity passenger rail (AMTRAK), bicycle amenities, taxi and car and van pool services, as well as a structured and surface parking. ### 3. Policy and planning initiatives seek to improve the generally poor conditions for pedestrians and bicyclists. The Birmingham metropolitan area has attracted unfavorable attention as a biking and walking region: > The ninth most dangerous city in the nation for pedestrians.[^p101-18] > Among the three worst cities for bicycling.[^p101-19] > Sixteenth out of 54 metro areas in preventable pedestrian deaths over the last decade.[^p101-20] The city as a whole has a “Walk Score®” of 40 (the top score is 100), meaning that on average, there are few amenities within walking distance. (Selma and Florence are the only other cities in Alabama with a walk score as high as 40.) However, downtown Birmingham’s zip code, 35203, has a walk score of 94, earning it the description, “walker’s paradise.”[^p101-21] Walk Score® ranks communities based on concentration of and walkable proximity to daily needs such as businesses, schools, entertainment, and parks rather than the walking environment. The ability to walk to destinations spans the extremes in Birmingham; from suburban-style neighborhoods at the edge of the city that lack nearby amenities to the walker’s paradise downtown. A measure of the walking environment itself, Pedestrian Level of Service, which considers the quality of the walking environment, such as crosswalks, lighting, and shade, has not been calculated for Birmingham. Bicycle facilities are also limited though there is growing interest in bicycle travel, as evidenced by the new UAB and Alabama Power bike-sharing programs and the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Plan. There are three roadway segments in Birmingham with striped bike lanes or marked shared lanes totaling less than 1.4 miles (sections of 7th Avenue South, and 16th Street South). In 1996, the MPO adopted the “Birmingham Area Bicycle, Pedestrian & Greenway Plan.” The MPO has updated this plan with the “2035 Birmingham Regional Active Transportation Plan: A Strategic Plan for Walkways and Bikeways in Jefferson and Shelby Counties” (in draft form as of August 2011). The Birmingham Planning Commission has adopted a “Complete Streets” policy, advisory to the City and the MPO, to promote street and streetscape design that accommodates all users. ### 4. Inter-city passenger rail, bus and air service is available in Birmingham. AMTRAK offers daily passenger train service to Atlanta, New Orleans and New York, while Greyhound and Megabus provide inter-city bus service. The Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, Alabama’s busiest airport, served nearly 3 million passengers in 2010 on 7 airlines with 120 flights per day to 50 cities. A $200+ million renovation of the airport is underway as of 2012. [^p101-18]: AARP Bulletin, November 9, 2009. [^p101-19]: Bicycling magazine, May 2010. [^p101-20]: Transportation for America: Dangerous by Design, 2011. http://t4america.org/resources/dangerousbydesign2011/states/worst-metros/ [^p101-21]: www.walkscore.com 3.48 ### 5. Birmingham has major freight transportation connections of national importance. Born at the intersection of two railroad lines, the City of Birmingham today is one of only seven cities nationwide where major East and West rail carriers meet, making it well-positioned for goods distribution to markets in the Midwest and Northeast. Three Class I railroads serve Birmingham: CSX, Norfolk Southern, and the Burlington Northern Santa Fe. A short-line railroad, the Birmingham Southern Railroad Company, provides switching service in Birmingham on 84 miles of track. The Port of Birmingham (“Birmingport”) on the Black Warrior River is connected to the Port of Mobile on the Gulf of Mexico for imports and exports of bulk commodities. Commodities will also move between rail and truck at the Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility being built in McCalla as part of Norfolk Southern’s Crescent Corridor rail expansion project stretching approximately 2,500 miles from New Orleans to Newark, Delaware. The renovation of the Birmingham airport includes a major expansion of its cargo capacity. In addition to these major freight facilities, there are a number of trucking companies located in the Birmingham area. ## B. INFRASTRUCTURE The City of Birmingham’s sewer, water and utility infrastructure is operated and maintained by entities other than the city. The only infrastructure, other than roads, owned and operated by city government is the storm drainage system and associated right-of-way. It is therefore extremely important that the City identify its interests and priorities related to infrastructure operated and maintained by other entities and participate fully, to the degree possible, in their management. ### 1. The city’s drinking water supply is controlled by the Birmingham Water Works Board, whose board is appointed by the City Council. The Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) owns and operates the drinking water system that serves the city, as well as the rest of Jefferson County and four other counties. The BWWB was established in 1951 as an independent public utility, meaning that it operates independently of city government and finances operations and capital expenditures from its own revenues. The Board’s five members are appointed by the Birmingham City Council. Through 200,000 connections, the Water Works serves approximately 600,000 people. About half of its service is in the City of Birmingham. The system covers 759 square miles, has 3,966 miles of water pipes, can reliably produce 184 million gallons of water a day through four filtration plants, and has access to 289 million gallons of water per day from its four water sources. In addition, an industrial water supply network provides less treated and more inexpensive water for industrial uses. Water demand is projected to be about 222 million gallons per day by 2075. BWWB has an ongoing maintenance program, currently budgeted at $24 million annually, to replace and maintain current facilities. Since about half the system’s customers are in the city, approximately half of the maintenance budget is used for the system within the city. After the severe droughts of 2000 and 2007, the BWWB began planning to make sure that the region would continue to have a reliable water supply. In addition to encouraging water conservation by the public and lowering the rate of water loss in the system, the BWWB is developing water wells to access untapped groundwater for use only during droughts. In addition, the Board is expanding its supply area to upper Holt Lake on the Black Warrior River. About three-quarters of the water is expected to be returned to the river as treated wastewater. The only drinking water source located within the City of Birmingham is Lake Purdy, a 990-acre reservoir created in 1923 by damming the Little Cahaba River. The lake has a drainage area of only 43 square miles, and the Water Works Board has purchased much of the land around the lake to protect it from point and nonpoint pollution. Lake Purdy is typically used as a secondary source of water during the dry months. Since 2008, development in the Cahaba River/Lake Purdy watershed has required approval from the BWWB in order to control pollution impacts from erosion, wastewater disposal, stormwater runoff, and use of toxic or hazardous substances. The watershed protection policy adopted by the BWWB includes prohibitions and controls on “key contaminating land uses,” performance standards for non- CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW point source pollution and private wastewater systems, a requirement for site development plans, identification of potential exemptions, and enforcement measures. In conjunction with the BWWB’s policy, the City of Birmingham has also developed land use policies to protect the watershed from adverse impacts. Only low-impact development in conservation areas is allowed and vegetative buffers are required along streams. ## 2. The wastewater system is controlled by Jefferson County. The Jefferson County Department of Environmental Management operates the sanitary and industrial wastewater collection and treatment facilities in the county. With 9 basins and wastewater treatment plants and 170 pumping stations, the system serves approximately 478,000 persons, including residents of the City of Birmingham. Two of the sewer plants are located in the City of Birmingham: * The Village Creek plant serves approximately 232,000 people, including most of the City of Birmingham. Treated effluent runs into Village Creek. The design capacity of the plant is 60 million gallons a day, which will be doubled to 120 million gallons a day. * The Cahaba River plant serves approximately 38,200 people, mostly in the near southern suburbs of the city, and sends treated water to the Cahaba River. ## 3. Stormwater and drainage is the only major infrastructure system, except for local roads, for which the city government is directly responsible. The stormwater system ranges from natural drainage ways to large multi-barreled reinforced concrete box culverts. The majority of the City’s storm sewer system drains to one of five main channels—the Cahaba River, Five Mile Creek, Shades Creek, Valley Creek or Village Creek. Valley and Village Creeks receive stormwater primarily from the urban core of the City. The Cahaba River, Five Mile Creek and Shades Creek collect water from areas that are more suburban in character. Discharges to the City’s storm sewer system are regulated by the EPA’s National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES), which is administered by the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM). ADEM has issued the City a NPDES permit that regulates stormwater discharges. The conditions of the permit are enforced by the City of Birmingham’s Planning, Engineering and Permits Department. The City requires that all new construction projects meet the ADEM erosion control Best Management practices. Each set of construction plans and specifications must include Erosion Prevention and Sediment Control designs. Within the City of Birmingham, the City’s Stormwater Management Division tests stormwater discharges periodically for the presence of pollutants of concern and to determine if pollution mitigation measures are having the desired effect on water quality. Capital improvements generally consist of extensions of existing storm sewer systems. Maintenance is performed by the Department of Public Works. Maintenance measures range from brush removal from creek banks (regular cycle) to unclogging inlets (as needed or reported). In order to control and mitigate pollutants from existing or potential development, especially on areas that are environmentally impaired or sensitive, the City of Birmingham relies on its Flood Mitigation/Stormwater Management Plan with regulations in zoning, subdivision controls, erosion controls, and building codes. Activities include reclamation of brownfields, floodplain property acquisition, establishment of parks, and restoration projects. As noted earlier, the BWWB Lake Purdy/Cahaba River Watershed Protection Policy is also focused on pollutant control and mitigation. Although development regulations require that the post-development runoff rate equals the pre-development runoff rate, in general they do not focus as much on decreasing impervious surfaces or increasing permeability so that more stormwater infiltrates and is absorbed on site. Requiring that the rate of runoff not exceed pre-development conditions often results in the creation of detention ponds, which sometimes can be designed as amenities. However, this is not the same as low-impact development that uses pervious surfaces, rain gardens and other strategies to limit the volume of stormwater runoff. ### 4. Utilities provide electric, gas, and telecommunications services in the city. **Electric and gas service.** In general, all areas of the City of Birmingham have access to high quality electrical power suitable for industrial, commercial, business or residential applications. Electrical power is provided by the Alabama Power Company, a subsidiary of the Southern Company. Alabama Gas Company is the main supplier of natural gas within the city. These utilities are regulated by the state Public Service Commission. **Telephone, internet and network services.** High Speed Internet, cellular voice and data services, landline local and long distance telephone, and cable television services are generally available throughout the Birmingham area from at least one service provider. Wired internet service is available in most locations within the city. High speed data service is available between Birmingham and most large cities by the national fiber optics network. Fiber and copper facilities along the major thoroughfares within Birmingham provide telephone and digital services to meet residential and business customer service need. AT&T/Bellsouth is the regulated provider of land line service. Mobile telephone service is available from all the major providers: AT&T, Sprint Nextel, T-Mobile, and Verizon, and cable or satellite TV choices include AT&T U-verse, Bright House, Charter, Comcast, DirecTV, and Time Warner. **Digital divide.** National surveys indicate that internet access is increasing among minority populations and low-income populations. Data indicate that 71% of African-Americans and Latinos use the internet, compared to 83% of whites, and whites are more likely to have broadband access at home. As might be expected, internet use is lower for low-income households. Only 65% of households with incomes under $30,000 a year—which would include nearly half of households in the City of Birmingham—use the internet. Educational level also plays a role, with 45% of persons who lack a high school education using the internet.[^p104-22] The Birmingham library system has 292 computers for public use. Anecdotal evidence suggests that people who do not have direct access to a computer, especially teenagers and young adults, are increasingly acquiring smartphones that give them internet access, as well as text and apps—effectively skipping the home computer stage. Digital communication focused on smartphones is predicted to become increasingly widespread in the next five years. ## C. FACILITIES AND SERVICES ### 1. Birmingham City Schools seek higher academic performance and stabilized enrollment. In the school year 2011/12, Birmingham City Schools had an enrollment of 25,100 students, almost 10,000 fewer than in 2005, less than 10 years ago. In 1980, the system had about 50,000 students. The flight of families with children from Birmingham over the last decade, discussed earlier, is reflected in these numbers. Of the 51 active public schools, 11 have occupancy ratios of 50% or less, and almost all are operating at less than capacity. There are 12 vacant school buildings owned by the school system. A capital improvement program, based on a study that assumed 3% annual population growth, will result in several new schools, after which the system will have capacity for 37,364 students—plenty of room to grow from current enrollment. Declining enrollments result in declining funding as well. A strategic plan for comprehensive curriculum, academic achievement and operational changes was put into place in 2010. The plan includes the following: * Expanded pre-K program * 7 career academies in 6 high schools with a total of 14 planned > Areas: engineering, health science; architecture and design; urban educators; hospitality and tourism; business and finance; information technology; and law > Preparation for industry certification tests > Partnerships with companies/organizations across city [^p104-22]: Pew Research Center Internet & American Life Project, Trend Data, www.pewinternet.org. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART I | CHAPTER 3 UNDERSTANDING BIRMINGHAM TODAY...FOR A BETTER BIRMINGHAM TOMORROW * Every high school offers AP classes * International Baccalaureate program at 2 schools * Dropout Recovery Program for accelerated degrees for 17–21 year olds who have left school * At-Risk program for students at risk of dropping out * Summer Learning Opportunities * Parent University * Weekly professional development for all teachers * Modernized technology In addition, the school system added parent and community programs and has been collaborating with the Birmingham Education Foundation (ED), a nonprofit supported by foundation and corporate funding, to work with the school system and its stakeholders to improve public education in the city. Emerging from a community participation initiative to develop a public school improvement agenda sponsored by The Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham called Yes We Can!, ED has provided funding for career academies, has sponsored Parent Academies, and provided other support. ## 2. The Public Works Department maintains city property and manages solid waste. The Department of Public Works has responsibility for maintaining city facilities and property, including landscaping, beautification, minor maintenance of right-of-way (ROW), public spaces and vacant lots, and application of herbicides and fertilizers using Integrated Pest Management (IPM). DPW is also responsible for mosquito abatement during the summer months, trash and garbage pickup, and management of the city landfills. The seven divisions within the Public Works Department are: * **Facilities:** maintenance of all city facilities * **Operations:** trash and refuse collection, street cleaning, and the clearing of drainage * **Horticulture/Urban Forestry:** grass mowing on city rights of way and vacant lots, and tree planting and pruning * **Code Enforcement:** enforces codes and ordinances governing issues such as junk cars; dumping and trash/ debris; safety conditions in vacant buildings, etc. * **Minor Construction:** demolition, constructing sidewalks, curbs and gutters * **Administration:** payroll and personnel matters for the department * **Landfill:** disposal of the trash, garbage and recycling There are 1,100 employees in the Department of Public Works. The types of employees are administrative personnel, skilled laborers and unskilled laborers, refuse collectors, grass cutters, truck drivers, heavy equipment operators, guards, and landscape crew. The Department of Public Works has 2,000 vehicles in its inventory. The other equipment in the department are landscape, truck and brush, roll-off cutters, front end loaders, and rubber tire loaders. DPW equipment is used for double the average recommended life span (14–16 years instead of 7–8 years). Approximately $5 million is needed for new equipment. The Code Inspectors and Environmental Officer within the Public Works Department enforce the City of Birmingham codes and ordinances which cover issues such as abandoned property, garbage disposal, inoperable vehicles, washing of vehicles, plumbing guidelines, junk and scrap on public ways, and the stewardship of ditches and gutters. Public Works is responsible for ensuring that vacant and abandoned properties do not become hazards or public nuisances. There are 15 Code Inspectors/Enforcers and one Environmental Officer with arrest authority. The City does not have an operable asset management system tied to GIS with information on when city property was put in service, property conditions, maintenance schedules, and so on. Asset management systems have been found to save money in the long term. ## 3. The city’s two landfills are expected to have capacity for several decades. The City of Birmingham Public Works Department collects, transports, and stores residential solid waste in the City. Residences have bi-weekly services for refuse and bi-monthly services for all other solid waste collection. The City is divided into approximately 64 collection routes. Public Works also collects from small non-manufacturing businesses if they use less than 4 typical garbage containers per collection day. Other businesses and property owners contract with private haulers. No special restrictions are placed on transporters of waste, and they are free to travel all public streets and rights-of-way. There are two municipally-owned landfills in the city: * The **New Georgia Landfill** is located in the northern part of the City and accessible from Interstate 65 and US-31. New Georgia Landfill accepts nonhazardous waste from the city and Jefferson County with a maximum daily volume of 1,200 tons of waste. It consists of 616 acres with a municipal solid waste disposal area of 1 acres and a construction and demolition waste disposal area of 5 acres. The landfill has some infrastructure to recover methane gas. * The **Eastern Area Landfill** in the eastern part of the city is accessible from Interstate 459, Interstate 59 and US-11. The landfill occupies 370 acres with a disposal area of 72 acres and accepts nonhazardous wastes up to a maximum average daily volume of 1,200 tons a day. Leachate is pumped into storage tanks and monitoring before being discharged to the sewer system The city’s Solid Waste Master Plan was prepared assuming annual population growth of 3.5% based on a 2000 census population of 249,459. Given the decline in population during the 2000–2010 period and the fact that any population growth is likely to proceed more slowly than 3.5% per year, landfill capacity is expected to be sufficient well beyond the 20 year time horizon of this comprehensive plan, particularly if recycling increases. With the current daily 600 tons per day rate of disposal, the combined landfills have the airspace capacity to surpass the next 30 years. ### 4. Hazard mitigation planning focuses especially on tornado and flood hazards. The City of Birmingham participates in the hazard mitigation planning process led by the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency. The 2009 Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan includes the county’s Interim Multi-Hazard Mitigation Plan. The plan contains long-term strategies for the following hazards: tornadoes, severe storms, floods, earthquakes, winter storms and freezes, droughts and heat waves, dam and levee failures, wildfires, landslides, and sinkholes. The major hazard mitigation issues in the City of Birmingham are the ongoing floodplain program in the Village Creek and Valley Creek floodplains and the program to include construction of “safe rooms” in the rebuilding of Pratt City after the 2011 tornadoes, as well as other areas in the city’s “tornado alley.” ### 5. Public safety departments are modernizing their systems. **Police.** A recent comparison of overall crime risk in major US cities based on an analysis of FBI data over the 2003-2009 period placed Birmingham as tied for third place with Orlando, FL.[^p106-23] The index is constructed so that an index of 100 is the average crime risk for American cities, meaning Birmingham, with an index of 380 in this period, had more than three times the risk of crime overall than the average city. The majority of crime in all of these cities is property crime. In an analysis of 2010 city crime rates by the *Congressional Quarterly*, Birmingham was listed as number 10, with St. Louis in the top spot.[^p106-24] Crime rates in Birmingham have been declining in recent years, with murders and robberies down about 40% and, as in every community, crime is a bigger problem in some parts of the city than others. The Police Department is closer to full strength in 2012 than it has been in many years with 840 officers on the street and 60 in the police academy. A new precinct building is under construction at Five Points West for the West Precinct, one of four. The command staff has a monthly CompStat meeting to understand data and identify hot spots, and patrols meet weekly. Because of technology deficits, many staff still need to keep statistics by hand. The Department does not have a strategic plan at present, but expects to prepare one, along with a manpower study [^p106-23]: Data source: Onboard Informatics, via US News & World Report. 2010 Data. [^p106-24]: http://os.cqpress.com/citycrime/2010/City_crime_rate_2010-2011_hightolow.pdf and a beat study. The community policing program has three elements: engage the community, make partnerships, and engage the media. The Community Services Division provides a civilian crime prevention officer in each precinct and 18 school resources officers. The civilian officers work with mentally disabled persons, among others, and a special program, Project SAFE (Stopping Abuse in the Family Environment), provides anger management and group counseling for domestic abusers. Police department priorities include: * **New headquarters building downtown.** The current facility has one unusable floor, inadequate support for technology for a full laboratory, and need for better physical security in the parking lot. * **New municipal jail.** The current jail in Southside was built by inmates many years ago and is in poor condition. Discussions about solutions have included a regional jail, a state jail authority, or privatization. * **Improvements to precinct buildings.** The East and South precincts have unfinished buildings and the North building needs rehabilitation. * **Creation of a fifth precinct for the downtown area.** The precincts are very large geographically. If Birmingham’s West precinct were a city, it would be the sixth largest city in population in the state. * **Studies and a strategic plan needed.** The department needs a beat study based on population changes, a manpower study, and an overall strategic plan. * **Technology and data.** Police officers have laptops, but direct reporting is not possible. Collecting data is still very labor intensive. Federal grants have been obtained for some upgrades to records management. Computer aided dispatch is being installed in 2012. * **Vehicle shortage.** The City does not have a vehicle rotation policy, so police run vehicles around the clock and sometimes have to wait at a shift change for the car. The department plans to start a small take-home program for officers who live in Birmingham, starting with five cars. **Fire.** The Fire Department has 31 stations, with a 32nd to be built in Oxmoor Valley, and the Pratt City station damaged by the 2011 tornado. There is some overlap in service areas. There are approximately 200–250 calls per month per truck, and the average response time is 4 minutes. Fire stations are important community anchors and the department’s goal is to make every fire station a safe place for the surrounding community. Firemen attend all neighborhood association meetings and the associations help support the fire stations. The department’s Citizens Fire Academy trains citizens to assist in fire emergencies. The department pursues every grant possibility and is usually successful. Because of the many older, deteriorated buildings, as well as vacant and blighted properties in the city, there are many fires in Birmingham. Ensley, the West End, and some parts of East Birmingham have the most fires. There are two hazardous materials unit, including one that is available to the entire region. Department priorities include: * Newer vehicles and apparatus * Additional manpower * Facility improvements * Enhanced training opportunities. **Emergency Medical Services.** The Fire Department is the only emergency service provider in the city, though private ambulances do transfers. Rescue units arrive within 6 minutes, with most arriving within 4 minutes. All Fire Department personnel have basic EMT training and there are about 170 paramedics. Additional paramedics would make it possible to have two full paramedics for each call. ## 6. Birmingham’s Library System is doing more with less. The Birmingham Public Library System, established in 1886, consists of 19 branch libraries and the central library in a total of 368,000 square feet of space. Its mission is “to provide the highest quality library service to the community for life-long learning, cultural enrichment and enjoyment.” The system serves the city and region with books, DVDs, audio books, music, downloadable audio books and ebooks, over 2,000 programs within the libraries and nearly 300 programs presented outside the library, 292 public computers and computer training, meeting space for community groups, and numerous programs for children and youth. The library collections include manuscripts and rare books of local, regional and national importance. In 2010 the library system served 1.9 million visitors, making it the most visited “tour attraction,” according to the Birmingham Business Journal. In 2012, the central children’s library was identified as one of the 10 best in the country. In addition to funding from the city, the library system receives some support from the Friends of the Birmingham Library, a citizens’ group. Another support organization, the Birmingham Library Foundation, is being revived. Birmingham’s libraries are very important community anchors. They welcome people of all ages and walks of life and connect people to their community and to the world. While the number of registered users and the number of circulated materials have been increasing, staffing and funding have decreased in recent years as part of the City’s financial tightening. The acquisitions budget is now slightly over 5% of the system’s budget, less than half the 12% regarded as the standard. The repair and maintenance budget declined by over 60% between 2009 and 2012, library buildings are suffering from deferred maintenance, and the Central Library needs more space, putting some special collections at risk. Renovation or replacement of the Central Library is a priority. The library system has a 2011–2016 strategic plan which includes focus areas on strengthening fundraising from outside sources (including grants), partnerships, and community support; planning for physical improvements; and other major improvements. ### 7. The City of Birmingham owns and supports cultural institutions of regional importance. Unlike many cities, Birmingham owns a number of cultural institutions and venues and provides varying amounts of operational and capital funding. In addition to the Botanical Gardens and the Zoo, which are owned by the City but managed by nonprofit organizations, the City owns the Birmingham Museum of Art, the Civil Rights Institute and Museum, Arlington House, Sloss Furnaces Museum, the Southern Museum of Flight, and Boutwell Auditorium. **Birmingham Museum of Art.** Founded in 1951, the Birmingham Museum of Art is regarded as one of the finest art museums in the Southeast. Located in the civic center of downtown Birmingham with a building of 150,000 square feet and a sculpture garden of 30,000 square feet, the museum has over 24,000 art objects from around the world and many historic periods. Admission is free, approximately 100,000 visitors come to the museum each year, and it operates programs for children, youth and adults, including programs with the city and county school systems. The museum is governed by a city-appointed Museum Board and museum staff are employees of the city. In FY 2011, approximately $3.1 million in city funding supported the museum, which also has an associated nonprofit, the Birmingham Museum of Art Foundation. The museum would like to expand to accommodate growing collections. **The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute.** Located in the historic Fourth Avenue Business District across the street from Kelly Ingram Park and the 16th Street Baptist Church, the institute is a large interpretive museum and research center that tells the stories of the American Civil Rights Movement of the 1950s and 1960s. The institute has been open since 1992 and continues to successfully focus on its core mission of promoting “civil and human rights worldwide through education.”[^p108-25] This is done through both a self-guided walking tour of its permanent and temporary exhibits as well as a comprehensive, resource-rich, education program. The museum is an affiliate in the Smithsonian Affiliations program. **Arlington House.** Built in 1845, Arlington House is the only antebellum mansion in the City of Birmingham and operates as a decorative arts museum. The property is owned and maintained by the city, while the interior furnishings and collections are cared for by the Arlington Historical Association. There is an annual Christmas open house and the house is available for private functions. **Sloss Furnaces.** The Sloss Furnaces iron manufacturing complex, dating originally from 1881, is a National Historical Landmark operating as an educational museum and metal arts community. The site escaped demolition [^p108-25]: http://www.bcri.org/index.html in the 1970s when Birmingham voters approved bond funding to stabilize and refurbish the site to become a museum. The complex is owned by the city, which in FY 2011 expended approximately $580,000 for staff and operations. The Sloss Furnaces Foundations is an associated nonprofit. As of 2012, the city has contributed $4.2 million towards construction of a visitor’s center with a total cost of $5.8 million. **Southern Museum of Flight.** The Southern Museum of Flight, located near the airport, is a civil aviation museum started by the Birmingham Aero Club. Soon after the construction of the present facility in 1983, the City agreed to take ownership of the property and provide operational funding. The museum operates as a nonprofit and accepts donations. In FY 2011, the City provided approximately $580,000 in funding. **Boutwell Auditorium.** Formerly Birmingham Municipal Auditorium, Boutwell is a downtown entertainment venue with 6,000 seats built in the 1920s that needs upgrading. Although its features are outdated, local entertainment promoters say it plays an important role as a mid-size venue. A 2008 report estimated a need for $4 million worth of improvements, leading some to call for demolition and discussion that the art museum next door could expand to the site. As of 2012, the City plans to renovate and update the auditorium. In addition to the cultural institutions which the City owns, it also provides contributions and financial support for other institutions. For example, the City is ultimately anticpated to provide $2 million out of the $5 million expected cost for a new children’s museum at the McWane Science Center. # 7. Fiscal Issues The biggest generators of revenue for the City of Birmingham are sales, business, and occupational taxes. Alabama has one of the lowest property taxes in the country. The City expects that the catalyst projects of 2011–2012, including CrossPlex, the hotel and entertainment center at the convention center, and the new Regions Field baseball stadium will all help bring visitors and produce revenue for the City. The capital budget is mainly derived from bond finance projects. Downtown is a Tax Increment Financing District in which downtown public improvements are financed on the basis of increased tax revenues expected from downtown development. The City receives no state aid. Federal funds for transportation projects are funneled through the Alabama Department of Transportation. The City is an entitlement community for Community Development Block Grant and HOME funds, programs which have been declining steadily since 1980, and it can receive other federal funds for specific programs if it is successful in competitive grant rounds. In the budget process, all departments submit their wish lists for additional staff and for capital improvements. The budget office makes projections and the Mayor, Chief of Staff and Chief of Operations work with the budget office to create a budget. Capital budget decisions are based on availability of debt service and come from the Mayor, with input from the City Council and the public. # 8. 21st-Century Birmingham: Planning for a New Future As this comprehensive plan is being written, at the start of the second decade of the 21st century, the City of Birmingham is making significant progress in the long transition from industrial powerhouse of the South to a competitive New Economy city known for an increasingly vibrant, live-work-study-play downtown; beautiful parks and emerging greenways; historic resources; and new expressions of Southern culture, whether in food or music. This chapter identified four key areas as the foundation for the future: the power of place; the power of people and partnerships; opportunities and prosperity from the Next Economy; and establishment of a record of performance. In all of these areas, the City of Birmingham has much to build on, but it also faces many obstacles and difficulties. This plan focuses especially on goals and strategies for removing the obstacles and mitigating the difficulties: > **[page 110 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** * **The power of place.** As in many cities, downtown is being transformed with an influx > **[page 111 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** # Part II # Green Systems ### Chapter 4 ### Natural Resources and Environmental Constraints ### Chapter 5 ### Open Space, Parks and Recreation ### Chapter 6 ### Sustainability and Green Practices # Chapter 4 Natural Resources and Environmental Constraints <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “I want to live in a city that cares about air quality and the environment.” “Keep Birmingham beautiful, especially the water ways.” | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | **natural areas and conservation** | | | A comprehensive green infrastructure system provides access to and preserves natural areas and environmentally sensitive areas. | • Support the creation of an interconnected green infrastructure network that includes natural areas for passive recreation, stormwater management, and wildlife habitat. | | | • Consider incentives for the conservation and enhancement of natural and urban forests. | | Reinvestment in existing communities conserves resources and sensitive environments. | • Consider incentives for reinvestment in existing communities rather than “greenfields,” for new commercial, residential and institutional development. | | | • Consider incentives for development patterns and site design methods that help protect water quality, sensitive environmental features, and wildlife habitat. | | **air and water quality** | | | The City makes every effort to consistently meet clean air standards. | • Support the development of cost-effective multimodal transportation systems that reduce vehicle emissions. | | | • Encourage use of clean fuels and emissions testing. | | | • Emphasize recruitment of clean industry. | | | • Consider incentives for industries to reduce emissions over time. | | | • Promote the use of cost-effective energy efficient design, materials and equipment in existing and private development. | | The City makes every effort to consistently meet clean water standards. | • Encourage the Birmingham Water Works Board to protect water-supply sources located outside of the city to the extent possible. | | | • Consider incentives for development that protects the city’s water resources. | | | • Consider incentives for the protection of natural drainage in stormwater management systems where feasible. | | | • Consider incentives for the use of conservation and low-impact development techniques. | | | • Support state water quality standards and enforcement. | | | • Monitor drilling uses of water resources to avoid contamination or excessive use and use best management practices. | Front image: www.aothemagazine.com/?p=38 # findings Red Mountain Park and Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve are significant natural areas that provide access to nature and environmental services (such as reduction in urban heat island effects, air pollution, and nonpoint source pollution of water) in an otherwise urban environment. The city has had success in flood mitigation through flood buyouts along Village, Valley and Shades Creeks in conjunction with FEMA, Corps of Engineers and state agencies and continued flood mitigation planning. With the exception of engineering design standards for streets, the only regulations for steep slopes are those that require geotechnical engineers’ affidavits for construction on parts of the north face of Red Mountain. Segments of the Cahaba River, Valley Creek, Village Creek, Shades Creek and Camp Branch Creek exceed Total Maximum Daily Load allowances for various pollutants. Water quality monitoring is performed by the City’s Stormwater Management Division. Birmingham does not consistently meet EPA ozone standards, which reflects impacts on public health due to air pollution, and constrains industrial expansion and recruitment and federal transportation funding. There are numerous local and regional private organizations involved in parks development, open space preservation and environmental stewardship. Almost all of the land in the city limits that is adjacent to or near the Cahaba River, Little Cahaba River, and Lake Purdy is owned by the Birmingham Water Works Board to protect water supply resources. Quality of life, which includes environmental quality, is an increasingly important criterion in private sector economic investment decisions. # challenges Reducing vehicle emissions through increased transit use will require regional partnerships/cooperation. Increased walking and bicycling can help reduce vehicle emissions, but extensive improvements are needed in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure to support these alternative travel modes. Many sources of air pollution are not located in the city or subject to City control. Threats to Birmingham’s water quality are not all located in the city or subject to City influence. The potential development of land in the Cahaba area poses risks to the Cahaba River, a drinking-water source. Most of this land is outside the city limits. # A. What the Community Said From the outset of this plan’s community involvement process, participants have held up the city’s natural environment and green infrastructure as vital parts of the city. Attendees at the various forums ranked Birmingham’s parks, landscape and topography as its best asset, receiving twice as many votes as any other category. Participants also indicated that pollution, clean air and other environmental issues were among the city’s top challenges. Among the “Top Five Priorities” from table discussions, walking/biking routes and parks, beautification and addressing pollution were all noted. During the Communities of Interest workshop on Green Systems and Sustainability, attendees identified issues that brought them to the meeting and table discussions provided a set of priorities. Several of those dealt with the environmental concerns addressed in this chapter. ### Issues * Water quality and stormwater management * Air quality * Interconnected green infrastructure network * Green the city, more trees * Sprawl * Using the city’s green amenities to attract investment ### Priorities * Improve air quality * Improve water quality * Protect biodiversity and wildlife habitat * Increase public awareness on green systems and sustainability * Promote alternative, clean energy sources * Protect and increase citywide tree canopy * Clean up and re-use brownfields * Build greenways with destinations <
> **TCI Ensleyworks is the one of the largest brownfields in the Birmingham area.** # B. Topography, Geology and Landscape Character Since its early history Birmingham capitalized easily on its natural assets but struggled with their long-term stewardship. Birmingham’s geology offered tremendous economic opportunity during the industrial boom of the late 1800s. The three main components of iron and steel production—coal, iron ore and limestone—were readily available from Jones Valley, which also provided a convenient landscape for settlement. Railroad, mining and iron production facilities exploded across the landscape and Birmingham grew rapidly and densely. Of its major topographic features, the city is most closely associated with Red Mountain, which rises to just over 1,000 feet above sea level—about 400 feet above downtown Birmingham directly to the north. Shades Mountain, further to the south, is the tallest formation in Birmingham, peaking at about 1,150 feet above sea level. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS The city developed along the relatively flat Jones Valley between Red and Sand mountains. This provided a logical path for the railroads that were laid through the middle of the valley. As communities took shape along the railroad, the mountains limited development to the north and south. Birmingham grew as a dense urban grid that diminished as it extended toward the neighboring ridges, particularly the steeper and more challenging Red Mountain. Urban villages developed further east and west along the valley including areas like Woodlawn and East Lake, Bessemer and Ensley. Today, mining and manufacturing remain but represent a much smaller part of Birmingham’s economy. Its readily harvestable geologic resources have been greatly depleted. Vacant mines and foundries dot the landscape. But these remnants of the area’s industrial heritage are seeing a second life as regional parks (Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, Red Mountain Park and Vulcan Park), greenways, and historic landmarks (Sloss Furnaces). However, there is continued mining northwest and west of the city along the Mulberry Fork of the Black Warrior River. # HYDROLOGY The northern and western portions of the city lie within the Black Warrior-Tombigbee River Basin while the areas south and east of Red Mountain are in the Alabama River Basin. Through each basin numerous tributaries flow and form watersheds including: Village Creek, Valley Creek, Shades Creek, Five Mile Creek, and the Cahaba River. ## Streams The early communities of Birmingham were relatively far from the Black Warrior and Cahaba Rivers, to the northwest and southeast respectively. But Jones Valley is traversed by the smaller Village Creek and Valley Creek. Like Red Mountain to the south, Village Creek limited northern expansion early on. It served as the city’s early water supply until it was too contaminated to provide clean water. After decades of development and industrial and other forms of pollution, efforts by the City, UAB, the grassroots Village Creek Society, area residents and others, including FIGURE 4.1: WATER AND WATERSHEDS <
> > **[page 117 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** the construction of a Jefferson County peak-flow treatment facility that began operation in 2003 ### Lakes The Birmingham Water Works Board built the Lake Purdy Dam on the Little Cahaba River in 1929 soon after Village Creek became too polluted to serve as a water supply. The reservoir, near the headwaters of the Cahaba River, is owned by the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) and encompasses 990 acres. In 2008 the BWWB adopted a policy requiring Board approval for development in the Cahaba River watershed to manage possible pollution in order to protect the water supply. That policy includes prohibitions on certain contaminating uses and activities; performance requirements for nonpoint source pollutants; and enforcement measures. As a temporary measure the City created the Holding Zone District to limit development in the Lake Purdy/Cahaba River area. This zoning classification was applied to properties in the immediate vicinity of Lake Purdy, most of which is owned by the BWWB. Bayview Lake was built on Village Creek in 1910 as a water supply reservoir for coal mining activities and for the Ensley Iron Works. Receiving flow from Village Creek, it too became polluted from untreated industrial and sanitary wastewater. After the closing of the Thomas and Ensley Works and installation of secondary treatment facilities required by the Clean Water Act of 1972, water quality in the lake improved to the extent that it is now used for recreational purposes. <
> **Lake Purdy** (Photo: 280 Living, Chris Mason) ### Floodplains Floodplains occur in several areas throughout the city and are associated with Birmingham’s major streams—Village, Valley, Shades and Five Mile creeks—and the Cahaba River. Localized flooding in other low lying areas also occurs. Urban development along Birmingham area streams resulted in increased flood elevations during heavy rainfalls. As previously described, the City, with state and federal support, has acquired a significant number of properties impacted by past flooding, particularly along Village Creek. And, following the County-EPA consent decree, the Freshwater Land Trust has also acquired property and conservation easements within area floodplains. Floods are of relatively short duration, usually less than ten hours. Maximum flood stage is typically reached within two to four hours of an intense rainfall event. Past events have seen flood waters rise at three feet per hour with significant velocities experienced in some parts of the city. The most destructive flooding has occurred along Village Creek, which led to the mitigation and buyout programs along that corridor. Area floodplains have historically flooded but due to the intensive flood events that occurred between 1995 and 2003, the City increased efforts to mitigate flood damage and improve stormwater-management programs. There are three flooding segments typically regulated to protect against flood damage: The floodway, the flood fringe, and the floodplain. The **floodplain** is the area deemed to have a 1% chance of flooding every year (the “100-year” flood). This creates a 26% chance of flooding during a typical 30-year home mortgage. The **floodway** is the area that must be kept clear immediately adjacent to the stream because it functions as the natural conduit for flood <
> **Flooding on Tallapoosa Street during Tropical Storm Lee in September 2011** (Photo: Birmingham News, Hal Yeager) waters. The **flood fringe** is an area between the floodway and the floodplain boundary, where development is allowed as long as it meets certain criteria. The floodplain includes both the floodway and the flood fringe. The City joined the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) in 1981 and the Community Rating System, a voluntary program to establish floodplain management programs to exceed NFIP requirements, in 1993. Development within Birmingham’s 100-year floodplains is controlled through a Flood Plain Ordinance and is reviewed and permitted by floodplain management staff housed within the Planning, Engineering and Permits (PEP) Department. The ordinance requires residential buildings be located above the 100-year base flood elevation and non-residential buildings must be elevated or flood-proofed. Through its floodplain management efforts, the city is rated Class 6, which provides a 20% reduction in flood insurance premiums for property owners. ### Stormwater Management and Water Quality As described above, the city has historically experienced challenges to maintaining water quality in area waterways. However, in the past 20 years, the City intensified its efforts to better manage stormwater and water quality. The City developed its first Phase 1 NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) MS4 Program application in 1992 and then joined a multi-jurisdictional stormwater program. The City of Birmingham withdrew from the most recent version of the multi-jurisdictional program in 2008 to improve program accountability and organizational coordination, and to lower program costs. Following its withdrawal, the City contracted with a private firm to assist city staff in its stormwater-management program. The Birmingham stormwater-management program involves preparation and maintenance of a comprehensive stormwater management plan, compliance activities, stormwater monitoring and related functions. Currently, the City manages stormwater and water quality through several program strategies: * preventive measures * property protection * emergency services * structural projects * natural resource protection * public education programs Because Birmingham’s waterways flow through multiple jurisdictions, the City cannot fully protect its water resources. In addition to the stormwater management activities the City performs, it must work in partnership with other local governments to meet its water quality objectives. #### DEVELOPMENT CONDITIONS IN BIRMINGHAM’S 100-YEAR FLOODPLAIN *There are approximately 5,700 parcels, altogether about 5,000 acres, located within the city’s 100-year floodplains.* * *Today, about 2,100 acres of that land is owned by the City, county, state and federal governments; the Freshwater Land Trust; Airport Authority; and utility companies.* * *An estimated 4,800 parcels—just over 2,900 acres—are privately owned.* * *There are over 3,900 residentially-zoned, privately-owned properties in the city’s 100-year floodplains. Over 800 of those properties are vacant and undeveloped.* * *230 properties, totaling 186 acres, are zoned for business or institutional uses and over 60% of those properties are developed.* * *More than half of the privately owned land in the 100-year floodplain—about 1,500 acres—is zoned for industrial or manufacturing use.* SOURCE: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM, GIS DATA. ### AIR QUALITY Similar to its historical water quality issues, Birmingham is not entirely in control of its air quality. Air quality in the city is affected by point and nonpoint sources both inside and outside the City’s jurisdiction. A major focus to improve air quality in the region has been and continues to be to decrease vehicle emissions through congestion-mitigation activities, including consideration of high-occupancy vehicle lanes on major arteries and regional transit system improvements. Chapter 12, pp. 12.34–12.42, contains a discussion of transit and active transportation opportunities. In addition to vehicle emissions and industrial activities, buildings contribute to air quality issues. Burning of fossil fuels, such as coal, oil and gas, and the use of various building materials and cleaning products affect both CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS <
> **CommuteSmart is a ridematching, carpool and vanpool service operated through the Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) to reduce vehicle emissions.** indoor and outdoor air quality. The production of energy necessary to operate buildings (lighting, heating, cooling, etc.) is a significant contributor to air quality problems but can be managed through better building systems designs to increase energy efficiency. Likewise, aircraft engines produce emissions that affect air quality. Therefore air quality around airports may be impacted by aircraft engines. Aircraft engine emissions produce nitrogen oxides (NOx), carbon monoxide (CO), oxides of sulfur (SOx), unburned or partially combusted hydrocarbons (also known as volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulates, and other trace compounds. EPA is adopting emission standards for aircraft gas turbine engines that should improve air quality. The final rule contains standards and related provisions that were previously adopted by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). Specifically, EPA is adopting two new tiers of more stringent emission standards for oxides of nitrogen (NOx). Also, FAA is phasing out leaded gas by 2018 which will help improve air quality and protect airport neighbors from airborne lead. Pollutants in the air also can contribute to poor water quality, adding to the importance of addressing the city’s air quality. The source of contamination to Valley and Opossum Creeks in Birmingham, both on ADEM’s list of 303(d) impaired streams, were classified as being due to air quality. ## HABITATS AND BIODIVERSITY Birmingham is located within the Ridge and Valley ecoregion and is a geographic transition point that supports significant, unique biodiversity, notably on the Cahaba River and Turkey Creek. The Ridge and Valley ecoregion, also referred to as “the foothills of the Appalachians,” is characterized by rugged terrain with sandstone ridges and limestone valleys. Trees typical to the region include white, northern red, black, and chestnut oak, and loblolly, shortleaf, and Virginia pine. The region supports several amphibian and reptiles “of Coastal Plain affinity that are not known to occur elsewhere above the Fall Line” according to Alabama’s Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy (CWCS). Significant wildlife in the region includes the Southern Hognose Snake, Coldwater Darter, Goldline Darter, and Coosa Creekshell.[^p120-2] The Cahaba Lily is found only in Alabama, Georgia, and South Carolina. Alabama’s CWCS was prepared by the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources under a federally-funded State Wildlife Grant. According to the CWCS, the top concern for wildlife in the Cahaba River in the Birmingham area is water quality degradation from sedimentation and nutrient enrichment. Water quality problems stem from development in the upper watershed and agricultural and silvicultural practices. These same problems, plus the presence of abandoned surface mines threaten species along the Black Warrior River. Along the Black Warrior, the areas in most critical need for conservation action include the Locust Fork drainage area—encompassing most of the City of Birmingham—where there is a high number of imperiled species. The CWCS recommends implementation of the River Basin Management Plans and restoration of habitat and streams by ADEM, US Forest Service (USFS), Alabama Forestry Commission (AFC), Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS), Clean Water Partnership, local governments and other partners.[^p120-3] [^p120-2]: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, “Alabama Comprehensive Wildlife Conservation Strategy”, http://www.outdooralabama.com/research-mgmt/cwcs/outline.cfm, p; 28. [^p120-3]: Ibid, pp. 151-161. 4.9 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS HIGHLAND RIM | | | |---|---| | TV | Tennessee Valley | | LIM | Little Mountain | | MOV | Moulton Valley | CUMBERLAND PLATEAU | | | |---|---| | WB | Warrior Basin | | JCM | Jackson County Mountains | | SM | Sand Mountain | | SQV | Sequatchie Valley | | BM | Blount Mountain | | MV | Murphrees Valley | | WV | Wills Valley | | LOM | Lookout Mountain | ALABAMA VALLEY AND RIDGE | | | |---|---| | COV | Coosa Valley | | COR | Coosa Ridges | | WR | Weisner Ridges | | CAV | Cahaba Valley | | CAR | Cahaba Ridges | | BBC | Birmingham-Big Canoe Valley | | AR | Armuchee Ridges | PIEDMONT UPLAND | | | |---|---| | NP | Northern Piedmont Upland | | SP | Southern Piedmont Upland | EAST GULF COASTAL PLAIN | | | |---|---| | FLH | Fall Line Hills | | BP | Black Prairie | | CH | Chunnenuggee Hills | | SRH | Southern Red Hills | | F | Flatwoods Subdistrict | | BH | Buhrstone Hills Subdistrict | | LH | Lime Hills | | HD | Hatchetigbee Dome Subdistrict | | SPH | Southern Pine Hills | | DP | Dougherty Plain | | CL | Coastal Lowlands | | | | |---|---| | A, Ad | Alluvial-deltaic Plain | | | | |---|---| | — | District boundary | | — | Region boundary | <
> *Physiographic regions of Alabama. Map by Department of Geography, University of Alabama* 4.10 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS ### Threatened and Endangered Species In Jefferson County there are several endangered and threatened species and plants and animals, some of which, for example, the watercress darter, are known to occur within the city. In fact, the watercress darter is believed to occur naturally only in the Jefferson County area. A few of these rare species are believed to occur naturally in Jefferson, Blount and Bibb Counties only. ## URBAN FOREST The “urban forest” includes all the trees in and around urban areas—street trees and trees on public and private property. The large trees characteristic of Birmingham’s early neighborhoods are an important part of their sense of place. However, other parts of the community, particularly in more recently developed neighborhoods and business areas, have little tree cover. Planting and maintaining trees in the urban environment has a variety of benefits: * improving the public realm and community aesthetics * increasing property values * providing shade and reduced energy costs * enhancing walkability * enhanced flood mitigation * preserving wildlife habitat * reduction in greenhouse gas pollution (CO2) * oxygen production According to the 2004 study “State of the Forest in the Cities of Jefferson County” carried out by the Jefferson County SWMA, the urban forests of the Birmingham metro area, including portions of the Cahaba River watershed in Shelby and St. Clair Counties, provided $248 million annually in air pollution and stormwater reduction. The report suggested that the presence of trees, and therefore the ground in which they are planted, allow stormwater to be absorbed into the ground while impervious parking areas, rooftops, and roadways funnel stormwater more rapidly to area streams. The stormwater monetary savings were based on the cost that would be required for detention ponds and other stormwater controls that would otherwise be required in the absence of such forested areas.⁴ <
> *Birmingham’s Five Points South neighborhood has a healthy urban tree canopy (Photo: Robert Francis)* The City has adopted tree ordinance (Ordinance No. 90-88). but the City has drafted an ordinance that would replace or amend existing policies and standards for the preservation of the city’s tree canopy, particularly trees within public rights-of-way and easements. The ordinance establishes a Tree Commission to guide the development and administration of future policies and recommendations; specifies standards for tree planting and maintenance; establishes management authority for tree planting, removal and maintenance under the City’s Urban Forester and those concerned with public safety; and promotes public education on the importance and value of urban forests. The draft amended ordinance is under internal review as of summer 2013. ### Invasive Plants Invasive plant species are typically non-native and proliferate in hospitable environments. In these circumstances they can out-compete native plants and disrupt ecosystems. Among those that are of particular concern in the Birmingham area are privet and kudzu. Other invasive plants in the area include heavenly bamboo, English ivy, Oregon grape/Beale’s barberry, Japanese honeysuckle, mimosa, Amur honeysuckle, Bradford pear, and leatherleaf mahonia. ⁴ Birmingham Environmental News #212, “Tree Study: Trees Worth $248 Million a Year in Birmingham Metro,” http://www.bamanews.com/BEN-1-3-04.html. 4.11 ### TABLE 4.1: ENDANGERED AND THREATENED SPECIES OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, ALABAMA | SPECIES | NAME | STATUS | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | AMPHIBIANS | Black warrior waterdog | Candidate | | CLAMS | Orangenacre mucket | Threatened | | | Southern acornshell | Endangered | | | Upland combshell | Endangered | | | Finelined pocketbook | Threatened | | | Ovate clubshell | Endangered | | | Triangular kidneyshell | Endangered | | | Alabama moccasinshell | Threatened | | | Dark pigtoe | Endangered | | | Southern pigtoe | Endangered | | FISHES | Watercress darter* | Endangered | | | Cahaba shiner | Endangered | | | Goldline darter | Threatened | | | Vermilion darter** | Endangered | | | Rush darter | Endangered | | FLOWERING PLANTS | Georgia rockcress | Candidate | | | Mohr's Barbara button | Threatened | | | Gentian pinkroot | Endangered | | | Tennessee yellow-eyed grass | Endangered | | | Georgia aster | Candidate | | MAMMALS | Indiana bat | Endangered | | | Gray bat | Endangered | | REPTILES | Flattened musk turtle | Threatened | | SNAILS | Cylindrical lioplax*** | Endangered | | | Plicate rocksnail** | Endangered | | | Round rocksnail*** | Threatened | \* Known to or believed to occur only in Jefferson County. \*\* Known to or believed to occur only in Jefferson and Blount counties. \*\*\* Known to or believed to occur only in Jefferson, Blount and Bibb counties. SOURCE: US FISH & WILDLIFE SERVICE ENVIRONMENTAL CONSERVATION ONLINE SYSTEM <
> <
> **Above: Coldwater Darter, Etheostoma ditrema** (Photo: Outdoor Alabama). **The Cahaba Lily (left) is found only in Alabama, Georgia and South Carolina. One of the two largest remaining stands of the plant is in the Cahaba River National Wildlife Refuge in West Blocton.** ### CONSERVATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS Numerous nonprofit organizations and initiatives are working to improve conservation of sensitive environmental areas and restore environmental health both locally and throughout the region. **Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition** is an affiliation of businesses, governmental and utilities representatives whose mission is to advance the use of alternative fuels in Alabama, particularly in the Birmingham metropolitan area, in order to improve air quality. **Alabama Environmental Council (AEC)** is a statewide nonprofit organization located in Birmingham that focuses on environmental stewardship through community education and advocacy. The AEC also operates a recycling center in Downtown Birmingham, which accepts recyclable materials not served by the City recycling program. **Alabama Partners for Clean Air (APCA)** is an affiliation of public, private and nonprofit organizations promoting voluntary programs to improve air quality in the Birmingham metropolitan area to improve public health, achieve and maintain compliance with national clean air standards, and to support economic growth consistent with air quality goals. **Black Warrior Riverkeeper** is a citizen-based nonprofit organization that focuses on the improvement and protection of water quality, habitat, recreation and public health associated with the Black Warrior River and its watershed. The Riverkeeper monitors the river, reports contamination problems, and provides public education programs on water quality. **Cahaba River Society (CRS)** is also a citizen-based nonprofit organization that focuses on protection of water quality of the Cahaba River. CRS works with developers, local governments and ADEM to encourage development policies, low impact and best management practices, and other public and private actions to safeguard the Cahaba River as a drinking water supply for the region and as a uniquely important plant and animal habitat. **Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development (RC&D) Council**, named after the three rivers—the Cahaba, Warrior and Coosa Rivers—that flow through the five counties it serves, is part of a nationwide program under the US Department of Agriculture. The RC&D works with local governments and community groups to protect and take advantage of their natural resources, directing federal, state and local resources to accomplish locally determined resource goals. **Conservation Alabama** is a non-partisan, statewide environmental lobby centered in Birmingham. The organization works with local governments and state officials to develop policies and programs that protect the environment in ways that benefit the state economy and the quality of life of its citizens. Conservation Alabama, as a member of the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership, recently worked with AARP and other agencies to promote Complete Streets legislation in the state as well as similar policies at the local level. **Freshwater Land Trust (FWLT)** is a private, nonprofit land trust originally created as the Black Warrior Cahaba River Land Trust under the consent decree established between Jefferson County and the EPA. Initially, the land trust was funded wholly by Jefferson County, but once the County had fulfilled its obligation under the consent decree, the Freshwater Land Trust sought funding through public and private sources. FWLT is part of the JCHD Health Action Partnership and with funding from a Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant obtained from the Centers for Disease Control, facilitated the development of the countywide Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System <
> **Coal mining along the Black Warrior River in Walker County** (Photo: Black Warrior Riverkeeper) <
> **View of the city from atop Ruffner Mountain** *(Photo: The Trust for Public Land)* Plan. The FWLT continues land and conservation easement acquisitions to protect water quality while also pursuing strategies to implement the greenway plan. FWLT, since its inception, has acquired approximately 4,500 acres of land in the City of Birmingham and throughout Jefferson County. **Ruffner Mountain Nature Center**, founded in 1977, is a public nonprofit nature preserve in the midst of Birmingham’s otherwise urban environment. Today it encompasses over 1,000 acres of undeveloped land, including formerly mined sites, along a Red Mountain ridge ten minutes east of downtown. Ruffner is not only a nature preserve, but a recreational amenity of tremendous size, recently joined by Red Mountain Park in southwest Birmingham. **The Southern Environmental Center (SEC)** is an environmental education facility on the campus of Birmingham Southern College. The SEC, in addition to its on-campus activities, provides community education programs and works with community organizations through its EcoScape program. Other conservation and environmental organizations active in the Birmingham area include: * Alabama Rivers Alliance * Auntie Litter, Inc. * Birmingham Audubon Society * Cahaba Group of the Sierra Club * Cahaba Riverkeeper * Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership * Greater Birmingham Alliance to Stop Pollution (GASP) * Interfaith Environmental Initiative of Alabama * Keep Birmingham Beautiful Commission * The Nature Conservancy of Alabama * Save Our Unique Rivers, Community and Environment (SOURCE) * Southern Environmental Law Center * Village Creek Society ## Conservation and Environmental Programs ### ECOSCAPE PROGRAM This program was created by the Southern Environmental Center at Birmingham Southern College in 1996 combines organic gardening, environmental education, local art, and neighborhood revitalization to convert vacant sites into outdoor learning sites. ### RED ROCK RIDGE AND VALLEY TRAIL SYSTEM This proposed countywide trail system emerged from the Our One Mile planning process and is now being prepared for implementation by the Freshwater Land Trust, affiliated nonprofits and local governments. In 2012 the City and FWLT, with support from the Cities of Homewood, Fairfield and Midfield and other government and nonprofit agencies, received a TIGER grant to construct 33.6 miles of the plan’s on- and off-road bicycle and pedestrian facilities. ### RED MOUNTAIN PARK This 1,100 acre park was established through the creation of the Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission by the state legislature in 2007. While portions of the park had been opened for special events, the park more recently opened to the general public. Located in southwest Birmingham on former mining territory that stretches from Homewood to Bessemer, this major park includes a complex of over 10 miles of trails and is an industrial archaeological site. Park operations, since its inception, have been ambitious and diverse, running the gamut from documenting oral histories of mining camp residents to incorporating zip line routes through the park. The park and related initiatives are discussed further in Chapter 5, pp. 5.5 and 5.20. --- ## GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE Altogether, the city’s parks, urban forests, greenways, floodplains and streams and other natural and open space areas form its “green infrastructure” while its utilities, roads and public facilities are considered the city’s “grey infrastructure.” In the same way that water and sanitary sewer lines provide essential functions to the community, <
> ***Red Mountain Park Plan*** green infrastructure elements support stormwater management, air quality and other services essential to the community. To perform effectively, both types of infrastructure must be planned, maintained and enhanced as interconnected systems, rather than collections of isolated facilities. Green infrastructure systems are living, breathing networks of land, water, plants and animals that give cities character, make them healthier, and improve quality of life—all of which are critical not only to the well-being of residents and ecosystems, but also to the city’s economy and its ability to retain and attract residents and investment. The essential functions served by green infrastructure elements go largely unnoticed by the community-at-large though they may be appreciated for their aesthetic values. For example, residents may enjoy the water features at Avondale or East Lake Parks but few recognize that these quality-of-life amenities also are part of the city’s stormwater management system. Ironically, such well-designed facilities disguise their functional value while a detention basin within a contemporary development portrays itself clearly as serving a necessary function, though often lacking in aesthetic value. According to recent research, including a 2007 EPA study, green infrastructure approaches to stormwater management in development projects are cost-effective and can be less expensive than conventional grey infrastructure systems. Cost savings typically occur in equipment and installation, long-term operations and maintenance, and replacement.[^p126-5] Compared to built systems, green infrastructure increases cost-effectiveness by improving:[^p126-6] * water quality of municipal drinking water supplies that can lower water treatment costs * water quality predictability that can reduce long-term capital costs * longevity of water quality investments * development benefits through increased demand and pricing for “green” properties * flood control and groundwater recharge *** [^p126-5]: American Rivers, Water Environment Federation, *ASLA and ECONorthwest, Banking on Green: A Look at How Green Infrastructure Can Save Municipalities Money and Provide Economic Benefits Community-wide*, (2012), http://www.americanrivers.org/assets/pdfs/reports-and-publications/banking-on-green-report.pdf, p. 9. [^p126-6]: Ibid, p. 10. <
> ***Kickoff meeting for the countywide greenway planning process (Photo: Freshwater Land Trust)*** # C. Recommendations ## goal 1 ### A comprehensive green infrastructure system provides access to and preserves natural areas and environmentally sensitive areas. #### POLICIES * Support creation of an interconnected green infrastructure network that includes natural areas for passive recreation, stormwater management, and wildlife habitat. * Consider incentives for conservation and enhancement of natural and urban forests. #### STRATEGIES ### A. Enhance Birmingham’s urban forest. Birmingham’s urban forest includes trees located within public rights-of-way and on City and private property. As a part of the city’s green infrastructure, trees serve both qualitative and quantitative functions: reducing urban heat islands, supporting stormwater management and air quality, reducing energy use, and improving community appearance and property values. #### ACTIONS **1. Amend Tree Ordinance.** Multiple City departments, land owners and utility companies affect the amount and condition of trees within public rights-of-way and easements and on City property. Internal actions by City departments should be consistent with the city’s overall urban forestry policy and improvements in coordination, where needed, will help assure that all such actions further these goals. Coordinating departmental policies to assure proper treatment of the urban forest can be facilitated by adoption and implementation of the amended tree ordinance that is consistent with the needs for public safety as it relates to utility lines and is under review, as of September 2013. **2. Plant more trees.** The City should set an annual target for planting/replanting of trees on City property and public rights-of-way. Prior to developing an Urban Forestry Plan as recommended below, the City should seek to plant 800-1,000 trees each year, including street trees and trees in parks and on other City properties. Over the last several years, the City has planted between 500-600 trees annually. Due to special funding allocations, tree-planting programs in the early 2000s resulted in the City’s planting almost 2,000 trees in each of the two years those programs were implemented. *** **ECONOMIC BENEFITS OF THE URBAN FOREST** <
> According to the University of Washington’s Center for Urban Horticulture, trees in cities provide multiple economic benefits. In residential areas, a 25-foot tree can reduce cooling costs by 8 to 12%. City centers are subject to the urban heat island effect due to the amount of buildings and paving, but increased tree canopy can reduce temperatures by as much as 10° F, which results in lower temperatures in area buildings.* These temperature reductions also can reduce air pollution, representing additional economic savings. Urban designer and walkability guru Dan Burden estimates that a single street tree generates over $90,000 in direct benefits—fewer vehicular and pedestrian accidents, cleaner air, improved business, less crime, and stormwater management among others—over its lifespan, not including aesthetic or other subjective benefits.** \* Center for Urban Horticulture, University of Washington, “Urban Forest Values, Economic Benefits of Trees in Cities,” http://www.treebenefits.terrasum-mit.com/Documents/Business/EconBens-FS3.pdf. \** Glatting Jackson Kercher and Anglin, “22 Benefits of Urban Street Trees,” http://www.walkable.org/assets/downloads/22%20Benefits%20of%20Urban%20Street%20Trees.pdf. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS **CITYgreen** *CITYgreen is a computer program used by landscape architects, planners, engineers and others to analyze green infrastructure elements, such as the urban tree canopy. An extension to mapping software ArcGIS, which the City already uses, CITYgreen helps cities understand the monetary value that green infrastructure components contribute to stormwater management, air quality, and water quality, all based on local conditions.** * American Society of Landscape Architects “American Forest CITYgreen,” http://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=14874 This incremental tree planting should be focused on strategic locations, such as major corridors and gateways, and Strategic Opportunity Areas defined in this plan, particularly any of these locations where there is a high level of pedestrian activity or where such activity is meant to be increased. Residential neighborhoods should also be included. Once a citywide urban forestry plan has been prepared, tree-planting goals and priority locations should be adapted to the strategies in that plan. Whenever streetscape work is planned, planting of street trees should be considered standard operating procedure unless there is inadequate right-of-way width or other constraints. Such an operating policy should also include green infrastructure improvements. With the planting of trees in public rights-of-way, on public lands and in easements, the City must also commit to their long-term maintenance. ### 3. Prepare an Urban Forestry Plan. Preparation of a citywide urban forestry plan should include the following components to help the City’s Urban Forestry Division best maintain the city tree population and do so in a cost-effective manner: * Tree inventory, analysis and mapping * Tree risk reduction/emergency storm response plan * Recommendations for the tree commission * Public relations and education strategies * Cost/benefit analysis of urban forest management The plan should be based upon a thorough inventory and analysis. It is important to know species as well as numbers of trees because different species have varying life expectancies and maintenance needs. Using GIS-based mapping and software allows city staff to create work reports, schedule tree maintenance and planting tasks, and track costs. In addition to species, number and location, the inventory should also collect information on tree health conditions; proximity to utility lines, traffic signs and signals; sidewalk and other hardscape damage; and insect and disease problems. These inventories are generally conducted by Certified Arborists or similarly trained professionals. The plan should establish percentage-based targets for growth of the city’s tree canopy, including specific goals for the city overall and for residential areas, business districts, parks and natural areas. For example, the plan might set a target to increase the tree canopy in business districts by 10% within five years or to increase the canopy citywide by 5% in a similar timeframe. In setting these targets the plan must account for maintenance of the growing urban tree canopy. More ambitious tree planting goals will require a greater financial commitment by the City over the long term to maintain the health of trees. ### 4. Engage the public around the importance of the urban forest for quality of life. Trees in the urban environment serve multiple purposes of which residents may be unaware. Community workshops should be organized through the Birmingham Tree Commission and potential partners such as the Botanical Gardens or Southern Environmental Center to convey information to residents on the safety benefits of healthy urban forests and green infrastructure services they provide. Other public education programs include press releases, brochures and mailers to residents regarding tree planting and maintenance activities in their area. [^p128-1]: American Society of Landscape Architects “American Forest CITYgreen,” http://www.asla.org/ContentDetail.aspx?id=14874 4.17 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS ## B. Implement priority portions of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System (RRRVTS). Implementation of those segments of the Red Rock Plan within the city limits will help provide physical connections between other elements of Birmingham’s green infrastructure network, such as existing and planned parks. Among the trails and greenway projects identified in the countywide plan, several proposed major greenway routes traverse the city, of which most follow Birmingham’s primary stream corridors—Village Creek, Five Mile Creek, Valley Creek and Shades Creek. Each then provides an opportunity to preserve or restore the associated floodplains to a more natural condition, enhancing the city’s green infrastructure while simultaneously providing attractive, safe routes for pedestrians and bicyclists to move about the city. Interconnected greenways and natural corridors, particularly along streams, also provide important habitats and travel routes for area wildlife. Because the proposed trail system is countywide, restoration of streams and their associated floodplains—as part of the process to develop greenways along them—offers the chance to improve portions of Birmingham-area streams inside and outside the city limits. As has been the case with the Health Action Partnership, a regional partnership of adjoining governments and public and nonprofit organizations will lend a competitive advantage to the overall effort in attracting funding. <
> *Conceptual plan for a segment of the Village Creek trail corridor at Arkadelphia Road by the Auburn University Center for Architecture and Urban Studies* ## ACTIONS **1. Initiate priority projects for green infrastructure improvements.** Developing the trail system both at the countywide level and within the city is a substantial undertaking that will take many years. Priorities may be based on green infrastructure benefits, recreation and mobility or a combination of these factors. The Village and Valley Creek greenways should be considered high priorities due to their value to the city’s green infrastructure, particularly stormwater management, as well as other benefits that trails along the corridors would provide. These streams flow through the most urbanized portions of the city. While earlier buyout programs helped acquire land, some developed properties remain in the floodplains along these streams that are susceptible to damage caused by flooding in the future. Greenway development would further the flood mitigation efforts already begun with past buyout programs. Special consideration should be given to segments of those greenway routes that would allow pedestrians and bicyclists to access employment centers from surrounding neighborhoods. Stream restoration should be included as part of these efforts, particularly along Village and Valley Creeks, where contamination and the stigma associated with it are both a detriment to the quality of life in surrounding neighborhoods. <
> *In 2011 the Saw Mill River in Downtown Yonkers was “daylighted” after being buried for 90 years. The restoration project not only had environmental benefits but also has spurred revitalization in the surrounding downtown area. Source: www.scenichudson.org* 2. *Develop partnerships and funding.* The City should continue and expand on partnerships with the Freshwater Land Trust, the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham and other Health Action Partnership members; corporations that own facilities and land along the routes; and others to develop these projects. The 2012 application for federal funding for greenway segments along Village and Shades Creeks is a great example of the City’s partnering with adjacent municipalities and private and nonprofit organizations, to further city and regional objectives. In addition to federal transportation funding, greenway projects along Village and Valley Creeks may also be eligible for FEMA, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and similar flood-mitigation funding sources. *** ## C. Audit and amend development regulations, as needed, to promote environmental goals. Many of Birmingham’s conservation and environmental goals are or can be addressed through its development regulations. These primarily include the zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, and engineering design guidelines. The subdivision regulations were amended in 2011 but several aspects of these requirements could be improved to better support the development goals of this plan. Over the past two decades, the zoning ordinance, which has significant impact on land development and conservation, has been amended only incrementally and is due for a comprehensive update. ### ACTIONS 1. *Audit development regulations.* A thorough review of the City’s development regulations, particularly the zoning ordinance, should be performed to identify regulatory obstacles to environmentally friendly development. Regulations should allow best practices that advance environmental goals. This audit should include a review of parking, subdivision design and engineering standards. Low-impact design (LID) strategies and similar site design <
> *Chicago’s Green Alley Program retrofits alleys with pervious pavers to allow stormwater infiltration. (Photo: EPA, David Leopold)* methods could be allowed particularly on sites whose development will affect environmental features and natural systems. Environmental impacts of development on steep slopes are addressed currently through engineering standards. Existing requirements can be supplemented to consider incentives for the use of low impact design and green infrastructure systems. Density limitations may also be appropriate on hillsides and ridge tops above a certain threshold, which may vary based on soil conditions. Low-impact and green-infrastructure design techniques that could be encouraged include: * Use of green roofs and rain harvesting * Pervious surfaces for parking and vehicular use areas * Shared parking and reduced minimum parking requirements * “Skinny” streets (narrow streets where wider rights of way are not needed to accommodate traffic) and other alternative street designs to reduce impervious surfaces * Retention, planting and/or replanting of trees * Use of low-maintenance, native species of plants in required landscaping * Use of bioswales (vegetated depressions for drainage) as an alternative to curb and gutter systems * Use of parking lot landscaping for stormwater management * Regional Retention Systems where appropriate * Riparian buffers along streams These design features can be valuable in new developments as well as retrofits in existing neighborhoods and business areas by improving stormwater drainage and reducing flooding. Increased tree and other vegetative cover and decreased impervious cover can reduce urban heat islands and ultimately improve cooling costs. Likewise, rain harvesting and water-efficient landscaping lowers water consumption and associated utility costs. Birmingham’s subdivision regulations require a minimum pavement width for new streets based on their classification. (Because there is no officially adopted master street plan, classification decisions are based on regional planning commission classifications.) However, this does not account for the actual lane assembly and can unnecessarily raise impervious surface cover and travel speeds. For example, collector streets are required to have a minimum pavement width of 37 feet from back-of-curb to back-of-curb. While this is appropriate for three-lane segments, in two-lane segments the resulting lane width would be over 17 feet, about five feet wider than desirable. Basing pavement width on lane assembly and design speed, rather than tying it solely to street classification, would be more precise and allow decreases in impervious surfaces <
> ***Seattle’s Street Edge Alternatives (SEA) program encourages the use of low-impact design techniques, including bioswales, narrower street widths, structural grass, flush curbs and other features. After two years of monitoring, the 2001 pilot street project had reduced the total volume of stormwater leaving the street by 99%. The redesign also reduced pavement costs by 49%.*** *(More information: Seattle Public Utilities, Street Edge Alternatives http://www.seattle.gov/util/About_SPU/Drainage_&_Sewer_System/GreenStormwaterInfrastructure/NaturalDrainageProjects/StreetEdgeAlternatives/)* <
> ### FLOODING CONTROL USING GREEN INFRASTRUCTURE *Episcopal High School in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, was troubled by ongoing flooding on the campus due to an obsolete drainage system. The gym flooded during severe rains and the quad was typically muddy. The cost to replace and upgrade the drainage system was estimated at $500,000. Instead of re-piping the drainage system, the school opted for a more natural, green infrastructure design that included bioswales and a rain garden. The project cost $110,000 for design and construction representing, a considerable savings compared to the conventional design. (Further information: American Society of Landscape Architects, Stormwater Case Studies, http://www.asla.org/uploadedFiles/CMS/Advocacy/Federal_Government_Affairs/Stormwater_Case_Studies/Stormwater%20Case%20459%20Episcopal%20High%20School%20Stormwater%20Rain%20Garden,%20Baton%20Rouge,%20LA.pdf.)* *Photo: Brown+Danos landdesign* where fewer lanes are required. This can lessen costs of street construction and eventually the costs to the City for maintenance and repaving. Keeping lane widths to the minimum necessary also calms travel speeds making streets safer for pedestrians and motorists alike. This issue is pertinent to other street classifications as well. The subdivision regulations require standard curb and gutter in all but estate, agricultural and manufacturing districts. This prohibits the use of bioswales in all but the least dense residential developments. While use of bioswales—a low impact device for managing stormwater—is not appropriate in all land use contexts, the City should not only allow but encourage them, subject to appropriate design standards, in more types of residential development. In residential contexts, allowances should be made for “green streets,” which CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS combine the use of natural drainage elements, such as bioswales and rain gardens, at the roadside with narrow street widths to reduce overall impervious surface cover. Flush curbs and structural grass can be used to accommodate access for emergency vehicles. Similarly, bioswales and other green infrastructure and low-impact development techniques should be more strongly recommended for use in flood prone areas. Changing the City’s parking regulations can also aid in stormwater management. Parking is a major contributor in the amount of impervious surfaces associated with development. While most cities maintain minimum parking requirements for uses, more recently several cities have transitioned to maximum parking standards to mitigate the negative impacts that excessive parking ratios engender. Others have reduced their minimum parking requirements and/or require that overflow parking be provided with pervious paving. Parking requirements can also be improved by allowing reductions for shared parking among multiple uses with parking demands at different times of the day and throughout the week. Different types of pervious paving are available today and should be permitted to meet City parking standards where suitable to the use and context. **2. Consider incentives for the use of conservation developments.** Conservation developments or conservation subdivisions are an advantageous tool in achieving the city’s green infrastructure goals through private development. Conservation development provisions allow developers to forego area and dimensional requirements of the zoning ordinance, such as minimum lot size or lot width, when environmental features are preserved within a permanent open space. These types of development (and redevelopment) are of particular benefit where steep slopes, tree canopy, wetlands, floodplains, historic features or other elements are to be conserved. These protected spaces can serve stormwater or other environmental functions while also providing amenity space for the development—whether in the form of a community garden, playground or a combination of open space uses. These protected spaces can provide connections to adjacent elements in the city’s green infrastructure network. Conservation design is facilitated by zoning regulations through “density-averaging” or density bonuses. The design process begins with identification of the open space(s) to be protected. Preferably, the open space will contain both environmentally sensitive land and otherwise developable land. This assures its usefulness as an amenity and prevents it from being merely remnant land that goes unused and unmaintained. In density-averaging, a maximum amount of development available to the site is determined based on zoning limitations. The developed portion of the site is clustered more densely together than would be allowed under normal zoning requirements in order to create the open-space amenity and achieve the available density. Incentives such as density bonuses can be awarded to further encourage this approach. Density bonuses can be offered in return for higher percentages of usable open space, land dedication, or other desired development features. The design and uses of the open space must be constrained to ensure the space functions properly as a green infrastructure element and provides some usable open space for residents or workers. Provisions are also required to ensure proper ownership and maintenance of the open space. Many times developers can achieve greater efficiency in the way that streets, water, sewer and other utilities are laid out due to clustering, conservation developments can be a “win-win” for the community and the developer. Consider incentives for the use of conservation developments would provide an <
> **Through density averaging, conservation subdivisions preserve green infrastructure elements and create usable open space, without reducing development capacity.** economically and environmentally attractive alternative to the conventional method of mass grading and clear cutting difficult sites. ### 3. Establish zoning provisions to allow for compact housing. There may be opportunities for cluster housing and cottage subdivisions in redevelopment and infill projects in existing communities. Similar to conservation developments, cluster housing and cottage subdivisions represent more compact housing development when usable, common open space is provided for residents, taking the place of individual front- or rear-yard setbacks. Cottage subdivision regulations were adopted early by cities in Washington state but also in Southern cities like Nashville and Auburn. In addition to modifying normal zoning requirements for yard setbacks, these provisions waive street frontage requirements, which are normally mandated for all single-family dwellings. Just as in conservation subdivisions, the common open space around which cluster housing is developed can serve green infrastructure purposes. The compact nature of these developments also contributes to walkability while retaining the scale and character of conventional single-family detached housing. Because land area and costs per dwelling are lower, they can be built affordably. *** **COTTAGE SUBDIVISIONS** *The Cottage Company in the State of Washington has worked with municipalities to incorporate provisions in their zoning regulations to allow for these types of cluster housing.* <
> *Photo: Union Studio Architects, www.unionstudioarch.com* *** <
> *The cottages of Cliff Road are a local, historic example of compact design that would not normally be allowed under City regulations today.* # goal 2 ## Reinvestment in existing communities conserves resources and sensitive environments. ### POLICIES * Consider incentives for reinvestment in existing communities, rather than “greenfields,” for new commercial, residential and institutional development. * Consider incentives for development patterns and site-design methods that help protect water quality, sensitive environmental features or wildlife habitat. ## STRATEGIES ### A. Convert selected brownfields to usable open space. Birmingham contains many “brownfields,” former industrial and commercial sites that are contaminated or believed to be contaminated. But the city’s brownfields can be returned to productive use in a variety of ways. Remediation not only allows the property to be put back into a productive use, but it also can remove a stigma that depresses property values in the surrounding area. Appropriate reuse of brownfields can include new industrial, commercial or residential reuses as well as usable open spaces. In remediating any contamination and transforming these sites to open space use, they can also be (re)integrated into the overall green infrastructure system. For recommendations on the types of income-producing uses appropriate for brownfield redevelopment, refer to Chapters 9 (pp. 9.9, 9.13) and 10 (pp. 10.24–10.25). ### ACTIONS #### 1. Identify brownfield sites for open space use. Depending on their location, context, size and other factors, brownfield sites or portions of them may be adaptively reused as parks or other types of publicly accessible, usable open spaces. A Phase 1 assessment should be conducted to determine the scope of any contamination, cleanup costs and strategies for remediation and reuse. Brownfields can also be allowed to return to a more natural state. These are referred to as “urban wilds” and, even with little or no remediation, they can serve as part of the green infrastructure system. Urban wilds are not open to the public and may not be a desirable end use for most brownfields. But they can serve as an interim option until funding, demand or other factors align to remediate and adaptively reuse a site. #### 2. Acquire and remediate selected sites. Upon determining desirable sites for conversion to open space uses, acquisition may be required. Because of the potential exposure to the landowner for remediation costs and liability, the City may be able to acquire the land more easily and pursue EPA funds for assessment and cleanup activities. Remediation, which can involve excavation of contaminated soil, replacing it with clean soil, and capping of the site, can be costly, despite the possibility of assistance through government programs and grants. Because of these costs, brownfields may lie dormant for some time. Phytoremediation is a slow but lower-cost process—using plants to clean toxic soils, groundwater, surface water and sediment—that can be used during this dormant period. This remedial process has been employed locally, including at Sloss Furnaces, and across the country on sites both large and small. In Chicago, former gas station sites were cleaned through phytoremediation for reuse as pocket parks. Phytoremediation is most effective on sites with moderate amounts of pollution but has been used successfully to address a range of contaminants, including those in landfills, wood-treating facilities, military bases, fuel-storage sites, sewage treatment plants and mining sites. According to the US EPA: > Phytoremediation can occur even if the chemicals are not taken into the plant by the roots. For example, chemicals can stick or sorb to plant roots. Or they can be changed into less harmful chemicals by bugs or microbes that live near plant roots...Plants grown for phytoremediation also can help keep harmful chemicals from moving from a polluted site to other areas. The plants limit the #### PHYTOREMEDIATION In phytoremediation, plants remove a variety of contaminants from brownfield sites, including heavy metals, radionuclides, chlorinated solvents, petroleum hydrocarbons, PCBs, pesticides and others. Plant types must be selected for local conditions and for the types of contaminants to be removed. Plants typically used to remove arsenic, for example are Chinese brake fern, sunflower and highland bent grass. Lead removal uses blue sheep fescue, Indian mustard, wheat and ragweed.[^*] Plants should be harvested, the soil retested and the planting cycle continued until the soil contaminants decline to an appropriate level. Some plants are “hyperaccumulators” and must be disposed of as hazardous waste when harvested. A small bioremediation project was implemented north of the railroad tracks to Morris Avenue between 15th and 16th streets. [^*]: Kaja Kühl, From Brownfields to Greenfields: A Field Guide to Phytoremediation, 2010, http://urbanomnibus.net/. <
> (Photo: Ideonexus.com) <
> *Phytoremediation is not new to Birmingham. Above is a phytoremediation demonstration project at Sloss Furnaces. Recently a bioremediation project was performed along the railroad near Morris Avenue. (Photo: www.choosepeace.info)* amount of chemicals that can be carried away by the wind or by rain that soaks into the soil or flows off the site.[^p135-7] *** # goal 3 ## The City makes every effort to consistently meet clean air standards. ### POLICIES * Support the development of cost-effective multi-modal transportation systems that reduce vehicle emissions. * Encourage use of clean fuels and emissions testing. * Emphasize recruitment of clean industry. * Consider incentives for industries to reduce emissions over time. * Promote the use of cost-effective energy efficient design, materials and equipment in existing and private development. ### STRATEGIES The City must pursue multiple strategies to improve regional air quality, which inherently will require collaboration with federal, state and local governments, the business community and other interested stakeholders. Transportation-related initiatives include: reduced vehicle emissions by managing annual vehicle miles traveled (VMT), encouraging transit and active transportation, and advancing use of clean fuels and emissions testing for personal vehicles. Other important initiatives to improve air quality involve promoting energy efficiency in the built environment and consideration of incentives that encourage reducing emissions related to industries. *** ### A. Implement priority portions of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. *** Increasing pedestrian and bicycle options through development of the countywide trails system will support transit use and reduce dependency on personal vehicles, which will lead to reductions in vehicular emissions that pollute the air. Federal grants are available for these types of projects, for instance through MAP-21, which requires local matching funds. The City received a TIGER grant in 2012 that will help initiate several portions of the trail system. [^p135-7]: United States Environmental Protection Agency, *A Citizen's Guide to Phytoremediation*, 2001. ### ACTION #### 1. Develop a priority list for unfunded segments of the Trail System and seek funding according to the list. Priority ranking should take into account criteria such as connections between neighborhoods and destinations such as parks and commercial districts; stormwater management and flood mitigation opportunities; and enhancement of urban villages and associated strategic opportunity areas discussed in Chapter 7 (p. 7.8). --- ## B. Use clean fuels and encourage voluntary vehicle emissions testing. ### ACTIONS #### 1. Expand use of clean fuels In 2007, the City of Birmingham began the transition to a “green” fleet, installing biodiesel refueling stations to run its diesel vehicles on B20 blend fuels. Since then E-85 ethanol fueled vehicles were introduced. These efforts led to reduced vehicle emissions that promise better air quality in the region. Birmingham and other area cities, in collaboration with Alagasco and Energen, have also been converting parts of their fleets to run on compressed natural gas (CNG), and are supporting the development of CNG fuel stations in the region. By continuing these initiatives, Birmingham and other cities and corporations can help to create the demand necessary to attract private investment in alternative fueling stations, which will ultimately make it easier for consumers to move to alternative fuels and reduce their air-quality impacts. #### 2. Encourage periodic voluntary vehicle emissions testing Personal vehicle use contributes significantly to Birmingham’s air quality conditions, but multiple strategies can be used to reduce the negative impacts of vehicle emissions. As described in Chapter 12, increased use of alternative modes of travel (transit, ridesharing, walking and biking) can reduce the vehicle miles traveled in the region and therefore the overall amount of VOCs, NOx and other pollutants in the air. Secondly, vehicle emissions testing lets car owners know the degree to which their vehicles are contributing to air quality problems. Tests can identify maintenance issues or repairs needed for the vehicle to produce fewer pollutants. Over 30 states currently require or have required periodic vehicle emissions tests, generally in counties or metro areas with air quality concerns. Testing is required either annually or biennially. More recently, states are loosening requirements for or are exempting hybrid vehicles and newer-model cars with increased fuel efficiency. Washington state, for example, recently exempted 2009 and later model vehicles. Average test costs are $10 to $20. Centralized testing programs, where motorists travel to a single facility operated by a public or non-profit agency, are generally more cost-effective, while decentralized programs tend to be more convenient for motorists.[^p136-8] Decentralized programs allow motorists to have their vehicles inspected by private automotive repair businesses. Voluntary emissions testing has been conducted by the Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) and APCA in the past. Resuming these activities could be supplemented by public awareness and education programs. The City can also support the passage of state legislation to require periodic testing for applicable metro areas. This could include a sunset provision tied to air-quality improvements and/or to the percentage of newer, cleaner-burning cars in use. <
> **Vehicle emissions testing helps reduce air pollution caused by personal vehicles. Photo: http://ecologywa.blogspot.com** [^p136-8]: US EPA, Clean Cars—Clean Air: A Consumer Guide to Auto Emission Inspection and Maintenance Programs, http://www.epa.gov/oms/cfa-air.htm. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 4 NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS # goal 4 ## The City makes every effort to consistently meet clean water standards. ### POLICIES * Encourage the Birmingham Water Works Board to protect water-supply sources located outside the city. * Consider incentives for development that protects the city’s water resources. * Consider incentives for the protection of natural drainage in stormwater management systems where feasible. * Consider incentives for the use of conservation and low-impact development techniques. * Support state water quality standards and enforcement. * Monitor drilling uses of water resources to avoid contamination or excessive use and encourage best management practices. ### STRATEGIES There are several approaches to be undertaken to continue to improve Birmingham’s water quality and, in the process, remove those segments of the Cahaba River, the Locust Fork of the Black Warrior River, Village Creek, Valley Creek and Opossum Creek from ADEM’s 303(d) list. Efforts include improved stormwater management and design practices, continued flood mitigation efforts, ongoing water-quality monitoring, stream restoration and green infrastructure retrofits, and changes to development regulations. In addition to these strategies, the City must also continue to work with the BWWB, as well as other stakeholders, to protect Birmingham’s water supply. Because Birmingham’s water supply involves sources outside of the city limits, it is essential for the City to support regional and state efforts to assure protection of area waterways. Due to a constrained state budget, concerns have arisen regarding the ADEM’s ability to sustain water quality monitoring and enforcement operations. Properly funding and providing policy support for this state function is essential to protecting and improving water quality within and outside the city limits. A. Maintain updated citywide flood-mitigation and stormwater plans. Following multiple storms and severe flooding in the early 2000s, the City prepared and adopted a citywide flood-mitigation and stormwater-management plan in 2004. The City also participated in multi-jurisdictional natural-hazard and flood-hazard mitigation planning efforts organized by Jefferson County in this same period. These efforts resulted in multiple mitigation programs, including buyout initiatives along Village Creek, Valley Creek, Five Mile Creek, Upper Shades Creek and other floodplain corridors. ### ACTIONS 1. **Update the 2004 Flood Mitigation/Stormwater Management Plan.** Given the substantial amount of flood mitigation activities that occurred in the early 2000s, this effort should reveal a much improved picture of flood hazards in the city. A renewed flood conditions assessment will allow greater focus on remaining priorities. This plan update should be coordinated with ongoing stormwater planning and water quality monitoring, analysis and reporting conducted by the City, since the two issues are so closely related. The City should also continue to update its flood-hazard mapping. 2. **Evaluate recommendations and update flood regulations.** The 2004 plan included a recommendation to adopt the proposed Jefferson County floodplain regulations or to strengthen existing regulations on floodplain development within the City zoning ordinance. Notably, the recommendations in this plan echo several of the strategies described in the 2004 plan: continued land acquisition along floodplains and regulatory improvements such as encouraging low-impact development practices and conservation and cluster developments. The following recommended changes to the floodplain regulations in the Zoning Ordinance were also included in the 2004 plan: * Increase the flood-protection elevation for new construction from 1’-0” to 1’-6” or 2’-0” above the base flood elevation. ***FLOODPLAIN TERMINOLOGY*** *Flood fringe—That portion of the flood plain outside the regulatory floodway.* *Floodway—That portion of the floodplain which is effective in carrying flow, within which this carrying capacity must be preserved and where the flood hazard is generally highest, i.e., where water depths and velocities are the greatest. It is that area which provides for the discharge of the base flood so the cumulative increase in water surface elevation is no more than one foot.* *Floodplains—Lowland and relatively flat areas adjoining inland and coastal waters, including flood-prone areas of offshore islands, including at a minimum, that area subject to a one percent or greater chance of flooding in any given year. The base floodplain is used to designate the 100-year floodplain (one percent chance floodplain). The critical floodplain is defined as the 500-year floodplain (0.2 percent chance floodplain).* <
> Birmingham’s largest floodplain complex lies along Village Creek. * Prohibit the placement of fill in the floodway and limit its development to conservation, open space, passive recreation, flood-control and utility uses. * Require no net loss of flood-storage capacity for developments in the Special Flood Hazard Area. * Establish maximum percentages of impervious cover in Special Flood Hazard Areas. ### B. Continue water-quality monitoring and begin enforcement based on new city-wide Stormwater Ordinance. As part of the City’s state water-quality permit requirements under the federal Clean Water Act, the City prepares an annual report on water quality issues and an annual stormwater management plan. These activities should continue and be coordinated with a regularly updated flood mitigation plan. Hydraulic fracturing is a drilling technique used to release petroleum, natural gas and other substances for energy production. Advancements in the fracturing process—“fracking,” as it has become known popularly—over the last two decades have made it economically effective but also have made its possible environmental impacts less well understood. Critics maintain that the chemicals used in fracturing fluid can contaminate ground water and threaten drinking water supplies. Birmingham lies along a shale gas formation eyed for fracking that stretches across north central Alabama roughly along the I-59 corridor. A concentration of natural gas wells are believed to occur in the vicinity of the Black Warrior River, one of Birmingham’s drinking water supplies. However, Coalbed Methane producers in Jefferson and Tuscaloosa Counties have had limited success producing promising well in the area, and current wells in the region are being sealed due to declining production and the outlook for future wells is limited. Even though, the City and BWWB should monitor the practice in the region (as well as in other locations) and, if necessary, support state efforts to protect drinking water sources from chemical. ### ACTIONS #### 1. Work to remove local streams from the 303(d) list of impaired waters. Section 303(d) of the federal Clean Water Act requires that each state identify those waters that do not currently support designated uses and to develop a TMDL (total maximum daily load) plan for impaired streams. Village Creek and Valley Creek are the most important city streams on the list. Different segments of Village Creek are listed for Draft TDML plans in 2014 and 2019, and Valley Creek is listed for 2019. Urban runoff and storm sewers are among the sources of pollutants and they can be mitigated by implementation of stormwater-management programs that reduce runoff and stormwater entering the streams. **2. Work to reduce pollutant loading on City Water resources.** In conformance with the City’s NPDES permit, focus water quality monitoring on the elimination of pollutants and deduction of pollutant loadings on City water resources. *** **C. Use green infrastructure best practices, as feasible, in City capital improvement projects, as well as consider incentives for private development.** To demonstrate the effectiveness of green infrastructure design techniques and to integrate them into the local engineering and design practices, the City should incorporate best practices in sidewalk and street improvements and create a pilot program to convert selected “gray” stormwater facilities to green systems. The pilot program can initially focus on public infrastructure, such as concrete swales and drainage facilities along streets and in City parking lots. The program can also include retrofitting drainage facilities on private property through partnerships and grants. Because green infrastructure can reduce pollutants entering local streams, the BWWB would be a logical partner for carrying out a pilot program. The program should execute multiple demonstration projects each year that may range in size and complexity from bioretention in city parks to green roof conversions on City buildings. The floodplain manager with assistance of planning, engineering and public works personnel should identify retrofit projects in locations where there are known flooding or drainage problems. The Cawaco Resource Conservation and Development Council provides funds annually through its challenge grant program to municipalities and nonprofit organizations for community improvement projects that incorporate LID and green infrastructure programs. **ACTIONS** **1. Create a green infrastructure program as part of the City’s street and sidewalk improvement plans.** The infrastructure bond approved by voters in 2012 will include street improvement plans. Street and sidewalk improvements should be designed to include best practices in stormwater management, such as bumpouts with rain gardens and bioswales, where appropriate, to promote natural drainage. (See Chapter 13 for more information.) **2. Incorporate green infrastructure best practices in implementation of the 2012 TIGER grant and implementation of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System.** **3. Create incentives to promote green infrastructure (low-impact) development for Private Development.** Economic Development Department and Stormwater Management Division work in partnership with the development community to establish offset credits by ordinance to promote economic development that helps to improve water quality in Birmingham. # D. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Audit and amend zoning and subdivision regulations to enable conservation developments, incentivize reinvestment in existing communities and encourage low-impact design (LID) techniques in site plans and subdivision designs. | PEP; Planning Commission, City Council. | | Identify locations for and implement a pilot phytoremediation program to clean and adaptively reuse contaminated sites for interim and/or permanent open space uses. | PEP; Public Works (Horticulture and Urban Forestry Division); ADEM; Cawaco RC&D. | | Identify sites for green-infrastructure demonstration projects and a pilot green-infrastructure retrofit program, including sites with repetitive, localized flooding. | PEP (Floodplain Division); Public Works, BWWB; Cawaco RC&D. | # Chapter 5 Open Space, Parks and Recreation <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “An accessible city connected by green spaces.” “Well appointed parks with activities for all ages.” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | Every resident is within a ten-minute walk of a park, greenway or other publicly accessible, usable open space. | • Assure, to the extent possible, that all communities are conveniently served by city parks and recreational facilities.
• Continue support for non-city parks that provide recreational amenities and access to nature. | | City parks and recreation facilities are safe, well-maintained and widely used. | • Provide recreational facilities and programs suited to the city’s changing population.
• Foster partnerships to improve and maintain park facilities.
• Provide adequate, regular funding to maintain a high quality city parks and recreation system. | | The city’s major natural amenities are enjoyed by residents and visitors. | • Promote access and enjoyment of the city’s major water features and open spaces. | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION # findings Most residents are within a five to ten minute walk or bicycle ride to a public park. City parks are maintained by the Public Works Department rather than the Parks and Recreation Department. Private organizations have partnered with the City to provide and maintain high-quality parks facilities. Three major parks—Railroad Park downtown (opened in 2010 and developed in partnership with the Railroad Park Foundation), Red Mountain Park, and Ruffner Mountain Nature Center—provide Birmingham with a wealth of park opportunities. Recreation centers are unevenly distributed throughout the city relative to neighborhoods and population densities. However, some unserved areas have access to privately operated recreation facilities. City investments in the park and recreation system include major improvements to three city parks and the development of a minor-league baseball stadium downtown. Quality of life, which includes access to parks, nature and recreational amenities, is an increasingly important consideration in private sector economic investment decisions. # challenges City-owned parks are unevenly maintained. City-owned parks are not consistently programmed or equipped to maximize their use by neighborhood residents. Declining neighborhood populations affect use and programming in some city parks and recreation areas. Access to Red Mountain Park, Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve and some city parks is limited due to their locations at the edges of the city, inadequate pedestrian access, industrial and transportation barriers, surrounding development and other factors. The Parks and Recreation Department has limited funding for park improvements, maintenance and new park development. Park-system management is divided between the Parks Board and the city administration. The board sets policy and directs staff activities, but the city controls funding for operations and capital expenditures. 5.3 # A. What the Community Said ### VISIONING FORUM The city’s parks, landscape and topography—its green infrastructure—was ranked by far as Birmingham’s greatest asset. The condition of parks and the need for more of them was also mentioned as a citywide challenge. Table discussions at the forum identified bike/walking paths and parks as a priority for the community. ### GREEN SYSTEMS AND SUSTAINABILITY WORKSHOP During the Communities of Interest workshop on Green Systems and Sustainability, attendees identified issues that brought them to the meeting and table discussions provided a set of priorities. Several of those dealt with city parks and open space: #### Issues * Variety of parks and recreation facilities * Recreational access to the Cahaba River * Using the city’s green amenities to attract investment #### Table Priorities * Improve and link parks * Improve connectivity * Increase public awareness on green systems and sustainability * Build greenways with destinations # B. Parks and Open Space System Birmingham has a significant inventory of parks and open spaces, all of which are an important component of the city’s green infrastructure network. In addition to traditionally developed civic and neighborhood parks, the parks and open space system has expanded over time to include a wide variety of open space amenities. These include former mining land allowed to return to nature as preserves and hiking areas, historically flooded properties reclaimed for greenways, and special parks such as the Botanical Gardens, Vulcan Park and Railroad Park. A comprehensive park system for the city was formulated in the 1925 Olmsted Parks Plan. Unfortunately, much of the plan would go unrealized for decades. But, with the more recent conversion of formerly developed floodplains to parks and greenways, elements of the Olmsted Plan are finally coming to fruition. ### THE OLMSTED PLAN In 1925 the Birmingham Parks and Recreation Authority published the Olmsted Brothers’ *A Park System for Birmingham*. The countywide plan recommended numerous park expansion and park construction projects, acquisition of strategic lands to protect the domestic water supply, and preservation of floodplains, natural drainage systems and ridge tops. Following the development of the plan, several individual parks were created, though the more ambitious goals of the plan went largely unachieved. But after damaging flood events in the late 1990s and early 2000s, the sustainability of development within the floodplains of Village Creek and other streams ultimately came into question, proving the advice of the Olmsted Plan sound. Birmingham and nearby cities began to acquire flood-damaged lands to create new parks, open spaces and recreational trails. In recent years there has been increased recognition of the visionary plan by multiple government and non-government entities. Today, organizations such as the Freshwater Land Trust are working on new initiatives inspired by the principles of the Olmsted Brothers’ plan. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION <
> **The Olmsted Brothers’ “A Parks System for Birmingham,” 1925** # COAL MINES TO ZIP LINES Other innovative parks have resulted from the reclamation and reuse of former mining lands for open space. Vulcan Park opened on Red Mountain atop former mines. The park is home to the Vulcan statue and a mining history museum. Adjacent to the park is the mile-long Vulcan Trail developed along a former rail line that served the mining operations. In 1977 Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve began on a site originally less than 30 acres along the ridgeline of Red Mountain east of Downtown Birmingham. Today the preserve extends over 1,000 acres and includes an environmental education center and hiking trails that traverse mining areas that have been allowed to return to a natural condition. More recently, Red Mountain Park was created when USS Realty sold the park property to the Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission. The subsidiary of US Steel sold the site “at a greatly reduced price, and also made a $1 million contribution” to assist in the creation of the park.[^p145-1] Like Vulcan Park and Ruffner Mountain, Red Mountain Park spreads across a 1,100-acre former mining site. The park opened to the public in 2012 and features mining interpretive elements and recreational activities like hiking and zip line tours. **Red Mountain Park began zip line tours in April 2012** (Photo: Red Mountain Park) [^p145-1]: Red Mountain Park, “Quick Facts,” http://www.redmountainpark.org/park-overview/quick-facts. 5.5 ## CITY OF BIRMINGHAM PARKS SYSTEM The city parks system is made up of district, neighborhood, and vest pocket parks; recreational facilities and sports complexes; and unique parks and open spaces that serve the region. The City of Birmingham Parks Board, whose members are appointed by the Birmingham City Council, is responsible for operating the city parks system. The Parks Board provides direction to the Parks and Recreation Department and establishes park policies. The City Council has a Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs Committee that makes recommendations to the full Council on park-related matters. The Parks Board holds 124 individual properties, which comprise more than 2,000 acres throughout the city. The department oversees some 100 parks and recreation facilities throughout the city. Maintenance is provided by the Public Works Department. Supplementing these parks, and also representing elements within the city’s green infrastructure system, are parks and recreational facilities maintained by the Board of Education and Housing Authority. ### District, Neighborhood and Pocket Parks and Greenways For management purposes, the city classifies its municipal parks based on their size and types of facilities offered. Recently, the city has made special allocations for major improvements to three neighborhood and district parks—Avondale, Cooper Green and Crestwood parks. <
> Renovated Avondale Park re-opened in October 2011. Greenwood Park will soon be the newest addition to the city’s slate of district, neighborhood and pocket parks. Located on 34 acres of floodplain acquired with federal FEMA grants in east Birmingham, the park will include engineered wetlands, an educational walking trail, a playground and other facilities. The park is part of the larger Village Creek Greenway initiative and is being supported largely through the assistance of McWane Inc. as part of a court settlement with the US EPA regarding pollution of Village Creek by way of nearby Avondale Creek. #### DISTRICT PARKS District or community parks are relatively large, ranging in size from 15 to over 100 acres, and serve multiple neighborhoods. They typically include sports facilities and may also include community centers, pools and passive recreation areas. District parks are often located along major streets and near junior or senior high schools. These include: * Avondale Park * Bradford Park * Cooper Green Park * East Lake Park * Ensley Park * Fountain Heights Park * George Ward Park * M.E. Wiggins Park * North Birmingham Park * Roosevelt City Park <
> WC Patton Park is a 30-acre park serving the East Birmingham and Kingston neighborhoods, but the immediate neighborhood is industrial. (Photo: Andre Natta) CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION Responding to emerging national trends and local interest, the City opened its first dog park in 2009, Green Springs Dog Park. The 2.7-acre, fenced, off-leash area for dogs is located at George Ward Park in south-central Birmingham. Dog parks have typically developed in denser cities, where many dog owners live in condominiums, apartments or other residential areas without private yards, but the trend has grown, and less-dense communities have also shown interest in these facilities. Soon after Green Springs Dog Park opened in Birmingham, a similar park opened in Hoover. ### NEIGHBORHOOD AND POCKET PARKS Neighborhood parks make up the bulk of the municipal parks system. They vary in size from five to fifteen acres. They generally serve the recreational needs of individual neighborhoods and include parks that serve business districts. Neighborhood parks typically include playgrounds, passive recreation areas, multi-use fields and tennis or basketball courts and are often located near elementary schools. Some neighborhood parks include community centers and swimming pools. Pocket parks are the smallest parks in the system, usually less than two acres in size. These parks supplement rather than substitute for neighborhood parks. They generally consist of small passive recreational spaces, such as picnic and seating areas, and playgrounds. Many pocket parks resulted from the conversion of vacant lots in opportune locations, several of which are located on land leased to the city by private property owners. ### GREENWAYS Birmingham’s greenways are linear open spaces that sometimes offer pedestrian and bicycle facilities and connect parks, schools, nature preserves, historic sites and other destinations. Greenways are connective tissue within the green infrastructure system and range from naturalistic trails (Vulcan Trail Park) to landscaped urban boulevards such as 20th Street (Birmingham Green), Norwood Boulevard, Highland Avenue, and Bush Boulevard. Others, such as Shades Creek Park and Altamont Park are not improved for specific recreational uses but nonetheless play roles as part of the city’s green infrastructure system, supporting stormwater management and providing natural open space in otherwise urban environments. <
> *Highland Avenue’s landscaped boulevard links three neighborhood parks and the Highland Golf Course.* ### Special and Regional Parks In addition to the city’s more traditional parks and recreation facilities, the parks system includes several “special parks” and regional parks, many of which were created through partnerships with community organizations, private foundations and other groups. ### SPECIAL PARKS Special parks typically serve a singular, unique function, including athletic facilities, golf course, and historic or cultural sites. In several cases, these sites are owned by the City but are managed by an independent organization. These include: * Arlington House * Birmingham CrossPlex * Don Hawkins Park * Highland Golf Course * Huffman Park * Inglenook Park * Kelly Ingram Park * Lawson Field * Linn Park * Lowery Park <
> *The popularity of the new Railroad Park has stirred the community’s hopes for the future of the city. (Photo: Mark, Almond, Birmingham News)* 5.7 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION * Lynn Park * McLendon Park/Legion Field * Railroad Park * Rickwood Field * Vulcan Park * Wahoma Park The Birmingham Crossplex at Fair Park and Railroad Park are new additions to the city’s roster of special parks. Vulcan and Railroad Parks are examples of how desired amenities have been achieved through partnerships between the city and private organizations. Both are operated by nonprofit organizations with financial support from the City and the community. Following the success of Railroad Park in Midtown, the city, with assistance of business leaders, has now opened a minor-league baseball stadium nearby. The Birmingham Barons, who once played at historic Rickwood Field, left the city in 1987 to play in Hoover. The Barons have returned to Birmingham to play in the new stadium. The popularity of Railroad Park and the redevelopment interest it has spurred in the area, now being called the Parkside district, emphasizes the positive effects that parks and recreational facilities can have on community reinvestment. Currently, low-density light industrial, warehousing, automotive and similar businesses are the predominant activities in the Parkside district. But, the opening of the park spurred development interest in the area, which is now being viewed as a reinvestment area for denser, urban development, including residential and mixed-use projects capitalizing on proximity to the park and UAB, which also is interested in extending the campus closer to the park. The opening of the baseball stadium, Regions Field, will only strengthen the popularity of the park and the development market in the surrounding area. <
> *Rendering of Regions Field, Birmingham’s downtown baseball stadium, under construction in 2012. (Image: HKS Inc.)* <
> *Birmingham Botanical Gardens* ### REGIONAL PARKS Birmingham is also home to several significant parks that serve as special destinations to the broader region. These include the Birmingham Zoo (Lane Park), the Botanical Gardens, Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, and Red Mountain Park. With the exception of the Botanical Gardens, each is operated independently from the City Parks and Recreation Board. Whereas Zoo management was privatized in 1999—though still receiving City support and located in City-owned Lane Park—the Botanical Gardens, also in Lane Park, remain a public/private partnership between the Birmingham Botanical Society and the City. Over half of the 1,000 acres of Ruffner Mountain Nature Center are owned by the City of Birmingham. The newest addition, Red Mountain Park, at over 1,100 acres, is owned and operated by the state-created Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission. ### Recreation Centers The Parks and Recreation Department currently operates eighteen recreation centers and two senior centers. New recreation centers are being established on the campus of Jefferson State Community College in northeast Birmingham and in the Oxmoor Valley in southwest Birmingham. The centers are open year round and offer programs for all ages. In addition to the recreation centers provided by the City of Birmingham, there are privately operated recreation facilities in various areas of the city including those operated by the YMCA and AG Gaston Boys and Girls CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION ### How Do Birmingham Parks Compare Nationally? In 2011, the Trust for Public Land published “City Park Facts,” a survey of the state of parks and open space among America’s 85 most populous cities. According to the report 3.7% of Birmingham’s land area is parkland; the median amount of parkland for cities in the study’s “low density” category was 5.6%. Birmingham offers 15.2 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents, well above more densely populated cities but well below the median amount (20.3 acres) of parkland per 1,000 residents of similarly low-density cities. The survey included parkland owned by the City Parks and Recreation Board, Red Mountain Park Commission and Ruffner Mountain Nature Coalition—about 3,500 acres. The survey indicated that Birmingham fares well compared to other cities in terms of the number of playgrounds per 10,000 residents. According to the report, Birmingham provides 3.5 playgrounds per 10,000 residents while the median of all cities surveyed was 2.1. While Birmingham can tout the size of Red Mountain Park and Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, each over 1,000 acres, the nation’s largest park located within a municipality is Anchorage’s Chugach State Park at 490,000 acres. However, Birmingham was ranked third for the number of public swimming pools per 100,000 residents. The report also indicated that, in 2009, the highest funded city parks and recreation programs invested over $200 per resident in capital and operational costs for parks—excluding zoos, stadiums, and similar special facilities—while the least-funded invested under $40 per resident. The median funding among the cities surveyed was $84 annually per capita. For Birmingham, the median operational spending in 2008 was $56 per capita. (Note: Park total funding information for Birmingham was not available at the time of the report.) More information: The Trust for Public Land, Center for City Park Excellence, “City Park Facts 2011.” See www.tpl.org/research/parks/ccpe.html; and http://parkscore.tpl.org. <
> *The Olympic competition pool at the Birmingham Crossplex (Photo: Bernard Troncale, Birmingham News)* Club. The YMCA maintains eleven recreational facilities in the metropolitan area, three of which are located in Birmingham: Shades Valley facility in Redmont Park, Northeast facility in Roebuck, and the Downtown facility. The YMCA also operates a youth center downtown. There are two AG Gaston Boy and Girls Club locations, one in the West End area and another in the North Avondale area. ### Level of Service While the city parks system meets National Recreation and Park Association (NRPA) standards of service in most respects for parks and recreational facilities, research has repeatedly shown that the most important variable in how much and often people use a green space is distance—especially walking time—from home.[^p149-2] They are willing to travel to use large, unique open space of regional importance, but for frequent use, parks need to be close by. NRPA standards, focused on number of acres or facilities per 1,000 residents, were developed during the period of rapid suburbanization following World War II to assure that new subdivisions would have adequate amounts of parks and recreation facilities. In recent years, urban parks advocates have recognized that the standards are not as appropriate in urban communities, particularly ones such as Birmingham that have demonstrated a strong desire for more walkable, bikeable environments. In essence, acreage is less important than accessibility. Instead, urban park systems increasingly emphasize a goal of a 10-minute walk to a park. [^p149-2]: Design Center for American Landscape, “People and Urban Green Areas: Perception and Use,” Issue 4, 2003, Forsyth. ## PARKS ORGANIZATIONS AND PROGRAMS City, regional and state agencies and private organizations are involved in the expansion and improvement of Birmingham’s parks and open space system. In addition to those already mentioned, several city parks are supported by volunteer “Friends” groups. Also, the Birmingham Environmental Center’s Ecoscapes program and various community garden initiatives add to the number and variety of open spaces throughout the city, putting vacant plots back to productive uses that benefit the surrounding neighborhoods in some way. ### Parks and Open Space Organizations Birmingham has had great success in achieving parks and open space objectives through partnerships with state and regional agencies and local foundations and community groups. From organizations such as the Village Creek Society to the state-created Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission, many non-municipal organizations are involved in various parks and open space initiatives in the Birmingham area. They include: * Southern Environmental Center * Birmingham Zoo * Birmingham Botanical Society * Railroad Park Foundation * Vulcan Park Foundation * Jefferson County Health Department * Freshwater Land Trust (FWLT) * Friends of Linn Park * Friends of Avondale Park * Village Creek Society * Five Mile Creek Greenway Partnership * Champions for Village Creek Greenway * Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Area Commission #### FIGURE 5.1: RED ROCK RIDGE AND VALLEY TRAIL SYSTEM CONCEPT <
> *Source: www.redrocktrail.org* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION # Greenway and Parks Programs There are a number of greenway and parks initiatives currently underway in Birmingham. These programs promise to advance quality of life and interconnect parks and other components of the city’s green infrastructure network, as well as connecting neighborhoods, schools, business areas and other destinations. ## RED ROCK RIDGE AND VALLEY TRAIL SYSTEM This proposed countywide network of on- and off-road pedestrian and bicycle facilities and greenways provides additional support to previously proposed greenway campaigns, such as the Village Creek Greenway and the High Ore Line Rail-to-Trail. The proposed trails system is a product of the Our One Mile greenway planning process led by the Freshwater Land Trust and supported by other Health Action Partnership members. The City of Birmingham, FWLT and other supporters in 2012 received a TIGER grant to fund an initial phase of the trails system. ## VILLAGE CREEK GREENWAY Since the acquisition of repetitive flood loss properties along the creek, the plan to develop a greenway along this corridor has been a major focus for the Village Creek Society. Pieces of the greenway have incrementally come together over the years, including the construction of Greenwood Park in east Birmingham. The greenway, which ultimately will stretch 26 miles from Roebuck to Ensley, has garnered additional support from the FWLT, Southern Environmental Center, the City of Birmingham, several neighborhood associations and business representatives and is included in the Red Rock Trail plan. ## SHADES CREEK GREENWAY Another corridor within the countywide trails plan, the Shades Creek Greenway includes a previously built and highly popular segment in Homewood. An additional segment has been proposed in Birmingham’s Eastwood area along property acquired by the City. The countywide plan sets an ambitious goal for the greenway, similar in scope to that of the Village Creek Greenway—the corridor would include on- and off-road segments that ultimately connect Red Mountain Park to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. ## THREE PARKS INITIATIVE This initiative began as a joint funding campaign to develop Railroad Park and Red Mountain Park and provide additional funding to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. With the support of the Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham, Region 2020 and donors, the initiative was ultimately successful. Since then the parks’ leadership have continued this collaborative theme, engaging in mutual long-range planning, organizational training, and sharing a vision to physically connect the parks through greenways and on-road facilities similar to those described in the countywide trail plan. <
> <
> **Dorothy Spears Greenway along Village Creek from the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Plan.** *(Source: Goodwin Mills Cawood, Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Plan)* <
> <
> **Visualization of the proposed Shades Creek Trail in the Eastwood neighborhood from the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Plan.** *(Source: Goodwin Mills Cawood, Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Plan)* 5.11 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION ### FIGURE 5.2: DISTANCE TO PARKS <
> ### FIGURE 5.3: RECREATION CENTERS <
> 5.12 # C. Recommendations ## goal 1 ### Every resident is within a ten-minute walk of a park, greenway or other publicly accessible, usable open space #### POLICIES * Assure, to the extent possible, that all communities are conveniently served by city parks and recreational facilities. * Continue support for non-city parks that provide recreational amenities and access to nature. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Identify and prioritize residential areas within the city that lack usable open space within a ten-minute walk. Most Birmingham neighborhoods have convenient access to city and other public parks, recreation and open space amenities. However, some neighborhoods and areas zoned for residential development are much further from existing and planned parks, greenways and recreational facilities. Figure 5.2 shows existing and potential residential areas located further than ½ mile from existing open space amenities. Assuming reasonable walking conditions from neighborhoods to nearby parks (such as relatively flat terrain and safe walking infrastructure), the ½-mile radius represents approximately a ten-minute walk. In reality, walking conditions vary significantly throughout the community, so in some areas a ½ mile can represent a longer, more difficult walk. Based on the above analysis several areas in Birmingham’s northeastern neighborhoods appear to be quite far from nearby parks—Apple Valley, Brownsville Heights, Spring Lake and portions of Roebuck and Huffman. Parts of Oak Ridge Park and Crestwood South in East Birmingham similarly have less convenient access to parks. In north and west Birmingham, parts of the Smithfield Estates, North Birmingham, and Belview Heights neighborhoods are underserved in terms of nearby parks. Walking access to parks can be further refined by using GIS mapping utilities that show barriers to pedestrian access such as highways, streams, high-speed roads that are difficult to cross, and so on. Figure 5.2 also indicates land acquired by the Freshwater Land Trust that may be used as a part of the Red Rock Trail System and would provide additional access to open space for Birmingham neighborhoods. Similarly, city recreation centers are unevenly distributed throughout the city relative to population densities. The Parks and Recreation Department operates 18 recreation centers amongst the city’s 23 communities. Several densely populated areas do not have recreation centers while other areas with smaller populations have multiple facilities nearby. As Figure 5.3 shows, the Five Points West, Smithfield, Southside, Red Mountain, Eastlake, Huffman, Roebuck-South Eastlake, Crestline, and East Pinson Valley areas have much more limited access to city recreation centers. Some neighborhoods that are far from city recreation centers have access to recreational facilities operated by private businesses and nonprofit organizations such as the YMCA and AG Gaston Boys & Girls Clubs. However, use of these facilities requires membership and associated fees. In addition, decisions to close, build or relocate these facilities are made privately and independently. They supplement but do not substitute for city-provided recreation services. #### Actions 1. **Identify opportunity sites in priority areas with limited access to existing parks, recreation and open space amenities.** Priorities should be determined with consideration given to the types of parks and recreational facilities most needed in underserved areas. This will be affected by the demographic composition and trends within the neighborhoods. For example, neighborhoods with a large number of families with young children will desire different amenities than an area with fewer families with children or that have a significant older population. Parks improvements priorities should also be aligned with the community’s priorities for community renewal, as discussed in Chapter 8 (pp. 8.18–8.19). CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION Detailed GIS mapping of city parks and recreation sites can be layered together with mapped demographic data, i.e., age groups, population density, and population growth/loss, to further understand where and what types of facilities are needed. Free web-based and smartphone survey systems are available that can also gather information so the geographic range of responses can be tracked. Although the presence of vacant, underutilized and tax delinquent and floodway properties throughout the city is an issue for neighborhoods, these lots also offer the opportunity to establish parks within and close to neighborhoods that are far from existing parks and open spaces. Opportunity sites should be considered that have good walking access to underserved areas. Creation of the recreational greenways envisioned in the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System will also help better serve neighborhoods without easy access to city parks. This will require continued acquisitions by the city and Freshwater Land Trust as discussed in Chapter 4 (pp. 4.18–4.19). To better serve neighborhoods far from existing recreation centers, there may be opportunities to offer new or enhance existing after-hours programs at city schools, including activities for adults. Also, closed school facilities or other vacant structures may be adaptively reused to develop recreational programs for youth, seniors and other groups as appropriate to the needs of the areas to be served. **2. Update the citywide parks and recreation master plan.** An update to the 1993 citywide parks and recreation master plan is needed to address the future needs of the city parks system considering population loss in various areas over the last twenty years, the desires of neighborhoods given their changing demographics, needs for parks and recreation in potential residential development areas, and management, administration, and funding of the parks and recreation system. This process will provide the city with valuable information to determine parks system priorities consistent with the city’s overall developmental goals outlined in this comprehensive plan. The plan should identify financial needs of the system and departmental improvements that may be beneficial to the maintenance of a quality parks and recreation system. The process should identify the degree to which recreational programs are serving the interests and needs of the community. In addition to athletics, what other types of programs are offered or are missing? Are adult and senior-oriented programs available in neighborhoods where most needed? Birmingham offers more pool facilities per capita than almost any other city in the US but only some of the city pools are widely used.[^p154-3] Because the Parks and Recreation Department charges a nominal fee at city pools, usage is tracked and can help determine where continued investment in city pools is warranted or whether ongoing pool maintenance funds would be better used developing or improving other facilities or programs in a given area. **3. Support alternative open space and recreation providers.** Churches, community gardening advocates, philanthropic organizations and others have been successful establishing publicly accessible, usable open spaces as alternatives to traditional, dedicated city parks. These spaces are often located on vacant lots, and similar to many of the city’s pocket parks, are quite often on leased land. The Southern Environmental Center’s Ecoscape program is a good example of these small, non-traditional open-space amenities. They may contain art, community garden plots, seating and contemplation areas, or environmental education elements. These open spaces are not necessarily permanent but can be used [^p154-3]: The Trust for Public Land, “City Park Facts,” 2010. <
> The Healing Garden is a Southern Environmental Center Ecoscape Project on the campus of Princeton Baptist Medical Center. strategically to fill an intermediate need. When such programs are proposed, the organizations involved should commit to plans for maintenance and upkeep for the intended duration. The city can also support private recreation providers like the YMCA by helping in the assembly of land for new facilities or leasing vacant, city-owned buildings to these providers. ### 4. Acquire and develop desired park and greenway sites. A number of tools are at the disposal of the City to acquire land for park sites, particularly tax delinquent properties and lots in blighted areas. The city can lease or purchase vacant lots for neighborhood-serving parks and open spaces. Both the City and the Freshwater Land Trust have purchased clusters of land along Village Creek and other floodplain areas. Acquisition should continue to be coordinated to facilitate implementation of the greenway system plan and expand the city’s parks and recreation system. Places to walk and bike for leisure and recreation are in great demand and have been for many years. In addition to the land trust, other nonprofit organizations and private foundations may be of assistance in land acquisitions and park construction. Land assembly will likely be required to create an adequate site. Residents of the concerned areas should be consulted to determine what their priorities are to gauge the necessary park size and ultimately what amenities will be provided within the park. Development of additional parks necessarily entails a commitment to allocate adequate funding over the long term to maintain those facilities in perpetuity. ### 5. Prepare and implement plans to revive underutilized, historic facilities. While the announcement of the development of Regions Field in Downtown Birmingham brought great excitement, it also raised questions regarding the future of Rickwood Field. Given the site’s national historic importance, the facility should be preserved for future generations to enjoy. But this should also include efforts to make Rickwood fully used, in addition to its enjoyment as an historic landmark. Similarly, the use of the city’s historic football stadium Legion Field has declined over the years. It was previously the site of the Iron Bowl, the annual football competition between the state’s largest rivals, Auburn University and the University of Alabama. While it is still enjoyed for sporting events, it may yet lose another collegiate user. UAB has considered construction of an on-campus stadium for many years but only in its most recent Campus Master Plan has the university evidenced clear intentions to do so. Though the University System’s Trustees have not supported this move, it may only be a matter of time before Legion Field loses its anchor tenant. Legion Field is in a strategic location within the city and its presence has a significant impact on surrounding neighborhoods. Though controversial, redevelopment of the site offers a variety of opportunities to revitalize the area. Whether the facility retains its current use or is completely re-imagined, for the well-being of the surrounding community, plans for the use of Legion Field must be economically sustainable. Because of the local, historic importance of both these landmarks, it will be critical to involve the community in exploring ideas and finalizing plans for their future use. The City should host individual charrettes, separate from the process to develop the citywide Parks and Recreation Master Plan, for each of these sites to develop alternative concepts for how they may continue to be used or reused. ## B. Incentivize park development and open space preservation as a part of private development. The City’s subdivision regulations require that developments of 15 acres or greater must provide parkland, unless the requirement is waived by the Director of Parks and Recreation. Conservation development provisions, which cluster housing while providing common open space, are one method to create usable open spaces in the course of private development without reducing the developer’s unit count. Incentives for providing park spaces in other types of development projects should be explored. # goal 2 ## City parks and recreation facilities are safe, well-maintained and widely used ### POLICIES * Provide recreational facilities and programs suited to the city’s changing population. * Foster partnerships to improve and maintain park facilities. * Provide adequate, regular funding to maintain a high quality city parks and recreation system. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Assure adequate park maintenance and associated funding. ##### ACTIONS **1. Increase coordination between city departments on parks and recreation maintenance.** Because maintenance of city parks is performed by the Public Works Department, closer coordination at various organizational levels within the Parks and Recreation Department and Public Works Department is essential to providing attractive, safe parks and recreation facilities to the community. Collaboration between departments should begin with departmental planning, budgets and priorities. To the extent practicable, the annual work plans of these departments should be prepared in an integrated process, assuring that maintenance needs of the Parks and Recreation Department are appropriately represented within the budget and priorities of the Public Works Department. Public Works staff assigned to parks maintenance should also be familiar with operational policies and protocols of the Parks and Recreation Department, which can be achieved through interdepartmental training and by updating departmental procedures to assure consistency of goals and methods. Updating of the citywide parks and recreation master plan is likely to identify specific operational and/or organizational improvements to better facilitate parks maintenance and overall implementation of that plan. A maintenance standards manual can be developed between applicable departments and with community input to assure parks and recreational facilities are properly cared for. Acceptable practices can be illustrated through photos. **2. Dedicate adequate funding for parks maintenance and for capital improvements.** With an updated citywide parks and recreation master plan, the City will have a detailed understanding of the financial needs of the parks system to maintain and improve existing facilities and build new ones. Parks and recreation facilities are important components in maintaining and enhancing quality of life. Sufficiently funding the parks system, ensuring continued maintenance, and providing for future facilities in accordance with an overall parks system plan will help improve the image of the community and attract private investment in neighborhoods and business areas. <
> **Park maintenance is an essential component of parks and recreation planning and funding.** With the exception of swimming pools, the Parks and Recreation Board does not currently charge fees for use of recreation center facilities. Many communities throughout the nation do so today. Among those, fees for residents are much lower than for non-residents and reduced prices are available for children, as are fee waivers and “scholarships” so that no one is barred from participation. Some communities also offer special rates for families. These fees provide a continuous, dependable funding stream used to support the long-term maintenance of parks and recreation programs. In updating the City Parks and Recreation Master Plan, a policy on user fees should be evaluated as a way to provide dedicated funding for these facilities. ### 3. Seek additional funding sources for sports, cultural and other specialty programs and facilities. Funding outside of city budgets can be acquired for both the development and maintenance of a variety of sports, cultural and other specialty programs and facilities. Potential sources include nonprofit foundations at both the national (i.e., Tiger Woods Foundation) and local (i.e., Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham) levels. Individuals and for-profit companies may also choose to sponsor these facilities. Some fundraising efforts may entail creation of specific nonprofit 501(c)3 organizations, as has been done with a number of “Friends of” groups in Birmingham. ## B. Continue partnering with public and private organizations to enhance the parks system. ### ACTIONS #### 1. Establish best practices policies for public/private partnerships. For many years the City has collaborated with a wide variety of partners, each with varying resources and capabilities, to improve existing parks and develop new ones. Through these experiences, valuable lessons have been learned. These lessons should be documented and policies adopted, regarding funding, ownership, maintenance and other expectations, to assure more successful partnering in the future. #### 2. Encourage creation of “Friends of Parks” groups. For parks both big and small, neighborhood advocates, business and community leaders and other parks supporters have established formal and informal organizations to lobby and/or support the City in improving existing facilities and in building new ones (e.g., Friends of Triangle (Clairmont) Park, Friends of Avondale Park, and Friends of the Railroad Reservation District). Using the best practices policies described above, such groups can more readily establish themselves as effective organizations capable of bringing resources as well as wish lists to a partnership. #### 3. Join the City Parks Alliance. The City Parks Alliance (CPA) is an independent national organization of urban park leaders that serves as a network for civic and community leaders, government agencies, parks and recreation authorities, funders and other urban parks stakeholders. Managers of both public and private parks in Birmingham should be encouraged to join the network. Red Mountain Park is already a member of CPA. The organization’s mission is to promote the creation of vibrant, healthy parks and green spaces that contribute to community well-being. Among CPA objectives that would benefit local members are urban parks advocacy (including at the national level), gathering and sharing best practices, and building partnerships with health, economic, education, environmental and other community development organizations. ## C. Adjust recreational programming to best serve neighborhood demographics. Through the preparation of a new parks and recreation master plan, a more accurate picture of the kinds of facilities and programs that are desired by the city’s changing population will emerge. Some neighborhoods have lost population since the previous parks master plan, which in some areas may represent fewer families with children or an increase in senior populations. Understanding these demographic trends will help make better use of available funds and investing in the right type and size of facilities in the right locations. Birmingham recreational athletics once served as a feeder system for collegiate athletics. Programs for youth, including girls, that provide team experience and the potential for college scholarships should be encouraged in a variety of sports. Funding can be pursed from foundations like the Tiger Woods Foundation. ### ACTIONS #### 1. Survey residents on park and recreation needs. Public opinion surveys of residents should be undertaken at the time of updating the parks and recreation plan and, in any case, at least once every ten years. A survey will give information on those who do not currently use parks, and why, as well as park users. Surveys may be constructed to determine in which parts of the city residents may have a specific priorities for parks maintenance, additional park space, special programs or facilities, etc. Sports and cultural programs for youth can be an important component of city parks and recreation systems. These types of programs, when offered as after-school and summer activities, are vital resources to working families in Birmingham. Athletics programs, particularly for boys, have traditionally been the primary focus of these types of programs. Providing equitable athletic and cultural programs for girls has lagged behind as a result. Survey information should be collected to more accurately reflect community needs and desires for such investments, including what programs are not adequate to meet youth needs, what types of new programs are highly desired and what existing programs may have less interest from the community. Surveys should allow respondents to identify programming needs that will assure a proper balance in offering activities for boys and girls, including the different types of athletic, fitness and cultural programs that are most appropriate to the community's interests. In recent years there has been growing interest in special parks and recreation facilities such as dog parks and skate parks. Community surveys would be helpful in determining the level of interest in various parts of the community for such facilities. <
> <
> **Parks and recreation facilities should be programmed to meet the needs of residents of different ages and interests.** (Photos (clockwise from left): www2. timesdispatch.com, www2.tbo.com; www.letsmove.org) #### 2. Encourage professional development of staff. The National Recreation and Parks Association (NRPA) offers a variety of educational resources for all staff who are responsible for the development and maintenance of city parks. In addition to conferences and seminars, the NRPA also offers webinars and other online learning resources to assure access to professional development opportunities and best practices. <
> Another way to promote professional development of parks and recreation managers and staff is through associate degree programs. Currently there are only two associate degree programs in parks and recreation management in the state. Faulkner Community College and the Community College of the Air Force in Montgomery offer these programs. Lawson State Community College in Birmingham would be an ideal school to provide such a program. ## D. Increase safety in parks, greenways and recreation facilities. ### ACTIONS #### 1. Adopt CPTED principles for parks, greenway and recreational facility design. Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) is a set of multidisciplinary strategies and design concepts intended to deter undesirable and criminal activities through the design of the built environment. Design strategies can be used in conjunction with mechanical and organizational strategies, such as use of security cameras and the presence of legitimate users, security guards or police. The primary strategies of CPTED are: *Natural Surveillance*, which involves placing buildings, spaces and activity areas in relation to one another to maximize visibility while also promoting social interaction of legitimate users of buildings and spaces. Because of the increased possibility of being observed, potential offenders are less likely to engage in inappropriate activities. *Access Control*, which distinguishes between public and private space and emphasizes the use of a limited number of entry points. This technique, in conjunction with natural surveillance, increases visibility at access points and limits escape routes. *Territorial Enforcement*, which establishes a sense of ownership and control over public and private spaces and helps distinguish intruders or strangers from legitimate users. Well-maintained premises signal an active presence, whereas signs of deterioration or the use of razor-wire or cyclone fencing lend the impression that owners or other legitimate users are generally absent. <
> *Downtown's Linn Park benefits from several Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CPTED) features, including natural surveillance. City Hall, the County Courthouse and other buildings overlook the park and ensure regular activity throughout the week.* *Maintenance and Activity Support* focus more on activity rather than physical design but are integral to the design strategies above. Regular maintenance, for example, supports territorial enforcement. Activity support, which assures that most spaces are programmed for some legitimate activity or that activities are frequently programmed adjacent to infrequently used areas to increase natural surveillance. The Parks and Recreation Department should prepare design standards that incorporate these principles. These standards can be used by design consultants as well as the various City departments and boards that review plans for renovation and new construction of parks and recreation facilities. #### 2. Maximize surveillance of parks and recreation facilities. In addition to regular patrolling of city parks and recreation facilities, inappropriate and criminal behavior can be deterred by increasing legitimate activity in parks. This can be accomplished through design and facilities programming (see CPTED principles above), but also by neighborhood associations and park support groups through programming regular events. Citizen patrol groups can also be helpful by providing a physical presence in parks during periods of low activity that can attract potential offenders. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION # goal 3 ## The city’s major natural amenities are enjoyed by residents and visitors. **POLICIES** * Promote access and enjoyment of the city’s major water features and open spaces *** ### A. Improve access to Red Mountain Park and Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. Both Red Mountain Park and Ruffner Mountain Nature Center are somewhat difficult to access by car and almost impossible to access by transit. **ACTIONS** **1. Improve wayfinding and access to Red Mountain Park.** Vehicular access to Red Mountain Park, the city’s largest open space amenity, is primarily by way of Lyon Lane, a minor street off western Lakeshore Drive designed to serve office park and light industrial uses in the area. For Birmingham residents and visitors alike, this approach can feel “out of the way.” The park plans to have four access points, including one further west along Lakeshore Drive, which will serve as the primary gateway. Wenonah-Ishkooda Road will serve as the northern gateway and the most convenient access point for residents of west Birmingham but for few others. Wayfinding along Lakeshore Parkway and Wenonah-Ishkooda Road (including the higher classified streets that connect to Wenonah-Ishkooda) will help substantially. Unfortunately, few major roads deliver motorists to Wenonah-Ishkooda Road. Heavy commercial, industrial and other development at key access points to the road, for example at Spaulding Ishkooda Road and Montevallo Road SW, are visually unattractive as routes to the park. **2. Improve wayfinding and access to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center.** Access to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center is not ideal, requiring visitors to navigate a maze of residential streets, some of which do little to provide a strong arrival experience. A new primary entrance is included in the Nature Center’s master plan. The new entrance would be from Ruffner Road on the preserve’s southern edge. While this route avoids residential streets, from within Birmingham it can also seem “out of the way.” Physical improvements are needed along Oporto <
> 5.20 Madrid Boulevard, Georgia Road, and Ruffner Road, as well as attractive, functional wayfinding signage. Improving access and wayfinding for Ruffner Mountain Nature Center and Red Mountain Park will require coordination with adjacent cities—Homewood, in the case of Red Mountain Park and Irondale, in the case of Ruffner Mountain. Wayfinding signage at nearby interstate interchanges would also be helpful, requiring approval from ALDOT. ### 3. Explore opportunities to provide transit access to these parks. Many households in Birmingham do not have access to a car. Transit access to the major parks should be considered, first for major events or on weekends, and then on a more regular basis. ## B. Support development of recreational access to the Cahaba River and other area waterways. Birmingham prides itself as having been laid out along a “river of steel” while simultaneously lamenting the lack of a major waterway through the city. But the city does have a number of area streams and water amenities that can be better utilized for recreational purposes. Already plans are underway <
> for development of a greenway corridor and associated park amenities along Village Creek. Development of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System will further those efforts and create additional amenities along area streams. ### ACTIONS #### 1. Expand and improve recreational access to the Cahaba River. The Cahaba River is a unique, scenic water feature for the community that is largely underappreciated by residents, in part due to its limited physical presence within the city—most of its length within the metro area falls either within other municipalities or in unincorporated Jefferson County. This also reflects that it is relatively far from most Birmingham residents. The portions of the river flowing through the city limits are on lands owned primarily by the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB). Public access points along the Cahaba River are few, and most are not well developed or well known. Compared to the number of people in the region who might enjoy recreational access to the river, only a handful of devotees are familiar with the available access points and canoe launches, some of which are on private land. Recreational opportunities represented by the river and the beautiful open spaces along it have gone largely untapped in the area. Birmingham, the BWWB and surrounding local governments should collaborate with already devoted private groups to create a legible system of appropriately outfitted public access points, passive recreational areas, canoe launches, environmental education features, and trails. This effort would also help further the development of the Cahaba River Corridor proposed in the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. The level of access and types of recreational <
> CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 5 OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION <
> activity permitted should be managed consistently with the role of the river and lake as drinking water sources. 2. **Develop greenway trails to provide recreational opportunities along area streams.** Community input throughout the planning process echoed public sentiment documented in the 1993 Parks and Recreation Master Plan. Birmingham residents have a strong desire for places to walk and bike, for recreation as well as for mobility. Implementing the Red Rock Ridge and Trail Plan along Village Creek and other area streams will accomplish this while also increasing access to nature. # D. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Improve coordination between Parks & Recreation and Public Works departments through shared priorities and changes to departmental policies and procedures. | Parks & Recreation Department; Public Works Department; Mayor. | | Develop a Parks & Recreation maintenance manual. | Parks & Recreation Department; Public Works Department. | | Convene meetings with stakeholder groups to develop a Cahaba River access system. | Mayor, BWWB, Cahaba River Society, Freshwater Land Trust. | 5.22 # Chapter 6 Sustainability and Green Practices <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “The city is a leader in sustainable development in the State of Alabama.” “Create a mindset around green innovation and conservation.” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | City operations serve as a model of energy and resource efficiency. | • Continue organizational and operational improvements to maximize energy and resource efficiency and reduce waste. | | | • Give preference to energy-efficient design, materials and equipment in public facilities and infrastructure. | | | • Expand the use of renewable energy sources for city operations. | | Reinvestment in existing communities conserves resources and sensitive environments. | • Support clean-up and adaptive reuse of brownfields. | | | • Encourage the preservation and adaptive reuse of existing structures to reduce construction waste and conserve energy and materials. | | | • Encourage urban farming and community gardens to reduce food deserts and food imbalance areas. | | Private developments incorporate cost-effective sustainable planning and design features at citywide, neighborhood and site levels. | • Consider incentives for energy-efficient, “green” building. | | | • Encourage development that protects the city’s water resources. | | | • Encourage the use of natural drainage in stormwater management systems where feasible. | | | • Encourage the use of conservation and low-impact development techniques | | | • Support improvement of state water quality standards and encourage water efficiency standards and enforcement. | | The city makes every effort to help meet air pollution standards. | • Consider incentives for the development of multimodal transportation systems that reduce vehicle emissions. | | | • Encourage vehicle emission inspections to improve air quality, industrial opportunity, and community health. | | | • Promote the recruitment of clean industry. | | | • Consider incentives for private industries to further reduce emissions over time. | | | • Encourage energy-efficient design, materials and equipment in existing and new private developments. | | | • Support the improvement of state energy policy standards and programs. | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES # findings The City has recently initiated organizational programs to improve energy efficiency. Green Building Focus and the Green Resource Center of Alabama are located in Birmingham. The City maintains an active recycling program but recycling is not mandatory. The Alabama Environmental Council and others offer recycling programs for materials not served by the city recycling program. There are many LEED accredited engineering, construction and design professionals in the metro area. A majority of Alabama’s LEED certified buildings have been constructed in the Birmingham area. The Health Action Partnership has been successful in integrating local initiatives to raise awareness and improving the built environment and promoting active transportation as a major element in improving public health. # challenges The city recycling program is not available to multi-family and non-residential developments. Some businesses perform or contract out recycling. The value and benefits of cost-effective green development need to be demonstrated more effectively. Comprehensive improvements in cost-effective sustainability will require partnerships with neighboring municipalities and the private sector. More awareness about the quality of life and economic development benefits of cost-effective sustainability is needed. While the region is experiencing only moderate growth, its urbanized area and vehicle miles traveled (VMT) are increasing at a much faster rate. State law must be changed to allow the re-use of greywater and advance water efficiency. 6.3 # A. What the Community Said During the Visioning Forum, participants identified Birmingham’s top assets, several of which support the city’s overall sustainability: access to health care; affordable housing and cost of living; higher education; and diversity. Table discussions revealed several overall priorities that would also further the city’s sustainability goals: improving public education, better public transit, better pedestrian and bicycle facilities, mixed use development, neighborhood revitalization and mixed income housing, and improve air quality. During the Communities of Interest workshop on Green Systems and Sustainability, attendees identified issues that brought them to the meeting and table discussions provided a set of priorities. Several of those dealt with sustainability topics. ### Issues * Air and water quality * Interconnected green infrastructure network * Sprawl * Food deserts * Support for sustainable development practices * Recycling * Community health and the built environment ### Priorities * Improve air and water quality * Use development regulations to support sustainable development * Increase access to fresh foods * Protect biodiversity and wildlife habitat * Promote and expand recycling * Improve connectivity * Increase public awareness on green systems and sustainability * Promote alternative, clean energy sources and energy efficiency # B. What is Sustainability? The most widely accepted definition of sustainability is “meeting today’s needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Another way to view sustainability is the balance point among economic, community and environmental systems and values. This is referred to as the “triple bottom line.” In both viewpoints, sustainability revolves around how the use of a variety of resources affects our lives, our economy and our future. Worldwide, cities and metropolitan areas play an important role in achieving greater sustainability and reducing pollution. While metropolitan areas cover only about 1% of the planet, they contribute almost 80% of air-polluting emissions. The sprawling, auto-dependent nature of exurban and suburban development around central cities is a major contributor to air-polluting emissions in cities. On the other hand, dense urban environments in core cities are much more resource-efficient and energy-efficient per capita than suburban and exurban areas. Recently, the City of Birmingham launched an effort to promote more sustainable practices in its own operations and to encourage green building in the city. The City’s Office of Economic Development has been tasked with developing programs to acknowledge and create incentives to encourage sustainable design in new private-sector development. --- ### SUSTAINABILITY CHALLENGES Birmingham is making progress in meeting the challenges of becoming a truly sustainable city—creating and maintaining the desired balance among community, economic and environmental systems and values. Birmingham’s challenges can only be fully addressed through continuing and enhancing regional partnerships, with other local governments and with the business community. Birmingham’s sustainability challenges include: * Air quality * Soil contamination * Water quality and efficiency * Energy and resource use * Community health ### Air Quality Improving and maintaining air quality has been a struggle for the city and the region. By fully and permanently addressing air quality conditions, Birmingham and the surrounding region can reduce health risks to children, seniors and asthma sufferers and simultaneously release the metro area from restrictions imposed due to Clean Air Act violations. However, Birmingham must balance the costs of improving air quality with potential reductions in health care expenditures. ### Soil Contamination The city contains areas where the land itself has become highly contaminated. Arsenic and BaP contamination are often associated with coal processing, a significant component of the region’s historic steel-producing industry. The two contaminants are linked to skin and respiratory problems, cancer and other health problems. Lead contamination in soil is also a known problem related to the city’s historic industries. Given the widespread development of industrial facilities throughout Jones Valley, it is likely that similar problems exist in other parts of the city beyond the boundaries of the plants. Acting under the Superfund law in late 2011, the EPA designated resources to work with the City, the County Health Department, residents and area industries to further test and clean up sites in the Collegeville, North Birmingham, Fairmont and Harriman Park neighborhoods. ### Water Quality and Efficiency Over time, industrial and other urban developments have diminished water quality in area streams and waterways. Various programs have been established to improve water quality and have been met with some success, though work continues to meet water quality standards. While the region experienced significant droughts in 2000 and 2007 and water use restrictions were put in place temporarily, there have been few ongoing measures to encourage water conservation in the area. A study conducted for the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) predicts that the number of residential customers in its entire service area will increase from 600,000 currently to 700,000 by 2025. The utility does not have the capacity today to meet that demand but has taken steps to increase water supply by tapping additional sources. Efforts to increase water capacity, the high costs of which ultimately are borne by ratepayers, should be balanced with greater conservation and water efficiency efforts. ### Energy and Resource Efficiency Buildings consume 49% of all the energy produced in the United States, and by 2035, about 75% of all the buildings in the country will be new or renovated. This means that the next 25 years offer an opportunity to establish energy efficiency throughout the building sector. Efficient energy use allows city government, businesses, institutions and residents to reduce their utility bills. Residential energy use is high compared to other states due to heating and air conditioning demand during the winter and summer respectively. This is an area in which cost-effective and energy-efficient building design would enable businesses and residents to lower energy consumption while also saving money. Land consumption is an important measure of resource efficiency that directly affects energy use and environmental conditions. When land consumption increases at a rate faster than population growth, it often means increased commuting distances, energy use and vehicle emissions. Between 2000 and 2010 the Birmingham metro area saw an increase in population of 12.94% while the amount of land converted to “urbanized area” increased 35.14%. This reflects an ongoing trend of outward suburbanization. Between 1982 and 2001, the metro area population grew by only 24% but annual vehicle miles traveled nearly doubled in that same time frame. In effect, outward expansion of the metro area is increasing land and energy consumption and pollution at the expense of the City of Birmingham’s existing neighborhoods, which are losing population. Continued “greenfield” development at the far edges of the region will require new infrastructure and building materials, expansion of municipal and utility service areas and costs, and increasing transportation costs and pollution. Taking advantage of Birmingham’s existing CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES ### THE "URBAN HEAT ISLAND" EFFECT *Urbanized areas typically experience warmer temperatures than surrounding rural areas, a phenomenon known as the “urban heat island” effect. A city’s concentration of buildings, pavement, and other materials that retain and radiate heat increases temperatures. These elevated temperatures increase production of ozone, affect weather patterns, and can stress ecosystems in area streams. Increased temperatures also mean added energy use and cost in cooling buildings. Landscaping, trees and white-painted “cool roofs” can reduce these effects.* neighborhoods and the roads, water and sewer lines already in place provide opportunities for residential and business investment that will conserve resources and avoid added facilities and service costs ultimately borne by taxpayers. The Birmingham metro area’s overall low density and outward sprawl contribute to the lack of an effective public transportation system. Reinvestment in declining neighborhoods will allow the city to establish more transit-supportive development patterns, including mixed uses and higher residential and employment densities in strategic locations. And, an effective transit system can attract riders, who would otherwise commute by car and contribute to air quality problems. Brownfield redevelopment is also an important component of resource efficiency that aids neighborhood reinvestment. Brownfields are sites formerly used for industry or other activities that are now believed to be contaminated by toxic materials. Their redevelopment requires assessment and clean-up, depending on the proposed use. There is no database that identifies all brownfields in the City of Birmingham. These large sites, often in central and highly accessible locations, provide the opportunity to completely re-envision areas of the city and build new employment centers and mixed-use communities that also support regional transit while remediating earlier pollution. Recycling of paper, plastic, glass, computer equipment and other household and office goods diverts these materials from the solid waste stream and puts them back into use. The city currently operates a strong curbside recycling program for single-family households. But the strength of the voluntary program in diverting waste from landfills may have plateaued. To increase these reductions, a recycling incentive program may be used. Programs such as the Alabama Environmental Council’s (AEC) downtown recycling facility provides options for business and multifamily recyclers to drop-off recycling. The AEC center also accepts glass and other materials the city program currently does not. ### COMMUNITY HEALTH Community health is affected not only by the quality of the air we breathe and the water we drink, but also by conditions in the built environment that influence physical activity and the availability of healthy food choices. According to a 2007 report from *Forbes* magazine, Birmingham was ranked as the second-most obese metropolitan area in the United States. Likewise, Alabama is ranked the second most obese state in the nation, according to a 2011 report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health. Increased obesity has become a national health concern due to obesity-related chronic illnesses, including Type 2 diabetes, cancer and heart disease. Jefferson County’s Health Action Partnership has focused on obesity, in addition to smoking, as a preventable health condition that can be mitigated in part through public policies that affect the design of the built environment. Through a Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW) grant from the Centers for Disease Control, Health Action Partnership members have developed a number of initiatives to combat obesity and its associated health problems in Jefferson County. ### Sedentary Environments One way that cities have begun to address obesity trends is to establish new policies and regulations and enhance the built environment to facilitate physical activity, particularly walking and bicycling. For over fifty years, low-density sprawl has been the dominant pattern of growth in most American cities. This pattern of development has led to reliance on the automobile for virtually all daily trips, even in the city. In many city neighborhoods, homes are far from schools, parks, places of work, and shopping areas. The streets that connect these everyday destinations, more and more, lack adequate sidewalks, if any, to accommodate those who do choose to walk. Many destinations are designed for access solely by car, making them uncomfortable, if not unsafe, environments for pedestrians. Land use policies that suppress density, minimum parking requirements and suburban street standards have contributed to a decline in the city's originally interconnected, walkable environments. While most Birmingham neighborhoods reflect traditional urban forms, city development regulations can make it difficult to reinvest in those neighborhoods in accordance with their original urban patterns to reinforce walkability. In 2011, the Birmingham metro area ranked as the 16th-most dangerous in the nation for pedestrians and in 2010, one of the three worst cities in the country for bicycling. To overcome these problems in Birmingham's built environment, which ultimately affects the health of residents, the Freshwater Land Trust (FWLT), Conservation Alabama, the AARP and other Health Action Partnership members have pursued efforts to encourage more active lifestyles. FWLT prepared the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System plan to create bike and pedestrian facilities along on- and off-road corridors to better interconnect neighborhoods and community destinations. Conservation Alabama has lobbied state and local governments to pass Complete Streets policies to assure bicycle and pedestrian facilities are considered in street construction projects. The Birmingham Planning Commission adopted a Complete Streets policy in 2011, which is advisory to the City and the regional transportation planning organization. In addition to weaknesses in city infrastructure for walking and bicycling, crime, property neglect and loss of population add to the conditions that discourage residents from leading more active lifestyles. <
> Fighting childhood obesity and encouraging regular exercise, the Walking School Bus program began in 2011 with support from Health Action Partnership members. Only a few city schools participate in the program. Photo by Chrisopher Jones. <
> While many of Birmingham's older neighborhoods were designed to be walkable, like the one above, over time the city has become more difficult to get around on foot. (Photo KPS Group) ### Food Security While Birmingham is gaining a reputation for its cuisine, “food imbalance” exists, particularly in economically and socially-distressed neighborhoods. More than 88,000 residents live in areas of the city with limited access to fresh produce and other healthy foods normally offered by mainstream grocers or in areas where establishments offering fringe, or unhealthy, food are much more accessible than mainstream grocers. In essence, one quarter of the city’s population lives in areas where it is much easier to purchase candy, fried food and soda than it is to buy fruits and vegetables. Figure 6.1 reveals the areas of the city where the lack of fresh food access is most significant— commonly called “food deserts.” A Main Street Birmingham study indicated that food imbalance in Birmingham appears to decrease life expectancy and increase the percentage of deaths related to diabetes and cancer. According to the study, “living in areas of Birmingham with Food Desert conditions correlates with more premature death...and...we should be especially concerned about the prevalence of cancer.” Other studies have also shown that proximity to fast food offerings is a major factor in unhealthy diets even when full service supermarkets are relatively close. The Main Street Birmingham Study indicated that areas of food imbalance occur throughout the city but with the most impact in west Birmingham and in northeast Birmingham. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES ### FIGURE 6.1: BIRMINGHAM'S FOOD DESERTS <
> Considering its size and population, Birmingham has relatively few mainstream grocers or other vendors offering fruits, vegetables and other nutritious foods. Instead the city is blanketed with convenience stores, mini marts, dollar stores and fast food restaurants that sell ready-made, pre-packaged foods that are high in salt, fat and sugar. This is due largely in part to the criteria that many mainstream grocers, particularly franchises, use to select sites—population density and income levels. Fringe food businesses are more willing to locate in neighborhoods that have demand but less buying power. (See Chapter 7, pp. 7.15–7.17, for more information on the distribution and the economics of grocery stores.) 6.8 ## BENEFITS OF SUSTAINABILITY Becoming more sustainable as a community offers a variety of benefits to the local economy, to the natural environment and to residents. ### Economic Benefits * Long-term savings through more cost-effective, efficient use of energy and resources * Removal of economic development restrictions due to non-attainment status of federal air quality standards * Green jobs at a variety of skill levels * A higher quality of life attractive to both employers and employees * Enhanced city image ### Environmental Benefits * Reduced air pollution, improved air quality * Reduced flooding, improved water quality * Urban heat island reduction * Wildlife habitat protection and restoration ### Community Benefits * Improved mobility * Access to nature and green space * Reinvestment in existing communities * Decreased transportation costs * Improved community health ## LOCAL INITIATIVES AND ORGANIZATIONS Local organizations and efforts are working toward a more sustainable Birmingham, with most directing their efforts at specific sustainability challenges but with an increasing amount of collaboration. <
> ***Bike to Work Day in Downtown Birmingham is an annual event promoted by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham, a Health Action Partnership member*** *(Photo by Michelle Williams, Birmingham News)* ### Alabama Power Birmingham’s electric utility promotes use of Energy Star products and a variety of other energy-efficient products and services. Alabama Power also created a bike-share program for its employees for health and recreational benefits, to decrease traffic and air pollution and to emphasize the company’s support for downtown activity and pedestrian and bicycle access. ### Health Action Partnership (HAP) A coalition of more than 60 government and nonprofit agencies, private foundations and business leaders, HAP focuses on improving community health in Jefferson County. Members include the Jefferson County Health Department, United Way of Central Alabama, UAB School of Public Health, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham and many others. Several HAP members have pursued sustainability initiatives related to community health through a grant from the Centers for Disease Control, including the Freshwater Land Trust’s countywide trail plan and Main Street Birmingham’s food desert study. ### Green Resource Center of Alabama (GRCA) GRCA is a nonprofit advocacy and informational hub for sustainability and “green” thinking. The Resource Center is intended to connect businesses, local governments and individuals to resources and information on sustainable living and development practices. <
> ***Jones Valley Teaching Farms in Downtown Birmingham*** *(Photo by Magic City Post)* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES ### Green Building Focus Birmingham-based Green Building Focus promotes green design and building through conferences held across the globe. Several of the conferences have been held in Birmingham, promoting green building to the region and promoting the region to green builders and manufacturers. ### Jones Valley Teaching Farms (JVTF) JVTF is a nonprofit urban farm located in Downtown Birmingham. The operation, which began in 2002, has implemented three programs in support of its overall mission to support urban agriculture and access to fresh, locally grown produce to the metro area. JVTF operates a working and teaching farm, on- and off-site educational programs, and an initiative promoting nutrition in public schools. ### UAB Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center UAB’s Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center was recently established through a partnership between the UAB Schools of Business, Engineering and Medicine and the Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center. Following a symposium hosted by UAB, representatives of the participating schools announced formation of the research center, which will conduct academic research as well as join with community volunteers through several sustainability-themed working groups. In addition, many other organizations directly or indirectly promote sustainability in Birmingham: * Alabama Chapter of the American Society of Landscape Architects * Clean Fuels Coalition * Keep Birmingham Beautiful Commission * REV Birmingham * Birmingham Chapter of the American Institute of Architects * Birmingham-Jefferson Food Policy Council * Birmingham Chapter of the US Green Building Council of Alabama * Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham * Urban Ministry * My Green Birmingham # C. Recommendations ## goal 1 City operations serve as a model of energy and resource efficiency. **POLICIES** * Continue organizational and operational improvements to maximize energy and resource efficiency and reduce waste. * Give preference to energy efficient design, materials and equipment in public facilities and infrastructure. * Expand the use of renewable energy sources for city operations. **STRATEGIES** The City has already taken initial steps to become “greener” and more sustainable. Over several years, the City has begun using cleaner, alternative fuels for city vehicles, including school buses. The City of Birmingham was awarded an Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant for $2.5 million to install geothermal heat pumps in several recreation centers to increase their energy efficiency. In 2010, REV Birmingham prepared the report *Cost-Effectiveness of Greening Birmingham: A Report on Sustainability*. That report included recommendations for the city government as well as the private sector to develop a more sustainable community. The city is now working to implement some of these recommendations including assessing energy use in existing facilities and creating incentives for green development by the private sector. Following the April 2011 tornados, the city opted to recycle tornado debris and materials from demolished buildings rather than send the materials to area landfills. The City should continue and expand upon these efforts by committing to cost-effective policies and initiating processes that will improve City operations and serve as a model to other local governments, businesses and residents alike. As one of the largest employers in the metro area, the City’s organizational improvements will have broad, positive impacts. ### A. Develop a citywide sustainability program for all operations and facilities. This effort would ultimately reflect better use of tax dollars in the way that the City conducts day-to-day operations while also serving as an example to other institutions, businesses and residents in adopting more sustainable practices in their own endeavors. #### ACTIONS ##### 1. Prepare a Sustainability Plan. To maximize energy efficiency, waste reduction and resource conservation, and long-term fiscal health, the City should prepare and implement a Sustainability Plan framed by overall policies for more sustainable city operations and implemented through specific goals, actions and benchmarks. Preparation of the plan would involve collaboration among City departments to identify ways in which day-to-day operations, facilities and equipment can be improved to save money and energy and reduce waste while maintaining and potentially improving operational efficiency and the effectiveness in the services the City provides to the community. Benchmarks are essential to ensuring the effectiveness of the policies, providing accountability and giving clear targets for measuring progress. Diligently tracking progress will allow the City to determine whether particular aspects of the program are both meeting desired goals and are cost effective. This also will help identify where elements of the plan need to be adjusted to improve long term success. In preparing this plan, the City should take advantage of professional, institutional and nonprofit resources in the area. A Sustainability Committee or similar advisory body should be created that includes city officials and staff, business leaders, utilities representatives, residents, and the UAB Smart Sustainable Cities Research Center. In addition, Birmingham has a large number of public and private sector resources to draw from to assist in this: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) accredited engineers, designers and planners; and groups such as the Green Resource Center, the Southern Environmental Center, at Birmingham Southern College, and the Alabama Environmental Council. The plan should begin with an inventory of emissions from city operations and the community, set reduction targets and identify internal and external policies and actions to achieve targets. Policy recommendations should address operations and procedures that contribute to energy use and pollution as well as facility and equipment purchases. External policies would address ways the city impacts the actions of others, from land use policies and transportation to recycling and promotion of sustainable building practices. Organizations like UAB’s Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center can be tapped to help the city analyze existing conditions, perform research and establish quantifiable goals for the plan. ##### 2. Update departmental policies and procedures. To assure implementation, plan recommendations should be incorporated into written policies and procedures for each department. Involvement of staff in updating departmental policies and procedures will help employees understand the value of improved practices while also soliciting the input of those who will ultimately be responsible for carrying out normal tasks under new policies. Training programs may also be helpful in instituting new procedures. Potential improvements to departmental practices include integrated pest management; use of native, drought-tolerant landscaping and rain harvesting for irrigation in public open spaces; and integration of money-saving low-impact development/green infrastructure design techniques for stormwater management. ##### 3. Incorporate green design in City facilities. By incorporating green design methods in the construction of new city facilities, such as those promoted by the US Green Building Council’s LEED rating system, the city can reduce emissions from city buildings and reap the benefits of energy and water efficiency. The LEED rating system promotes a variety of sustainable design methods focused on site selection, energy and water efficiency, pollution reduction, use of recycled and renewable building materials, and indoor air quality. When the LEED certification system began, added upfront costs for green design presented an obstacle to widespread adoption. As more and more industries have become involved in green building, however, those costs have fallen and can be greatly outweighed by the long- term savings in operational costs. The City need not officially certify new or renovated facilities through LEED or a similar system but can strive to integrate these design and facilities operations practices into city building, site design and building management. Green design can be incorporated into building grounds, parking lots and city parks and create savings on maintenance and reduce water usage for irrigation in a cost-effective manner. Recycled and recyclable materials can also be used in city facilities to increase cost-effective resource efficiency and reduce waste. Renovation of city facilities should include measures to enhance indoor air quality such as by reducing the use of building materials, finishes, and cleaning products that release volatile organic compounds (VOCs). **4. Evaluate lifecycle costs in development of new city** **facilities and for purchase of equipment.** Proposals for new City facilities should take into account two primary costs—the initial costs of design and construction and the long-term expenses associated with operating and maintaining a facility over many years— its lifecycle costs. To assure cost-effectiveness in capital project decisions, lifecycle costs must be reasonably quantified and considered along with initial costs to fully comprehend the total cost of each capital project. This is an economic hallmark of the green building movement, which promotes cost-effective energy and resource efficiency in the design, construction and operation of buildings. *** **CHATTANOOGA WOOS ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY** **AUTOMAKER** In 1969 Chattanooga was considered to have the worst air quality in any city in the nation—an issue well understood in Birmingham. After taking strong steps to address the issue, by 1989 Hamilton County was declared “in attainment.” This great achievement led Chattanooga to take on broader environmental goals. In 2009, the City adopted a plan that focused on achieving greater sustainability through energy efficiency, healthy communities, natural resources, and education and policy. The city formed a 14-member “green committee” that included city, county, and utilities officials, business community representatives, and a variety of subject matter experts. The committee held a series of community meetings to identify potential strategies and priorities. The committee focused on four areas: energy efficiency, healthy communities, natural resources, and education and policy. The plan included recommendations and specific actions on alternative energy and green building; smart growth, food, agriculture and transportation; air and water quality, green infrastructure and urban forestry; and community awareness, education and participation. Since adoption of the plan, the city has expanded recycling, established funding for a downtown electric shuttle used by locals and tourists alike, improved the city vehicle fleet and vehicle-use policies, planted 1,500 trees downtown, established a bikeshare program, provided $2 million in incentives for green developments, and created a methane energy-production facility at its landfill. The community’s progressive commitments to the environment and quality of life were positive considerations in Volkswagen Group of America’s decision to build an automotive production facility in Chattanooga. That decision represented a $1 billion dollar investment by Volkswagen and the creation of 2,000 jobs. Once open, the plant will generate an estimated $12 billion in new income and $1.4 billion in total new tax revenue. In addition to new on-site jobs, Volkswagen forecasts that the facility will also create 9,500 supplier-related jobs in the region.* Environmentally responsible manufacturing and sustainable mobility are core values of the automaker. The company, in partnership with the State of Tennessee and local organizations, donated two trees for planting in the community for every tree that was removed to develop the auto plant. The facility is located on 1,350 acres in Enterprise South Industrial Park, a former brownfield site. The plant was recognized in 2011 as the first auto plant to receive LEED Platinum certification, the highest level of certification offered by the US Green Building Council. * Volkswagen Group of America, http://www.volkswagengroupa- merica.com/chattanooga/index.html Lifecycle costs should also be considered in the purchase of city equipment, from vehicles to copying machines. ### 5. Continue cost-effective conversion of the vehicle fleet to reduce costs and emissions. In 2007 the City began converting its fleet to the use of alternative fuels to curb vehicle emissions. This process not only mitigates impacts the city fleet has on air quality, but it also offers savings opportunities. As new alternative fuel technologies emerge and more and better hybrid vehicles are manufactured, the City will have additional options to save taxpayer dollars in fueling its fleet. Several municipalities have begun using biodiesel fuels made from recycled vegetable oil. In Alabama, Daphne, Gadsden, Hoover and Montgomery are producing fleet fuels from recycled residential and commercial cooking oils. Cooking-oil programs not only reduce dependence on petroleum-based fuel—with its associated costs and pollution—but they also reduce demand on landfills and wastewater treatment systems. <
> **In 2011, Birmingham became the first city in the state to run school buses on compressed natural gas, a cheaper and cleaner alternative to diesel fuel.** *(Photo by Marie Leech, Birmingham News)* ## B. Increase recycling. By improving and increasing recycling services, not only will more waste be diverted from landfills, but the cost of recycling per ton can be reduced below that of conventional refuse collection. ### 1. Expand city recycling program to more users where feasible. Adjusting the current city recycling program to extend pick-up services to multifamily developments has the potential to divert large quantities of materials from the solid waste stream. A number of cities have extended these services to multifamily housing. A study performed by the US Conference of Mayors and ECODATA, Inc., found that of 40 communities sampled, the amount of materials recycled by multifamily households compared to single-family households was comparable, at 14.6:16.0. Given the large number of multifamily households in Birmingham, extending recycling services to multifamily households can divert significant amounts of solid waste from landfills. Best practices among successful multifamily recycling programs include using large, portable containers or carts, set-outs of at least three containers to allow for sorting, and furnishing one set of containers per 15-19 units. Several high-performing municipal recycling programs use private firms to collect recyclables. Some communities have converted to single-stream recycling in which materials to be recycled are sorted at recovery facilities rather than residents. Single-stream recycling makes the recycling process easier for residents, and the single-compartment trucks they use are cheaper and more flexible for fleets. The City can also encourage more recycling for businesses and institutions. Some cities offer curbside pick-up, sometimes for a fee, while others offer convenient drop-off locations in business areas. These can also be used in combination. Some businesses already pay private firms to haul their recyclables. To initiate a non-residential recycling program, downtown Birmingham and the city’s commercial-revitalization districts could act as initial test areas. The concentration of businesses in these areas may allow for more efficient drop-off and/or pickup services. These areas also may have merchants groups through which recycling services can be organized and promoted with the businesses in those districts. ## 2. Promote participation in recycling. A critical element in increasing the cost-effectiveness of recycling is to increase participation and the amount of materials recycled. To increase recycling and ultimately reduce solid waste going to landfills and conserve resources, participation must be boosted. Detailed record keeping can help focus promotions. By knowing how many and where containers are distributed and the quantity of materials being recycled from households (including distinguishing between single-family and multifamily households), the city recycling program will be better able to target promotions while also measuring the effectiveness of the program. The City can work with area recycling centers and organizations to assure that there are convenient options for area businesses, institutions and residents to recycle the widest possible variety of household and office materials. Recycling promotions, such as the City’s E-cycle Day for electronic waste, should continue and expand to increase awareness of the methods and benefits of solid waste reduction, recycling and reuse. <
> **E-cycling in Birmingham** *(Photo by D’arcy Norman, Magic City Post)* # goal 2 Reinvestment in existing communities conserves resources. ### POLICIES * Support clean-up and adaptive reuse of brownfields. * Encourage the preservation and adaptive reuse of existing structures to reduce construction waste and conserve energy and materials. * Encourage urban farming and community gardens to reduce food deserts and food imbalance areas. ### STRATEGIES **A. Attract private investment to existing communities.** See Chapter 4 (p. 4.22) and the strategies in Chapters 7 (pp. 7.8–7.32) and 8 (pp. 8.9–8.20). **B. Identify and participate in priority brownfield projects.** Reclamation of vacant and underutilized brownfield sites for new economic uses will help to restore community and environmental conditions while also contributing to the city’s economy. Many of these sites depress the value of adjacent properties, some of which are located in what would otherwise be highly valuable real estate. Several brownfield sites are in highly visible locations with convenient access to area interstates. Brownfields can also be sites for clean, renewable energy creation. The US Department of Energy created a national initiative in 1999 to redevelop brownfields as Brightfields℠, facilities that generate solar energy. Photovoltaic and similar solar technologies require little maintenance and can be installed quickly without penetrating or disturbing contaminated ground. Upon installation, these solar arrays generate power immediately without environmental impacts. Because of the ease of transportation and installation, brightfields can serve as interim uses until a brownfield is redeveloped. ## C. Encourage adaptive reuse of existing buildings where appropriate. When cost-effective and feasible, the reuse of existing buildings—as opposed to redevelopment—not only helps preserve Birmingham’s historic character, but it also reduces construction waste going to landfills and reduces the energy and resources necessary to provide and transport new building materials. Building reuse, particularly in the case of historic buildings, is more labor-intensive than new construction, but less intensive in terms of materials costs. In that sense, it can be much more beneficial to the local economy, providing more construction jobs and depending less on construction materials manufactured and purchased from other locales. Adaptive reuse of buildings is recycling on the large scale. Most historic buildings were built to last, particularly compared to many modern buildings that are financed, designed and constructed for a much shorter shelf life. Adaptive reuse will not be feasible in every situation but many older buildings, particularly commercial ones, were designed with simple, flexible floor plans making them easy to adapt to new uses. Existing federal income tax credits provide financial incentives for the adaptive reuse of historic buildings. The State of Alabama allows a 50% property tax reduction for historically contributing, income-producing properties in designated historic districts. In 2013 a bill, approved by the State Legislature, provides state income tax credits on top of federal incentives for historic preservation projects. ### 1. Require cost comparison for redevelopment projects involving City financial support. When City financial assistance is requested for private for-profit or nonprofit investment in existing neighborhood or business areas—particularly projects involving existing buildings—a comparison of the costs associated with adaptive reuse—compared to that of demolition and new construction—should be required. *** ### BRIGHTFIELDS—EXELON CITY SOLAR, CHICAGO <
> In July 2010, Exelon, the nation’s largest power company and owner of a gas power plant in Alabama, completed work on the City Solar power plant, the largest urban solar power plant in the United States. The 41-acre tract sits on a brownfield on Chicago’s South Side that had been vacant for over 30 years. Exelon removed toxic chemicals and other pollutants from the site prior to construction. The 10-megawatt solar-energy generation station produces 14,000 megawatt-hours per year, providing enough electricity to power approximately 1,500 homes. The $60 million project created 200 jobs during construction and sourced much of its labor and building materials from South Side companies. The plant provides permanent jobs in operations, maintenance and security. Exelon City Solar also expands the local tax base: Exelon is leasing the long-vacant brownfield property from the City of Chicago, generating revenues from rent and real estate taxes. The electricity generated by the brightfield required a new electrical substation, the first modern infrastructure built in the neighborhood in decades. City Solar also features sustainable landscaping and an up-to-date security system. Exelon received a federal loan guarantee for more than two-thirds of the project’s $60 million budget. SunPower has announced its intention to work with the City of Chicago to choose five other sites within the city for the installation of 2-kilowatt solar-generation systems. More information: http://www.exeloncorp.com/assets/energy/powerplants/docs/pdf_ExelonCitySolarFact.pdf ### 2. Compare costs of reuse versus new construction for capital projects. The cost comparison requirements described in Action 1 should be extended to city capital projects. Conservation and reuse of existing buildings should be adaptively reused unless structural, programmatic or other concerns prove reuse to be infeasible. <
> ***Adaptive reuse of historic buildings like Elyton School above preserves community character, reduces waste and recycles buildings.*** (Photo by Jeremy Erdreich, Bhamarchitect’s Blog.) ### 3. Facilitate the development of a Preservation Guild. Preservation guilds are groups of designers, builders and craftspeople with recognized proficiency in the renovation of historic buildings. Given the historic building stock throughout the city in commercial areas and neighborhoods, the benefits of an organized pool of resources such as this would be profound. Members of this preservation guild could be tapped to compare preservation costs versus new construction (as described in Actions 1 and 2 above), to carry out preservation projects, and to provide ongoing guidance to city staff and officials regarding historic preservation. Benefits to members of the guild would include: marketing and networking, training, and collaboration. ## D. Encourage urban farming and community gardens to reduce food deserts. Community gardens and urban agricultural initiatives like Jones Valley Teaching Farm represent one strategy to address food desert and food imbalance issues in Birmingham’s existing neighborhoods. ### 1. Continue support for community garden programs. There are currently over a dozen community gardens in Birmingham operated and supported by a combination of neighborhood groups and nonprofit organizations, such as Urban Ministry’s WE (West End) Community Gardens initiative. These efforts can increase residents’ access to fresh produce while also serving as community-building projects. Community gardens can also be used as part of a larger strategy to occupy vacant lands with new uses in declining neighborhoods. The city can continue support for these initiatives by connecting interested parties to technical assistance, government and private funding sources, and helping community groups find and assemble appropriate properties to create new gardens. ### 2. Encourage urban agriculture. Larger in scale than community gardens and focused more specifically on food production, urban farming is a growing trend throughout American cities. In Birmingham, Jones Valley Teaching Farm maintains the only urban agricultural operation in Birmingham. Expansion of JVTF and/or development of new urban farms will help provide access to fresh, nutritious foods in Birmingham’s food deserts and food imbalance areas. A variety of sites throughout the city can be converted to productive urban farms given the availability of vacant land, including former residential properties acquired through past flood buyout efforts. The City’s assistance with land assembly could be instrumental to creating adequately sized sites. Urban farming can also occur on brownfields provided the sites are remediated or planting areas are raised or otherwise separated from contaminated soils. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES To make the development of urban farms more practicable, the zoning ordinance should be amended to include specific allowances and standards for urban farming in some residential zoning districts. Residential zoning districts currently allow “truck gardening,” which limits operations to the growing of produce and excludes some activities often associated with urban farming today, such as on-site sales and educational programs. Urban agriculture could become the focus of disinvested areas of the city such as Ensley. A combination of indoor and outdoor urban farming, on the model of innovative enterprises like The Plant in Chicago and Growing Power in Milwaukee can be the foundation of a new economic sector for Birmingham. (See Chapter 8, pp. 87–8.8.) ### INNOVATIONS IN URBAN AGRICULTURE <
> *Hydroponic plant beds in The Plant. (Photo by Julie Beck)* **Indoor Farms** A possible reuse of brownfields that would benefit urban agriculture and access to healthy foods in Birmingham is vertical or building-based agriculture. While some see the future of urban agriculture as skylines filled with vegetative towers, some innovators are utilizing former industrial buildings and warehouses to grow food in the urban environment. Chicago’s The Plant is a former meat-packing plant now used for hydroponic food production (kale, chard, lettuce and arugula) and also houses the New Chicago Beer Company, and a bakery. In addition to its ambition as an innovative, sustainable food production facility, The Plant also is intended to be a net-zero-energy and net-zero-waste building. <
> *Will Allen leads a training workshop at Growing Power’s Milwaukee facility. (Photo by Growing Power.)* **“Genius” Urban Farmer Advises Cities Around the US** Led by Will Allen, winner of a MacArthur “genius” award, Growing Power, Inc., uses demonstration projects, outreach, and technical assistance to promote sustainable urban food systems and train urban youth in many areas of food production from farming to cooking. A national nonprofit and land trust, Growing Power operates urban farms in Milwaukee and Chicago. Allen worked with the New Orleans Food and Farm Network in 2008, and in 2011 Growing Power received a $1 million grant from the Wal-Mart Foundation to fund its work with 20 urban food-production organizations in 15 US cities. 6.17 # goal 3 ## Private developments incorporate cost-effective sustainable planning and design features at the regional, citywide, neighborhood and site levels. **POLICIES** * Consider incentives for energy-efficient, “green” building. * Encourge development that protects the city’s water resources. * Encourage the use of natural drainage in stormwater management systems where feasible. * Encourage the use of conservation and low-impact development techniques. * Support improvement of state water-quality standards and encourage water-efficiency standards and enforcement. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Incentivize green building and neighborhood design. The City is currently developing a program to honor and provide incentives for green building efforts within the community. Ultimately this program could include both financial and regulatory incentives to increase green building practices. ##### 1. Audit and amend development regulations. The first step in encouraging the private sector to incorporate cost-effective sustainable development and green design practices in new investment is to thoroughly assess current regulations and modify those that prevent or make sustainable design practices impractical. The zoning ordinance, subdivision regulations, engineering standards and design review guidelines should be revised to consider incentives for the use of cost-effective green design practices. Incorporation of conservation subdivisions as well as other changes in the subdivision regulations and zoning ordinance would better support green infrastructure or low-impact development techniques, including modifying road pavement width requirements, allowing greater use of roadside swales, and lowering and otherwise modifying parking requirements to avoid excessive impervious surfaces in new development and redevelopment. More compact, mixed use development is an important aspect of city sustainability and a fundamental characteristic of a walkable, bike- and transit- supportive environment. Zoning regulations directly control density and the mixture of uses permitted throughout the city’s zoning districts. Density limitations should be adjusted to better support transit use and traveling within the city’s neighborhoods and business areas on foot and by bicycle. In urban areas, front yard setbacks should be transformed to “build-to lines” to assure pedestrian-oriented development patterns and prevent parking lots between sidewalks and buildings. These changes should be directed toward business districts and the residential areas that surround them, particularly areas along major corridors served by transit. This can be done through an overlay system similar to the Highland Park Form-Based Overlay, *** **CHARLOTTE’S SMART ENERGY NOW PROGRAM** *Charlotte, North Carolina’s Smart Energy Now program intends to decrease energy use in Uptown Charlotte by 20% in five years. The program, introduced in 2010, includes real-time monitoring of energy consumption in 70 downtown buildings. Building managers will use the collected data to improve building performance. The program is a joint effort of Charlotte Center City Partners, Duke Energy, Cisco and Verizon and is part of the city’s Envision Charlotte sustainability program. More information: Smart Energy Now, http://www.duke-energy.comSmartEnergyNow/.* <
> however, that approach does not affect the uses allowed in the underlying zoning districts. The preferred approach would be to prepare and adopt form-based regulations that are designed to be applied in multiple, strategic locations. As part of the development of area-specific plans, such as for the Strategic Opportunity Areas identified in this plan, regulating plans may be prepared that interconnect the land use, transportation and urban design goals for the Opportunity Areas with the form-based regulations necessary to achieve them through private investment. Parking regulations within the zoning ordinance also have an impact on walkability and transit use. In transit catchment areas, minimum parking requirements should evolve to maximum parking thresholds and other regulatory changes that allow shared and remote parking. ### 2. Provide incentives for green design. Green building which is cost-effective is not only good for the environment, it can be economically beneficial to building owners. For example, incentives for cost-effective green building in commercial real estate can increase a property owner’s cash flow and raise property values. Green design may reduce building-based air pollutants, increasing energy efficiency, which further reduces air pollution by lowering demand for energy production that uses fossil fuels. To actively pursue green design in Birmingham, the City can offer a combination of financial and regulatory incentives. Financial incentives may come in the form of sales tax rebates, loan guarantees or other forms of financial support. Cities such as Chattanooga have provided streamlined permitting processes for green development projects. Another way Birmingham has traditionally encouraged desired development and redevelopment projects is committing to infrastructure improvements, such as streetscape projects, in targeted areas. Non-financial inducements for green design could include density or height incentives for specific green building elements, particularly in commercial, multi-family and mixed-use districts, where increased density is needed to better support transit. Green and sustainable development techniques that might be considered for incentives include LEED certification, green roofs, and facilities for alternative transportation such as secure bike parking and showers. <
> *Ruffner Mountain’s Treetop Visitors Center earned a LEED Gold designation in 2011. The center’s green design features include stormwater recycling, a green roof, energy efficient lighting and control systems, and use of recycled and locally-produced building materials. (Photo: KPS Group, Inc.)* A report by the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) offers useful information on the relative value of various incentive strategies for green design. The report includes surveys of designers, builders and government agencies to better understand what types of municipal programs are most likely to trigger increases in green building by the private sector. The top three incentives, besides monetary awards, included priority permit processing; marketing, publicity and awards; and density bonuses. Others included reductions in development fees; tax rebates and loan funds or assistance. ### 3. Adopt a cost-effective green-compatible building code. At a minimum, any standards in the city’s currently adopted building code (the 2009 International Building Code) that prohibit or deter green design and construction practices should be modified to enable, if not encourage, their use. The City is reviewing the International Green Construction Code, prepared by the International Code Council with support of American Institute of Architects (AIA), American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) International, the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE), the USGBC **COOL ROOFS** *Roof design offers an opportunity to improve energy efficiency in buildings. Because sunlight hits roofs throughout the day, they either allow or decrease heat transfer into a building's interior. Under full sun, the surface of a black roof can be as much as 50° F hotter than the air around it.[^*] Cool roofs have high solar reflectance—they reflect the sun's rays—and high thermal emittance—they radiate the heat not reflected. Cool roofs can be especially beneficial during Birmingham's hot summer months, reducing energy use and saving money spent on cooling.* *As part of PlaNYC, New York City created NYC°CoolRoofs, a program that helps building owners reduce energy costs and reduces city temperatures by applying a special white coating to roofs. The coating has both high solar reflectivity and high infrared emissivity. The program is supported by corporate sponsors, including power utility ConEdison, community and nonprofit groups, vendors and other government organizations. Since the program's inception, 2.6 million square feet of roofs in New York City have received a CoolRoof coating.[^**]* *Cool roofs can be created on pitched and flat roofs and do not have to be white. EnergyStar-approved cool metal roofing comes in dark colors, though they are not as reflective as lighter colors. At peak temperatures, a white roof measures 20°F cooler than a roof with aluminum coating and 30°F cooler than a dark roof.* *Green roofs are a unique branch of cool roofs that do more than reduce building temperatures and the urban heat island effect: they can also capture stormwater. Green roofs are roof systems that include vegetation, a growing medium and a waterproofing membrane to prevent absorbed water from entering the building structure. Like rain gardens and bioswales, green roofs are a low-impact development technique for stormwater management. Green roofs have been used in Birmingham at Ruffner Mountain Nature Center, the Social Security Administration Building, the new Children's Hospital and UAB's Hulsey Center, among others.* [^*] Wikipedia, “Cool Roof,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cool_roof. [^**] NYC°CoolRoofs, http://www.nyc.gov/html/coolroofs/html/home/home.shtml. and the Illuminating Engineering Society (IES). This model code can be used as a guide in amending current building codes or adopted as an overlay code. As a start, cost-effective green building code standards could be made mandatory for municipal projects. This can serve as a testing period, allowing local designers, builders and inspectors to become familiar with the new standards and develop local best practices to meet them. The green building incentive program being prepared by the City can use elements of the green building code as metrics for offering incentives, either as a substitute for or in combination with LEED certification. #### 4. Launch a white roofs program. Birmingham’s summers are very hot, and a simple program based on New York City’s to paint roofs white can help property owners cut the cost of air conditioning. A “Birmingham Cool Roofs” project could be created as a partnership of the city, the business community and nonprofit organizations. The program could also be part of a youth jobs program to begin training teenagers and young adults for green jobs. <
> **2.6 million square feet of roofs in New York City have received a “Cool Roof” coating. (Photo by Tara McIsaac, Epoch Times.)** CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES **B. Promote water conservation.** Water conservation at the municipal level reduces energy use and costs to transport drinking water. This includes avoiding or lessening capital projects necessary to expand municipal water capacity. Tapping new water sources far from the city require the construction of new dams, treatment facilities, long underground supply lines and other infrastructure. Greater water usage also requires more water treatment, which can increase energy use. Wise use (and reuse) of water helps reduce monthly bills for utility customers and helps avoid added costs of system expansion that are inevitably borne by ratepayers. While most city water systems have plans to address the occasional drought, more and more cities are taking on water conservation planning with more long-term goals. Water conservation includes a variety of approaches, including: water efficient fixtures, drought tolerant landscaping, collection and reuse of rainwater, and recycling of greywater. Education and promotional programs are also important components of water conservation efforts. **1. Advocate for state laws and local standards allow appropriate uses of greywater.** Greywater is wastewater generated from laundry, dishwashing and bathing that can be reused mostly for irrigation of farms, gardens, lawns, parks and sports fields. Some jurisdictions in the United States also allow water from showers and bathtubs to be reused for flushing toilets. This is permitted under the International Plumbing Code but not the Uniform Plumbing Code. Recycling of greywater is currently prohibited under Alabama State Law. This is an area in which the City and area legislators can help to improve state law affecting water conservation while providing residents and businesses to save on monthly utility bills. In a 2012 report, the Alabama Water Agencies Working Group recommended development of regulations to allow water reuse and public education on water conservation among twelve issue areas and policy options. The state currently has no statewide water conservation plan though one is expected to be produced by the Permanent Joint Legislative Committee on Water Policy and Management. Birmingham’s support of this effort will ultimately prove beneficial in the city’s efforts to conserve its own water supply. **2. Support programs in partnership with the Birmingham Water Works Board to increase water efficiency.** The City should partner with the BWWB in developing water conservation education programs that go beyond the promotional campaigns that usually occur in response to drought conditions. Another way for the City and BWWB to increase water conservation, while also supporting reinvestment in existing communities, is repairing or replacing older water lines. Similarly, homeowners and owners of non-residential buildings should be encouraged to evaluate their water usage and determine if there are leaks in pipes within buildings or own private properties or minor repairs that can reduce water waste and water bills. **3. Encourage water efficiency as a part of programs to promote green building design.** LEED and other sustainable building design programs recognize water efficiency as a key element in green building. Improvements to local regulations by adding incentives, and other cost-effective green building <
> **This rain garden at the Birmingham Botanical Gardens reflects one method to increase water conservation—by collecting or diverting rainwater to irrigate landscape areas. Cisterns and rain barrels can be used to collect rainwater for use on lawns, rain gardens and other landscape areas.** 6.21 <
> ***The Birmingham Water Works Board repaired leaks for over 200 customers during its Fix a Leak Week program.*** *(Photo: Linda Stelter, Birmingham News.)* promotion efforts referred to in Goal 3 of this chapter (pp. 6.18–6.19) should include water efficiency alongside energy efficiency, site selection and other elements of sustainable design. # goal 4 ## The city makes every effort to reduce air pollution. ### POLICIES * Consider incentives for the development of multimodal transportation systems that reduce vehicle emissions. * Encourage vehicle emission inspections to improve air quality, industrial opportunity, and community health. * Promote the recruitment of clean industry. * Consider incentives for private industries to further reduce emissions over time. * Encourage energy-efficient design, materials and equipment in existing and new private developments. * Support the improvement of state energy policy standards and programs. ## STRATEGIES ### A. Develop and implement a Sustainability Plan for city operations. This strategy is described under Goal 1 of this chapter (pp. 6.10–6.16). In addition to air quality initiatives that may be included, the plan can include specific cost-effective strategies to reduce emissions. #### ACTIONS **1. *Establish measurable goals to decrease emissions from City operations.*** To measure progress, assure cost effectiveness and be able to adjust efforts, a city Sustainability Plan should include an estimate of air-polluting emissions from city operation, the cost to reduce those emissions, and the potential cost saving resulting from Sustainability Plan Implementation. From this a reasonable cost-effective reduction target can be set and strategies enacted to meet the goal within the time frame of the plan. **2. *Reduce transportation-related emissions.*** This includes investing regularly in the development and maintenance of bicycle and pedestrian facilities, supporting transit, use of cleaner-burning fuels and metro-wide vehicle emissions testing. **3. *Reduce emissions from buildings and energy use.*** Building materials and equipment and energy consumption related to buildings are often overlooked factors in outdoor air quality. Promotion of green building design, including green rehabilitation and weatherization of existing buildings, will help to reduce air pollution caused by buildings directly and indirectly. Use of renewable energies to reduce statewide dependence on fossil fuel-based energy production also helps to reduce air pollution. There are a variety of renewable energy technologies available today and advances in technologies are making the harnessing of alternative energy sources more economical. Geothermal energy is a promising renewable source because it relies on heat energy from within the earth, which varies little from place to place, in contrast to solar and wind power limitations. A growing renewable source in Alabama is biomass, which involves the burning of specific crops and wood that grow and store energy. Hydroelectric, solar and wind power are also renewable sources. Unfortunately, there are few incentives available in the state to drive development of renewable energy sources in Alabama. ### 4. Support state and federal weatherization programs. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs (ADECA) administers the Alabama Weatherization Assistance Program to help low income families afford a variety of energy efficiency improvements to their homes that reduce utility bills but also help reduce energy consumption that contributes to air pollution. The City should continue promotion of these programs through the Community Development Department and provide information, for example through the My Green Birmingham website regarding weatherization and the financial benefits of residential energy efficiency. These promotional efforts should also include information on federal renewable energy incentives. ### 5. Promote use of renewable energies. The City should invest in different strategies to increase awareness, development and use of renewable energies. As the City continues its efforts to be a model for the region, to invest in alternative fuels for its fleet, and to improve energy efficiency in City facilities, harnessing solar, geothermal or other renewable power sources to reduce the City’s own non-renewable energy consumption will be instrumental in raising visibility and underscoring the viability of renewable energy use. A parallel approach is to work with area partners such as the UAB Sustainable Smart Cities Center, area legislators, the Birmingham Business Alliance and other stakeholders to develop and recommend a combination of state and private incentive programs to advance renewable energy production in the region. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART II | CHAPTER 6 SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES # D. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Form a Sustainability Committee or similar advisory group comprising City staff and officials, utilities representatives, university and business representatives, and subject matter experts. | City Departments; Mayor; City Council | | Advance financial and regulatory incentives to encourage “green” development. | PEP; Planning Commission; City Council; Economic Development Office | | Amend development regulations to accommodate urban farming, support transit and walkability, and encourage cost-effective green infrastructure and low-impact development techniques. | PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | | Form a Birmingham Cool Roofs committee to develop a Cool Roofs program. | Mayor’s Office; PEP; nonprofits | # Part III Neighborhoods, Housing and Community Renewal **Chapter 7** **Neighborhoods,** **Historic Preservation,** **and Housing** **Chapter 8** **Community Renewal** ### SUMMARY THEMES * **DATA:** Understand the reality on the ground > Comprehensive property information system and market evaluation analysis > Brownfields inventory * **NO MORE SILOS:** Talk to one another > Housing Policy Advisory Council and subcommittees * **BUILD ON ASSETS:** Retain and enhance > Historic preservation priority ranking system > Historic preservation coupled with neighborhood enhancement and revitalization > Artist studio and live/work space * **NO ONE-SIZE-FITS ALL:** Use the right tool to get the job done > Director in charge of code enforcement and blight removal, accountable to the Mayor > Birmingham Redevelopment Authority and Land Bank * **MAKE CHOICES FOR CRITICAL MASS:** Be strategic > Criteria for redevelopment planning and investment for designated Strategic Opportunity Areas > Start where there is high probability of success > Create critical mass > Repeat and expand * **BUILD CAPACITY:** Get organized for funding and impact > Birmingham Neighborhoods Future conference soon after adoption of the comprehensive plan > Capacity College for neighborhood groups and small nonprofits * **BE INNOVATIVE:** Turn vacancy into opportunity > Use vacant land to green neighborhoods > Establish community land trusts for affordable housing and for open space > Create an Urban Agriculture Pilot District for a year-round, for-profit food production industry on vacant land and in vacant buildings # Chapter 7 Neighborhoods, Historic Preservation and Housing <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “Livable neighborhoods; cleaner neighborhoods; more housing.” “Birmingham has a sweet and vibrant historical aspect that most certainly needs preservation. We will always be known for it, but we can also create new interests and opportunities for our city...there should be more options.” | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | ### communities and neighborhoods | | | **Neighborhoods are enhanced by investments to improve quality of life.** | • Support strategic initiatives with integrated investments to improve the physical, environmental, functional, and social conditions and make a visible difference. | | | • Support creation of framework plans for Birmingham’s Communities, incorporating existing neighborhoods plans as appropriate. | | | • Coordinate with the Housing Authority, School Department, county, state, and federal agencies about locating new facilities and disposition of properties. | | **“Urban Villages” and community/ neighborhood centers provide access to retail and services.** | • Focus investments to support walkable neighborhood commercial districts, including Main Street districts and compact centers along arterials. | | | • Locate public facilities, civic and cultural uses within or adjacent to neighborhood commercial districts to act as anchors. | | **City neighborhoods have a good public image.** | • Support a marketing program for the city as a place to live, work, study, and play. | | **The Citizen Participation Plan continues to serve residents and the city well.** | • Update the citizen participation system. | | ### historic preservation | | | **The integrity and character of distinctive historic structures and districts is maintained and enhanced.** | • Coordinate city programs and policies to support historic preservation. | | **Historic preservation initiatives support and invigorate community/neighborhood renewal.** | • Support programs and incentives for historic preservation that renew neighborhoods and commercial districts, and further economic development. | | ### housing | | | **A comprehensive housing policy supports quality neighborhoods.** | • Support a community-based system to develop and implement a citywide housing policy that includes stakeholders from government, the nonprofit sector, and the private sector. | | **All housing is in good condition and code compliant.** | • Support effective, efficient, and sensitive code enforcement efforts. | | **Quality housing meets the diverse needs of households at all income levels and all stages of the life cycle.** | • Support the planning, regulatory and funding initiatives needed to provide a diversity of housing types, rental and ownership, market-rate and assisted, to meet community needs. | # findings ## COMMUNITIES AND NEIGHBORHOODS The majority of the neighborhoods and housing in the city date from before 1960. For historical reasons, some neighborhoods are located in environmentally compromised locations (for example, near industrial sites with a history of pollution or in flood plains) and have experienced significant population declines. In a few neighborhoods, strategic and focused attention by nonprofits, foundations, faith-based groups, and resident investment has created momentum for revitalization. Retail vacancy rates in neighborhood commercial districts are high. Long commercial corridors that border or go through neighborhoods are characterized by low-density, low-value development and high levels of vacancy. REV Birmingham’s Main Street program includes nine neighborhood commercial districts, but has been underfunded and understaffed. External changes and applications for demolition permits for properties located in a designated Commercial Revitalization District are subject to urban design review. The neighborhood/community system of public participation was established in the 1970s and based on a larger population and a different climate for community development funding. ## HISTORIC PRESERVATION Birmingham has 146 individual sites and multi-site historic districts listed on the National Register of Historic Places, including three National Historic Landmarks, nine historic fire stations, and three historic apartment hotel groupings. It also has 40 National Register Historic Districts with multiple properties. Property owners can make changes or demolish properties listed on the National Register that are not located in a local historic district or a Commercial Revitalization District or are not subject to a historic preservation easement, as long as they conform to federal, state, and local law. There are nine local historic districts in which property owners are subject to historic design review of exterior changes to the property. ## HOUSING Nearly two-thirds of Birmingham housing units are single family houses. City of Birmingham households are almost equally divided between owners (49%) and renters (51%). Housing vacancy rates are high: 18% of Birmingham’s housing units are vacant—for rent or sale, or out of the market. Seven percent of total units are vacant and out of the market. Some of Birmingham’s housing stock is old and obsolete and does not meet modern demand. Market rate housing is affordable to the household making the median regional income, but the city has many households with incomes well below the regional median. The median sales price for a single family house in late 2011 was $116,000, while the average cost of building a new house is $130,000. There are approximately 6,000 occupied publicly-assisted housing units owned by the Housing Authority or assisted through Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. The Housing Authority also owns an additional unoccupied 1,951 units slated for improvements or other projects, and administers 5,138 housing choice vouchers (section 8). Two HOPE VI have successfully transformed public housing into mixed-income developments, downtown and in Ensley, and the Housing Authority has applied for a federal Choice Neighborhoods Initiative implementation grant to transform the Loveman public housing development in North Titusville. Federal funding to the city for community development and housing programs has declined significantly since the 1980s. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING # findings (continued) The need for decent, affordable housing remains high. Half of renters are estimated to spend more than 30% of their income on housing and 41% of homeowners spend more than 30% of their income on housing. During the 2006-2011 period, encompassing the Great Recession, the sales price of City of Birmingham homes declined 27.5%. High foreclosure rates add to housing market weakness or failure in some city neighborhoods. In December 2011, 38% of homes listed for sale in the city were in foreclosure. # challenges Stabilizing the continuing trend of a decline in the number of households that creates an oversupply of housing. Ensuring safe, decent and affordable housing to all households. Strengthening weak housing markets that exist in a number of neighborhoods to promote market rate housing development. Providing neighborhood support for all residents while taking a strategic approach to neighborhood and housing development. Updating the neighborhood/community association system. Providing neighborhood-serving retail and services in appropriate locations. A. What the Community Said During the public participation process, Birmingham residents and stakeholders identified the issues most important to them related to neighborhoods and housing: * Many neighborhoods have good housing stock and opportunities for investment. * In some neighborhoods, housing with code violations and blight affects the value of occupied homes in good repair. * Residents all over the city would like better access to retail and services and the revitalization of traditional neighborhood commercial districts. * Historic areas that do not have local historic districts need incentives to promote housing rehabilitation. * Past development decisions allowing incompatible multifamily development affect nearby values. * Absentee landlords need to be held accountable for maintenance and adequate conditions in rentals. B. Understanding Neighborhoods **NOTE:** *For the purposes of this chapter, references in the text to official, city-designated neighborhood associations and communities that are part of the citizen participation process will be capitalized as “Neighborhood” and “Community.”* ### NEIGHBORHOOD POLICY #### Neighborhood types and character **Creating neighborhoods of choice.** Successful 21st century cities offer a high quality of life, and good neighborhoods are the bedrock of quality of life. Businesses locate where people want to be, and good neighborhoods, along with a great open-space system, a vibrant cultural life, and good transportation options rank among the key attractions that any city can offer. As jobs increasingly follow people in the 21st century, rather than the other way around, investing in a high quality of life is also an economic development strategy. Good neighborhoods are safe, clean and healthy, supported by well-maintained and well-run public services. They are comfortable and attractive, easy to access and get around, and provide multiple transportation choices for travel to and from the neighborhood. To many people, good city neighborhoods have the advantage of diversity, whether among the people who live there or the variety of uses and things to do. Ultimately, good neighborhoods are about people and connections. The physical and social organization of a neighborhood should encourage people to get to know and trust one another. Good neighborhoods often have traditions expressed in care for public places such as a school or park, in festivals, and in holiday activities. In order to be successful, each neighborhood within the city, regardless of household income level, should provide safety; decent and sanitary housing; infrastructure and multi-modal transportation systems that are well-maintained; environmental and aesthetic amenities such as street trees; and easy access to parks, public spaces, and neighborhood retail and services. These are the characteristics of neighborhoods of choice. **Reinforcing urban neighborhood character and form in Birmingham.** Neighborhood character is a composite of many features that together give an area its distinctive physical form and appearance. These features tend to affect social interactions. For example, neighborhoods without sidewalks do not encourage walking. Features that help define a neighborhood’s character include streets, sidewalks, and street trees; the scale of buildings and public spaces; internal and external connections; building materials; architectural styles; land uses; the number and type of public and social spaces; historic features; and development types. Many of Birmingham’s neighborhoods originated as separate small towns. Like the city center, these neighborhoods are typically characterized by a grid of connected streets for easy walking, small to medium sized house lots, houses that face the street, small blocks, human-scaled commercial districts, and, in some cases, neighborhood parks. Neighborhoods built from the 1960s on have a more suburban character with winding streets and bigger blocks, and varying densities—for example, tightly platted subdivisions surrounded by vacant land, multifamily enclaves, or subdivisions on golf courses. These newer developments typically lack sidewalks, parks, and neighborhood centers. Birmingham residents who participated in the planning process, including those who prefer to live in the more suburban-style neighborhoods, made it clear that they desire more walkability and connectivity. Regulatory frameworks that emphasize the relationship of buildings to the street and the public realm can enhance walkability. **Understanding Neighborhood and Community types.** Planning agencies typically put planning districts or neighborhoods into categories according to their needs. The Planning Division can perform an initial exercise of this type as it prepares the Framework Plans recommended later in the chapter (pp. 7.8–7.10). Typical criteria used for this purpose include: * Percent Change in Population 2000-2010 * Median Income * Poverty Rate * Unemployment Rate * Percent Owner Occupancy * Median Home Value * Home Vacancy Rate * Acres Vacant Land * Tax Delinquent Parcels (% of parcels) For each variable (e.g., percent of tax delinquent parcels, median income, etc.), the range of values can be divided into equal sets, with a score of 1, 2 or 3, etc., given to each neighborhood or area for that variable, with “1” representing the most desirable end of the distribution (e.g., lower percent of tax delinquent parcels, higher median income). All scores are then totaled for each area. The areas are then divided into sets based on their relative scores. These groupings are then clarified as stable or in various degrees of transition. Potential categories for Birmingham include: * *Stable Areas.* Stable areas have not been experiencing large changes in population or income and have low rates of vacancy and blight. Their housing markets function well and private investment in renovations and new development occurs. Residents in these types of areas tend to be most concerned with assuring that their neighborhoods are safe and well-maintained, with good code enforcement, security, and high quality public services and public spaces. They focus on whether any infill development is compatible with neighborhood character and want development that occurs at the edges of the neighborhood to be positive, to incorporate appropriate transitions, and to avoid adverse impacts. Many of these areas have strong Neighborhood Associations. Stable areas need vigilance to make sure that they continue to do well. Maintenance and enforcement are critical tools in preserving stability, plus careful attention to neighborhood amenities, edges and transitions. * *High Asset Transition Areas.* As the name implies, these areas are changing, with opportunities for an upward trajectory. They typically include a patchwork of subdistricts—some adjacent to stable areas, some with momentum for positive change, and some areas with evidence of disinvestment and vacancy. Efforts to enhance market rate development conditions and make neighborhood improvement in these areas need to be sensitive to submarket distinctions and focus on making the most of community assets. * *High Walkability Transition Areas.* These areas often include older town centers retaining the street grids and some attractive housing stock that can be the foundation on which to revive walkable neighborhoods. However, while traditional neighborhood form is a good foundation for revitalization, a number of neighborhoods in these areas have a large number of vacant and abandoned properties and very poor housing markets. Strategies to revitalize these neighborhoods must be carefully targeted around community assets, adjacency to areas in better condition, existing or potential transit hubs, and must involve sufficient investment to bring critical mass. * *High Alert Transition Areas.* These areas have experienced significant population loss, contain high numbers of tax-delinquent properties, boarded-up houses, vacant lots, deteriorated housing, and vacant commercial and industrial sites. Property markets are weak to nonexistent. Environmental hazards such as pollution and flooding are an issue in a number of locations. Revital- ization efforts must begin with effective control of blight and vacancy, including land banking, environmental programs and careful targeting of improvements. * *Niche Development Transition Areas.* Areas with high scores for acres of vacant land, but where much of this vacant land has not previously been developed, offer opportunities for open space and for development with specific characteristics that should be targeted to niche residential and commercial markets. **Understanding markets.** Neighborhood image and the perceived quality of life in neighborhoods are essential components of how people make choices about where to live. Policies to support and improve neighborhoods must be informed by data and analysis of the city’s existing housing markets and its competition. It is important to understand what kinds of households are the potential market for housing in the city, what kinds of neighborhoods and assets can appeal to those households—and then, on the basis of that information, develop a strategy to reach those target audiences with a message about Birmingham neighborhoods and Birmingham as a place to live that is responsive to what they are looking for. An even more detailed understanding of Neighborhood and Community types can be created with good information on real estate markets. Strategy 7.A.1 on p. 7.27 recommends preparation of a Market Value Analysis for Birmingham to help guide planning and revitalization decisions. **Linking neighborhoods with strategic opportunities.** In order to make progress over the next twenty years in achieving the Birmingham vision for revitalized neighborhoods, strategic choices have to be made so that redevelopment and revitalization programs and investments create successful models that advance the overall competitiveness of the city. These investments have a critical role to play not only in improving quality of life for current residents, but in creating neighborhoods strong enough to attract private housing investment. The goal is to create successful mixed-income, racially diverse communities with a variety of housing choices in these “Strategic Opportunity Areas.” Further revitalization efforts can then be modeled on these successes. ## The Citizen Participation Plan Birmingham’s citizen participation system was created in 1974 and revised four times since then, most recently in 2004. The Mayor’s Office of Citizens Assistance administers the program, which was principally created to provide greater grassroots influence on the distribution of federal funds received by the City as Community Development Block Grants (CDBG). Two or more Neighborhoods make up a Community, which is governed by the elected officers of the Neighborhood Associations in a Citizen Advisory Committee. The presidents of the Citizen Advisory Committees make up the citywide Citizens Advisory Board (CAB). Officers of the various citizen groups are elected every two years. The current regulations that govern the system also provide for adjustment of Neighborhood and Community boundaries every two years, if desired.[^p194-1] In recent years, the decline in CDBG funds, city population, and the city budget have all resulted in a weakening of the system. While some Neighborhood Associations continue to be very robust, other areas have minimal turnout at elections and problems finding candidates for offices. Limited CDBG funds no longer allow significant regular allocations to all Neighborhood Associations for local projects. The Mayor’s Office of Citizens Assistance has a smaller staff than was common in the past. Communication with Neighborhood and Community leaders and between leaders and neighborhood residents also appears to be less effective than in the past. A review and evaluation of the Citizen Participation Plan is needed to modernize the system and increase its effectiveness for 21st century Birmingham. [^p194-1]: City of Birmingham Consolidated Plan 2010–2015, Description of Citizen Participation Plan system and processes begins on p. 118. # C. Recommendations ## goal 1 ### Neighborhoods are enhanced by investments to improve quality of life. #### POLICIES * Support strategic initiatives with integrated investments to improve the physical, environmental, functional, and social conditions and make a visible difference. * Support creation of plans for Birmingham's Communities, incorporating existing neighborhood plans as appropriate. * Coordinate with the Housing Authority, Birmingham Public Schools, the Transit Authority county, state, and federal agencies about locating new facilities and disposition of properties. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Develop a program for Strategic Opportunity Areas to focus a defined portion of public investments, incentives, and programs on neighborhoods with potential "urban villages" at their core. To begin creating the high quality of neighborhood life that Birmingham residents called for in the public participation process—characterized by more connectivity, including better transit, and neighborhood-serving retail and services—it is necessary to focus resources and build up centers of greater density strategically. In a city environment, both transit and retail must be supported by clusters of sufficient household and population density. Over the decades, Birmingham has lost density, both through depopulation of traditional neighborhoods and development of suburban-style neighborhoods toward the edges of the city. Not including greater downtown (from the BJCC area to Five Points South), potential Strategic Opportunity Areas include Five Points West, Titusville, Carraway-Norwood, Woodlawn, and Parkway East. #### Action ##### 1. Identify and plan for potential urban village districts. Criteria to identify these districts include market potential, presence of employment centers, location in relation to current and future plans for transit improvements, momentum from existing activities, urban form, and so on. Individual areas may not meet all the criteria. Because of the critical need in Birmingham and the region for better public transportation, the potential of a revitalized urban village to serve as a transit hub must be given special consideration. Example conceptual plans for urban villages at Five Points West and Woodlawn can be found in Chapter 14 (pp. 14.30–14.33). #### B. Create a series of proactive “framework plans” to include all of Birmingham’s Communities to translate the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan to the community level and adopt these plans as part of the Comprehensive Plan. In the past, the Neighborhood and Community system has been closely connected to the Community Development Department because that is where the funding was located. Planners in the Department of Planning, Engineering, and Permits, have been more focused on reviewing and permitting development proposals. Since 2004, the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham (www.rpcbg.org) and the Auburn University Urban Studio have prepared neighborhood plans at the request of Neighborhood Associations. The RPCGB has prepared plans or basic planning frameworks, often though not always with a transportation focus, for Collegeville, Fountain Heights 16th Street Corridor, Highland Park, and, as of 2012, was beginning a plan for the Thomas Neighborhood and North Titusville. The Urban Studio students have prepared plans for Norwood, College Hills and Graymont, Lakeview, and Pratt City. Similarly, federal funding for Choice Neighborhoods Initiative implementation grants, for which the Housing Authority applied in 2012 for the redevelopment of Loveman Village public housing in North Titusville, require a broader neighborhood plan for mixed income development. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING The City’s Planning Division has typically played a limited role in these planning efforts, which, in any case, tend to be isolated requests for planning expertise on the neighborhood level, rather than the creation of guidelines within the broader context of a planning strategy for the city. By creating Framework Plans at a Community scale and integrating them into the Comprehensive Plan, there will be more coordination and collaboration on the neighborhood level under the umbrella of the overall vision and strategies of the Comprehensive Plan. Neighborhood-level planning will be the expression of principles, guidelines and strategies that extend from the comprehensive plan’s overarching Vision and Principles to local action items in the Framework Plan. ### Actions **1. Planners from the City’s Planning Division work with Communities in order to develop long-term expertise and relationships.** In order for the City to have a more comprehensive planning approach, planners need to understand the conditions and issues in all parts of the City. This work will involve attending Community meetings when requested as well as during the Framework Planning process in order to get to know the concerns and issues of residents. Planners will work with residents to create plans, identify needs, develop solutions, and provide technical assistance. The Planning Division is uniquely qualified to work with Communities to assist them with issues relating to revitalization and physical development. By developing a more detailed expertise of localized issues, the Planning Division and the Planning Commission can also play a more effective role in supporting the integration of transportation and land use policies, and advice on strategic deployment of resources. An important part of the role of Planner will also be to work with the Mayor’s Offices of Citizen Assistance and Economic Development, the Community Development Department, the Housing Authority, the MPO, local institutions and other organizations that can affect neighborhood life. **2. Engage neighborhood groups, students and volunteers to perform rapid “community audits” of the public realm to aid in developing the framework plans, targeting and prioritizing resources for public improvements.** Neighborhood audits provide information and promote priority-setting about how to target resources for public improvements. The Planning Division can work with local organizations, such as neighborhood associations, churches, schools, college students, or other groups to develop a consistent format for neighborhood-based inventories of the condition of sidewalks, streets, lighting, street trees, drains, blighted properties, and so on. Regularly scheduled annual Neighborhood Audit Walks, in which neighbors walk a particular route (using different routes each year) and note issues of concern, would be one way to make this a consistent process. Today’s smartphones, tablets, and apps, when available, make it easy to enter information into a spreadsheet, obviating the need to enter data later. Neighbors could then prioritize the issues that need attention, taking into account any City criteria that government agencies make available to them. These audits must then be organized and presented to the Chief of Operations and City departments for inclusion in their work plans and any future asset management systems. (See Chapter 13, pp. 13.17–13.18, for recommendations on asset management systems.) The City must also create a response system to acknowledge the work of Neighborhood Associations, provide the criteria used to evaluate competing improvement projects, and provide information on progress being made on neighborhood priorities, <
> *Smartphones can be used for neighborhood surveys, as illustrated here for a Boston abandoned property survey. http://www.communityprogress.net/filebin/pdf/rvp_conf/presentations/1B_Delgado_Laura_DataDrivenTools.pdf* including explanations of funding difficulties and any other barriers to implementation. Some neighborhood groups in Birmingham have already been doing some work of this type. For example, in approximately 2007-8, Friends of West End, a coalition of several Neighborhood Associations, did a survey of blighted properties in the Arlington/West End neighborhood and developed a list of properties for rehabilitation and demolition. Twelve owners of vacant properties were contacted about making improvements. Half of them did so and the properties are now rented; the group is pursuing demolition for the remaining six properties.[^p197-2] This effort demonstrates that volunteer data-gathering and improvement activities can have an impact. ### 3. Create Framework Plans through a public process. By providing planning at the Community scale, rather than the neighborhood scale, Framework Plans will translate the policies of the Comprehensive Plan into planning principles that will encourage a broader sense of common neighborhood issues and connection. The proposed Strategic Opportunity Areas should be evaluated first and become the first Framework Plan areas if indicated by the evaluation. The Framework Plans for each Community should include policies and design principles about infill development and, if relevant, subdivision character; connectivity (pedestrian and bicycle routes, transit, vehicle routes); mixed-use and commercial districts; open space and green systems; infrastructure and services. The Draft Framework Plans should be discussed in public meetings with Neighborhood Associations, other residents, business owners, and property owners in each Community. Then the Framework Plans should be presented to the Planning Commission for approval through a public hearing process and adopted as part of the Comprehensive Plan. Existing neighborhood or area plans, including plans created by nonprofits that continue to be useful could also be incorporated in the Framework Plans. Communities that include Strategic Opportunity Areas recommended in this plan are Five Points West/West End, Woodlawn, Northside (Carraway/Norwood), Titusville, and Parkway East. #### 4. Develop templates for the Framework Plans so that the Planning Department can oversee plans carried out by others. Given Birmingham’s geographically large and diverse area and the City’s limited resources, it may be difficult for the Planning Division to create Framework Plans for Communities in a reasonable time frame. The templates would allow the Planning Division to oversee plans that are undertaken by groups other than city government. In order for a plan to be adopted as part of the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan, the plan must be reviewed by Planning Division staff (if they did not prepare it directly) for conformity with the template and for conformity with the overall goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan. If staff did not prepare the plan, they might ask for changes to make the Framework Plan consistent with the Comprehensive Plan, after which the Framework Plan would be submitted to the Planning Commission for a public hearing and adoption. ### C. Create a system or consultation structure to ensure communication and coordination with the Housing Authority, School System, Transit Authority, and other government agencies, including county, state and federal agencies with facilities in the city, about location and disposition of facilities so that they further City of Birmingham goals for neighborhood and economic development. #### Action 1. Create a Public Facilities Working Group and invite relevant public agencies’ facilities staff to meet at least twice a year. The Planning Division should organize a Public Facilities Working Group, with the Director of Planning, Engineering and Permits as chairperson, to meet twice a year. One of meeting should take place at the time that departments and agencies are developing capital budgets. At the meetings, facilities staff can share information about facility needs, plans for disposition or new construction, and similar issues, and discuss opportunities to support city neighborhood and economic development goals. [^p197-2]: Personal communication. ### D. Explore the potential of community schools as neighborhood anchors for residents of all ages, including coordination with recreation programs, health and social services, adult education and fitness, and so on. The “community schools” movement places health and human service providers, adult education, and other neighborhood-based services into school buildings in order to serve students and their families. Many school districts have adopted this strategy (which is also at the foundation of successful programs such as the Harlem Children’s Zone and the federal Promise Neighborhoods Initiative) to help reform underperforming schools.[^p198-3] The community schools model is a place-based strategy that can have mutual benefits for schools and for neighborhoods. When completed, the school facilities improvement program in Birmingham will provide considerably more capacity than is needed for the current enrollment of 25,000 students—giving room to grow the enrollment but also potential for other activities. Moreover, schools are often not used in some hours of the day and evening, or on weekends. Nonetheless, the community schools concept has much to offer Birmingham. Using the investment in school facilities to provide resources for all members of the community will enhance coordination among educators, parents, social service providers, city departments, nonprofit organizations, neighborhood associations and other stakeholders in support of neighborhood revitalization. Use of the schools by other entities would require a policy decision by the School Board and approvals from the superintendent and individual principals. Agreements about costs for using school space and facilities would need to be negotiated. Potential partners would be social service agencies that assist children and families, recreation programs run by the Parks and Recreation Department, providers of adult education and work skills training, and community colleges looking for satellite classroom space. ### Actions #### 1. Bring together school system officials, the Education Foundation, city staff, nonprofits, higher education institutions, social services providers, parents, and other stakeholders to explore the community schools, model for Birmingham. A day-long conference that brings speakers from communities and school districts where this model is being implemented will serve to introduce it to a range of stakeholders in Birmingham. It is critical that the **PROMISE NEIGHBORHOODS** *This program, administered by the US Department of Education, provides planning and implementation grants to eligible entities, including nonprofit organizations, which may include faith-based nonprofit organizations and institutions of higher education. The vision of the program is that all children and youth growing up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to great schools and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to college and a career. The inspiration for the program is the Harlem Children’s Zone (www.hcz.org/).* *The Promise Neighborhoods Program focuses on:* * *Identifying and increasing the capacity of eligible entities that are focused on achieving results for children and youth throughout an entire neighborhood;* * *Building a complete continuum of cradle-to-career solutions of both educational programs and family and community supports, with great schools at the center;* * *Integrating programs and breaking down agency “silos” so that solutions are implemented effectively and efficiently across agencies;* * *Developing the local infrastructure of systems and resources needed to sustain and scale up proven, effective solutions across the broader region beyond the initial neighborhood.* *In 2010 and 2011, 36 planning grants and 5 implementation grants were awarded to communities in 18 states and the District of Columbia. Communities that prepare a Promise Neighborhood plan on their own are eligible for implementation grants.* *www2.ed.gov/programs/promiseneighborhoods/index.html#description* [^p198-3]: See www.communityschools.org model be presented not just as an education strategy but in a broader context of neighborhood improvement, economic development and City of Birmingham competitiveness. For success, the conference should develop into a long-term sustained effort. ### 2. Support local efforts to bring a Promise Neighborhood Initiative program to Birmingham. The Woodlawn Foundation submitted proposals in the 2011 and 2012 grant rounds for a Promise Neighborhood planning grant. Although Woodlawn did not receive the grants, the Foundation and its neighborhood and community partners continue to work together, and where possible, to implement some of the proposed activities. > **CHICAGO COMMUNITY SCHOOL INITIATIVE** > *With more than 150 community schools, Chicago has the largest system of community schools in the country. All schools provide programs in the following areas:* > * *academic supports for students* > * *health and wellness access for students and families* > * *social/emotional health services and referrals for students and families* > * *social and cultural enrichment* > * *recreational activities* > * *adult education and family/community engagement programming.* > > *Community schools remain open after the regular academic day to provide these programs and services in partnership with community-based organizations.* > > *www.communityschools.org/resources/chicago_il_building_communities.aspx* # goal 2 ## Community/neighborhood centers (urban villages) that provide access to retail and services. ### POLICIES * Focus investments to support walkable neighborhood commercial districts, including Main Street districts and compact centers along arterials. * Locate civic and cultural uses within or adjacent to neighborhood commercial districts to act as anchors. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Amend commercial strip zoning along arterial roads to promote more compact, mixed-use and walkable commercial districts. ##### Actions **1. Designate intersections and segments of commercial corridors for different intensities of commercial development and introduce new mixed-use zoning options to create urban village zoning, especially where there are future opportunities for transit stops.** This action will require evaluation of current zoning, boundaries of the Commercial Revitalization Districts that currently require design review, and boundaries of the Main Street districts. Urban village zoning areas may be smaller than these current design review and economic development areas. Urban village zoning would promote and facilitate housing development around neighborhood commercial centers, including design standards for private development that require connections and walkability. Some of these urban villages can be designated as areas for "transit-ready" development. This means that over the long term, these areas will have the development capacity and standards to accommodate higher-density, mixed-use areas that can support enhanced transit, such as express buses, bus rapid transit, and possibly in the more distant long term, light rail. New zoning could be introduced as a mixed-use base zoning district or as an overlay district and include form-based zoning approaches. However, base zoning must include mixed-use options at central locations. **2. Establish a program to redesign commercial** **corridors with enhanced streetscapes or parkway-** **style environments that create more attractive** **development opportunities.** Many of Birmingham’s major streets are unnecessarily wide for current and likely future traffic burdens and are characterized by long stretches of low-density, low-value development with intermittent vacant and blighted segments. Building on the Planning Commission’s Complete Streets Policy and the streets included in the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System plan, street improvements that enhance the public realm can help attract beneficial development. Redesigning corridors with enhanced streetscapes and, in some cases, local lanes separated from through lanes, can provide plenty of road capacity. Side roads separated from the through lanes by planted side medians buffer adjacent land uses from high speed traffic and may accommodate parking as well. Landscape treatments for wide commercial corridors, can include landscaped medians, significant trees (not small shrubs), and landscaped swales for beauty and enhanced treatment of polluted stormwater. Similar strategies combined with the rezoning strategy for urban villages and concentration of commercial activities at specific nodes can make the areas between compact village centers more attractive for multifamily or, in some cases, single-family development. Where the corridors are state roads, the City should negotiate with the Alabama Department of Transportation to develop an approach to urban road improvements that promotes city economic development and urban design goals. In all cases, improvements should be consistent with the safe delivery of utilities. In recent years, many state transportation departments, the Institute of Traffic Engineering, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials have released guides and manuals on more flexible designs (often called context-sensitive solutions).[^p200-4] **3. Improve the function and design for all neighborhood** **centers, including access management, internal** **circulation, buildings at the street edge, pedestrian** **networks, landscaped and distributed parking lots,** **and similar measures, through enhanced development** **standards in development regulations.** Over time, significant neighborhood centers should become urban villages in their physical characteristics. This means that both private and public property should be designed to provide functional, safe, and attractive environments for all users—pedestrians, bicyclists, transit users, and motorists. The urban villages must accommodate cars and other motorized vehicles but not be dominated by them. This requires that public realm standards should generally reflect the principles of Complete Streets, including, for example, narrower lanes (to slow traffic speeds and reduce run- off), safer intersection designs (to reduce crashes and encourage crossing in the right place), curb extensions at intersections (to shorten crossing distances), bike lanes (to give bikes the same treatment as cars), and wider sidewalks and street trees (to make walking a safe, pleasant option).[^p200-5] While the physical form of some of Birmingham’s neighborhoods still reflects their status as former town centers, in many cases the retail spaces have emptied out and property owners may be tempted to modify their urban form by creating auto-dependent designs. Many of these centers are designated Commercial Revitalization Districts, where the Design Review Committee can work with property owners and businesses to promote walkability and similar desired characteristics. However, it is more direct to provide development standards within the zoning code for private development, so that designs begin with these basic characteristics already incorporated. **4. Use form-based zoning or place-based zoning in** **mixed-use urban village and commercial corridor** **locations as a way to promote pedestrian-friendly** **environments with quality design.** Form-based zoning focuses on the physical form, character and relationships of buildings and the public realm, rather than the conventional zoning approach [^p200-4]: See AASHTO, “A Guide for Achieving Flexibility in Highway Design.” www.transportation.org [^p200-5]: The Institute of Traffic Engineers has extensive information on Conext-Sensitive Solutions (www.ite.org.css/), including a recommended practice report, Designing Walkable Urban Thoroughfares: A Context-Sensitive Approach. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING focused on control of land uses and development intensity. A form-based code is intended to be an implementation tool created to implement a specific area plan and vision.[^p201-6] Place-based zoning incorporates design and development standards based on best practices in urban design directly into zoning district language. These can be similar to a form-based approach but, in the absence of a detailed plan, can provide more flexibility. Zoning that promotes quality design can accelerate development and increase values. Nashville has found that districts where form-based codes were established and where there was redevelopment interest resulted in significant increase on property values.[^p201-7] *** **B. When locating city, school, or other public uses, give priority to districts identified in the Comprehensive Plan future land use map as compact, mixed-use commercial districts, such as Urban Village and Main Streets districts.** The City and County can help bring customers to commercial districts by locating civic uses such as libraries, police and fire stations, schools, clinics, and similar facilities in commercial districts. New or renovated public facilities should be pedestrian-friendly and compatible with surrounding development—for example, locating parking to the side or rear of the building and providing windows and articulation on the street façade. ### Actions **1. Coordinate disposition of, or development of new uses for publicly-owned properties through the PEP to ensure compatibility with Comprehensive Plan goals and strategies, as well as plans for neighborhoods and commercial areas.** The disposition of publicly owned properties, including schools, located in or near commercial districts, should be preceded by an evaluation of potential uses and urban design strategies that can contribute to strengthening the commercial district. The school district should work with the City and affected neighborhoods to plan for preferred outcomes in the case of school-building reuse. If disposition and private-sector development of a property is desired, the school district should prepare an RFP that provides criteria for the desired range of uses and the urban design strategy preferred. Transfer to other public entities should also require a commitment to suitable urban design strategies. **2. In future public school improvement programs, work with the State Superintendent and State Department of Education to design schools for urban contexts.** The State Department of Education currently requires large sites for new school construction: 5 acres for elementary schools, 10 acres for middle schools, and 30 acres for high schools, plus an additional one acre per 100 students in each category, making the sites even bigger. The effect of these standards is to make access to schools auto-dependent and isolated from the surrounding neighborhoods. The school building program now nearing completion in Birmingham demonstrates how some schools were built on sites that are not optimally located in relationship to neighborhoods that they serve. A number of states have revised their school building standards for urban schools to require less acreage so that city schools can be integrated into neighborhoods, allowing at least some students to walk or bike to school. *** **C. Promote the development of business or merchants’ associations to serve as the voice of business owners in Urban Village/Main Street districts.** A business or merchants’ association organizes business owners to identify and prioritize the issues of most concern to them and serves as the voice and advocate for business interests in a neighborhood district. The existence of such organizations also benefits both the City and neighborhood residents during neighborhood and commercial district planning processes. [^p201-6]: www.formbasedcodes.org [^p201-7]: bettercities.net/article/nashville-values-development-rise-form-based-code-19199 ### Action #### 1. Pursue funding to support capacity building for business associations, coordinating with programs for technical assistance and supports for small businesses and microenterprises. Explore options to work with REV Birmingham to assist small business and micro-entrepreneurs, in pursuing funding to support organizational capacity building among merchants in Urban Village/Main Street districts. *** ### D. Continue to recruit grocery stores and fresh food outlets with a preference for locations in or adjacent to Urban Villages/Main Street districts, and avoid incentivizing fast food outlets. Grocery stores are important anchors for other neighborhood retail and service businesses, as well as providing access to fresh foods. Fast food locations, particularly in drive-through configurations, do not have the same role in attracting other retailers. Moreover, recent research has shown that the proximity of fast food is more strongly associated with poor diet than the presence of grocery stores is associated with healthy diets. Communities adopt a number of strategies to recruit grocery stores. These strategies fall into two broad categories: 1) data and marketing and 2) financial incentives. * **Data and marketing.** There is clear evidence that urban markets can be underserved simply because the buying power of the market is not understood or well documented. Communities can perform their own market analyses to demonstrate market opportunities to potential grocers. The market analysis documents household characteristics and buying power as well as the current lack of supply to tap this market. Because most neighborhoods in Birmingham are not growing in population or households, the city tends to be at a disadvantage in this metric. It is important to show market opportunities at specific locations. * **Incentives.** Cities employ many incentives to persuade a quality food store to locate in a community. One strategy is to assemble a site of sufficient size to accommodate a grocery store and to transfer the site to a store for a nominal fee. Other strategies include the use of tax-increment financing to underwrite development costs or tax abatements in order to lower operating costs. Federal New Market Tax Credits have been used to support development of a grocery store in larger, mixed-use projects. > **THE ECONOMICS OF GROCERY STORES** > *Grocery stores apply several criteria when selecting a location. The two primary ones are market potential and site visibility/accessibility.* > * **Market potential.** *Grocery stores consider the number of households and the character of the competition. Grocery stores typically locate in market areas that are growing. Households spend approximately 10 to 15 percent of total income in food stores. Lower-income households spend a higher share and upper-income households spend a lower share. Approximately 5.7 percent of disposable income in America is spent on "food at home." To turn a profit, grocery stores need to achieve sales of $350 to $500 per square foot of space per year.* > * **Location.** *Grocery stores prefer sites that have easy access from major thoroughfares. High traffic volume is considered an asset, especially if the site is on the side of the street where traffic volume is high on the trip home from work. Sites visible from the road and convenient to growth areas are valuable to grocery stores as well. For conventional grocery stores, 70 to 80 percent of store sales are derived from households within three miles of the store.* > * **Size and supporting number of households.** *Supermarkets generally range in size from 50,000 to 75,000 square feet. By definition, supermarkets bring in at least $2 million in sales per year, although the Food Marketing Institute calculates the average at above $18 million. It takes $200 to $300 million in income or a minimum of 4,500 to 5,000 households in the primary market to support a supermarket. The number of households required to support a supermarket increases with the presence of competition. Smaller stores, like Aldis, range in size from 10,000 to 15,000 square feet. Neighborhood stores can be 5,000 to 10,000 square feet. Two thousand households is the minimum required to support a food store that is not a convenience store.* > > *(Source: W-ZHA, LLC.)* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING ### Action 1. *Identify specific locations for grocery stores or other anchors, preferably in or adjacent to Urban Village/Main Streets districts and other future compact, mixed-use districts, prepare market analyses for these locations, and develop incentives appropriate for specific locations.* The grocery store map (Figure 7.1) shows grocery stores that are located just outside the city limits, as well as both full service and smaller grocery stores within the city. The map indicates that stores have located on major arterials, a number of them closer to more affluent areas, and in some cases, city consumers are served by supermarkets just beyond the city limits. The nonprofit organization The Food Trust (www.thefoodtrust.org) has been very successful in expanding access to fresh food in Philadelphia and is now working with other cities, such as New Orleans, to develop effective programs. **E. Develop criteria to deploy city incentives strategically, based on data about the ability of localized markets to support desired retail and services as well as understanding of where gaps in market support exist, and coordinate with revitalization planning in efforts to close gaps.** As part of this comprehensive plan, retail market evaluations with estimates of year 2015 retail spending potential for one-mile and three-mile radius trade areas were prepared by BLOC Global for five representative locations in the City of Birmingham: Five Points West, Ensley, Carraway/Norwood, Woodlawn, and Parkway East. These locations were chosen because they represent different conditions, may have been identified as potential transit stations or hubs, or have new or developing assets. These analyses highlight some of the challenges facing Birmingham as a result of the development and disinvestment patterns of the last generation. All of these trade areas have densities below two occupied households per acre, which is barely sufficient to support bus service at a one hour frequency. The one-mile radius village center locations at this time hardly have enough households and population to support a small food store. Average disposable income in the Carraway/Norwood and Downtown Ensley areas is substantially below the averages for the other locations. Five Points West and Parkway East, both of which have existing retail destinations that serve regional as well as local customers, have surrounding neighborhoods where consumers have somewhat higher average consumer spending in their three-mile trade areas than can be found in the proposed urban village locations. As the saying goes, “retail follows rooftops.” Successful revitalization will require comprehensive strategies that provide new housing density (rehabilitation and reoccupation of vacant dwelling units and construction of new housing) to support new retail options. ### Actions 1. *Coordinate with city departments and agencies in charge of revitalization planning to ensure that a portion of economic development incentives are targeted to urban villages in Strategic Opportunity Areas where they will have the most impact.* The City’s economic development office, working with groups such as REV Birmingham and with property owners, should actively encourage business investment in urban villages and the Strategic Opportunity Areas. This effort can include detailed market studies and recruitment of specific business types, identifying priority areas on the city’s website and in its economic development literature, offering expedited permits and licensing, loans or grants for fit out and façade improvement, as well as sales tax rebates when appropriate. Certain kinds of incentives should be available only in priority areas. 2. *Give priority to public infrastructure improvements in urban villages in Strategic Opportunity Areas.* Public infrastructure improvements to streets, sidewalks, drainage, and streetscape are needed throughout the city, but , as in other investments, it is important to ensure that a significant portion of these improvements make a visible difference and that they are connected in networks. A portion of the capital improvements budget for these types of projects should be allocated to the urban villages in the Strategic Opportunity Areas. Upgrading the physical infrastructure of these CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING # FIGURE 7.1: GROCERY STORES <
> # TABLE 7.1: 2015 MARKET EVALUATIONS | | OCCUPIED HOUSEHOLDS | HOUSEHOLDS PER ACRE | PERSONS | JOBS | JOBS PER ACRE | AVERAGE CONSUMER SPENDING | AVERAGE CONSUMER RETAIL SPENDING | AVERAGE DISPOSABLE INCOME | ESTIMATED 2015 TOTAL RETAIL SPENDING POTENTIAL | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | ONE-MILE RADIUS (WALKABLE VILLAGE CENTER) | | | | | | | | | | | **Carraway-Norwood** | 3,077 | 1.53 | 9,410 | 14,797 | 7.36 | $25,471 | $9,136 | $23,342 | $30,972,273 | | **Downtown Ensley** | 2,503 | 1.24 | 6,378 | 2,147 | 1.07 | $29,796 | $10,841 | $25,879 | $30,062,130 | | **Woodlawn** | 3,915 | 1.95 | 9,656 | 3,448 | 1.72 | $37,516.54 | $13,383.81 | $33,292 | $58,092,168 | | THREE-MILE RADIUS (GROCERY STORE TRADE AREA) | | | | | | | | | | | **Five Points West** | 34,197 | 1.89 | 87,154 | 28,584 | 1.58 | $35,379 | $12,703 | $31,115 | $478,499,290 | | **Parkway East** | 18,421 | 1.02 | 46,045 | 16,708 | 0.92 | $47,057 | $16,929.49 | $40,356 | $344,197,835 | 7.17 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING areas will encourage other property owners to make improvements, and help attract new businesses to empty storefronts as well as new mixed use or residential development. # goal 3 City neighborhoods have a good public image. **POLICY** * Support a marketing program for the city as a place to live, work, study, and play. People coming to Birmingham from outside the region may be the most likely to be interested in living in the city, and they lack preconceived ideas about the city that locals can sometime retain even after conditions have improved. For this reason, it is very important that the city market itself as a place to live. ### STRATEGIES **A. Create a marketing plan for the city and work with realtors, major employers, and others to ensure that people new to the region consider the City of Birmingham as a place to live.** *Live Baltimore is a public-private organization created to market the City of Baltimore as a great place to live. Established in 1997, the organization was based on a series of community meetings at which participants agreed on the need for new strategies to retain and increase Baltimore City’s residential base and to address and balance negative perceptions about city living. Live Baltimore became a fully independent nonprofit entity in 2002. It is funded by numerous community partners including the City of Baltimore, foundations and private businesses. Live Baltimore provides neighborhood profiles, events, amenities, incentives, homebuyer counseling, and other information.* www.livebaltimore.com ### Actions 1. *Designate a city staff member to organize a working group representative of government, major employers, realtors, and developers to create a plan and seek funding to support it.* 2. *Develop a web site and marketing materials that highlight living in downtown and city neighborhoods, cultural and park assets, restaurants and food culture.* Particularly for people considering a move to Birmingham from elsewhere, their first contact with Birmingham is likely to be on the web. An excellent and informative web site is critical to a marketing plan. Because many communities in the region use the “Birmingham” name, it will also be important to distinguish the city and the benefits of urban life from other communities. It may be worthwhile to invest in making sure that the city living website appears prominently at the top of search results. 3. *Create a program, materials and regular events to work with realtors and with major employers such as the health care industry, higher education, financial services, and others to market the city as a place to live so that employees new to the region are not “steered” away from living in the city.* 4. *Create a program of volunteer residents willing to be city “ambassadors” to talk to potential new residents.* Seek volunteers from city residents who work for major employers, young professional groups, entrepreneurs, neighborhood associations, parent groups, retiree groups, etc. A program of this type can be developed by REV Birmingham, the Mayor’s Office or a private group and connected with the web site and marketing program. The ambassadors would be given an orientation and should be recognized and thanked in some way, such as an annual dinner. # goal 4 The Citizen Participation Plan continues to serve residents and the City well. **POLICY** * Update the Citizen Participation Plan system. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING # STRATEGIES ## A. Modernize the Citizen Participation Plan system. ### Actions **1. In collaboration with residents, review and adjust Neighborhood Association and Community boundaries to reflect changing demographics, physical conditions, and city finances.** The Citizen Participation Plan structure allows for changes in the system, including boundaries, every two years. The most recent changes were in 2004. The Community Development Department and the Mayor’s Office for Citizen Assistance can work with the Neighborhoods and Communities to review boundaries in light of data such as demographic trends, number of voters and candidates for offices, meeting schedules, and similar indicators of activity. Birmingham’s population of approximately 212,000 is small to support 99 separate Neighborhood Associations organized into 23 Communities. In comparison, Portland (OR), with a population of 538,776, has 95 neighborhood associations organized into 7 neighborhood districts. The City of Los Angeles has 86 neighborhood councils to represent a population of 3.8 million people. In Birmingham, a smaller number of neighborhood associations with a critical mass of members may be able to provide more effective participation for residents. **2. Explore and analyze citizen-participation systems in other cities to identify best practices suitable to Birmingham.** When it was created, the Birmingham system was a pioneer in citizen participation and a model for cities nationally. However, it was predicated on the availability of federal CDBG funding for neighborhood activities. Over the past four decades, CDBG funding has drastically declined, and Neighborhood Associations no longer receive significant funds for local projects. Today, some larger cities continue to provide significant staff assistance and guarantees of a certain amount of funding for implementing neighborhood or district plans created by the citizen associations. It is not common to see funding allocations to neighborhood associations for any purpose ### CITIZEN PARTICIPATION PROGRAMS IN OTHER CITIES *Like Birmingham, many cities have established citizen participation programs, and these programs have also suffered from increasing municipal budgetary constraints.* | CITY | PROGRAM | FUNDING | STAFFING | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Atlanta, GA** Population: 420,003 | Neighborhood Planning Unit System—24 Advisory Councils; advise on development proposals and zoning change proposals Atlanta Planning Advisory Board—each Advisory Council sends 2 representatives | No public funding | Staff planner from city government is assigned to NPU meetings | | **Rochester, NY** Population: 210,532 | Neighbors Building Neighborhoods—10 sector committees, each including multiple neighborhoods Create and implement sector plans | $5,000 to each sector committee for planning City funds implementation actions, along with business and volunteer efforts | City staff technical assistance—Bureau of Neighborhood Initiatives with 6 staff | | **Los Angeles, CA** Population: 3.8 million | 86 Neighborhood Councils Give input to elected officials, city boards and commissions on a variety of issues | City provides $50,000 annually to each Neighborhood Council to implement the neighborhood plan | City staff from the Department of Neighborhood Empowerment | | **Washington, DC** Population: 601,723 | 37 Elected Advisory Neighborhood Commissions | Commissioners serve 2-year terms with no salary | No staff dedicated to individual ANCs, though staff from various departments have liaisons. Citywide—Office of Advisory Neighborhood Commissions. | | **Seattle, WA** Population: 608,660 | City Neighborhood Council 13 districts made up of multiple neighborhoods Major function is planning | No separate budgets for districts Each district eligible for Neighborhood Matching Fund | Each district has a city-paid staffer | they choose. On the other hand, cities from Omaha (NE) to Greenville (NC) to Dayton (OH) have programs that encourage neighborhood associations to apply for small grants to implement neighborhood projects. Sometimes the programs require “tangible” projects (i.e., not events), and sometimes they require a match. The Montgomery Alabama program is called BONDS (Building our Neighborhoods for Development and Success). Grantees, who may receive up to $5,000, must provide a 10% match and also must attend training sessions. The advantage of a competitive grant system is that, rather than spreading small amounts among many groups, it can provide larger grants for bigger projects. In Birmingham, Neighborhood Associations or Communities could then plan for more significant projects, though they would not receive funds every year. Communities or groups of neighborhoods could be encouraged to apply together. The potential downside of a competitive system is that higher-capacity neighborhood groups might have an advantage in preparing, implementing, and leveraging grants. To avoid this problem, a competitive grant system should contain safeguards, such as a requirement that a single association can receive a grant only once in every 3 years, that members of the Community Advisory Board be included in the selection process, and so on. ### 3. Create a “Capacity College” for neighborhood groups and nonprofits. Neighborhood groups and small nonprofits need information and technical assistance to help them become more effective. An excellent model is the “Capacity College” created in New Orleans by Neighborhoods Partnership Network, an alliance of neighborhood organizations that is independent of city government. Their Capacity College offers a yearly catalog of small courses on everything from leadership and advocacy to financing and the importance of data. A similar Birmingham effort would need a sponsor and funding and college interns might be utilized. Potential partners might be the Mike and Gillian Goodrich Foundation, the Community Foundation, the United Way, YWCA, a bank or credit union interested in community development, UAB or Birmingham Southern, Miles College, and possibly, national funders. ## HISTORIC PRESERVATION # goal 5 # The integrity and character of distinctive historic structures and districts is maintained and enhanced. ### POLICY * Coordinate city programs and policies to support historic preservation Historic preservation efforts in Birmingham have focused on preparing historic inventories for listing on the National Register of Historic Places and on creation of local historic districts that require design review for renovations or new construction. Projects proposed for properties within the 40 National Register districts are also subject to an advisory historic preservation review and consultation by City urban design staff. While documenting the historic character of the city is undoubtedly important, the retention of that historic character is generally left to market forces. Alabama has a Historic Property Tax Reduction program for commercial properties and a Historic Rehabilitation Tax Credit program for rehabilitation of both residential and commercial property. Other incentives for residential historic renovation or adaptive reuse are needed as well as a clear strategy for identifying the most important historic resources for preservation. The absence of such a strategy and incentives results in a reactive process when demolition and redevelopment are proposed for a property that some would prefer to see preserved. In the worst cases, the result is “demolition by neglect,” as historic properties deteriorate without appropriate maintenance and preservation or new uses. The major exceptions to this situation are the efforts of REV Birmingham to promote adaptive reuse in several Main Street districts and proposed work by the Woodlawn Foundation. The local historic district designation tool has been successful in raising housing values in the neighborhoods where it has been applied, which tend to be the more affluent parts of the city. The first local historic district in a low- and moderate-income neighborhood, Norwood, was **FEDERAL HISTORIC PRESERVATION TAX CREDIT** * *Not available to homeowners.* * *Eligible properties: Income-producing property individually listed on the National Register or a contributing element within a National Register Historic District.* * *Amount: 20% of construction costs and fees* **STATE HISTORIC PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION** * *Eligible properties: same as federal* * *Amount: Assessment of state ad valorem tax at residential rate, effectively cutting property tax in half* **STATE HISTORIC PROPERTY TAX REDUCTION** * *Eligible properties: residential and commercial* * *Amount: Total of $20M available annually; 25% of qualified expenditures for certified historic buildings used for residential or income-producing purposes; 10% of rehabilitation expenditures for pre-1936 non-historic buildings used for income-producing purposes.* designated in 2012. If this designation is supported by other policies and investments, the historic district designation will likely have the same positive effect in Norwood. However, in less-affluent neighborhoods, building rehabilitation practices mandated by historic district regulations are often perceived as expensive, although the design guidelines for historic districts promote repair rather than replacement of historic features, when feasible. It is often more cost-effective to repair rather than to replace historic features. In the process of developing historic design guidelines, City staff works with neighborhood residents to ensure that the guidelines are flexible about the use of alternative materials while still preserving historic character. Like many other older cities, Birmingham has historic institutional buildings that will need to find new uses, many in the middle of residential neighborhoods. These buildings contribute to the historic character of their surroundings. Schools, churches, and similar historic assets have found new life around the country (and in Birmingham) as housing, arts centers, business incubators and other modern uses. Similarly, Birmingham’s industrial heritage is reflected in warehouse and factory buildings. The transformation of the Sloss Furnaces into an industrial museum is the most significant reuse example in the city. Other industrial buildings are vacant or underutilized and, following the example of other cities, could be converted to incubator space, artist studios, galleries, offices, restaurants, and housing. # STRATEGIES ## A. Create a community-based, comprehensive citywide Historic Preservation Plan informed by a broad range of constituencies and interests. ### Actions **1. Develop a community-based, 21st-century Historic Preservation Plan for Birmingham.** This plan should involve not only historic preservation professionals and advocates, but also housing, business, and neighborhood revitalization interests; developers and nonprofit housing developers; lending institutions; as well as city and county agencies. The plan should focus on how preservation of the city’s historic fabric can contribute to the goals that preservation interests share with advocates of economic development, neighborhood revitalization, affordable housing, and sustainability. The preservation plan should include a vision, goals, strategies and an action and funding agenda for: * Broadening audiences and support through enhanced interpretation of the links between people and the history of buildings, not just architectural styles. * Enabling wider participation by persons of limited means and income. * Achieving more effective incentives to encourage private investment in historic buildings, including property tax relief, granting bonuses to developers of historic commercial buildings in the City Center, and including financial vehicles for closing the gap between the cost of substantial renovation and market values. * Developing new heritage tourism experiences * Incorporating preservation into neighborhood and commercial corridor revitalization. * Adapting cost-conscious rehabilitation materials and practices for application in historic districts. 2. Identify priority properties for preservation by means of a rating system. Preservation priorities should be established by means of a rating system to help identify the best use of preservation resources and to identify target properties or areas for preservation initiatives. For instance, a point system could be adopted whereby historic resources are given points for: age, integrity of original structure/architectural style, contribution to a historic fabric or ensemble, uniqueness, and so on. The Historic Preservation Master Plan for Arlington County, Virginia, is a good model of a preservation master plan that integrates historic preservation into broader goals with a priority ranking for historic resources. (http://www.arlingtonva.us/Departments/CPHD/Documents/77768-15-06%20HP-Policy%20Rev.pdf) B. Raise public awareness for both residents and visitors about all aspects of Birmingham’s historic heritage. ### Action 1. Tell Birmingham’s story by creating new historic interpretation activities such as heritage walking trails, historic signs/markers, and a Magic City History website, apps, and podcasts to include lesser-known heritage such as industrial history, labor history, architectural history, culinary history, and music history, as well as the city’s civil rights history. Some of this work could be done through a contest, involving local university faculty and students, and collaboration from the Birmingham Historical Society, the Convention and Visitors’ Bureau, and other groups. Self-guided walking trails and historic markers could be developed in conjunction with implementation of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. # goal 6 Historic preservation initiatives support and invigorate community/neighborhood renewal. **POLICY** * Support programs and incentives for historic preservation that renew neighborhoods and commercial districts, and further economic development. ## STRATEGIES A. Promote rehabilitation of historic properties with incentives. ### Actions 1. Provide a tax credit or abatement for residential historic restoration activities in National Register Districts and in areas targeted for strategic revitalization (Strategic Opportunity Areas). Cities ranging from Baltimore to Tyler, Texas, have instituted city tax credits to promote restoration of historic buildings. Even where property taxes are low, as is the case in Alabama, a tax credit or abatement for five to ten years can be an inducement to spend the money on historic properties whose market value may otherwise be too low to justify investment. B. Consider creating Neighborhood Conservation Districts. Neighborhood Conservation Districts (NCDs) provide a mechanism for differing levels of review—from advisory to fully regulatory—for demolition and exterior changes to buildings within a defined area that has a recognized character, but is not a local historic district. Typically, conservation districts are defined by a study of the area that highlights an identifiable neighborhood character and recommends which kinds of changes should be subject to review. Review standards are tailored to the special character of each district. NCDs can be administered <
> by a local historic preservation commission, planning commission, municipal staff members, or a special neighborhood conservation district commission. They are sometimes included in zoning ordinances and sometimes enacted as separate ordinances for each conservation district. ### Actions #### 1. Enact an ordinance establishing a system for creation and implementation of Neighborhood Conservation Districts. Conservation districts based on neighborhood action and that encourage voluntary compliance—rather than mandatory review—may be better suited to Birmingham, rather than a more formal approach with mandatory design reviews, which require more staff, funding, time, and capacity. (A voluntary approach could still issue certificates or other indications that a given project has met the established standards.) A number of cities have conservation districts under various names. These cities include San Antonio, Dallas, and Austin in Texas; Memphis and Nashville in Tennessee; Roanoke (VA); and Atlanta. Elements of a neighborhood conservation district system that could be suitable for Birmingham include: * Written request by a Neighborhood Association to begin the process. * Neighborhood study to identify key aspects of neighborhood character. In order to conserve staff time, the City of Austin has developed a system for the neighborhood study that uses neighborhood volunteers. The planning department provides conservation district advocates with maps and helps them develop a form to use in surveying every property in the proposed conservation district. This information then serves as the source material for neighborhood meetings on what elements to include in design review. * Neighborhood meetings and discussion to identify what building or site elements, if any, should be subject to review, advisory or mandatory standards. * Clear and simple guidelines to facilitate rapid review. * Majority approval by property owners of record required for establishment of the district. * Birmingham Historical Commission and City Council approval required for establishment of the district. * Administrative review by the Urban Design staff with appeal to the Birmingham Historical Commission, which is the appeal body for local historic district design review cases. ## C. Provide guidance on affordable building materials and components that are appropriate for houses with historic value. ### Action #### 1. Create a guidance document for the most common historic building types in Birmingham that includes information on appropriate and affordable options for rehabilitation and renovation. Other cities have created information sheets on building types, such as bungalows, that could be used or easily adapted to Birmingham. In addition, home ### FIGURE 7.2: OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS PER ACRE <
> improvement retailers such as Home Depot or Lowe’s could be approached for support and collaboration, as well as architectural salvage businesses. ### D. Promote salvage of architectural elements and materials from historic buildings in major renovations or demolitions. #### Action **1. Include architectural salvage as an element of renovations or demolitions in projects to which the City contributes through tax abatements or other means.** There are several architectural salvage private businesses in Alabama: Southern Accents Architectural Antiques in Cullman, *antiques-architectural.com*; Architectural Antique Warehouse (Fairhope), *siteone.com/shop/architectural*; Rescued Relics in Montgomery, *oldalabamatown.com*. Rescued Relics was created by the Landmarks Foundation as it restored Old Alabama Town in Montgomery. ## HOUSING POLICY Twenty-first century trends favor a return to cities. Markets increasingly favor historic, walkable neighborhoods inside cities. Fuel costs are making long commutes more expensive. Changing demographic trends also favor city living because people are waiting longer to marry and have children, while at the same time they are living longer. People typically spend more of their lives in childless households than during the time they have children at home. In surveys, the generation known as the “millennials” or “Generation Y,” born in the 1980s and 1990s, has expressed a strong desire to live in diverse, walkable neighborhoods with a strong sense of community. And finally, as the commitment to greater energy efficiency and sustainability grows, people are recognizing that urban centers are more environmentally efficient. ### TABLE 7.2: U.S. HOUSEHOLDS | | 1960 | 2010 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Without children** | 52% | 67% | | **Single person** | 13% | 27% | ### TABLE 7.3: HOUSEHOLDS IN THE CITY OF BIRMINGHAM | | 2000 | 2010 | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Without children under 18** | 67% | 73% | | **Single person households** | 34% | 38% | SOURCE: US CENSUS Surveys by the National Association of Realtors on housing preferences have found that although people value community factors such as high quality public schools (75% very or somewhat important), city-style characteristics like sidewalks and places to take walks are among the top community characteristics people consider important when deciding where to live: * Two-thirds (66% very or somewhat important) see being within an easy walk of places in their community as an important factor in deciding where to live. Specifically, being within an easy walk of a grocery store (75%), pharmacy (65%), hospital (61%), and restaurants (60%) is important to at least six in ten Americans. * Improving existing communities (57%) and building new developments within existing communities (32%) are seen as much higher priorities than building new developments in the countryside (7%). * Improving public transportation is viewed as the best answer to traffic congestion by half of the country (50%). Three in ten (30%) prefer building communities where fewer people need to drive long distances to work and shop. Far fewer want to see more roads (18%).[^p212-8] While many families with children left the City of Birmingham in the 2000-2010 decade, reflecting lack of confidence in the school system, it is important to recognize that it will take time to turn around perceptions and reality for the Birmingham Public Schools. While school improvements are underway for the medium and long term, the city should take advantage of opportunities to attract households without children: young singles and couples, empty nesters, and retirees looking for low-cost locations with cultural amenities. **Housing policy.** The City of Birmingham at present has no real housing policy to promote both market rate and affordable housing. Some neighborhoods have functioning #### THE HOUSING AUTHORITY OF BIRMINGHAM DISTRICT (HABD) * *Much of HABD housing is old, obsolete and difficult to maintain (built in 1940s).* * *The Park Place and Tuxedo HOPE VI projects and the modernization of Harris Homes and Cooper Green are prototypes for improvement.* * *Tenants are primarily young working families, some seniors and disabled.* * *One development, Freedom Manor, has 98 units for elderly only. It is always full with a waiting list. As the population ages, an additional elderly-only development will likely be needed.* * *Programs include Family Self-Sufficiency for both HABD families and for Section 8 families; Section 3 Program—every vendor has to provide jobs and training funds for HABD clients (housing and Sect. 8).* * *Choice Neighborhood Initiative grant 2012 application for comprehensive planning and revitalization at Loveman Homes and the Titusville neighborhood.* * *Environmental justice issues: Collegeville, N. Birmingham, Morton Simpson, and Kimber Homes are all adjacent to industrial sites.* * *HABD has a nonprofit arm: Magic City Housing Development Corp. The goal is to raise $1 million for scholarships to college and career training for people who live in assisted housing. In its first year it held golf tournaments and awarded $55K to families.* * *Infill homeownership program: The City provides the land (sometimes vacant, sometimes with a structure that needs demolition). Sixty houses have been built in 10 years with a current pace of about 20 houses a year. HOPE VI projects can provide funding for more infill housing, such as 86 houses to be built in the Tuxedo Community on Housing Authority property.* [^p212-8]: “The 2011 Community Preference Survey: What Americans are looking for when deciding where to live.” Analysis of a survey of 2,071 American adults nationally, Conducted for the National Association of Realtors®, March 2011 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING housing markets and continue to attract private buyers and private investment. In many other parts of the city, the private housing market is nearly nonexistent because of widespread blight, vacancy, and numerous tax delinquent properties. The City needs new market rate housing (new construction, renovation, and adaptive reuse) and improved assisted housing for low income households in the city. The Housing Authority of Birmingham District (HABD) has the strongest role in affordable housing production in the city and the greatest potential access to funding. The nonprofit housing development sector is small and relatively weak. # goal 7 ## A comprehensive housing policy to support quality neighborhoods. **POLICY** * Support a community-based system to develop and implement a citywide housing policy that includes stakeholders from government, the nonprofit sector, and the private sector. ## STRATEGIES ### A. Create a publicly-accessible source of data on housing markets and housing needs as part of a broader property information system. Chapter 8 (pp. 8.9–8.10) calls for a robust property information system as the foundation of an overall community renewal and revitalization strategy. This system should include housing market data. ### Action 1. **Commission a detailed real estate market study (Market Value Analysis) of the entire city to identify market conditions on as fine-grained a level as possible, ideally using census block groups.** This type of analysis has proven very valuable in Baltimore, Philadelphia and other cities to guide decision-making about strategic investments by public and nonprofit entities. The indicators typically aplied in a real estate study of this kind are:⁹ * Median and variability of housing sale prices * Housing and land vacancy * Mortgage foreclosures as a percent of units (or sales) * Rate of owner occupancy * Presence of commercial land uses * Share of the rental stock that receives a subsidy * Density This analysis will help in identifying and promoting locations where additional private investment can enhance neighborhood stability and improvement and where limited public investment can help create conditions propitious for private investment. Investment in data systems is being promoted by the Federal Reserve and other groups. The kind of real estate analysis discussed here was pioneered by The Reinvestment Fund (TRF), a nonprofit community development financial institution. ### B. Create a Housing Policy Advisory Council. The purpose of this Council would be to bring together representatives of all the groups active in the housing sector to develop city policies that would have two fundamental purposes: 1) promote market rate and mixed income housing investment and 2) improve housing availability for low-income residents. The Council would include representatives of city staff, neighborhood organizations, the Housing Authority of Birmingham District, for-profit and non-profit developers, realtors, and representatives of economic development organizations. Today, these groups have contact only around project permitting—if at all. For example, there is no established venue in which HABD and City departments jointly discuss the role of HABD projects in strategic revitalization. Activities would include development of policies that promote mixed-income, diverse housing environments that support City of Birmingham goals for neighborhood development and revitalization; reduce concentrations of poverty; identify [^p213-9]: See Ira Goldstein, The Reinvestment Fund, "Market Value Analysis: a Data-Based Approach to Understanding Urban Housing Markets,” *Putting Data to Work: Data Driven Approaches to Strengthening Neighborhoods*, 2012. www.federalreserve.gov/publications/putting-data-to-work.htm and support opportunities for rehabilitated and new market rate housing; and promote housing investments that help create neighborhoods rather than “projects.” ### Actions **1. Organize a Housing Policy Advisory Council to be staffed by the Community Development Department and the Planning Division of PEP.** The Council should be staffed by the Community Development Department and Planning Division and meet at least three times a year and include the following activities: * Review and analysis of housing data, needs and opportunities. * Development of policies that promote market rate, mixed-income, and diverse housing environments and reduce concentrations of poverty. * Review of new standards for new and rehabilitated market-rate and subsidized housing that create neighborhoods rather than projects by requiring integration with surrounding areas. * Annual report on housing conditions, needs, priorities, and policies to the Mayor, Council, and the public. * A public hearing on housing needs, priorities and policies at the Planning Commission once a year. **2. Focus a portion of the City’s CDBG and HOME funds on the Strategic Opportunity Areas.** The City expends its federal entitlement funds across the city, and because need is so great, rehabilitation and other programs typically close soon after opening. After the 2011 tornado, some of the funds were focused on rebuilding efforts in Pratt City. A similar procedure of focusing a portion of these funds strategically should become the rule. The City’s most recent community development reporting documents to HUD express the need to begin geographic targeting. This targeting should occur within the context of investments being made in the Strategic Opportunity Areas, and particularly where the funding can contribute to transit-supportive or transit-ready development. *** **C. Maintain and expand market rate housing choices.** ### Actions **1. Work with Neighborhood Associations to support services and conditions in stable neighborhoods so that their housing markets continue strong.** The Neighborhood Audits recommended in Action 1.B.2 (p. 7.9) can provide information to support this action. **2. Identify niche market segments, such as retirees and Millennials/Generation Y, prepare marketing materials, approach potential appropriate developers and market the city to these segments.** A market analysis and marketing campaign focused on niche markets can identify opportunities for Birmingham, particularly among households, consisting of empty nesters, retirees, young singles, and young couples. This does not mean that all members of these demographic groups would want to live in the City of Birmingham, but that there is a strong “urban-inclined” segment within these groups and Birmingham can do more to capture a larger share. Suburban communities like Homewood have been creating walkable urban precincts, increasingly providing competition to Birmingham as places to find an urban lifestyle in the region. The Millennials, the largest generation in American history, have been obsessively studied by the real estate industry. Though many of them grew up in the suburbs, they don’t want to live there. They tend to be “urban-inclined,” that is, they are attracted to the kinds of environments that are more common in cities or close-in suburbs than in other surburban or rural locations. They want to walk or bike everywhere, rather than drive; they accept less living space in exchange for access to community shopping, dining and recreation. Parts of downtown Birmingham are already attracting members of this young demographic, and the urban village centers proposed for the Strategic Opportunity Areas could also be increasingly appealing, as long as they provide walkability, community amenities, and, ideally, good bicycle or transit connections to the rest of the city. Members of the Millennial generation who have already made the choice to live in Birmingham and who are enthusiastic about city living should be consulted and involved in marketing efforts to young professionals and other Millennials. Kiplingers in 2011 listed the Birmingham metropolitan area as one of the top ten areas for retirement because of low cost of living, exemption of most retirement income from state income tax, low to nonexistent property taxes, and affordable medical care. “And in Birmingham, the state’s largest city, these amenities come with huge Dixie charm. It is home to an opera, orchestra and ballet, as well as a segment of the renowned Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail. Top selling point: Big-city living at a Deep South discount.”¹⁰ The Oxmoor area, with its proximity to the Red Mountain Park, as well as the golf course, would be an appealing location for new development targeted to retirees and designed in a walkable village format, perhaps on a condominium model that would provide landscape maintenance and similar services. The residents would have easy access both to outdoor activities and to the cultural center downtown. There are numerous marketing programs for retirement that could serve as models for Birmingham. Unlike Alabama, Mississippi has an official state program to attract retirees called Hometown Mississippi Retirement, which evaluates communities that want to become Certified Retirement Cities. AlabamaAdvantage.com is a commercial site that is mostly focused on planned communities, none of which are in Birmingham. The 2004 Center City Plan included a downtown residential housing market analysis and implementation of the plan resulted in residential renovations of existing buildings and new construction that brought significant growth in downtown population by 2010. An update to the downtown market analysis is due in 2014. ### 3. Develop a revolving loan program with design guidelines for small developers to do infill renovation and new construction in neighborhoods with attractive housing stock and nearby amenities. Neighborhoods where there are mostly intact blocks with appealing bungalows and other historic housing types, tree-lined streets, and walking access to parks or other amenities, can attract small developers to create renovated and new market-rate housing. Financing through a revolving loan program can be attached to design guidelines, in order to ensure the new housing fits into the neighborhood. A technical assistance program would also be beneficial and could be funded with small grants. *** ### D. Coordinate public sector capacity in housing policy implementation and build nonprofit sector capacity in housing production. #### Actions **1. Create a public sector subcommittee of the Housing Policy Advisory Council.** The subcommittee would be made up of all public entities implementing housing policy so that there is regular communication, information sharing, and opportunities to collaborate among, for example, HABD, PEP, Community Development, and the Birmingham HUD representative. Through this subcommittee, the Planning and Urban Design Divisions of PEP can work with HABD planning, design and development into the city’s overall planning and urban design strategies. **2. Seek grant or foundation funding for a fund to support capacity building and training for nonprofit organizations in the housing sector.** Birmingham has a small nonprofit housing sector. Local organizations are generally not large and tend to provide services such as foreclosure prevention and homebuyer counseling rather than create renovated or new affordable housing units. Production of housing units by nonprofits, whether renovations or new development, also tends to be very limited compared to the need. Because organizations are small and compete for the *** ¹⁰ http://www.kiplinger.com/slideshow/Great-Retirement-Cities-in-the-US/2.html same limited funding, they sometimes find it difficult to collaborate effectively. At the time this comprehensive plan was being written, the continuing decline in CDBG and HOME funding to entitlement cities like Birmingham means that city funding for the nonprofit housing sector is unlikely to grow. Birmingham has not attracted the interest of national housing and community development organizations such as LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation, www.lisc.org), the nation’s largest community development support organization, working in 38 regional programs; Enterprise Community Partners (www.entrprisecommunity.com), founded by developer James Rouse, which recently created a Building Sustainable Organizations initiative in 11 regions; or Living Cities (www.livingcities.org), which in 2011-2013 has chosen five communities in which to invest: Baltimore, Cleveland, Detroit, Newark, and the Twin Cities. However, another national organization which has a model they call the Capacity Building Institute, already has an affiliate in Birmingham: Seedco Financial. Although the Birmingham affiliate focuses on small business and micro lending, it could provide connections to the national organization for capacity building. Because nonprofit housing production and business development is more demanding than neighborhood association advocacy, the Capacity College recommended earlier may not be the right sponsor for this kind of initiative, which needs to be more specialized. However, a capacity building program targeted at housing nonprofits and community development corporations who wish to develop housing should be part of the overall strategic community renewal program discussed in Chapter 8 (pp. 8.9–8.20). ## E. Encourage the development of homeless prevention programs, foreclosure assistance, and supportive and transitional housing for residents who are at risk of homelessness and/or are living in substandard housing. In order to be eligible to apply for federal grants, governments and organizations that serve homeless persons must organize in a Continuum of Care Consortium and prepare a plan. In 2007, Contiuums were required to prepare Ten-Year Plans to end homelessness that concentrated on a “Housing First” policy to get homeless persons into permanent housing and then provide for their medical or other needs. This policy emerged from studies that have conclusively shown that the most effective strategy to combat chronic homelessness is permanent housing. Many chronically homeless persons have mental illness, substance abuse problems, or both. Permanent housing with supportive services has been shown to be more effective in helping the person and much less expensive for the community, which otherwise spends large amounts of money on emergency care for a relatively small number of people. Although Birmingham did not experience the extreme housing bubble and crash that some other cities experienced during the 2000s, predatory lending and foreclosure rates are high, and the city’s high percentage of low-income households with few resources means that there are many households that may be one paycheck away from homelessness. A housing policy that recognizes and provides for decent, affordable housing for these households—whether market rate or subsidized—will continue to be essential in Birmingham. Emergency and transitional housing is needed for people in a variety of difficult situations, from victims of domestic abuse to people released from jail who have nowhere to go. ### Action #### 1. Continue implementation of the Birmingham Continuum of Care program and Ten Year Plan to end homelessness. The City of Birmingham’s Consolidated Plan for 2010-2015 states that the City will continue to support emergency shelters, will add 100 new units of permanent housing for homeless persons who can live independently and provide aggressive case management for 100 persons to help them get out of homelessness. # goal 8 ## All housing is in good condition and code compliant. **POLICY** * Support effective and efficient code enforcement efforts. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Establish systems to support and coordinate code enforcement and other quality of life regulations. Residents in all neighborhoods desire more effective code enforcement. In many ways, code enforcement is the first line of defense against neighborhood deterioration. The goal is compliance, which can be voluntary (preferred) or enforced. For Birmingham, the overarching goals are to eliminate or secure vacant buildings; enhance property maintenance; improve sanitation; mitigate nuisance activities (like drug selling or using); and to support neighborhoods by visible enforcement. ##### Actions **1. Create a single code enforcement division for both residential and nonresidential code enforcement and seek advice on reforming the system to work better for the community and to be more cost-efficient.** Currently, the residential and nonresidential code enforcement staff are located in separate offices. The code enforcement staff agree that it would be more efficient and enhance communication for them to be located together. Baltimore’s code enforcement reform is a best practice (see box). **2. Include code enforcement, public safety, and public health information on the property level in the property information system recommended in Chapter 8, Strategy A.1 (pp. 8.9).** Lack of good information makes it much more difficult to be effective in code enforcement. A detailed property database can be created incrementally. **3. Establish a registration and inspection system for rental properties.** Many communities have a registration and inspection system for rental properties to enforce codes and decent living conditions. Inspections occur when rentals turn over. The landlords pay a fee to cover the cost of inspection. **4. Consider creating a ticketing system with fines for quality-of-life offenses such as littering and illegal dumping, storage of junk cars, lack of mowing, and noise.** Many communities have developed ticketing systems with fines for quality-of-life offenses. Not only do these programs improve neighborhoods, but there is > **Successful Code Enforcement Reform in Baltimore** > *Baltimore is a model for code enforcement reform that has made the process faster, more efficient, more proactive (not just waiting for complaints before acting)—and has saved the city money.* > "Deputy Commissioner Michael Braverman and his colleagues at Housing Code Enforcement (HCE) have...a new approach to turning over vacant properties that takes on urban blight and much more. That's a promising proposition in a city where 16,000 vacant properties degrade neighborhoods, harbor drug traffickers and other criminals, and erode economic vitality and the tax base. Braverman and the HCE crew began by building internal capacity and reengineering and automating processes. They reduced enforcement response times from 14 days to four, and they reduced the time it took to "clean and board" vacant properties from over a year to 10 days, while doubling the volume of service requests from 15,000 to 30,000. They eliminated a backlog of 7,000 "clean and board" requests. These improvements brought in almost $7 million in new revenue. HCE also wrote its own software to automate workflow and violation notice production and integrate with the city's 311 phone system. Placing the workflow data on the Web promoted accountability and improved productivity. It also saved more than $400,000 in data entry costs." > > *Source: http://www.governing.com/columns/mgmt-insights/Smart-Management-and-the-Turnaround-of-a-City.html. (Also see http://www.communityprogress.net/filebin/pdf/rvp_conf/presentations/TC_Leeper-BascosBraverman.pdf)* considerable evidence that they help cut crime. At the same time, funds from the fines can help pay for the cost of enforcement. Birmingham’s Environmental Police at one time were tasked with enforcing quality-of-life violations, but they were transferred to the Public Works Department, and only one Environmental Police officer remains in city government. Because enforcement of quality-of-life crimes may put officers in harm’s way, they should be given the training and resources necessary to perform this work safely. A reassessment of the Environmental Police program is needed. # goal 9 ## Quality housing to meet the diverse needs of households at all income levels and all stages of the life cycle. ### POLICY * Support the planning, regulatory and funding initiatives needed to provide a diversity of housing types, rental and ownership, market-rate and assisted, to meet community needs. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Review and revise regulations and systems to ensure appropriate standards and guidelines for fitting new housing into existing neighborhoods. The character of Birmingham neighborhoods suffered over the last 40 years as poorly designed small multifamily buildings and other developments were constructed. This was one of the reasons that zoning in the Highland neighborhood was modified with a form-based design code. Appropriate and appealing design is important to strengthening housing markets. ### Action #### 1. Make appropriate changes to the permitting process to ensure that all private projects that have public financing or other assistance are reviewed by the Urban Design Division for urban design and fit. Establishing basic urban design standards in the zoning code will raise the level of all new development. Projects with public financing or incentives should be subject to an internal, informational design review by the Planning Department Urban Design staff, regardless of zoning. This requirement should be written into any agreement for City incentives, assistance or financing. #### B. Explore employer-assisted housing programs with major employers. In cities such as Columbus, Cincinnati, Dayton, Philadelphia, and Hartford, hospitals, universities, institutions and other large employers who have a major investment in their location, have created programs to help improve their urban neighborhoods—for example, employer-assisted housing. In some cases the institutions provide downpayment assistance for employees to buy homes nearby, and in other cases the institutions have participated in housing renovation and development programs to improve neighborhoods and attract their employees to live there. Examples of Employer Assisted Housing include: * **Regional Employer-Assisted Collaboration for Housing (REACH):** Through REACH Illinois, more than 1,800 employees have bought homes since 2000. *www.reachillinois.org* * **Baltimore City Live Near Your Work:** A minimum $2,000 grant or conditional grant to employees for settlement and closing costs to purchase homes in targeted neighborhoods near their employers. Baltimore City will contribute up to $1,000 per employee, which will be matched by the participating employer. *http://www.livebaltimore.com* * **First Homes, Rochester:** Employer-supported Community Land Trust housing. *www.firsthomes.org* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING # FIGURE 7.3: HOMEOWNERSHIP <
> * **University of Pennsylvania West Philadelphia Initiatives:** Employees of the university can receive a five-year forgivable loan of $7,500 to purchase a house in a targeted area of West Philadelphia. The loan can be used for a down payment, closing costs, or home improvements. *www.upenn.edu/campus/westphilly/housing.html* ### Action **1. Explore employer-assisted housing options targeted at city neighborhoods with Birmingham’s major employers.** Birmingham’s major institutions have a long-term investment in the viability and success of the neighborhoods where they are located and overall in the City of Birmingham. UAB, St. Vincent Hospital, Princeton Baptist Hospital, Birmingham-Southern College, and other employers could be approached and asked to set up employer-assisted housing programs individually or contribute funds to a joint program that could be administered by the City or a nonprofit organization. The First Homes program of Rochester (MN) is one example of a program created by the local community foundation with donations from the city’s major employer, the Mayo Clinic, as well as other businesses. This program is now based on the Community Land Trust model (see Chapter 8, p. 8.12) that separates ownership of the land in a long-term trust, from ownership of the building. 7.32 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 7 NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING # C. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Create a Housing Policy Advisory Council that is broadly representative. | Mayor with advice from PEP and Community Development | | Enact a rental housing registration and inspection ordinance. | Mayor, Council, City Attorney, Community Development | | Enact a property tax abatement program for renovation of historic properties. | Mayor, Council, City Attorney, Planning Division | | Create a template for Framework Plans for Communities. | PEP—Planning Division | | Put code enforcement for residential and nonresidential properties together in a single department. | Mayor and Chief of Operations | | Assign planners to attend community meetings as requested, work with residents to create plans, identify needs, develop solutions, and provide technical assistance; also to work with the Mayor’s Offices of Citizen Assistance and Economic Development, the Community Development Department, the Housing Authority, the MPO, local institutions and other organizations that can affect neighborhood life. | Planning Division | | Work with the Citizens Advisory Board and constituent organizations to modernize the CPPP. | Mayor’s Office of Citizen Assistance; CAB; City Council | # Chapter 8 # Community Renewal <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “Neighborhoods that are sustained by proper grocery stores and parks and entertainment;...no more vacant buildings.” “Birmingham will be a ‘city of neighborhoods’ that is a healthy and vibrant place to live, work and play.” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 8 COMMUNITY RENEWAL | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | Blight is substantially reduced in Birmingham neighborhoods over 20 years. | • Give high priority to a comprehensive and integrated approach to eliminating blight and vacancy under unified management and coordination. | | An organization with professional leadership and adequate staff and funding focuses on land banking, land assembly and redevelopment. | • Support creation of a professionally-run combined Land Bank and Redevelopment Authority. | | Strategic and comprehensive redevelopment with critical mass creates visible, self-sustaining communities and neighborhoods of choice. | • Support comprehensive revitalization planning that integrates physical, economic, social and human issues. | | | • Support targeted and strategic revitalization investments to leverage nearby employment centers and civic assets. | | | • Ensure that redevelopment benefits current residents of an area as well as attracting new households. | | | • Promote mixed-income neighborhood development. | | | • Support creation of a network of a small number of high capacity nonprofit community development organizations. | ## findings 10,805 tax delinquent properties = 10% of all city lots = 3.2% of city acreage = 2,599 acres (84% residential). 59% of the acres have structures, 41% are vacant (1,068 acres). The average vacant residential property is on a small lot in an older neighborhood. The city lacks strong high-capacity community development corporations. Funding for community development has declined by more than a third since 1980. At that time, the City received $11 million in CDBG funds, while today the CDBG allocation is approximately $6 million. Funding for housing programs (HOME) is $1.9 million. The City’s general fund budget increased from $79 million to $350 million in the same time period. The city’s early development pattern of workers’ camps and villages surrounding mine and industrial plants has left a legacy of environmental issues in some neighborhoods. ## challenges Creating an effective and adequately staffed and funded land bank and redevelopment authority. Scattered but widely distributed blight that has been increasing and spreading into more areas in recent decades. Developing criteria for demolition and retaining and securing properties with rehabilitation potential. Expense of securing properties, demolition, and maintenance of vacant lots. Title clearing for the many properties with clouded or defective title. Assembling sufficiently large development sites to make redevelopment cost-effective and create visible impact. Coordinating public investment strategically to create renewal and revitalization areas that leverage private investment. # A. What the Community Said In public meetings during the course of the comprehensive planning process, the following themes repeatedly emerged as central to community renewal and revitalization: * Eliminating blight, vacant and abandoned properties in neighborhoods is a high priority. * Code enforcement is needed. * Brownfields remediation and redevelopment is needed. * Crime and the perception of crime needs to be addressed, including the desire for more community policing, and more and better street lighting. * The city needs market-rate new development. * Focus strategically on revitalization areas with existing assets, momentum and leadership, such as Five Points West and Woodlawn. * The City needs better tools, such as a land bank, to eliminate blight and support revitalization. # B. Recommendations Blight has been a serious problem in Birmingham neighborhoods for decades and, lacking a comprehensive approach, the city has seen blight continue to spread. The number of tax delinquent properties in the hands of the state—a good proxy measurement of blight—increased 42% from 2005 to 2010. The 10,805 tax delinquent properties in 2010 encompassed 10% of all city lots, 3.2% of city acreage, and 2,599 acres. Eighty-four percent of the tax delinquent properties were residential. While 41% of the tax delinquent properties (on 1,068 acres) were vacant, 59% had structures on them. The average vacant lot is a small residential lot in an older neighborhood. Although some of these tax delinquent properties may be redeemed by their owners, the majority have been abandoned for a long time. It is also important to recognize that there are vacant or blighted properties that are not tax delinquent. Some property owners may be planning to rebuild or renovate, but have trouble getting financing or otherwise never seem to get started. In some cases, owners of vacant nonresidential property, who may have amortized the cost of the property many years ago, pay the low property taxes and wait for the market to improve. In the case of brownfields, assessment and remediation will be needed before redevelopment. **Sources of vacancy and blight.** The sources of vacancy and blight include the same historic forces that underlie population decline—residential segregation that produced poor housing stock in African American neighborhoods, "white flight" and post-World War II suburbanization favored by government policies and sparked by school desegregation, and neighborhoods sited in flood-prone or polluted locations. The supply of housing in 2012 exceeds demand and in many cases, the housing stock is obsolete in size, layout, condition or location. Where the market is weak, the cost of rehabilitating older housing becomes higher than the potential market value of the property. Predatory lending and foreclosures, decreasing public revenues and public services, and comparatively poor public education outcomes then combine to create poor impressions and reputation. Studies have shown that blighted or vacant properties on an otherwise well-kept street make neighboring properties lose value, even if they are in good condition. Vacant buildings are vulnerable to squatting and criminal activity, dumping, public health issues, and increased vulnerability to fire. As a neighborhood’s reputation becomes more negative, owner occupants often leave and absentee ownership increases; tax delinquency increases while taxpayers shoulder increasing costs to secure, clean up or demolish blighted properties; a reduction in services and amenities ensues, and the area spirals downward. **Vacant land as a problem and an opportunity.** While the problems caused by vacant land are substantial, it is also important to see the opportunities that could be opened up with a successful program to control blight and transform vacant land: * Land to create new amenities, such as parks and greenways, and improve overall quality of life in neighborhoods with small lots. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 8 COMMUNITY RENEWAL <
> **FIGURE 8.1: TAX DELINQUENT AND VACANT PARCELS** Tax Delinquent Parcels Vacant Unbuilt Land Forestry and Agriculture Parks/Recreation/Open Space CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 8 COMMUNITY RENEWAL ### TABLE 8.1: TAX DELINQUENT PROPERTIES BY COMMUNITY: NUMBER, ACREAGE AND PERCENT | | TAX-DELINQUENT PROPERTIES (LOTS) | ALL PROPERTIES IN COMMUNITY | PERCENT OF COMMUNITY PROPERTIES THAT ARE TAX-DELINQUENT | PERCENT OF CITYWIDE TAX-DELINQUENT PROPERTIES | ACREAGE OF ALL PROPERTIES IN COMMUNITY | ACREAGE OF TAX-DELINQUENT PROPERTIES | TAX-DELINQUENT PROPERTIES: PERCENT OF TOTAL COMMUNITY ACREAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | Airport Hills | 487 | 1,969 | 24.7% | 5% | 1,220 | 60 | 4.9% | | Brownville | 351 | 2,097 | 16.7% | 3.2% | 652 | 63 | 9.7% | | Cahaba | 63 | 988 | 6.4% | 0.6% | 11,525 | 38 | 0.3% | | Crestline | 9 | 2,242 | 0.4% | 0.1% | 1,102 | 23 | 2.1% | | Crestwood | 52 | 2,662 | 2.0% | 0.5% | 1,129 | 87 | 7.7% | | East Birmingham | 656 | 3,865 | 17.0% | 6.1% | 2,295 | 181 | 7.9% | | East Lake | 686 | 4,882 | 14.1% | 6.3% | 1,958 | 211 | 10.8% | | East Pinson Valley | 78 | 2,879 | 2.7% | 0.7% | 3,398 | 28 | 0.8% | | Ensley | 1,035 | 6,659 | 15.5% | 9.6% | 8,029 | 152 | 1.9% | | Five Points West | 637 | 9,485 | 6.7% | 5.9% | 2,561 | 179 | 7.0% | | Grasselli | 213 | 1,495 | 14.2% | 2.0% | 736 | 36 | 4.9% | | Huffman | 135 | 6,508 | 2.1% | 1.2% | 7,348 | 75 | 1.0% | | North Birmingham | 1,384 | 6,466 | 21.4% | 12.8% | 8,022 | 149 | 1.9% | | Northside | 649 | 4,674 | 13.9% | 6.0% | 1,694 | 122 | 7.2% | | Pratt | 896 | 5,617 | 16.0% | 8.3% | 5,410 | 188 | 3.5% | | Red Mountain | 41 | 3,351 | 1.2% | 0.4% | 1,590 | 88 | 5.5% | | Roebuck-South East Lake | 356 | 6,894 | 5.2% | 3.3% | 4,374 | 115 | 2.6% | | Smithfield | 573 | 3,896 | 14.7% | 5.3% | 1,079 | 95 | 8.8% | | Southside | 49 | 3,745 | 1.3% | 0.5% | 2,378 | 100 | 4.2% | | Southwest | 673 | 5,993 | 11.2% | 6.2% | 8,956 | 132 | 1.5% | | Titusville | 320 | 3,044 | 10.5% | 3.0% | 768 | 59 | 7.6% | | West End | 874 | 7,612 | 11.5% | 8.1% | 2,311 | 237 | 10.3% | | Woodlawn | 588 | 3,127 | 18.8% | 5.4% | 1,801 | 179 | 9.9% | | TOTALS* | 10,805 | 100,150 | 10.8% | 100.0% | 80,336 | 2,599 | 3.2% | *Numbers and percentages are approximate. A few lots overlapped two communities and were not counted.* SOURCE: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM (JEFFERSON COUNTY 2010 ASSESSOR DATA) #### TABLE 8.2: TAX DELINQUENT RESIDENTIAL PARCELS | | TOTAL NUMBER RESIDENTIAL LOTS | NUMBER OF TAX-DELINQUENT RESIDENTIAL LOTS | PERCENT TAX-DELINQUENT | | :--- | ---: | ---: | ---: | | **Airport Hills** | 1,974 | 486 | 24.6% | | **Brownville** | 2,065 | 344 | 16.7% | | **Cahaba** | 331 | 62 | 18.7% | | **Crestline** | 2,140 | 8 | 0.4% | | **Crestwood** | 2,625 | 51 | 1.9% | | **East Birmingham** | 3,118 | 577 | 18.5% | | **East Lake** | 4,528 | 657 | 14.5% | | **East Pinson Valley** | 2,765 | 78 | 2.8% | | **Ensley** | 5,756 | 940 | 16.3% | | **Five Points West** | 9,018 | 597 | 6.6% | | **Grasselli** | 1,474 | 213 | 14.5% | | **Huffman** | 5,830 | 120 | 2.1% | | **North Birmingham** | 5,558 | 1308 | 23.5% | | **Northside** | 3,167 | 568 | 17.9% | | **Pratt** | 5,128 | 854 | 16.7% | | **Red Mountain** | 3,081 | 28 | 0.9% | | **Roebuck-South East Lake** | 6,667 | 350 | 5.2% | | **Smithfield** | 3,356 | 510 | 15.2% | | **Southside** | 2,240 | 34 | 1.5% | | **Southwest** | 4,429 | 613 | 13.8% | | **Tutusville** | 2,879 | 306 | 10.6% | | **West End** | 7,040 | 805 | 11.4% | | **Woodlawn** | 2,636 | 552 | 20.9% | | **TOTAL** | **87,805** | **10,061** | **11.5%** | SOURCE: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM (JEFFERSON COUNTY 2010 ASSESSOR DATA) * Land for environmental benefits such as floodplain management, natural infiltration of stormwater, natural cooling from additional trees and other vegetation. * Land to attract new residents and new enterprises, particularly if vacant land can be assembled into larger development sites. Birmingham has already begun to pursue some of these strategies. **How to remove blight.** The simplest way to remove blight is for government to purchase properties, wipe out any liens, and then sell or donate the properties for redevelopment by new owners. The scale of the problem in Birmingham makes that a prohibitively expensive solution, particularly since many blighted properties have clouded title. A combination of strategies, with a strong emphasis on code enforcement, promoting voluntary compliance by property owners, and strategic land assembly must be pursued. Successful best practices for blight elimination identified by the National Vacant Properties Campaign combine comprehensive code-enforcement tools and strategies with neighborhood rebuilding through rehabilitation and redevelopment. These practices include: * Access to a sufficient variety of strategies and regulatory, civil and criminal tools to promote and enforce compliance. * Identification of the right remedy for the circumstances of each property and each neighborhood. * Unified or closely coordinated management of code enforcement activities.[^p226-1] Because markets are not functioning well or at all in areas with abandoned properties, the ultimate role of a redevelopment agency is to revive the market to attract private investment without the need for incentives. This means retaining city households and attracting new ones. It is important to understand the potential market and the characteristics of the target demographics, and then market assets that will appeal to those target groups. [^p226-1]: www.vacantproperties.org; see also www.communityprogress.net. # SPECIAL STRATEGIES AND CONSIDERATIONS Arts and culture as a revitalization strategy. Arts, culture and entertainment initiatives have increasingly demonstrated their ability to contribute to neighborhood and city revitalization. This important role for the arts has now become institutionalized as “creative placemaking.” In 2011, the National Endowment for the Arts inaugurated a new grant program, “Our Town,” for “public-private partnerships to strengthen the arts while shaping the social, physical, and economic characters of their neighborhoods, towns, cities, and regions.”² The Kresge Foundation also [^p227-2]: www.nea.gov. Alabama was not represented among the initial group of grantees. ### WHAT MAKES ARTIST SPACE DIFFERENT? * Based on a community of like-minded small business people. Artist spaces don’t work unless they start with a community of artists or creative businesses wanting and needing space. * Easy to create and design and can fit in many different types of buildings. * Very similar in design and price to light industrial space and/or low-end office space. * Benefits: > Completed projects in many cases result in stabilized neighborhoods—more homeowners, businesses, more tax revenue, and enhanced safety. > Projects create connections between the artists and the community, enriching neighborhood culture. > Projects can galvanize communities, generating enthusiasm and support for community revitalization. * Pricing: > Rental studio space pricing: You need to think about how much an artist might be able to pay total on top of his/her monthly other expenses. Most artists usually do not want to pay more than $100-$300 a month on top of other expenses. > Live/work pricing: Most artists cannot afford expensive space, but there is a range of what artists can afford. If you are thinking about developing a building, you might want to have some expensive units balance out a few affordable units. This works well in the co-op model. > Other spaces pricing: Rehearsal spaces and galleries generally do not pay or charge artists very high rents. http://www.artistlink.org/?q=spacetoolbox/fordevelopers has a new creative placemaking initiative. At the same time, ArtPlace was established: “a collaboration of eleven foundations, eight federal agencies, and six of the nation’s largest banks to accelerate creative placemaking across the U.S....ArtPlace is investing in art and culture at the heart of a portfolio of integrated strategies that can drive vibrancy and diversity so powerful that it transforms communities.”³ The existence of these new funding sources represents an opportunity for Birmingham to organize its artist and arts and cultural community to collaborate for the revitalization of the city. One way to do this is to create studio and live/work space for artists.⁴ Urban agriculture as a revitalization strategy. Urban agriculture is an element of sustainability that strengthens local food systems. Urban agriculture can also play a role in neighborhood and city revitalization, both as a way of using land that is otherwise vacant and inexpensive, and in intensive, all-season hydroponic and aquaponic methods within underutilized industrial or commercial buildings. “As an interim (less than five years) or long-term use, greening a parcel by implementing agricultural practices can improve the environment, build amenities, revitalize neighborhoods, and have direct benefits to residents’ food access and nutrition.”⁵ Urban agriculture encompasses everything from small community gardens to profit-making enterprises and can include animal husbandry, beekeeping, aquaculture, aquaponics, and production [^p227-3]: www.artplaceamerica.org [^p227-4]: The Cultural Master Plan for greater Birmingham prepared in 2002 can be found at www.cultural-alliance.com [^p227-5]: EPA, Brownfields and Urban Agriculture, Summer 2011. www.epa.gov/swerosps/bf/urbanag/pdf/bf_urban_ag.pdf ### ARTSPACE A pioneer in the rehabilitation of historic buildings and the use of historic tax credits for affordable artist live/work space, Artspace buys unused or underutilized historic buildings and converts them into fully functioning space for artists and arts-related businesses and organizations. As of 2012, Artspace owns and manages 42 live/work and studio-only properties across the country. Major foundation support from the Ford and Kresge Foundations and ArtPlace is supplemented by broad support from many donors. How Art Spaces Matter I and II are two in-depth reports on Artspace projects available on the organization’s web site, www.artspace.org. ### AQUAPONICS *Aquaponics is a very productive food system that combines aquaculture—raising animal food in water—with hydroponics, raising plant crops in water in a recirculating system. The system can create a high volume of food for sale in a relatively small area and provide year round products for sale. Tilapia and yellow perch are typically the fish raised in aquaponics systems. For more information see: www.backyardaquaponics.com/Travis/aquaponic.pdf; www.growingpower.org/aquaponics.htm* of seeds, seedlines and flowers. Nonprofit and for-profit agriculture in cities can increasingly be found throughout the country on vacant lots, on rooftops, and inside buildings. Birmingham’s existing urban agriculture resources are nonprofits. Although the Jones Valley Urban Teaching Farm is nationally known as an example of downtown urban agriculture and it incorporates production for sale, it is increasingly focused on its youth education role. Otherwise, Birmingham has a collection of community gardens sponsored by a variety of organizations and focused on providing opportunities for residents to raise some of their own food. There is increasing interest around the country in establishing for-profit urban agriculture enterprises that can contribute to neighborhood revitalization, provide income and jobs, and strengthen local food systems. The EPA recently published a guide to preparing an Urban Farm Business Plan, and Global Green prepared a feasibility report for Youngstown, Ohio.[^p228-6] **Environmental justice and strategic choices.** Birmingham’s history of residential development around industrial plants and railroads means that the workers’ camps and employee towns came to be today’s neighborhoods. Environmental justice programs focus on the need to redress existing and prevent future inequitable distribution of environmental burdens and impacts. Birmingham’s continuing project with FEMA funding to move residents from areas of repeated flooding is also an environmental justice project because these areas were zoned for African-American housing under the old racial zoning system, even though the Olmsted plan from 1925 had identified those floodways and floodplains as areas that should be kept free of housing. This Comprehensive Plan recommends establishing a strategy to concentrate a variety of integrated resources and programs on specific areas in order to create visible centers of compact, higher density development that can support transit, neighborhood-serving retail, and other amenities. This strategy must take environmental justice issues into account in several ways. First, some neighborhoods have a high probability of soil contamination because of years of being located next to industrial plants; others are surrounded by railroad lines, making outside connections difficult; there are still residential areas located in relatively high-risk floodplains; and these neighborhoods are also characterized by continuing significant population decline and a high percentage of tax-delinquent and vacant properties. It is also the case that neighborhoods in more environmentally hazardous locations tend to have older housing stock that is obsolete or less attractive for today’s housing demand. In general, these neighborhoods are unlikely to be preferred locations for the next generation of residents or to attract new residents. Under these conditions, they are not strong candidates for concentrated strategic investments, despite the fact that residents often have a historic and emotional attachment to the neighborhood as a place and as a community. Second, the residents living in these neighborhoods still need investment in improvements to their quality of life, such as street paving and drainage. However, concentrations of new housing, for example, would not be as likely to leverage future private investment as in some other areas that already have some revitalization momentum, are better located for current or future transit options, or have better building stock and urban form. [^p228-6]: EPA, Urban Farm Business Plan Handbook, September 2011. http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/urbanag/pdf/urban_farm_business_plan.pdf. Global Green, Urban Agriculture Feasibility Study for Youngstown, Ohio, June 2012. http://globalgreen.org/blogs/global/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/Youngstown-Urban-Ag-Report-6.012-4.pdf # goal 1 ## Blight is substantially eliminated in Birmingham neighborhoods over 20 years. ### POLICY * Give high priority to a comprehensive and integrated approach to eliminating blight and vacancy under unified management and coordination. A comprehensive anti-blight strategy requires the collaboration of a variety of governmental entities and nongovernmental groups. No one city, county, state or other entity has singular responsibility for blight and vacancy and it affects a variety of different stakeholders outside of government. Coordination of all these groups is absolutely essential. A comprehensive strategy also has the following characteristics: * **It is data driven.** Understanding the territory is critical. A complete and ongoing inventory of problems and resources, along with a collective identification of priorities that includes all relevant government departments as well as stakeholders outside of government, will create the understanding and buy-in needed to make the program succeed. * **It is multifaceted**—not a "one-size-fits-all" approach. There is no avoiding the fact that each property and each neighborhood can be different and has to be approached with attention to specifics. Moreover, a comprehensive anti-blight strategy is not just about land and buildings. It is a community-building and capacity-building effort to change the market and perceptions. * **It is transparent and accountable.** The person given responsibility for coordinating all the governmental, nongovernmental and community stakeholders has to be empowered to get the job done, and accountable to the mayor and the community. The system created to deal with blight and abandoned property must be monitored and adjusted over time. # STRATEGIES ## A. Create a comprehensive property and neighborhood information system. ### Actions #### 1. Develop the information system by building on the existing GIS and assessor's property databases and integrating the market value analysis system recommended in Chapter 7 (p. 7.26). Development of this system will require coordination with Code Enforcement and other agencies to provide detailed information on blighted properties and properties in danger of becoming blighted. Some cities create these systems in house while in other cases the property information systems have been created by counties or by universities.[^p229-7] The system should include the following information about specific properties: * Baseline assessor's information * Area of lot and structures * Tenure * Liens * Nuisance abatement (i.e., mowing and boarding up) * Code violations * Vacancy and abandonment * Police calls * Business licenses * Other relevant property-specific information Track information about larger areas—block groups/census tracts, Neighborhoods, Communities, Strategic Opportunity Neighborhoods, etc., using: * Census data * Real estate market information * Crime statistics * Other relevant area-specific information [^p229-7]: Case studies of systems developed for Chicago, Cleveland, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC can be found in Sarah Treuhaft and G. Thomas Kingsley, *Transforming Community Development with Land Information Systems*. Cambridge, MA: Lincoln Institute of Land Policy, 2008. Available at www.lincolninst.edu. #### 2. Establish and maintain an inventory of all vacant sites that are identified brownfield sites and likely brownfield sites and integrate it into the property information system. Often, particularly with vacant sites that were contaminated by industrial uses decades ago, there is no incentive to determine the likely extent of contamination (known as a Phase I Assessment, which establishes the history of the site but does not include geotechnical studies) unless a redevelopment opportunity seems imminent. The Regional Planning Commission and the state have an inventory of brownfield sites that have been identified for programs and that have been remediated and are available for redevelopment. There are large vacant industrial sites in Birmingham that are popularly presumed to be brownfields, given well-known use histories, and in some cases property owners have done limited assessments without making the results public. It would be worthwhile for the City to establish a list of identified and likely brownfield sites to be integrated with the property information system. Students or volunteers could be organized to do preliminary research into site histories, using established approaches. This would provide the city with more information on vacant properties and inform revitalization and redevelopment strategies. ### B. Designate a position responsible to the Mayor with the authority and responsibility to coordinate and organize the blight eradication activities of all relevant city agencies. #### Actions ##### 1. Designate a Director, responsible to the Mayor, to take charge of anti-blight activities. The Director will work with the various agencies and departments to clarify roles, ensure that they work together in a coordinated way to implement policy, and s/he will be responsible for setting measurable goals and making regular public reports on progress. #### 2. Establish a vacant property registration ordinance and a regular cycle of vacant building inspections. Many cities have found a vacant residential property registration ordinance to be an extremely valuable tool in managing vacant properties and buildings. Typically, properties that fall under these ordinances are not habitable—properties with working systems and actively being marketed for sale or rent would not be required to register. Owners are required to register and pay a fee, renewing the registration on a regular schedule. In some cities, the fees get higher every subsequent year, as an incentive for property owners to redevelop or sell their properties. Owners are required to keep the buildings and lots secured and in good order, and in some cases, post a sign with the name and contact information of the owner and manager of the property. Failure to do so results in significant fines. In cases where an owner cannot be found, the city would place a lien on the property. Funds from the registration fees and fines would pay for an inspection system. #### 3. Develop a review process and criteria for demolition of properties by government entities. Some properties wait too long for demolition and others that could be candidates for rehabilitation may be demolished too quickly. The demolition review process should be developed and implemented by the Director of blight eradication, including an opportunity for public comment. In local historic districts, the Design Review Committee reviews demolition permits and can ask property owners to wait a year while an adaptive use is pursued for the property. The general demolition process should respect the Design Review Committee procedure in the historic districts and commercial revitalization districts where the DRC has review responsibilities. Review criteria for demolition should include the following: * Health and safety considerations. * Quality of the building. * Impact of demolition on neighborhood fabric. * Reuse potential of the lot. * Nuisance level of the property. ## C. Develop and implement a strategy to prevent abandonment of properties. In addition to strategies to deal with existing blight and vacancy, it is important to identify properties that are at risk of falling vacant in order to keep blight from spreading. This means working to improve their economic viability. ### Actions #### 1. Identify at-risk properties. This process should include location and information on foreclosures and lending patterns. This can be done through the property information and market valuation analysis system. #### 2. Develop and use strong partnerships. Neighborhood stakeholders, social service providers and nonprofit housing developers, private lenders, and others can promote information sharing and identify opportunities to make improvements. #### 3. Make general community improvements. Community improvements such as road paving or better park maintenance can provide a sense of optimism about the future of a neighborhood so that fewer people are tempted to walk away from their properties. #### 4. Improve code enforcement activities. The property information system will include code enforcement data. Targeted code enforcement sweeps should be coordinated with programs to prevent abandonment and in conjunction with strategic renewal plans. Although a stronger code enforcement program is important, a sensitive approach that provides intervention and assistance to owners who cannot afford improvements (such as the elderly owners who are eligible for some of the city's housing rehab programs) and to tenants who may end up homeless if landlords refuse to comply. ## D. Develop a system and/or seek legislative authority to expedite procedures for site control of blighted and vacant properties and for quiet title. ### Actions #### 1. Enact an ordinance to allow the City to purchase properties from the state land bank. The state 2010 Quiet Title Act allows municipalities to purchase properties that have been tax-delinquent for at least three years from the state for approximately $100 per lot and bring more than one property at a time to court for quiet title proceedings. When the City sells these properties it can require that purchasers pay fees to cover the costs to the City and it can also require that development take place within a certain period, or the property reverts to the city. Mobile and Montgomery have passed laws of this type. It is important to recognize, however, that the very weak real estate markets and large number of tax delinquent properties existing in some Birmingham neighborhoods make it unlikely that many properties will attract interest from buyers with redevelopment capacity. Scattered redevelopment without a strategic focus would not be beneficial. However, because the reality in many parts of Birmingham is that there is more housing and land than demand, it would be beneficial for the City to gain control over tax delinquent parcels to land bank them to keep them off the market in order to start rebalancing the market. Some of this land could be used for green systems purposes (parks, neighborhood greenways, community gardens, and so on) to be managed by the City or given to Community Land Trusts (see below) for neighborhood-based management. In other cases, the land could be held for assembly by a municipal land bank linked to a citywide redevelopment authority. #### 2. Explore the potential for community land trusts as an interim or long-term mechanism for site control, management of vacant land, and provision of affordable housing. Community land trusts (CLT) typically are membership-based nonprofits. Most CLTs provide affordable housing by retaining ownership of land and leasing it to a homeowner who has title only to the house. The CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 8 COMMUNITY RENEWAL ### COMMUNITY LAND TRUSTS REVITALIZE NEIGHBORHOODS IN ROCHESTER MN Rochester, MN, has a population of around 100,000 and its major employer is the Mayo Clinic. Lack of workforce housing led the Rochester Area Foundation (RAF) to form an affordable housing subsidiary, First Homes, in 1999, initially funded with an RAF grant of $1 million and a Mayo Clinic donation of $4 million, which was used to raise additional funds. Several years later, in order to make housing affordable in perpetuity, First Homes decided to establish a community land trust (CLT). The First Homes CLT program provides a 99-year renewable land lease that as of 2008 reduced a home’s price by $40,000. Monthly land lease fees are only $10 for the first three years of occupancy and plateau at $50 beginning in year six. CLT homeowners realize an additional savings of approximately $100 per month, because they do not pay private mortgage insurance. They can also combine the CLT benefits with additional first-time homeowner assistance from other sources. While some CLTs offer minimal financial benefit to the homeowner upon resale, homeowners working with First Homes receive 50 percent of the home value appreciation as well as all equity invested. In 2006, the program began operating in Rochester’s downtown neighborhoods, which were in decline, and expanded into a comprehensive effort to create mixed-income neighborhoods of choice through neighborhood visioning, a CLT, and additional improvements to leverage private investment. The CLT will ensure the continuation of workforce housing alongside market-rate investment. As of 2008, First Homes had helped provide 538 single-family homes and 379 rental units in Rochester and the surrounding area, assisted by more than 100 local donors and builders, banks, realtors, and local and state government officials. http://www.minneapolisfed.org/publications_papers/issue.cfm?id=286 ground lease can be renewed and inherited, but the CLT needs to give permission for subletting and major capital improvements, and regulates mortgaging and maintenance. In many cases, the housing remains affordable in perpetuity because, on resale, it must be sold at a price affordable to a low- or moderate-income household, though this is not a requirement. CLTs also hold title to community open space and facilities. Some CLTs act as developers while others focus only on assembling and leasing land and assuring permanent affordability of housing on the land. Alabama has one CLT in Montgomery. The cities of Rochester, MN, Chicago, IL and Irvine, CA, and Sarasota County, FL, have recently adopted the CLT model as a way to manage or create owner-occupied affordable housing.[^p232-8] CLTs can also be used to control and manage vacant land for permanent open space or for interim uses on land that is not expected to be developed in the near future. In this case, the benefits can be community gardens, orchards, and farms and managed open space. In weak market neighborhoods where there is too much land, the CLTs will take some of this land off the market for interim uses until beneficial development is on the horizon, in which case the CLT board and stakeholders can consider whether to become part of that development project. ## goal 2 An organization with professional leadership and adequate staff and funding focuses on land banking, land assembly and redevelopment. **POLICY** * Support creation of a professionally-run combined Land Bank and Redevelopment Authority. Where property abandonment is a significant problem, tools and strategies are needed to minimize the harmful impacts of abandonment and create the conditions needed to bring properties back into productive use. A series of linked strategies need to be implemented: * Acquisition * Maintenance * Disposition * Reuse within a broader plan * Property-specific strategies (e.g., rehabilitation, infill, assembly into a larger site) [^p232-8]: http://www.cltnetwork.org/ The City of Birmingham does not yet have all the tools and an integrated strategy to deal with the increasing tide of abandoned properties in its neighborhoods. It has neither a land bank nor a citywide redevelopment authority. While there is a Downtown Development Authority whose only role appears to be to vote on incentives for downtown projects, REV Birmingham focuses on downtown revitalization and neighborhood commercial district revitalization. The Housing Authority focuses on neighborhood-based redevelopment of obsolete public housing. The Community Development Department provides some funding for rehabilitation and new housing construction with federal funds. But there is no entity with experience and a professional redevelopment staff that can take a strategic approach to the whole city. In 2012, the City's CDBG and HOME money is being targeted to tornado rebuilding in Pratt City, but geographic targeting has not been the rule in the past. **Redevelopment authorities/agencies.** These entities are state chartered agencies within local governments that are empowered to redevelop blighted areas and have professional staff. Typically they have powers to carry out redevelopment projects and related activities; make and execute contracts; make public improvements; acquire land to improve and/or demolish structures; carry out relocations of displaced persons; borrow money; make plans for the redevelopment area, including relocation of streets and utilities; sue and be sued. Some can issue bonds. Depending on the state, they may have the power of eminent domain to condemn private property and incorporate it into new developments, though most agencies try to avoid using eminent domain because it is politically unpopular. Redevelopment authorities need to be provided with a source of funding from their activities and/or other sources in order to support their activities. **Land banks** are entities that secure control of tax-delinquent, vacant and abandoned properties; assume ownership and clear title; rehabilitate or demolish blighted structures and clean up the sites; and finally, transfer title to homeowners or responsible developers. Land banks are not formed to take the place of private markets but to act where the private market is no longer functioning well. They work to create the conditions and raise values sufficiently for private investment to re-enter the neighborhood. In 2013, the Alabama State Legislature passed enabling legislation that allows for municipal governments to establish a local municipal land bank. The State of Alabama does not appear to have enabling legislation that provides for a broad redevelopment authority with land banking powers as well. There are two types of authorities that appear to be primarily focused on providing public financing or tax-exempt financing for infrastructure or public uses in specific projects: Alabama Improvement Districts (Section 11-99A) and Capital Improvement Cooperative Districts (Section 11-54A). Section 11-54 enables Commercial Development Authorities which are authorized to acquire and manage property in order to attract businesses to commercial districts. State enabling legislation for Downtown Development Authorities (Section 11-54A) is closer to typical redevelopment authorities and provides for a broad range of powers. Under that law, a development authority must define a specific area for its actions and that area must be approved by the city council. Self-Help Business Improvement Districts (section 11-54B) can collect money from businesses in the district to support a management system (like CAP in downtown Birmingham). Finally, municipalities and housing authorities under Section 24.2.2 are given the power to acquire and redevelop blighted property pursuant to a redevelopment plan approved by the municipality. The language of this statute implies that what is contemplated by this legislation is specific redevelopment projects to be implemented by a housing authority. > ### GENESEE COUNTY (MI) LAND BANK > Genesee County, MI, which includes the City of Flint, pioneered best practices in land banking. They take a coordinated, multipronged approach that includes: > * Foreclosure prevention > * Renovation and sales > * Brownfield remediation > * Side lot transfer—small lots sold to neighbors > * Maintenance > > "Clean and Green," a program to pay neighborhood groups to maintain lots > > "Adopt-a-lot"—the right to use a vacant lot for any legal purpose without paying for it, in exchange for lot maintenance > > www.thelandbank.org Given this situation, it might make more sense for Birmingham to draft and seek state legislation to establish a Birmingham Redevelopment Authority, rather than cobble together the legal foundations from the disparate state laws mentioned above. Recent state legislation for a redevelopment authority created for the City of Baton Rouge/East Baton Rouge Parish in Louisiana provides a good model of the kinds of powers and activities that would be useful in a Birmingham redevelopment entity. (See *http://law.justia.com/codes/louisiana/2011/rs/title33/rs33-4720-151/*; and *www.ebrra.org/*.) The redevelopment authority would need to be capitalized to provide funding for staff and activities, particularly before grants and program funding would be available. Although general funds can be used, it is preferable to have some level of dedicated funding. One source of funding used in many communities is public parking fees. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Create a citywide redevelopment entity for Birmingham and a municipal land bank. ##### Action **1. *Consult national experts about best options for Birmingham, identify if existing redevelopment entities enabled by state law can be bundled to act as a redevelopment authority, or seek state legislation to enable a City of Birmingham Redevelopment Authority.*** In order to make progress on Birmingham’s tax delinquent and vacant land problem—which is a precondition to meaningful and successful neighborhood revitalization—it is critical that the city have access to the professional expertise, powers, and tools necessary to make a difference. The Center for Community Progress, a nonprofit founded by national leaders in redevelopment, has been working with the City of New Orleans and other cities on these issues. The City may wish to consult with them as it begins this process. **2. *Consult national experts about best practices as the city develops a Local Municipal Land Bank Authority for Birmingham. Since the State of Alabama Legislature passed enabling legislation allowing for local municipalities to establish a local land bank, the City should develop a Local Land Bank Authority.*** The Center for Community Progress, a nonprofit founded by national leaders in land banking, has been working with the City of New Orleans and other cities on these issues. The City may wish to consult with them as it begins this process. # goal 3 ## Strategic and comprehensive redevelopment with critical mass creates visible, self-sustaining communities and neighborhoods of choice. ### POLICIES * Support comprehensive revitalization planning that integrates physical, economic, social and human issues. * Support targeted and strategic revitalization investments to leverage nearby employment centers and civic assets. * Ensure that redevelopment benefits current residents of an area as well as attracting new households. * Promote mixed-income neighborhood development. * Support creation of a network of a small number of high-capacity nonprofit community development organizations. Active city involvement in a place-based strategy of vacant land acquisition, disposition and redevelopment for renewal and revitalization allows the City to: * Be proactive rather than reactive—gain more control over future redevelopment. * Deploy public and nonprofit resources strategically. * Make a visible impact and leverage private investment. * Repeat and grow the number of revitalized neighborhoods. ## STRATEGIES ### A. Organize and hold a Birmingham Neighborhood Futures Conference soon after adoption of the Comprehensive Plan. The Birmingham Neighborhood Futures Conference can take inspiration from the heroic generation of the nineteen-fifties and -sixties, and the city can commit to focusing on expanding opportunity and creating an inclusive and quality Southern city for the new generation of the 21st century. The Conference should bring experts from around the country, including practitioners and funders, to talk about how they have worked to combat blight and revitalize their cities, how to organize, how to build capacity, and how to attract funding. The purpose is to learn from these invited experts, and also to increase the visibility of Birmingham among national funders and innovators in community development. The creation and funding of a successful network of community development corporations in Birmingham should be part of the discussion. In addition to presentations and panels focused on technical topics, there should be public-participation opportunities building on the communities of place events that took place during the Comprehensive Plan Process. #### Action 1. **Identify a lead organizer and create a committee to organize and fund the conference.** Sponsors of the conference should include the City of Birmingham, the BBA, the Community Foundation, the United Way, other foundations, the Housing Authority, UAB and other colleges and universities, major institutions and corporations. Neighborhood representatives should be part of the organizing committee. In addition to local foundation and private donations to support the conference, the city or other organizer can also seek support from national funders. Suggested national invitees to the conferees include: LISC, Enterprise Community Partners, Living Cities, Surdna Foundation, Ford Foundation, ArtPlace, Center for Community Progress, Purpose Built Communities, Policy Link, HUD Office of Sustainable Communities. In addition, representatives from cities which have developed innovative approaches to challenges facing the City of Birmingham, such as Baltimore, Cleveland, and New Orleans, should be invited. Practitioners from successful community development corporations who can share their experience of on the ground organizing for housing, economic development, and transportation improvements are also important invitees. ### B. Develop and implement a set of public criteria to evaluate potential Strategic Opportunity Areas. The criteria should take into account a variety of issues such as access to employment centers, civic assets, real estate market, extent and pattern of vacancy and land availability for assembly, community organization, infrastructure needs, adjacency to stable neighborhoods, and momentum of change. #### Action 1. **Review the preliminary identification of the following potential urban villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas in more detail.** Based on discussions in the community meetings, plans for transit improvements, recent or expected new investments, and preliminary market evaluations, the following areas (not including downtown) have been identified as potential urban villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas. * Five Points West: strong commercial base; public investment (CrossPlex, new police station, existing library); identified future bus SuperStop and BRT opportunity; nearby stable neighborhoods. * Titusville: potential Choice Neighborhood investment area; close to downtown; neighborhood revitalization groups. * Carraway/Norwood: neighborhood revitalization group; homeowner investment; local historic district; hospital site mixed-use redevelopment potential; close to downtown. * Woodlawn: Woodlawn United revitalization group; foundation investment; village center redevelopment underway; nearby stable neighborhoods. * Parkway East: strong commercial base; major transportation route with potential for future transit CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 8 COMMUNITY RENEWAL ### RICHMOND VA "NEIGHBORHOODS IN BLOOM" PROGRAM <
> After a long history of scattering funds across a large number of high-poverty neighborhoods and seeing few positive results, the City of Richmond decided in 1999 to target its resources to a few carefully chosen neighborhoods. The resources included the bulk of the City's federal entitlement funds (CDBG and HOME) as well as significant amounts of capital-improvement dollars and other resources (e.g., aggressive code enforcement and accelerated vacant-and abandoned-property disposition). This initiative—Neighborhoods in Bloom—focused significant resources on seven neighborhoods with the goal of achieving a critical mass of public investment needed to stimulate self-sustaining, private-market activity there. LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation), through local community development corporations, aligned its grants and loans with those of the city. The program focused on improving existing owner-occupied units, rehabilitating blighted properties, and constructing new housing to create mixed-income homeownership opportunities. After five years, a detailed study, funded by the Federal Reserve Bank and using both quantitative and qualitative methods, showed that the targeted strategy worked. House prices in the NiB communities grew 10 percent faster over the project period than the city average. The investments also had a spillover effect on nearby areas, which similarly benefited from higher-than-average house price appreciation. The study also quantified the benefits of the strategy and found that the increase in property taxes in these neighborhoods, if projected over a 20-year period, would cover the city's $15 million investment. For more information, see www.scribd.com/doc/1401230/ US-Federal-Reserve-nib-research. hub; potential mixed-use center; nearby stable neighborhoods. Ideally, the real estate market study recommended in Chapter 7 (p. 7.26) and the comprehensive property and neighborhood database recommended in this chapter (p. 8.9), can be developed quickly on a high-priority schedule in order to inform this review. ### C. Establish an arts and culture revitalization strategy at selected locations. #### Action **1. Establish incentives for artists and developers to rehabilitate buildings for artist live/work space in defined areas.** Paducah, Kentucky, has become famous for its Artist Relocation Program which has attracted artists from all over the country to relocate to and revitalize a historic Paducah neighborhood. To qualify, candidates must demonstrate that they are professional artists who can produce sufficient income to support them while living **POTENTIAL SPACE FOR MAKING ART IN WOODLAWN** <
> An opportunity to create spaces for working artists is available in Woodlawn: * Existing large warehouse space with historic industrial character located one block from Main Street, Birmingham's 55th Place Arts development can be converted to a mix of studios, complete with shared access to specialty tools / equipment, such as kilns and lathes. * Multi-option participation model: single or shared studio rentals, equipment rental, membership * Interested property owner and capable potential owner/manager intrigued by a multidisciplinary work and learning space in Brooklyn as a model www.3rdward.com 8.16 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART III | CHAPTER 8 COMMUNITY RENEWAL and working in Paducah. Special consideration is given to galleries and businesses that are “open to the public” and maintain a minimum number of “open” hours, as well as artists who commit to making substantial contributions to the community through workshops or other highly desirable projects. Incentives include: * Area Zoned for live/work spaces. This enables residents to have gallery/studio, restaurant/café, living, and other mixed uses. * Properties available for as little as $1 to qualifying proposals. Included is a $2,500 reimbursement for architectural or other professional services. (Paducah Reniassance Alliance (PRA)-owned properties only). * Marketing and promotional materials for the Arts District. * Matching Funds Program. PRA will match marketing and promotional expenditures dollar for dollar up to the amount designated for individuals and groups of PRA member businesses and artists. Businesses must be located within the Renaissance Area to qualify for matching funds. * For qualifying artists and businesses: > Moving assistance up to $2,500 > Start Up Business Assistance up to $2,500 > Make Ready/Rehab Costs up to $5,000 > Acquisition Assistance up to $15,000 > Restaurant Incentive up to $25,000 In Chattanooga, TN, the ArtsMove program is administered by the nonprofit Choose Chattanooga, which is focused on attracting residents to the city. ArtsMove financial incentives to qualified artists moving to Chattanooga first included a forgivable mortgage. Incentives offered currently include reimbursement for moving expenses. The program defined artists broadly as creatives: among the 30 artists who have taken advantage of the various phases of the program are a chocolatier, landscape architect, storyteller, graphic designer, classical sculptor and a DJ. Incentives such as tax abatements or streamlined permitting may also be suitable for developers interested in developing multi-unit artist studio space or live/work space. Excess public property, such as city or school system owned properties, should be investigated for potential use as artist space. ## D. Coordinate public, nonprofit and for-profit investments with social services and workforce development in Strategic Opportunity Areas. Physical redevelopment is not sufficient. In the spirit of the federal government’s Choice Neighborhoods Initiative, it is important to pay attention to making social service, workforce, transportation, child care, and other services that support households and families available within the Strategic Opportunity Areas. The Birmingham Housing Authority has applied for a Choice Neighborhoods Implementation Grant for Loveman Village in North Titusville and has included a plan for community supports. The “community school” strategy of using school spaces to provide services and supports for children, youth, families and adults is one approach that should be pursued. <
> > **[page 238 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** ### RE-IMAGINING A SUSTAINABLE CLEVELAND Cleveland’s revitalization plan for the city’s 3,300 acres of vacant land was funded by the national Surdna Foundation and is an ongoing F. Create a welcoming environment for urban agriculture. An expanded urban agriculture system has great potential in Birmingham. The foundation already exists, the burgeoning restaurant scene is one of a variety of potential markets, and the city has both land and buildings with potential for urban agriculture. The wholesale farmers’ market, neighborhood farmers’ markets, Community Supported Agriculture programs, and a new web-based Alabama fresh food delivery company are some of the potential markets for Birmingham agriculture. 1. Amend zoning, as necessary, to allow urban agriculture. Zoning should include regulation of residential-scale urban agriculture needs, such as beekeeping and chickens, and also provide for appropriate regulation of larger, land based or building based agricultural enterprises, whether on land or in buildings. Provide standards that protect the interests of residential and commercial neighbors while encouraging urban agriculture enterprises. 2. Provide for permanent neighborhood community garden spaces. Encourage permanent status for community gardens. This can be done by giving title to City-owned land to one or more nonprofits to manage community gardens, by zoning, or by other means, such as permanent easements. 3. Explore the idea of creating an Urban Agriculture Innovation District in Ensley. Ensley was once a manufacturing center with a substantial downtown but today it is one of the most depopulated and disinvested parts of the city. The vacant land and buildings in Ensley could become the foundation of an innovative, year-round urban agriculture district that combines land-based crop farming and animal husbandry, greenhouse cultivation, and hydroponic and aquaponic farming in buildings. The goal would be to create a profit-making new industry of boutique agriculture in the City of Birmingham that would create new jobs and training opportunities. At this point, the land under consideration would be neighborhood land that would need to be assembled in parcels of at least 3 acres, though the land on the Ensley Works site might ultimately be found to be suitable. Like all land in Birmingham, soils would have to be tested and land-based agriculture would require mitigation such as raised beds or other interventions. A university group could be asked to work with the neighborhood in an initial project to gauge interest and create a vision for Ensley Grows (or some other appropriate branding name). Potential partners could be the Jones Valley Urban Teaching Farm, Growing Power Inc., Birmingham-Jefferson County Food Policy Council, university-based agricultural extension agents, and groups such as Global Green that have been working on a consulting basis with other cities and communities on urban agriculture. G. Ensure that regulations allow for a variety of new housing configurations while conforming to appropriate urban design standards. ### Actions 1. Amend regulations to provide for the creation of cottage neighborhoods. Cottage neighborhoods and conservation subdivisions can provide new options to create housing. Cottage neighborhoods are infill developments that can fit into the existing rectangular blocks of the historic grid found in many Birmingham neighborhoods. The housing is designed in a cottage style compatible with Birmingham housing types, and typically modest in scale—no more than 1,200 sf—and especially suitable for singles, <
> couples, retirees, and single parent families. They are built in densities similar to garden apartments, but preserve the atmosphere of single family neighborhoods. Design characteristics include: * Developments are built in clusters of 4-12 units on existing blocks * Integrated design provides shared functional open space, off-street parking, external and internal site access, and consistent landscaping. * The units may be separately platted or developed as condominiums. * A transition from public to private space—from the street through a low gate to a common open space to a small yard for each unit surrounded by a low fence or hedge—gives each residence a defined private space. * Active spaces in the house look out on the common area, providing “eyes on the street.” * Houses are sited to promote privacy by matching the side of a house with more windows to the more closed side of the neighboring house. * Individual units are marked by variety in design, color, materials, and other aspects to provide visual interest, while retaining a general cottage character (elements such as porches, dormers, bay windows, visible trim, etc.). * Off-street parking for the development is screened and located away from the street Sources and for more information: www.rosschapin.com and www.cottagecompany.com. ### 2. Provide for conservation subdivisions in the zoning ordinance. See Chapter 4, p. 4.21. # C. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Organize and hold a Birmingham Neighborhood Futures Conference soon after adoption of the Comprehensive Plan. | City, f.oundations, nonprofit organizations | | Prepare local or state legislation needed to create a redevelopment authority and land bank. | City Attorney’s office | | Create a comprehensive property information system. | City in collaboration with university or other partners | # Part IV ## Prosperity and Opportunity **Chapter 9** **Growing Economic Base Industries** **Chapter 10** **Reinforcing the Building Blocks of the Economy** **Chapter 11** **Sustaining Downtown** ### SUMMARY A prosperous and sustainable future that provides opportunities for all of the City of Birmingham’s residents depends on developing a vibrant and dynamic 21st century economy. The key themes of this section are: * **The critical importance of human capital.** The city must ensure that all residents have the opportunity to develop the intellectual capacities and skills to meet the needs of employers and develop successful businesses in an increasingly knowledge-driven global economy. This is, in particular, the key to enabling economically disadvantaged residents to climb the ladder to economic security. The city must also become a place where talented professionals and entrepreneurs choose to live and work. * **The city’s role as a center of innovation.** UAB and the city’s other research and higher education institutions form a nexus of new ideas and technologies that can incubate the growth industries essential to the future prosperity of the city and region. * **The imperative of collaboration.** City government cannot ensure success in economic development alone, but must work in partnership with key actors in the business, non-profit, institutional and philanthropic sectors on a sustained basis. It must also engage at the regional level on issues of mutual interest. * **The importance of systems thinking.** The City and its partners must reach across bureaucratic boundaries to integrate programs and services so that they are accessible and user-friendly for workers and businesses. * **The need for a strategic approach to investment.** In an era of increasingly scarce resources, the City’s investments in land, infrastructure, programs, and services for economic development must be guided by a clear understanding of where its competitive advantages and opportunities lie. * **The central value of a live-work-play downtown.** Successful downtowns are regional business, employment, cultural and entertainment centers—and they are also great places to live. Continued growth in downtown as a neighborhood will enhance and sustain the city center into the next generation. # Chapter 9 # Growing Economic Base Industries <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “Having a culture and tools that allow for innovation and entrepreneurship.” “Economic stability for residents, businesses, and persons looking to do business in the city...” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | A diversified, knowledge-driven economy, anchored by established and emerging industry sectors, built on the city's competitive strengths, and providing job opportunities in a range of occupations and skill levels. | • Target city resources and support to existing and emerging economic base industries. | | | • Support the development of a diverse economy that provides a wide range of employment opportunities and shields the city from over-dependence on any single industry. | | | • Leverage city resources through collaboration with key partners in the private and nonprofit sectors. | | | • Engage with the business community to ensure that city policies are responsive to business needs. | | | • Advocate for state policies and investments that support the city's economic development. | | | • Collaborate at the regional level when regional action is required to advance the city's economic interests. | | A city and its government that are focused on economic development. | • Strive to create and maintain an award-winning educational system, both in the Pre-K and K-12 systems and in higher education. | | | • Ensure that the City's workforce development programs are meeting the needs of its citizens and of current and future employers. | | | • Catalogue available sites for expanding and new businesses. | | | • Be active in State economic development efforts. | | | • Work collaboratively to increase employment. | # findings The city is transitioning from a traditional manufacturing to a knowledge economy. The healthcare industry is the city’s largest single industry and has experienced strong recent growth. Other important industries are retail, “other services” (notably personal household services and religious organizations), finance and insurance, and professional, technical, and scientific services. City residents are most likely to be employed in healthcare, followed by retail, education, manufacturing, and accommodation and food services. Employment trends among industries show a mixture of growth and decline. The strongest growth has occurred in other services, healthcare, management of companies and enterprises (e.g., corporate headquarters), and finance and insurance, while the most severe declines have occurred in manufacturing, construction, information, and retail. The city has a significant research base that supports new technology-oriented business formation. UAB is a major center of life sciences research as well as engineering, materials science and computer technologies. The Southern Research Institute focuses on life sciences, advanced engineering, environment and energy. I2i is a new collaboration of the UAB Research Foundation, UAB Business School and the BBA to license and commercialize technologies locally. Among the regional target industries identified in Blueprint Birmingham, the city is in the strongest position in healthcare, finance and insurance, biological and medical technology, and arts, recreation, and tourism, with potential growth opportunities in automotive-related manufacturing. # challenges Employment in the city declined during the past decade in contrast to growth in the region, state and nation. Birmingham residents have relatively low labor force participation rates and relatively high unemployment rates. City residents are more likely to be represented in lower-wage occupations. City residents are heavily employed in a number of declining occupations and thus may be vulnerable to job loss. A mismatch between occupational skills and the workforce needs of emerging industries put city residents at a disadvantage and threaten these industries with labor shortages. The city’s often non-attainment status for ozone levels makes clean industries a priority. The lack of development-ready industrial sites limits the city’s ability to attract industrial firms with immediate development needs. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES # A. What the Community Said * Industries most frequently identified as offering growth opportunities: * medical technology * health care * life sciences research * higher education * tourism * distribution * Others identified included: * automotive and light manufacturing * computer and internet-related businesses * financial activities * food products * green industries * UAB is seen as the center of a nexus between research, higher education, health care and technology industries. <
> **UAB was identified by the community as the most important entity in the city connecting higher education, health care and technology.** # B. Recommendations Birmingham’s economic base industries are the key to wealth creation and economic prosperity. These industries sell their products and services to businesses and consumers from elsewhere—regionally, nationally, and internationally—and therefore import income that circulates within the local economy, creating jobs and increasing business revenues. Sustaining and growing these industries is therefore central to fostering the City’s overall economic development and growing its population. It also drives key economic development decisions, including the nature and scale of commercial and industrial real estate development, infrastructure investments, education and workforce development, and business assistance. Birmingham’s economic base industries include established industries such as health care, primary and fabricated metals manufacturing, tourism, distribution, financial services, and emerging industries such as life sciences, digital information and media, and certain advanced manufacturing specializations. The ability to sustain and strengthen these industries is key not only to the City’s economic future, but the entire region’s. Economies are regional and the City and its surrounding communities are economically interdependent. The City plays a unique role as a center of research and technology entrepreneurship, notably in the life sciences, healthcare, tourism, and many financial and professional services that continue to gravitate to center city locations that facilitate interactions with collaborators and clients and attract talented workers. Birmingham should take an active role in influencing the State government in the types of industries on which it focuses to ensure that the city can experience the same growth recently enjoyed by Huntsville and Mobile. Birmingham should convene local and statewide teams to assist it in its growth. No longer should turf wars be the reason that Birmingham is passed by. The industries that should be targeted by Birmingham change with economic need, the training possessed by the work force, and the types of business sites that are available. The City should look forward, to meet the next wave of needs. 9.4 In addition, Birmingham must be willing to look to the future. Birmingham must expand workforce training and brownfield site development, and when necessary greenfield site development to ensure that it is prepared for the future. The City should take an active role in the development of State economic development to ensure that it experiences growth in the future. By working collaboratively, industries and businesses can be attracted that would continue Birmingham’s role as the centerpiece in Alabama’s economy. The recommendations below focus on ways the City and its economic development partners can support the development of its established and emerging economic base industries. Businesses that primarily serve local residents, both downtown and in the City’s neighborhoods, and the benefits of arts and culture development and urban agriculture, are discussed in Chapters 7, 8, 10, and 11. # goal 1 ## A diversified, knowledge-driven economy, anchored by established and emerging industry sectors, built on the city’s competitive strengths, and providing job opportunities in a range of occupations and skill levels. **POLICIES** * Target city resources and support to existing and emerging economic base industries * Support the development of a diverse economy that provides a wide range of employment opportunities and shields the city from over-dependence on any single industry * Leverage city resources through collaboration with key partners in the private and nonprofit sectors * Engage with the business community to ensure that city policies are responsive to business needs * Advocate for state policies and investments that support the city’s economic development * Collaborate at the regional level when regional action is required to advance the city’s economic interests # The Health Care Industry Health care is the largest industry in Birmingham. Private health care employment totaled 33,800 in 2010. Public sector health care employment, including UAB Health System, Cooper Green Mercy Health Services, and the Birmingham VA Medical Center, is aggregated under government employment but is estimated at approximately 18,470. Private health care employment increased by eight percent between 2001 and 2010. There are three major segments of the health care industry: hospitals; ambulatory care; and nursing and residential care facilities. The most important segment from an economic development standpoint is hospitals because they are more likely to attract nonlocal patients and thus draw income into the local economy. The city serves as a hospital center for the MSA and the larger central Alabama region, with approximately 80 percent of total MSA hospital employment. Major hospitals in Birmingham include University Hospital, Trinity Medical Center, St. Vincent’s Birmingham, St. Vincent’s East, Princeton Baptist Medical Center, Birmingham VA Medical Center, and Children’s of Alabama. A number of local hospitals have received high national rankings in certain specialties, particularly University Hospital and Children’s of Alabama. University Hospital ranks within the top 40 hospitals in 11 specialties, including pulmonology, neurology and neurosurgery, kidney disorders, cardiology and heart surgery, and cancer. Children’s of Alabama ranks among the top 40 children’s hospital in 10 specialties, including neurosurgery, pulmonology, orthopedics, diabetes, cardiology and heart surgery, and cancer. Princeton Baptist Medical Center received a high ranking in one specialty: neurology/ neurosurgery. A number of local hospitals have also initiated or are planning modernization, expansion or relocation projects to upgrade their facilities. These include Princeton Baptist Medical Center’s current $57 million hospital expansion, Children’s of Alabama’s recently completed construction of a new $400 million campus on the Southside, St. Vincent’s East’s new psychiatric unit, and Trinity CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES Hospital’s planned move to the unfinished Health South facility on Highway 280. While not part of the health care industry, firms in other industries that provide products and services to the health care industry are drawn to Birmingham by its large agglomeration of health care services. Others develop specializations targeted to the industry. These firms often serve larger regional and national markets, drawing income into the community. Examples include: * Chicago-based Accretive Health, which recently decided to locate a specialized call center with 250 employees at the Medical Forum office building in the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Complex. The center will provide appointment reminders, registration, insurance verification and customer billing and collections services to hospitals, doctors and other health care businesses. * IMS, a Birmingham-based surgical instrument management and consulting company offering management and repair of surgical instruments and devices, real time management data and tools, and consulting and implementation in the surgical suite and sterile processing department. IMS not only serves local healthcare facilities, but more than 2,500 others throughout the United States. To make way for its continued growth, IMS recently purchased a 55,000-square-foot building near its repair facility in Birmingham. The purchase will enable IMS to develop a single, 10-acre campus to accommodate its corporate headquarters, a repair facility and Wedge Manufacturing, a division that produces precision parts. * Medical Properties Trust, a Birmingham medical real estate investment trust, with a total of 78 hospital facilities in 24 states. A number of small startup and early-stage technology firms are developing software and web-based and mobile applications for the health care industry. These include: * Definicare, a real-time clinical research platform for both clinical research and patient care; * MedSeek, which develops mobile health applications; * SuccessEHS, which develops customized electronic health records and practice management systems; * Proxsys, a provider of cloud-based care coordination services between physicians and hospitals; and * ComplyMD, which offers software that allows physicians to update medical records in real time. # STRATEGY ## A. Maintain and enhance Birmingham’s position as a regional medical center with select top-tier specializations. ## ACTIONS ### 1. Incorporate the health care industry into local and regional marketing programs. Birmingham’s position as a major regional health care center creates a large local market for related goods and services that can act as a base for local companies seeking to expand into regional and national markets as well as non-local companies establishing regional operations. Marketing should focus on opportunities generated by the area’s large concentration of health care institutions for related services to hospitals, health care IT, and medical facility development. Key action steps include preparing background information for state, regional, and local recruitment organizations, incorporating information into web-based and print marketing materials, and promoting coverage in healthcare industry publications. ### 2. Support increases in local life sciences research. Discoveries achieved through life sciences research at UAB and SRI can not only lead to the spin-off of new companies but can result in treatment advances that can be used by medical staff to improve patient care. Increasing the ability of University Hospital and local partners such as Children’s Hospital to develop more advanced treatment in specialty areas will not only improve health outcomes for local residents but raise their national stature and draw more patients from outside the region. Specific strategies for supporting increases in local life science research are detailed in the life science research section below. 9.6 **3. Ensure timely local review and approval of health care facility Master Plans.** The city should assess local regulatory development review processes to identify ways to reduce costs and time involved in approval of new health care facilities consistent with the public interest. ## Manufacturing Once a manufacturing powerhouse and center of the south’s steel industry, Birmingham has seen its manufacturing base decline dramatically during the past several decades. Total manufacturing employment in 2010 was 13,377, a decline of 34 percent from 2001. This decline continued throughout the decade, although it became somewhat more pronounced during the 2007-9 recession. By 2010, manufacturing accounted for only 4.6 percent of total city employment, about one-half the state average and two-thirds the national average, indicating that the City of Birmingham is no longer a significant manufacturing center. Reflecting its industrial heritage, manufacturing in Birmingham continues to be dominated by metals manufacturing. Major manufacturing sectors in Birmingham, with approximate employment, are primary metal manufacturing (3,700), fabricated metal product manufacturing (2,500), food processing (1,300), and printing (1,100). All of these industry segments experienced significant declines during the 2001–2010 period. Within primary and fabricated metals manufacturing, the largest industry segment is foundries, with approximately 2,400 employees. This industry is dominated by a single employer, American Cast Iron Pipe, with approximately 2,000 employees. Other important segments are architectural and structural metals (800), machine shops (700) and iron and steel mills (700). <
> *American Cast Iron Pipe is the largest fabricated metals manufacturer, with approximately 2,000 employees.* As the economy gathers steam after the the Great Recession of 2007-9, there are some indicators that at least some firms in this industry are beginning to increase employment. Unfortunately, two Birmingham firms planning major expansion, Bermco Aluminum and Precision Grinding, have selected new locations in Bessemer. This underscores the difficulty of retaining this legacy industry within the city as expanding firms seek new sites. The city has identified a shortage of large plots of industrial zoned land as an impediment to new manufacturing development. While Alabama’s automotive industry is a major employer that continues to expand robustly, Birmingham has not benefited significantly from this development. While automotive suppliers have located within the region, they tend to select sites in suburban and rural locations. The city had only about 300 automotive-related jobs in 2010, although firms in other industries such as metals, electrical equipment, and instruments may have automotive industry customers. This job number continues to grow. One issue that has proved a limiting factor to manufacturing industry development in the past was Jefferson County’s poor air quality, which led the federal Environmental Protection Agency to require the county to improve air quality levels to federal standards. In recent years, however, air quality has improved significantly and recently reached attainment levels. Although permits are still required for new industrial plants, regional economic development officials report that air quality is not an issue for most prospective manufacturing facilities. Birmingham has experienced significant growth in a handful of small manufacturing segments, which may point to more significant growth opportunities. These segments, with 2010 employment and percentage growth between 2001 and 2010, include medical equipment manufacturing (315, +18 percent); navigational, measuring, electromedical, and control instruments (172, +341 percent); and plastics and rubber product manufacturing (551, +16 percent). CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES The UAB School of Engineering may be a resource that can support modernization or new product development among existing firms and the startup of new technology-oriented manufacturing firms. The school has particular strengths in materials engineering, notably metals and composites, and in modeling and simulation. It recently established a Materials Processing and Application Development Center to help industry design and test new materials, technologies and applications. The Center is the largest academic research facility to combine metals and composites research under one roof. With a strong focus on applied research, it has particular relevance to medical, defense, automotive, and aerospace product development. A number of companies have already been established using technologies developed at the School of Engineering. These include BioHorizons, a Hoover-based firm that sells dental implants in international markets. The School has an entrepreneur-in-residence charged with accelerating this process by identifying product development and commercialization opportunities, and is seeking to hire additional staff to further support these efforts. Given its expertise in materials and modeling and simulation, there are also opportunities for the School to work more closely with the state’s automotive industry on cooperative research that could help it increase its research capacity and potentially result in additional commercial spin-offs. George Barber of Barber Motorsports Park has raised the possibility of using his track as a test facility to support these activities. School officials believe that developing a meaningful partnership with the automotive industry may require hiring additional research staff at the outset to offer a more appealing partnership to automotive manufacturers. The School remains small, with 60 faculty, and has absorbed state funding cuts during the past few years. STRATEGY B. Promote the growth of advanced manufacturing, particularly related to specialty fabricated metals, composites, and automotive products. ### ACTIONS 1. Promote expansion of UAB’s School of Engineering with a focus on specialties aligned with local and regional manufacturing industry needs. The School of Engineering should work with local and regional economic development professionals and the manufacturing community to develop a strategic plan for expanding cooperative university-industry applied research. The plan should identify focus technologies and industries, and requirements for faculty and other staffing, facilities and funding. The plan should include short-term and long-term actions assuming that building these capabilities will be a long-term process. Collaborations with other UA engineering schools where potential synergies exist should be considered. In addition, opportunities to involve students in undergraduate engineering and engineering technician programs at Jefferson State and Lawson State community colleges and Birmingham-Southern College should also be explored. An initial actions step could be to convene a working group with university, industry, and economic development representation to explore the idea and determine the feasibility of proceeding. 2. Support the development of collaborative engineering projects between Alabama’s automotive manufacturers and UAB. The School of Engineering should contact the major automakers and automotive suppliers in the region to identify product engineering, design and testing needs. The School could develop a short-term plan to undertake initial projects that could be done with existing resources or limited additional resources. A cooperative project fund could be established, with contributions from the university, industry, and the city. The objective for city involvement would be to support capacity-building for the School of Engineering that could result in increased research activity within the city and the potential for the growth of smaller enterprises involving automotive technologies. A first step would be to for the university to conduct outreach to automotive industry to identify product design, engineering and testing needs. 3. Explore the establishment of a center for automotive research at UAB. Depending on the outcome of Action 2 above, CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES consideration should be given to establishing a center for automotive research as part of future strategic planning by the School of Engineering. **4. Develop additional industrial parks and other sites suitable for small and mid-size manufacturing operations.** As the city and the Jefferson County Economic and Industrial Development Authority consider developing additional industrial parks and sites within Birmingham, they should take into account the site requirements of smaller, technology-oriented firms that are likely to lead new manufacturing development. These may include smaller sites, higher-level amenities, and more multi-tenant facilities. These sites should be made development-ready, including completion of all necessary site preparation and infrastructure construction. Outreach to developers specializing in technology business parks should be part of the approach. In Alabama, the Cummings Research Park in Huntsville may offer models for Birmingham. (See Chapter 10, Goal 8, pp. 10.24–10.25). ## Tourism Tourism makes a significant contribution to the Birmingham economy. According to a study conducted for the Greater Birmingham Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, 4 million tourists visited Jefferson County in 2010, generating revenues of $1.38 billion and accounting for over 20,000 full-time-equivalent jobs. Tourism employment was relatively stable during most of the past decade although it fell off somewhat during the recent recession. While more recent comprehensive data is not yet available, data on hotel occupancy and room rates as well as reports from individual venues and events indicate that the industry has begun to recover. Moreover, recent investments by the City, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau and others suggest that the city is positioned for industry growth in the years to come Birmingham’s tourism industry has four important segments: conventions; sports; heritage; and group tours. In addition a wide variety of arts, cultural and entertainment venues support and expand tourism by drawing visitors from within the region and encouraging visitors who come to experience the city’s major tourism attractions to extend their stays. **Conventions.** In 2010, the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau helped to arrange or provide services to 565 meetings and conventions with 686,182 attendees. This does not include meetings that were arranged with individual meeting facilities without the assistance of the Bureau. The geographic scale of meeting sponsors ranged from international to state-level. The types of organizations varied, with religious, educational, and medical being the most frequent. Tourism officials cite a number of factors that draw conventions to Birmingham, notably the low airfares, the high quality of facilities for a “second tier” convention location, and the many attractions and entertainment and dining options that enhance the convention experience. The construction of a 300-room Westin Hotel and 60,000 square foot Entertainment District in the vicinity of the Convention Center is expected to increase the number of conventions. The $70 million project, funded jointly by the City and the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, will bring the number of rooms adjacent to the Convention Center up to 1,000 and will provide conventioneers with convenient entertainment and dining options. **Sports.** Birmingham and its environs offer a wide range of active and spectator sports activities that have earned it a reputation as a sports tourism destination. A study conducted for the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau estimates that sporting events generated in excess of $200 million revenue for the metro Birmingham economy in 2011. <
> *The $46 million newly constructed Birmingham Crossplex at Fair Park hosts youth and college track, swimming, and other sports events.* 9.9 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES The city and surrounding communities host annual spectator events in a number of sports, including NCAA college sports at UAB and Birmingham-Southern College, a college bowl game at Legion Field, the Magic City Classic, the Indy Grand Prix of Alabama at the Barber Motorsports Park, the Southeastern Conference College Baseball Championship, and the Red Diamond Vulcan Cup youth soccer tournament. The city has also hosted major golf tournaments at its world-class Robert Trent Jones golf courses. Two new sports facilities funded by the City promise to increase the number of sporting events held in Birmingham. The recently completed $46 million multi- purpose Birmingham Crossplex at Fair Park is already hosting youth and college track, swimming and other sports events. The $64 million Region’s Field in downtown adjacent to Railroad Park is home to the Birmingham Baron’s minor league baseball team and is available for other sports and entertainment events. And Birmingham Race Course officials are studying bringing back live horse racing for the first time since 1995. The city and surrounding communities offer many active sports activities for visitors and are in the process of adding others. Within the city, the two golf courses along the Robert Trent Jones Golf Trail attracted over 500,000 visitors in 2011, and the city has a number of other first class courses. New active sports venues include Red Mountain Park and the Red Rock Ridge & Valley Trail System. Red Mountain Park, which recently opened a new tree canopy course consisting of seven zip runs, plans to develop additional recreational facilities including miles of hiking and biking trails and a 22-acre fishing and paddle sports lake. The planned Trail System would provide hundreds of miles of walking, bike and recreation trails around the metro area. Outside the city, the new owner of Alabama Adventure in Bessemer plans to re-open the facility as Splash Adventure, expanding the water park portion by adding four new water attractions. Oak Mountain State Park in Pelham has 17-mile mountain bike trail that attracts bikers from throughout the southeast. In 2012, the park is hosting the International Triathlon Union’s Cross Triathlon World Championship, which is expected to draw more than 450 world-class athletes. <
> *Students visiting the Kelly Ingram Park within the Civil Rights District.* Heritage. Birmingham’s heritage tourism focuses on its central role in the civil rights movement and its industrial history. The city’s Civil Rights District is home to leading historical markers of the civil rights struggle, notably the 16th Street Baptist Church, as well as the Civil Rights Institute, a center of civil rights education and discussion, and includes a newly completed heritage trail. The planned Negro League Museum at Region’s Field will complement these venues. In the realm of industrial history, leading sites are the Sloss Furnaces National Historic Landmark and Red Mountain Park. A new visitors’ center for Sloss Furnaces is expected to be under construction soon . Group Tours. Birmingham is a stop on many group bus tours. These typically involve a one-night stay. Major attractions include civil rights heritage sites and the Barber Motorsports Park. Among the Park’s attractions is the Barber Vintage Motorsports Museum, recently cited by Four Seasons magazine as one of the must-see private museums in the world Arts, Culture, and Entertainment. Birmingham is the cultural capital of Alabama with a strong foundation of both non-profit and for-profit creative industries. The city has a wide range of arts, culture and entertainment venues that, while they may not be a primary tourism draw, support and expand tourism activity by drawing visitors from within the region and encouraging non-local visitors to extend their stays. These include the Birmingham Zoo, the Birmingham Botanical Gardens, the McWane Science Center, Birmingham Museum of Art, and various performance venues including the Alabama and Carver 9.10 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES theaters. According to a study released by Americans for the Arts in 2012, almost 1.6 million visitors from outside Jefferson County attended arts and cultural events in the county in 2010, spending over $80 million on event-related purchases, including hotels, meals, transportation, and gifts, in addition to event admission costs. The city also offers an increasingly lively entertainment scene and several award-winning restaurants. The cultural economy contributes to quality of life for residents and businesses, as well as the tourism industry. 0 Tourism officials identify a number of opportunities and challenges facing the industry including: * The City of Birmingham has many fewer hotel rooms than comparable areas. * Improving circulation for visitors through expanded transit services. The mayor recently proposed creation of a tourist transit system to take visitors to downtown hotels and attractions to complement the BJCTA’s DART trolleys. * Increasing cross-promotion among visitor attractions. * Improving transit for the hospitality workforce. * Addressing the deteriorated condition of Legion Field. ### STRATEGY **C. Expand tourism by targeting segments in which Birmingham has demonstrated an historically strong position or significant growth potential.** #### Actions **1. Capitalize on development of new sports facilities to expand the sports tourism market.** The City, GBCVB, and individual sports venues should establish a working group to fully inventory the community’s sports resources, develop ideas for additional events, and consider ways to maximize synergies between venues and events. The group should also consider new marketing strategies to capitalize on new market opportunities generated by the new facilities. This could include, as appropriate, updating marketing targets, channels, and materials. The city along with private and nonprofit partners should also strategically invest in new sports facilities. **2. Continue to develop established markets, including civil rights and other heritage tourism, event tourism, and conventions (e.g., religious, medical, education).** This should include developing mechanisms to communicate regularly with key participants in these markets, identifying required investments in sites, facilities, events, and amenities and development funding plans. Marketing approaches should be updated to more effectively communicate with target markets and adapt to changing market conditions. **3. Develop additional cultural and entertainment amenities.** Similar to the working group on sports tourism opportunities, the City and partners in the arts, culture and entertainment industry should establish a working group to fully inventory resources, develop ideas for additional events and activities, and enhance synergies. The Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham and its successful event website, www.birmingham365.org, can serve as the organizer and foundation for this working group. The city’s arts and cultural development planning should also incorporate input from the visitor industry on how to more closely link arts and cultural development with tourism development. One key initial priority is the further development of the Theater District, including restoration of the Lyric Theater. A fund could be established to seed new cultural venues and events, particularly downtown, with support from the visitor industry. **4. Improve wayfinding and transit services between the convention center, historic sites, cultural amenities and entertainment venues.** Of particular importance will be developing coordinated, financially sustainable transit services to connect visitors to venues and events. Improving pedestrian routes will also be important. (See Chapter 11, pp. 11.24–11.26.) 9.11 # Distribution The distribution sector includes wholesaling, and transportation and warehousing. The major industry segments in this sector within the City of Birmingham and their 2010 employment are durable goods wholesalers (7,500), non-durable goods wholesalers (3,700), truck transportation (3,900), and warehousing and storage (1,300). Employment increased during the past decade only in warehousing and storage (30 percent). It declined by 23 percent in durable goods wholesaling, 24 percent in non-durable goods wholesaling, and 11 percent in truck transportation. Despite these losses, Birmingham continues to have a relatively high concentration of employment in both wholesaling and trucking relative to national averages. Its proportion of employment in warehousing is about average but has increased. This suggests that it has some competitive strengths as a location for distribution activities. Despite the tendency of trade and distribution activities, particularly trucking-related, to locate in suburban areas with more and cheaper land and less traffic congestion, Birmingham fares relatively well in this cluster in comparison to the rest of the MSA. While it has a slightly lower concentration of wholesale employment, it has a slightly higher concentration of trucking employment and a significantly higher concentration of warehousing employment. The city likely has the opportunity to capture a share of any regional growth opportunities that occur in this cluster. The Birmingham area is well-positioned as a distribution center for the Southeast region. At the juncture of three major interstates with a fourth to be completed by 2014, the region provides convenient highway access to many southeastern cities. It is also served by four major and two regional rail lines. While it is competing with other southeastern cities such as Nashville, Memphis, and Atlanta with similar or more extensive distribution infrastructure, certain firms are likely to find it a desirable location for distribution facilities based on proximity to their particular customers or retail outlets. Recent expansions by a number of distribution companies within Birmingham underscore the city's continued viability as a distribution location. These include the purchase of a building by Church Transportation to expand its logistics and warehousing division, the move into a new facility by Access America Transport, a third party logistics company with plans to significantly increase its local workforce, the relocation of R.E. Michel Co. Inc., a wholesale distributor of HVACR equipment, parts and supplies, into a larger office and warehouse space, the expansion by Mill Steel of its Birmingham processing center and distribution operations, and plans by Southern Gas and Supply to construct a new packaging and distribution center. The area’s position as a regional distribution center has been strengthened by the construction of a $97.5-million regional intermodal rail-truck hub adjacent to the Jefferson Metropolitan Park in McCalla by Norfolk Southern Railway. The Birmingham Regional Intermodal Facility will eventually have the capacity to handle 165,000 containers and trailers annually. The facility is part of the railroad’s multi-state Crescent Corridor initiative to establish an efficient, high-capacity intermodal freight rail route between the Gulf Coast and the Northeast. This new intermodal facility could position the area to become an inland port for seaports such as Mobile, Savannah, and Charleston. With the potential shipping growth to Gulf and East Coast ports generated by the Panama Canal expansion, ports with limited capacity for expansion may prefer to ship containers directly by rail to inland ports in order to reduce truck congestion. The new facility could make Birmingham a competitor to established inland ports such as Atlanta and Memphis. The expansion of Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport presents opportunities for air cargo expansion. The Airport Authority’s Phase II Air Cargo expansion added more than 400,000 square feet to its original cargo site, doubling its size and allowing enough space for up to five aircraft of various sizes. In addition, the project included the widening of an existing taxiway to allow for the wider wing span on larger inter-continental cargo airplanes. An additional 50,000–75,000 sq. ft. storage building is planned as well as an access roadway connecting the expanded cargo area to Airport Highway. At the same time, Birmingham will have to compete with Huntsville International Airport, which has established dedicated cargo service to several destinations and developed extensive intermodal distribution infrastructure, as well as Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta. The potential for increased water-based transportation and distribution through the Port of Birmingham is less promising. A recent feasibility study for port expansion completed by AECOM concluded that aggregating enough cargo to justify regular barge service would be problematic and would require extensive marketing and incentives, and significant commitments by shippers to justify additional infrastructure investments. ### STRATEGY ### D. Position Birmingham as a regional distribution center, leveraging transportation infrastructure improvements and multi-modal options. #### Actions **1. Ensure timely completion of transportation infrastructure that supports regional distribution.** Projects such as completion of I-22 and future Highway 280 improvements will be important to making sites within the city competitive for distribution. The City should work with ALDOT to ensure timely planning and completion of these and other key highway projects **2. Promote the development of international air cargo service at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport.** A market study should be conducted to determine demand for air cargo services among shippers into and out of Alabama and adjacent states, and Birmingham-Shuttlesworth’s cost- and time-competitiveness versus other accessible airports. If market potential is found to be sufficiently strong, the airport should be marketed aggressively to dedicated air cargo carriers. Based on the degree to which the market develops, future decision can be made regarding investments in the development of more sophisticated intermodal distribution infrastructure at the airport. **3. Prepare and market sites with close proximity to transportation infrastructure.** This work should include identifying and marketing key sites to wholesaling, transportation and distribution firms, identifying road network improvement needs to improve highway access, and investing in public improvements in conjunction with private investment commitments by distribution firms. Because of the difficult topography in many areas of the city, funds should be budgeted and speculative sites prepared in advance for immediate development by newly relocating or expanding firms. (See Chapter 10, Goal 8, pp. 10.24–10.26.) ## The Financial Services Industry Birmingham’s financial services industry employed 20,257 workers in 2010, approximately seven percent of total city employment. The industry experienced relatively robust growth of 11 percent between 2001 and 2010. The industry is diverse, with three important segments: commercial banking and other lending; insurance; and securities and other financial investment activities. **Commercial Banking and Other Lending.** Local employment in commercial banking stood at 5,264 in 2010. During the past decade, employment peaked in 2003 at 7,276 and then declined by 28 percent through 2010. Traditionally an important regional banking center, the city has seen a number of mergers and acquisitions that have led to a reduction in the number of locally-headquartered banks and the consolidation or elimination of some corporate and back office functions. As elsewhere in the U.S., the industry was also affected by the financial crisis of 2007-8, resulting in retrenchment and some failures. In the past few years, the industry appears to have stabilized, with some positive developments including the acquisitions of two failed banks by new banks that have increased employment and are projecting future growth. The city remains the headquarters of two large super regional banks, Regions Financial Corporation and BBVA Compass Bank, NA, and has seen the entry into the market of non-local banks including IberiaBank, BB&T, Wells Fargo, BancorpSouth, PNC, Service 1st and Cadence Bank. Also important is the location the city of a number of community or independent banks, some of which are experiencing significant growth and expansion. Despite the dramatic changes in the local industry landscape, the Birmingham MSA remains the ninth-largest banking center in the U.S., the same rank it held a decade ago. And the industry comprises a 75 percent higher share CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES of total city employment than the U.S. average, reflecting the city’s relatively strong competitive position as a banking location. Other lending and related activity, including credit card lending, trade financing, consumer lending and mortgage brokering, employed 1,968 workers in 2010. Employment in this part of the industry remained relatively stable during the past decade. **Insurance.** Employment in Birmingham’s insurance industry was 5,897 in 2010. This is almost equally divided between insurance carriers (firms that underwrite insurance), with 3,070 employees, and insurance agents and brokers (firms that sell insurance on behalf of carriers), with 2,817 employees. During the past decade, employment among insurance carriers peaked in 2006 at 3,995, and then declined by 23 percent through 2010. Nevertheless, there remain a number of mid-sized carriers based in Birmingham that do business regionally or nationally. These include Infinity Property and Casualty, ProAssurance, and Protective Life (headquartered just outside the city limits). And the industry comprises a 50 percent higher share of total local employment than the U.S. average, reflecting the city’s relatively strong competitive position as a location for insurance carriers. Employment among insurance agents and brokers remained stable during the past decade. This part of the industry serves a primarily local clientele. Its share of local employment was about the same as MSA and national averages. **Securities and Other Financial Investment Activities.** This industry segment includes investment banking, securities brokerages, portfolio management, and financial advisory services. Of all industry segments, it is the only one to have experienced growth during the past decade. In fact, between 2001 and 2010, employment increased by an impressive 119 percent from 2,940 to 6,424. The most dramatic growth was in portfolio management and investment advisory services. A number of these firms are headquartered in Birmingham, while others have established regional offices in the city. Major Birmingham-based firms includes Stern Agee and Leach, one of the largest investment banking firms outside of Wall Street; Founders Investment Banking; Welch Hornsby Investment Advisors; New Capital Partners, a private equity firm; Harbert Management, an asset management firm; and Pittman Financial Partners, a financial advisory firm acquired in 2010 by Memphis-based Strategic Financial Partners. Non-local firms that have recently located regional offices in Birmingham include Allgen Financial Services, an Orlando-based financial advisory firm, and Cortview Capital, a Virginia-based broker-dealer and investment banking firm. While concerns have been expressed about the move from Birmingham to Homewood by the local Merrill Lynch office, firms in this industry remain more likely to locate in the city than elsewhere in the MSA. Moreover, during the past decade, the industry’s share of city employment has risen from below to above the national average, indicating that Birmingham has become an increasingly desirable location for this type of business. ### STRATEGY **E. Make the financial services industry a target of recruitment, retention and expansion efforts, in collaboration with the BBA’s regional efforts.** **Action** 1. *Create a tailored program to support continued location of the financial industry in the City of Birmingham.* The BBA has identified financial services as one of the region’s target industries. The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development should work with the BBA and through its own programs to ensure that support for the financial industry is tailored to the particular needs of firms within the city or most likely to locate within the city. This includes working with REV Birmingham to market the downtown as a location for corporate and regional headquarters, marketing the Jefferson Metropolitan Park Lakeshore as a site for data centers and ensuring that the Park maintains state-of-the-art broadband services, assisting existing firms with 9.14 expansion needs, and working with higher education institutions to develop educational programs addressing the professional workforce needs of firms of all three industry segments. ## Life Sciences Research Birmingham is a nationally significant center of life sciences research, led by the UAB Medical Center and the affiliated Southern Research Institute. According to the UAB Research Foundation, which markets and licenses UAB patents and supports the development of local life sciences startups using UAB-licensed technologies, UAB has technologies in every medical therapeutic area, including technologies for the diagnosis and treatment of cancer, autoimmune diseases, cardiovascular diseases, and central nervous system disorders. They encompass every type of technology, from platform technology and research tools to diagnostics and therapeutics (such as gene therapy and vaccines), and every stage, from very early stage to late stage (including clinical trials). UAB also has a strong portfolio of engineering, biomaterials and computer technologies with a variety of medical applications. In 2010, UAB received about $450 million in total research funding, primarily in life sciences. It ranked 31st nationally among all research institutions in federally funded research, and 20th in funding from the National Institutes of Health. The Southern Research Institute is a self-sustaining contract research organization and an affiliate of UAB. SRI is recognized internationally for the discovery and evaluation of anticancer therapeutics and the evaluation of antiviral and antimicrobial drugs, biologics, and vaccines, with additional competencies in central nervous system and neurodegenerative diseases. SRI and UAB have long-standing relationships in breast cancer research, glial biology, cystic fibrosis research, and gene therapy. Both UAB and SRI continue to make advances in their life science research capacity. For example, in 2011, UAB became one of 25 inaugural members of NIH’s NeuroNEXT, a neuroscience research network that serves as a conduit for translational research—taking new discoveries from the laboratory and translating them into therapies for patients. In 2012, it established a Comprehensive Cardiovascular Center that will help doctors and researchers work together to find new ways to fight heart disease in Alabama, based on the successful model of its Comprehensive Cancer Center. It is also working to expand its research capacity in bioinformatics. SRI, meanwhile, is proceeding with plans to build a new 40,000 square foot laboratory building focusing on research and drug discovery related to medicinal chemistry. Despite this strong track record and growth opportunity, local research and economic development professionals acknowledge a number of obstacles to translating research advances into local job-creating enterprises. These include: * The absence from the region of a major pharmaceutical company, which can absorb the high cost and extended timeline involved in bringing new drugs to the market. * Recent and prospective declines in federal research funding, and declines in state funding through the Education Trust Fund (about 25 percent between 2008 and 2001). * The limited availability of state incentives for private investment in research and technology transfer relative to many other states. * The limited number of local entrepreneurs with the skills to move life sciences technologies into the commercial marketplace. * The image, whether real or perceived, that the region lacks some of the key attributes such as high quality of life and a strong entrepreneurial support network to attract research and entrepreneurial talent. At the same time, new and proposed initiatives could help to accelerate the movement of local life science research into the marketplace, significantly increasing its role in generating local businesses, jobs, and income. In late 2011, UAB Medical Center released a strategic plan that called, among other things, for recruitment of 50 new research faculty and 30 to 50 new National Institutes of Health-funded biomedical researchers to build on its existing research strengths. The cost of these initiatives would exceed $100 million. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES The Birmingham Business Alliance, in its Blueprint Birmingham, has made a strong commitment to supporting research, development and technology transfer at UAB and other higher education and research institutions in the region. Specific objectives include partnering with UAB on the design, development and launch of a comprehensive statewide and national economic impact awareness campaign, and enhancing UAB’s research, technology transfer and enterprise support capacity. To implement these efforts, the BBA created a new position, vice president of innovation and technology. In part as a result of the BBA’s commitment, the BBA, UAB Research Foundation, UAB Business School and other stakeholders formed Invention to Innovation (I2I), a new partnership to accelerate technology transfer and related local enterprise formation. The objective of the initiative is to build local management teams to commercialize locally-developed technologies, establish intensive mentorship teams with a combination of marketing, management and technology skills, and develop a robust financing pipeline for every stage of firm development. In a related move, UAB’s business school is reviving a certificate in life sciences entrepreneurship program. The initiative is particularly focusing on developing enterprises in areas such as health care IT and medical devices that do not require the lead time of drug development. Some positive developments are also occurring at the state level. The state’s Accelerate Alabama plan, released in early 2012 includes commitments to develop a statewide organization to increase technology commercialization and develop a legislative agenda to build research and development capacity and provide financial support to innovation-based commercialization. And the state’s Innovation Fund, which provides grant funding for collaborative university-industry research, will begin awarding $4 million in funding in 2013. ### STRATEGY **F. Solidify and expand Birmingham’s role as a major life sciences research center.** ### Actions **1. Advocate for increased state investments in the state’s research universities.** The BBA has already identified this as a key priority of the Blueprint. A coordinated advocacy effort, including the BBA, UAB, SRI, the City of Birmingham, and local civic leaders, should be undertaken to advocate for significant increases in state investments in life sciences research at UAB and other public research universities. These efforts should initially be specifically tied to UAB’s recently developed plan to expand its research capacity in its areas of existing strength. Collaborative efforts should be undertaken with research institutions in other parts of the state, as appropriate. One possible model for state-level support, already under consideration, is the Georgia Research Alliance, a non-profit that receives state, foundation, and industry funding to support university research and leverage federal research dollars. **2. Promote increased local philanthropic investment in local life sciences research.** Increased local funding will be important to show local support for life sciences research and leveraging state and other non-local funds. The business and philanthropic communities, working with UAB, should organize a fundraising campaign to raise substantial corporate and philanthropic investments. This could focus on life sciences research, but could also be directed to UAB’s other research strengths. The UAB Research Foundation could lead this effort. **3. Establish an innovation fund to support researchers developing technologies with commercialization potential.** Another priority established by the BBA in its Blueprint, and innovation fund could be funded by UAB, with corporate, philanthropic, and public sector support (potentially through the fundraising campaign described above). Revenue from licenses of patents developed through the research could be recycled to make the fund fully or partially self-sustaining. One possible model is the University of Massachusetts’ Technology Development Fund, which provides grants averaging about $25,000 to university researchers to accelerate commercialization of their early-stage technologies. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES 4. **Work toward timely implementation of the UAB Master Plan consistent with city planning objectives** UAB’s Master Plan includes new student housing and a green connection between the main campus and Railroad Park, helping to integrate UAB into the urban fabric of downtown. Collaboration with UAB to ensure that the new university development contributes fully to the revitalization of downtown is critical to support working conditions and quality of life that will attract researchers. 5. **Market the city as a location for other research centers.** As Birmingham gains in stature as a center of life sciences research, there is potential to attract additional life science research institutions such as pharmaceutical company research centers or national laboratories. While Birmingham is not among the top tier of life science research centers, it is developing specializations that may offer attractive collaboration opportunities for other research institutions. The task force studying reuse of the soon-to-be-vacated Trinity Medical Center campus has identified attracting a federal research laboratory as one potential option. The city, working with UAB could develop a targeted marketing effort to promote this possibility. This effort could include developing detailed informational materials documenting the area’s research strengths, organizing marketing teams representing a range of local constituencies to demonstrate broad local commitment, and developing personalized outreach methods including detailed presentations and site visits. # Life Sciences Industry As noted above, the extensive biomedical research conducted at UAB and the presence of a large health care sector has the potential to spawn the development of new firms in this cluster. A number of small startups and early stage firms are already operating in Birmingham. However, as yet, the employment impact has been modest. Components of the cluster and their employment in 2010 include research and development in physical, engineering, and life sciences (500); pharmaceutical and medicine manufacturing (120); and medical equipment and supplies manufacturing (430). During the past decade, employment in these industries grew by 10 percent, 18 percent, and eight percent, respectively. Birmingham has low concentrations of employment in all of these industries. A more expansive definition of this cluster could include medical-related information technology, including software and web-based and mobile applications. A number of small firms of this type are located in Birmingham, some of which were described in the Health Care section of this chapter (pp. 9.5–9.7), but again the aggregate employment appears to be relatively small. Despite its uncertain trajectory, there are hopeful signs that this cluster is gaining momentum. There are 10 biomedical firms and at least four health care IT firms currently in the Innovation Depot alone, and access to early stage financing for these and other firms is on the increase. In addition, as described above, the UAB Research Foundation is working with the members of the research, education, and economic development communities on a new initiative to accelerate the movement of research and development at UAB into the local commercial marketplace. There are several examples of local biomedical firms that have made progress in developing and commercializing new projects in recent years. Among them are the following: * **Agenta Biotechnologies** drew $1.1 million in governing grants to fund the research and development of bone and skin reproduction treatment. * **BioDtech** received $600,000 in venture capital for its work detecting and removing biological toxins from researchers’ test samples. * **DiscoveryBioMed**, a UAB spinoff, obtained a $1.38 million federal grant to continue its development of a promising cystic fibrosis drug. * **Vista Engineering**, founded by a former UAB professor, secured a $750,000 federal grant to help commercialize a locally developed diamond-growing technology for use in the biomedical implant industry. * **Soluble Therapeutics** received $500,000 from the Birmingham Technology Fund, a seed capital fund capitalized by the University of Alabama System and the Health Services Foundation, and $1 million in venture capital to market a technology developed in part at UAB that dramatically speeds up the development of protein-based drugs and vaccines. 9.17 * **Vaxin** received a $21.7 million contract from the federal Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority to complete development of its proprietary anthrax vaccine, and test its effectiveness in human subjects. It also won a $1 million grant toward further developing a vaccine that researchers hope might be an alternative to spaying and neutering pets. Birmingham also has more well-established biomedical firms. One of these, **Hygia Health Services Inc.**, reprocesses medical equipment for reuse by health care providers. The firm, which employs about 150, began a 45,000-square-foot expansion in late 2011 with plans to hire additional workers. It is also expanding its research and development in order to reprocess and market additional types of medical devices for reuse. Another, **Birmingham Laboratories**, with about 80 employees, designs and develops biodegradable implants to deliver medicine over periods of up to several months. Changes in the pharmaceutical industry are creating additional opportunities for local drug development firms. Large pharmaceutical companies are relying less on developing drugs internally and more on licensing drugs developed by smaller firms. As the opportunity to develop “blockbuster” mass market drugs diminishes, they are also becoming more interested in developing “niche” drugs with smaller markets. This could create additional licensing opportunities for research institutions and local companies, and promote the formation of new companies focused on drug development. ## STRATEGY ### G. Capitalize on Birmingham’s research base to develop a life sciences industry cluster. #### ACTIONS ##### 1. Develop a public-private partnership to fund technology commercialization. A “proof-of-concept” fund would support pre-startups or startups that have developed or are in the final stages of developing a product but have yet to prove it in the marketplace. Such funds are difficult to obtain, even from angel or venture capital sources because of the high risk involved. Like the Innovation Fund, this fund could be capitalized with a combination of university, corporate, philanthropic, and public investment. It would be professionally managed. Initial action steps would include establishing a working group reflecting a business-university-public partnership, selecting an organization to lead the effort, selecting a fund manager, developing a business plan, and soliciting investments. One potential model is the Akron (Ohio) Development Corporation Seed Fund, which provides investments of $100,000–250,000 to companies that are in the latter stages of product development but not yet generating revenues. The initial investors were a local insurance company and utility. ##### 2. Incentivize the development of multi-tenant facilities suitable for early-stage firms, with an initial focus on the Entrepreneurial District. The City and REV Birmingham should develop a master plan for the Entrepreneurial District that lays out principles for private development consistent with the space needs of early-stage companies, describing public infrastructure investments, undertaking rezoning as appropriate, and offering targeted development incentives. The Entrepreneurial District should be *** **PROVIDENCE KNOWLEDGE DISTRICT** *Like Birmingham, Providence, RI, is in the process of transition from a manufacturing to a technology-driven economy. In a major initiative to provide space for research facilities and technology companies, the city and state are collaborating to develop a knowledge district in the city’s downtown. Known as the Jewelry District, This area was the center of U.S. jewelry manufacturing in the 19th and early 20th centuries. At the center of the new knowledge district is a 20-acre site made available through the relocation of Interstate-195. The state established a commission to plan redevelopment of the site, including environmental remediation and the development of roads, walkways utilities, and open spaces. The state also issued a $45 million bond to fund the purchase and redevelopment of the property. Meanwhile, the City updated zoning regulations to facilitate the district’s development, including illustrated regulations and a streamlined approval process. The district is already home to Brown University’s School of Medicine, the Roger Williams Medical Center’s Center for Biological Research Excellence, and several life sciences and other technology firms.* particularly targeted to companies as they graduate from the Innovation Depot so that they remain in the city. Some emerging companies have reported that even if they want to stay downtown, it is difficult to find suitable space for rent, despite the existence of empty buildings. Action steps would include preparing the master plan in consultation with technology facility developers and technology companies; enacting zoning changes as necessary; making initial infrastructure investments to catalyze private investments; marketing the district to appropriate developers; and making additional infrastructure investments in conjunction with private investments, possibly through use Tax Increment Financing. A potential model is Providence, Rhode Island’s Knowledge District (see inset). ### 3. Develop initiatives to attract entrepreneurs in the life sciences to Birmingham to form new companies. Broader strategies to attract entrepreneurs to Birmingham are laid out under Goals 4 and 6 in Chapter 10 (pp. 10.14–10.20). As part of these efforts, local life sciences entrepreneurs should be encouraged and provided with marketing tools to reach out to their peers in other cities as well as emerging local entrepreneurs through direct contacts and social media in order to increase attraction and retention of entrepreneurial talent. ## Medical-related Industry Niches Birmingham is home to a number of firms in the area of digital information and media. This is a loosely-defined cluster linked by the use of computers and telecommunications hardware as a platform to deliver products and services to businesses, institutions, and consumers. This segment of the economy has been growing rapidly nationally, particularly with the development of ever more powerful computers and the increasing use of the internet and mobile devices. Businesses include those in bioinformatics (the application of computer science and information technology to the fields of biology and medicine), software development, internet-based services, and mobile applications. While employment in this cluster is hard to track because employment data is often embedded in broader data for other industries, there is evidence of that Birmingham has a small but growing number of firms in the cluster, with further growth potential. This includes a number of firms tied to the health care industry, but also to banking, telecommunications, media, and others. In the health care industry, a number of small startup and early-stage technology firms are developing database services, software, and internet-based and mobile applications, as described earlier. Firms outside the health care field include: * **Blue Ocean Technologies**, a provider of cloud-based telephony and VoIP technology. * **Kinetic Communications**, a web development firm. * **Huebris**, a web design and social media marketing company. * **Verafin Inc.**, a provider of compliance, anti-money laundering and fraud detection software to the banking industry. * **2B Solutions**, developer of a mobile app used by venues such as museums, theaters, and sports stadiums to track inventory or attendance. * **Infomedia**, a developer of websites and custom, online products for clients in a wide range of industries, including retail, real estate, construction, professional services and transportation. * **Telelinks**, a provider of data storage and management services. In addition, five firms in the financial services and utility industries have established data centers in JeffMet Lakeshore Park, taking advantage of the park’s high-capacity broadband services. The further development of the digital information and media cluster will be closely tied to the research and research professionals at UAB. Many new firms in this cluster are reported to be closely linked to UAB. In addition, UAB research in areas such as bioinformatics, cyber security (UAB recently established a Center for Information Assurance and Joint Forensics Research), and other areas of information technology creates the potential for new spin-off enterprises. One indicator of the current growth of this cluster is the shortage of technical staff to meet the needs of area CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES firms. Local technology executives have recently reported difficulties finding experienced software engineers and a range of other technology specialists, including database administrators, business analysts and production support technicians. ### STRATEGY **H. Develop targeted niches in digital information and media, particularly in bioinformatics and other technologies related to the medical field.** #### ACTION 1. *See actions related to development of life sciences cluster above.* ## goal 2 A City and its government that are focused on economic development. **POLICIES** * Strive to create and maintain an award-winning educational system, both in the Pre-K and K-12 systems and in higher education. * Ensure that the City's workforce development programs are preeminent meeting the needs of its citizens as well as current and future employers. * Catalogue available sites for expanding and new businesses. * Be active in State Economic development efforts. * Work collaboratively to increase employment. ### The Future of Economic Development Birmingham must be willing to look to the future. Birmingham must expand workforce training and brownfield site development and when necessary greenfield site development to ensure that it is prepared for the future. The City should take an active role in the development of State economic development to ensure that it experiences growth in the future. By working collaboratively, industries and businesses can be attracted that would continue Birmingham’s role as the centerpiece in Alabama’s economy. ### STRATEGY **A. Create and maintain an award-winning educational system, both in the Pre-K to 12 system and in higher education.** #### ACTIONS **1. The City must provide leadership for the City School system.** The City must constantly recognize and eliminate barriers to the receipt of a world-class education for each of its children. For more see Chapter 10, Goal 1, pp. 10.5–10.8. **2. Work with higher education to deliver an education to the City's adults.** For more see Chapter 10, Goal 2, pp. 10.9–10.13. **B. Ensure that the City's workforce development programs meet the needs of its citizens as well as current and future employers.** #### ACTIONS *1. For more see Chapter 10, Goal 2, pp. 10.9–10.13.* **C. Catalogue available sites for expanding and new businesses.** #### ACTIONS **1. Develop a database of sites for new businesses.** Recent efforts by the Regional Planning Commission and Birmingham Business Alliance to catalogue brownfield sites in the City should be continued. For more see Chapter 10, Goal 8, pp. 10.24–10.26. Identify areas where the City's boundaries could be expanded. **2. Assist with obtaining EPA grants for development sites with some level of pollution that must be remediated.** The City should partner with the Birmingham Business Alliance and private industry to secure such funding. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 9 GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES **D. Be active in State economic development efforts.** **ACTIONS** **1. Advocate for economic development policies that will help Birmingham.** The State’s economic development policies have been developed over a number of decades. Generally, new policies (generally tax-driven) have been adopted to attract new mega-projects to the State. The City, in cooperation with BBA, should examine State and local tax policy and other factors that influence the location of industries. In conjunction with this effort, the City, in cooperation with BBA, should solicit the support of the Alabama Department of Commerce to lobby the legislature for passage of general or local laws that would benefit the economic development of the City. **2. Participate in the economic development process.** The City’s leaders regularly attend local, regional, and statewide meetings about economic development. The City should build on these ties and use them to its advantage. **E. Work collaboratively to increase employment.** **ACTIONS** **1. Build networks of pre-existing resources to increase economic development successes.** The City should bring groups such as Birmingham Business Alliance, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, UAB, JCEIDA, Alabama Power Company, Alabama Department of Commerce and others concerned with economic development together regularly to focus on local economic development issues. # C. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Establish a working group to develop a sports tourism development plan. | GBCVB; Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; venue owners and events organizers | | Establish a working group to develop an arts, culture and entertainment plan. | Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham; Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; cultural institutions; venue owners; events organizers; Alabama School of Fine Arts; arts organization | | Conduct a market study on increasing cargo service at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. | Birmingham Airport Authority | | Organize advocacy efforts related to life sciences research funding. | BBA; Mayor, UAB, SRI | | Inaugurate a local funding campaign to support expansion of life sciences research. | UAB; local entrepreneurial support community | | Initiate strategic planning for expanding the applied research capacities of UAB school of engineering. | UAB; BBA bringing relevant industry representatives to the table | | Capitalize an Innovation Fund. | BBA; UAB, private philanthropic investors; city | | Capitalize a proof-of-concept fund. | BBA; private investors; City | | Develop an Entrepreneurial District Master Plan. | REV Birmingham and City Planning Division; input from entrepreneurial support community | 9.21 # Chapter 10 Reinforcing the Building Blocks of the Economy <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “Birmingham will be the vital core of a healthy, prosperous region that retains our best and brightest, and attracts the best from all over the world.” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | **education and workforce development** | | | All students graduate from high school prepared for post-secondary or career technical education. | • Expand access to affordable, high-quality early childhood education. | | | • Strengthen P-12 career education. | | | • Improve educational quality and management effectiveness and efficiency in the P-12 system. | | A workforce development system that is well-coordinated, user-friendly, adaptable, and responsive to both jobseekers and employers. | • Ensure that the regional workforce development system meets Birmingham’s unique needs. | | | • Increase engagement by the business community. | | | • Improve coordination and integration of services. | | Supportive services are in place to assist workers in achieving career success. | • Address gaps in services that prevent otherwise job-ready workers from obtaining and maintaining employment. | | **entrepreneurship and small business development** | | | A strong entrepreneurial environment that supports new business ventures and small business growth. | • Increase financial resources, services, and physical infrastructure that attract and support the development of startup and early-stage high-growth firms. | | Opportunities for all residents with entrepreneurial skills and talents to develop successful businesses. | • Support the sustainability and growth of small and micro-businesses. | | | • Expand access among minority-, women-, and disadvantaged enterprises to government and corporate procurement opportunities. | | **talent attraction and retention** | | | The City of Birmingham is a community of choice for highly-skilled entrepreneurs and professional and technical workers. | • Increase employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for local college and university graduates. | | | • Provide incentives for talented young adults to locate in Birmingham. | | | • Make quality of life improvements that are important to talented young adults. | | **business environment** | | | Government policies, programs and processes related to business are efficient, fair and transparent. | • Review and reform the city’s business regulations and processes to make them more business-friendly. | | | • Target city incentives to businesses and development projects that will do the most to further the city’s economic development. | | | • Increase city interactions with the business community to identify and resolve issues in a timely manner. | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | **land and infrastructure** | | | Vacant industrial sites and buildings are prepared for new uses consistent with shifts in the city's economic base. | • Develop better information about the city's commercial and industrial property inventory. | | | • Prioritize property and infrastructure investments to align them with current and emerging demand for commercial and industrial property. | | | • Develop new mechanisms to permit the city to respond in a timely and flexible manner to the property and development needs of businesses. | | Modern infrastructure meets business needs at a competitive cost and with a minimum of environmental impact. | • Ensure sufficient investment in both publicly and privately developed infrastructure to maintain and improve the quality, capacity and efficiency necessary to meet current business needs and capitalize on emerging economic opportunities. | ## findings The superintendent of Birmingham City Schools has a reform agenda (e.g., career academies). The Education Foundation advocates for and financially supports public education reform initiatives. There is a range of public and community-based adult education programs. The city has many colleges and universities with diverse career development and training offerings. Workforce Investment Act (WIA) and JobLink Career Centers provide basic career services. The new Region 4 Workforce Development Council is charged with improving effectiveness and coordination of the system. An emerging entrepreneurial “ecosystem” includes early stage financing, mentoring, professional services, specialized space, and entrepreneurial education. Technical assistance and networking resources for small businesses include Birmingham Business Resource Center, Construction Industry Authority, South Regions Minority Supplier Development Council, and Main Streets Program. A number of public-sector financing sources exist, including BBRC and RPC loan programs. The city has a low cost of living with a wide range of cultural, entertainment, and recreational offerings. 96% of African-American owned firms have no employees and annual average revenues of under $20,000 (2007). Professional development opportunities are available through local universities. A new airport terminal and cargo expansion with customs facilities is under construction. The region is served by four major rail lines and a new Norfolk Southern intermodal hub. I-22 is expected to be completed in 2014. High fiber capacity for data-intensive facilities is available. ## challenges Expanding access to early childhood education. Improving high school completion rates. Strengthening connections between the P-12 system and post-secondary education. Coordinating and integrating the fragmented workforce development system. Engaging more employers with the workforce development system. Expanding the availability of high-quality, licensed child care. Expanding access to job-related transit. Attracting local entrepreneurs to commercialize university research. Increasing availability of “proof of concept” funding for product commercialization. Increasing access to private financing for minority-owned businesses. Overcoming growth barriers for minority-owned businesses. Overcoming limited success so far in attracting young professionals into the City. Making the city licensing and procurement processes more user-friendly. Increasing the supply of development-ready industrial sites. Brownfield remediation of priority commercial and industrial sites (e.g., Ensley Works). > **[page 267 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** # A. What the Community Said * P-12 education * Enhance curricular offerings * Improve staff and teacher capabilities * Engage businesses in career exploration and exposure activities * Provide trade schools and apprenticeships * Increase the number of students entering post-secondary CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY 1998 and 2008. In 2008, the last year for which national statistics are available, the completion rate was 40.8 percent compared to a national average of 71.7 percent. Moreover, the system is losing students at a steady pace. Between 1998 and 2008, enrollment declined by an annual average rate of 3.3 percent. This roughly parallels the rate of decline of families with children 5–19 within the city, suggesting that many families are leaving the city in search of better educational opportunities for their children. A curriculum audit released in 2011 by Phi Delta Kappa International, a highly-respected professional association for educators, underscores the formidable management challenges the school system faces related to improving student performance. Among the audit’s findings: the system’s strategic plan is incomplete—action steps to implement the plan have not been developed; evaluations do not hold teachers and principals accountable for student achievement, and personnel evaluations do not result in meaningful professional development activities; there is no comprehensive curriculum management plan in place; and the system lacks a comprehensive student assessment and program evaluation plan to guide decisions for improving student achievement. The school system has yet to achieve universal enrollment in its pre-K program. Studies have shown that early childhood education, including pre-K programs, reduce the need for special education and grade repetition, and increase overall educational attainment levels. The system is also experiencing serious fiscal pressures. Declines in state funding because of overall reductions in state education spending as well as declining enrollments have required substantial budget cuts. And the overcapacity in the system caused by declining enrollments has exacerbated budgetary pressures by creating excessive facilities costs. The Phi Delta Kappa audit concluded that, even with the planned or proposed closure of 13 schools, the system would remain one-fifth over capacity. In early 2012, Superintendent Dr. Craig Witherspoon proposed and Mayor Bell endorsed a ballot initiative for a $3 million property tax increase that would $9 million annually to fund expansion of the International Baccalaureate programs and pre-K, foreign language and fine arts programs. In mid-2012, the State of Alabama Board of Education assumed financial oversight of the school district. There has been a broad and growing recognition among parents, government officials, civic leaders and the business community, not only in the city but throughout the region, that the city’s schools must be dramatically improved. Under the administration of Superintendent Witherspoon, whose tenure began in March 2010, significant efforts have been initiated to achieve this objective. These include: * Expanding the availability of high quality public pre-K to increase school readiness throughout the system. * Establishing career academies at six of the city’s seven high schools, each initially focusing on one of the following career areas: engineering, health science, architecture and design, urban educators, hospitality and tourism, and business and finance. * Intensively target students not performing at grade level to bring them up to or beyond expectations. * Establishing a program that allows high school dropouts to come back to school and earn a standard diploma. * Successfully applying for acceptance of Ramsay High School and the elementary and middle school grades at Phillips Academy into the International Baccalaureate Program. * Expanding advanced placement programs in middle and high schools. <
> Woodlawn High School hosts the “Academy of Business and Finance.” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY * Launching a Parent University to get parents more involved in both the schools and their children’s education. * Establishing a professional development program for school principals. The school system is being supported in these initiatives by the recently established the Birmingham Education Foundation (ED). ED was established to advance the agenda developed by “Yes We Can! Birmingham,” an extensive community process aimed at developing a widely shared community vision for improving the quality of public education. ED’s priorities closely track the Superintendent’s reform agenda. These include: parental involvement; college and career focused high schools; professional development for school leaders; and expanding advanced placement course offerings. ED has engaged in a major fundraising campaign to support these initiatives. The Birmingham Business Alliance, through its Blueprint Birmingham, is also taking on a higher-profile role in working to improve the region’s underperforming school systems, including Birmingham’s. It is supporting the Birmingham City Schools in developing the career academies, and also has plans to establish a Regional Education Partnership to increase the involvement of the business community in strengthening lagging school systems. In addition to these recent initiatives, there have been ongoing efforts to promote community and business involvement with the school system. The school system’s Partners in Education program develops partnerships among students, volunteers, schools, and local organizations. The school volunteer program recruits, trains and places volunteers to work with students in grades pre-K through 12, primarily during the school day. Organizations involved with the program include the Birmingham Council of PTAs, Junior Achievement of Birmingham, the City’s Department of Youth Services, the BBA, and several area businesses. The school system also works in partnership with local higher education institutions. It has established dual enrollment programs in some subject areas with Lawson <
> *Birmingham schools partner with higher education systems in the region.* State and Jefferson State community colleges. And UAB’s Center for Community Outreach Development offers science enrichment programs to students at various grade levels. Strong efforts to sustain and expand these existing and new initiatives will be required among all segments of the community in order to support the Board of Education and Superintendent to achieve the high-performing school system needed to ensure career success for all Birmingham residents, particularly the economically disadvantaged, and provide the skilled workers needed by “next economy” businesses. # STRATEGIES ## A. Support the preschool and P-12 school system to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the basic skills and competencies needed to obtain a post-secondary credential. ### ACTIONS 1. **Complete the initiatives developed by the Birmingham Education Foundation in collaboration with the Birmingham City Schools.** These initiatives are a high priority of the Birmingham City Schools and have gained broad business and community support, in part through the efforts of the Education Foundation. It is critical that they be successfully implemented in order to maintain the 10.7 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY positive momentum that has begun to form around academic improvement and pave the way for additional initiatives. With the leadership and coordination of the School Superintendent and the Education Foundation, the business and higher education communities must find ways to maximize their support of and engagement with these efforts. **2. Develop an early childhood education initiative that serves all pre-K students with public, philanthropic, and business support.** In light of the strong evidence of the importance of early childhood education to success in later grades, the community should support the Birmingham City Schools to expand pre-K education to all four-year-olds. If sufficient public funds are not available, the business and philanthropic communities should make local funding commitments to leverage funding from national philanthropic organizations or the federal government. The local business and philanthropic communities should also work with the recently formed Alabama School Readiness Alliance to address the issue on the statewide level. **3. Develop a program to train parents on enhancing the education of their children.** A program should be developed to train parents on enhancing the education of their children. The program would include in-home assessments and would result in parents who can help their children learn to read and who offer the academic encouragement necessary to the long-term academic success of all children. *** **B. Support high-quality career education and work experience programs for every student through engagement with the P–12 school system.** **ACTIONS** **1. Establish a business-school partnership that fully engages the skills and capacities of the business community in providing career exploration opportunities, contributing to curriculum development, and advising on management practices.** In the longer run, the Education Foundation and the city’s business community should work with the school system through its Partners in Education program to develop a comprehensive plan to draw on the expertise and resources of the business community to support the schools in a wide variety of roles. While there is no one model for such an effort, there are numerous examples of successful business-school partnerships throughout the country that the planning process can draw upon. Initial action steps should include establishing the Regional Education Partnership proposed in the Birmingham Business Alliance Blueprint, conducting a comprehensive audit to identify options for business participation and support of the school system, including career exploration, mentoring, internships, curriculum development, and management advice, and developing structures to solicit and manage business participation in school activities **2. Strengthen public school-higher education partnerships.** The school system and the area’s higher education institutions, particularly its two community colleges, Lawson State and Jefferson State, should work together to expand dual enrollment and early college high school programs. In addition, the school system and UAB should work to expand their relationships to support educational improvements, particularly through UAB’s Center for Community Outreach Development, Center for Urban Education, and Center for Educational Accountability. The school system could also engage with area business schools to study and improve management practices, and work with all higher education institutions to expose students to career opportunities that rely on successful completion of post-secondary education. Initial action steps could include establishing a collaborative of the Birmingham City Schools and local higher education institutions under the leadership of the Birmingham Education Foundation to identify, plan, and implement P–12—higher education partnerships, identifying opportunities to increase dual enrollment and early college high school programs, Identifying opportunities to use university expertise to strengthen school management, operations and curriculum, and jointly developing proposals for national philanthropic and federal funding of innovative programs. # goal 2 A workforce development system that is well-coordinated, user-friendly, adaptable, and responsive to both job seekers and employer. ### POLICIES * Ensure that the regional workforce development system meets Birmingham’s unique needs. * Increase engagement by the business community. * Improve coordination and integrating of services. The workforce development “system” consists of the various public, non-profit, and private for-profit entities that organize, fund, and deliver workforce training and career education to workers primarily beyond high school age. While not a system in the strict sense of the word, it is a collection of diverse, often loosely connected organizations that together are responsible for the efficient functioning of the local and regional labor market by supplying workers with the skills needed to meet the needs of employers. This function plays a critical role in economic development by supporting business development and growth and providing residents with career development tools and job opportunities matched to their highest abilities. Entities within the Birmingham area’s loosely defined workforce development system play distinct roles that collectively are expected to ensure that the system meets the needs of workers and employers in an effective and efficient manner. The key actors in the system and the roles they play include the following: **Planning and Policymaking.** During the past several decades, the federal government, supported by state governments, has sought to promote the development of a better-functioning workforce development system by creating a planning and policymaking infrastructure. Since 1998, this has taken the form of federal funding for regional workforce investment boards, which are charged with developing workforce development plans for their regions and funneling federal, state and local workforce development funding to organizations and programs to achieve these plans. In Alabama, however, WIBs have been largely supplanted by Regional Workforce Development Councils that serve ten multi-county regions covering the state. In the Birmingham area, the Region 4 Workforce Development Council serves Jefferson County and five other counties: Shelby, Chilton, St. Clair, Blount, and Walker. While most of the state’s WIBs have been dissolved, the Jefferson County WIB and one other WIB serving Mobile County continue to function. Consequently the Region 4 Council and the Jefferson WIB have somewhat overlapping planning and policymaking functions with respect to Birmingham and the rest of Jefferson County. Among the responsibilities assigned to the Region 4 Council by the state are assessing current and future workforce needs and establishing a strategic plan to meet capacity and skill development and training needs; partnering with workforce development service providers, especially two year colleges, in planning and developing actions to address specific workforce development priorities; assist in evaluating the service delivery structure and coordination among entities; and coordinating planning with economic developers and elected officials to ensure that workforce development strategies support economic development goals. The Council is overseen by a board of directors comprised of a majority of private sector employers, and staffed part-time by the BBA’s Vice President for Education and Workforce Development. The Jefferson County Workforce Investment Board has similar responsibilities specific to Jefferson County, including planning, coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of workforce development services. It is managed and staffed by the Jefferson County Community and Economic Development Department. Like the Region 4 Council, it is overseen by a majority private sector board of directors. **Job Readiness and Placement.** Alabama’s One-stop Career Center System has one full-service Career Center in downtown Birmingham and satellite centers at Lawson State Community College’s Wilson Road campus and Jefferson County Community College’s Center Point Campus. Career Center services for jobseekers include access to a resource room with relevant information and job search tools, staff assistance with job search and resume preparation, workshops on job search and interviewing techniques, adult basic education and basic computer classes, and access to the state’s JOBBS database of job listings. Services to employers include office space for interviews, pre-employment screening, and the use of the JOBBS database to post job listings. The full-service Career Center works closely with the Jefferson County WIB’s Intensive Services Center, which works with clients requiring more intensive services. The Intensive Services Center provides career testing and counseling, supportive services referrals, and adult basic education, and can provide clients who are most in need of career skill development with Individual Training Accounts, which can be used to pay the costs of training by certified providers. It can also subsidize on-the-job training for newly hired workers. A number of community-based and faith-based organizations also provide job readiness and placement services, including Beginning Bridge Outreach Ministry, Pathways, the Salvation Army, and others. **Career Education and Training.** Birmingham has many public and private educational institutions providing a wide range of career education and training programs. Perhaps the single most important sources are the area’s two community colleges, Lawson State and Jefferson State. In addition to their standard associate’s degree programs, both colleges have specialized workforce training programs. Lawson State’s Business and Information Technologies, Career Technical, and Health Professional divisions all offer certificate and short certificate programs. Jefferson State’s Center for Community and Corporate Training Education and Center for Professional, Career and Technical Education provide educational and workforce training programs that are designed to prepare students for immediate employment and upgrade current worker skills. The city also has a number of private higher education institutions focused on career training programs of two years or less. These include ATHENA, Diverse Community Network Inc., Jeremiah’s Hope Skill Center and others. Some nonprofit organizations also provide short-term job training, including Birmingham Health Care, the Dannon Project, which is targeted to ex-offenders, the Homeless Veterans Program, and others. The Region 4 Workforce Development Council makes competitive grants to community colleges for training programs for certain targeted industries and occupations with funding from the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development. The colleges and universities in the city and county also make a key contribution to career education for highly-skilled workers. While UAB is the most prominent, these also include Birmingham-Southern College, Samford University, Virginia College of Birmingham, Miles College, University of Phoenix-Birmingham, Herzing University, and Birmingham School of Law. The area’s two community colleges, Lawson State and Jefferson State, offer associate’s degrees in a wide range of fields in addition to offering shorter-term career training. **Employer-based Training.** Two employer-based training programs are offered at the state level. The Incumbent Worker Training Program, administered by the Office of Workforce Development, assists employers with expenses associated with new or upgraded skills training of full-time, permanent employees. The Alabama Industrial Development Training (AIDT) Program administered by the state’s Community College System, provides industrial training, usually cost-free, for new and expanding industries in the state. **Adult Basic Education (ABE).** Adult basic education programs typically assist adults trying to earn their GED, but also sometimes provide other programs such as English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and basic computer training. A variety of public and nonprofit organizations offer ABE programs, including the Birmingham City Schools, the area’s two community colleges, and nonprofit organizations including Birmingham AIDS Outreach, the Hope House, and M-Power Ministries Men’s and Women’s Job Corps. **Out-of-school Youth/Young Adult Programs.** A number of GED and career training programs for out-of-school youth are funded by the Jefferson County WIB. These > **[page 273 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** include programs offered by St. Vincent’s-Jeremiah’s Hope Academy, United Cerebral Palsy of Greater Birmingham, Diverse Community Network, Inc., Aletheia House and others. Other organizations offering these programs include Futures, Inc., Heritage Center, Hope House, Birmingham Youth Build, and others. While Birmingham clearly has an extensive inventory of workforce development resources, a number of challenges must be addressed in order for the system to more effectively meet the needs of workers and employers. * **Addressing Birmingham’s unique workforce development needs in the context of the emerging regional workforce development architecture.** While regionalizing workforce development planning and policymaking through the state’s Workforce Development Council structure has some benefits, in the case of the Region IV Council it could also lead to insufficient attention to the unique workforce needs of Birmingham and Jefferson County. Jefferson County’s employment is about three-quarters of the total region’s and Birmingham ‘s alone is about one-half. Birmingham in particular has an industry and occupational structure that differs significantly from the rest of While there are many organizations in the Birmingham area providing career education and workforce training services, the workforce development system as a whole is highly fragmented and not sufficiently connected with and responsive to employers and jobseekers. The area needs a more robust organizational mechanism to coordinate workforce development services and connect the workforce development system with employers. The success of such an initiative will depend on the leadership and active involvement of the employer community. The Region 4 Workforce Development Council is considered the region’s lead workforce development organization by the state, but covers six counties, which makes it difficult to focus on the specific workforce development needs of the city. The Council could be called upon to establish a collaborative body to focus on Birmingham and Jefferson County, which would work with the Jefferson County WIB, the career centers, community colleges and other career training providers, ABE providers, economic development organizations, and employers to address workforce development needs specific to Birmingham and Jefferson county. The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, as the agency with primary responsibility for business recruitment, retention and expansion in the city, should be a member of the collaborative. The collaborative’s initial action steps should include developing mechanisms to obtain accurate, timely information on current and emerging trends in labor demand for the city and county, conducting an inventory of providers to determine overall system capacity and to identify areas of poor coordination or overlap, and developing a plan for streamlining and improving integration of services and responding to changing demand in a timely manner. Efforts in Mobile, the only other county in the state with both a Workforce Investment Board and a regional Workforce Development Council (WDC), could serve as a model for this initiative. The Mobile County WIB and the Southwest Alabama WDC are in the process of creating an umbrella nonprofit to oversee county-level workforce development policy making and services. One of the key drivers of this effort, in addition to improving coordinating and responsiveness to businesses and jobseekers, is to create a mechanism to obtain non-governmental funding to augment workforce development services. ### 2. Integrate adult basic education and career training services. One specific problem that needs to be addressed is the disconnect between adult basic education and career training. While in theory, these two components of skill development should be integrated, their reliance on different funding streams and accountability to different state agencies makes service integration difficult. As part of the collaborative described above, community colleges and other career training providers should work with adult education providers to address this problem. One possible model is LaGuardia Community College’s (Long Island City, NY) GED Bridge to College and Careers program. The program extends and contextualizes instruction so that students learn the GED curriculum as well as more rigorous college-level material focused on specific career skills in health care or business. Initial action steps could include establishing a working group of ABE and career training providers, exploring alternative models for integrating ABE and career training, identifying opportunities to obtain national philanthropic or federal funding for a pilot program, and designing and implementing a pilot program. ### 3. Develop sector-focused training initiatives. In industries with large number of employees and common skill needs, a sector approach to training should be pursued. This involves organizing employers in a particular sector to work with career training providers to develop training curricula that are more responsive to employer needs and more flexible in shifting to meet changing needs. This approach could be particularly applicable to the health care industry because of a relatively small number of larger employers. The sector approach has been promoted and supported nationally by a number of business and workforce organizations, and there are many successful models of initiatives specific to the health care sector as well as other industry sectors. **BOSTON HEALTHCARE TRAINING INSTITUTE** Led by Jewish Vocational Services, the Healthcare Training Institute provides a continuum of career advancement services—workplace education, college transition, coaching and student support, pre-employment training and placement—and allied health and nursing pathways with major healthcare employers. Key goals of the institute are to help low-income workers and community residents improve their skills, enter college, and fill vacancies in high-demand occupations offering family-sustaining wages, and institutionalize relationships with colleges that will enable continued skill development and career advancement. Partner organizations include several major area hospitals, a nursing home, a home health agency, and two community colleges. Initial action steps could include convening major employers in the health care industry to explore pursuing a sector approach; establishing a leadership group; recruiting employers and training providers to participate; and establishing a planning process to design the initiative. **4. Develop local funding initiatives to compensate for significant cuts in federal workforce development funding.** Federal funding, the primary source of funding for workforce development, has been declining and is likely to decline further if anticipated budget reductions materialize. At the same time, training needs are, if anything, increasing. Local workforce development service providers should look for ways to increasing efficiency by increasing coordination, consolidating services and administrative functions, and reducing duplication. Nonetheless, additional funding is likely to be needed to meet employer needs. The Jefferson County Workforce Development Collaborative described above should work to obtain national philanthropic funding and seek additional support from local employers. Initial action steps could include establishing a fundraising committee to seek non-traditional funding sources, seeking national philanthropic or federal funding for innovative initiatives, and engaging in discussions with employers about their willingness to supplement public funding for certain types of services. # goal 3 Supportive services are in place to assist workers in achieving career success. **POLICY** * Address gaps in services that prevent otherwise job-ready workers from obtaining and maintaining employment. Career skills and even a concrete job opportunity are not always enough to enable jobseekers to obtain work. Key supportive services are also needed, notably quality, affordable childcare and transit services for workers who cannot afford private transportation. Single parents and families with two working parents need affordable, quality childcare from infant to pre-K. According to Childcare Resources, the nonprofit organization that provides childcare information, education and resources for the Birmingham region, 60 percent of women with children in the area’s workforce need childcare. Yet the organization also reports that the availability of slots in licensed childcare centers in the region has been falling. Statewide, the number of licensed centers declined by over half between 2000 and 2011. And the cost of licensed childcare is often beyond the reach of low- and moderate-income parents. The average cost of care in a licensed child care center in Jefferson County was $6,461 in 2010. While childcare subsidies are available from the state Department of Human Resources, funding and the number of families receiving subsidies have been declining, resulting in long waiting lists. Childcare Resources has a supplemental subsidy program, funded with private and local government dollars, but it has a waiting list of over 200. The shortage of night-time child care is also an issue. Poor access to transit is also a serious problem for low- and moderate-income workers without private transportation. A recent study by the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program found that the Birmingham-Hoover MSA ranks 94th of the 100 largest metropolitan areas in the percentage of the working age population with access to transit. According to the study, 32 percent of Birmingham- CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Hoover metropolitan area residents have access to public transit, but even allowing for a 90-minute commute, a typical commuter can reach only 23 percent of the area’s jobs via transit. And according to U.S. Census data, only 0.6 percent the MSA’s working-age population uses transit to commute, ranking it 49th of the 50 largest metropolitan areas. Most of these transit users are low-income, with nearly 62 percent earning less than $15,000. # STRATEGY ## A. Expand and improve services essential to supporting employment, notably transportation and child care. ### ACTIONS 1. **Develop initiatives to reverse the decline in licensed child care providers and improve the quality of pre-school programs.** Quality child care is essential to working parents and also helps prepare young children for entry into the educational system. Consequently, the business community has a strong stake in increasing the supply of quality child care. Childcare Resources, working with the employer community in the city and region, should develop an initiative to address this issue. One possible model is First 5 Solano, a partnership between the local economic development corporation, educational institutions and human service providers in Solano County, California. This organization has developed a comprehensive initiative not only to provide quality child care for infants and toddlers, but to provide a range of human services and parental support. Initial action steps could include establishing a working group to plan an initiative under the leadership of Childcare Resources, exploring alternative models, developing a plan and determining funding needs, and establishing a partnership to lead the initiative. 2. **Develop transit services that serve the commuting corridors most heavily utilized by Birmingham residents.** (See Chapter 12, pp. 12.38–12.42.) # goal 4 ## A strong entrepreneurial environment that supports new business ventures and small business growth. ### POLICY * Increase the financial resources, services, and physical infrastructure that attract and support the development of startup and early-stage high-growth firms. Creating a strong entrepreneurial environment is important in three ways: 1) it supports the creation of new companies that expand economic base industries, creating new jobs and wealth; 2) it provides a path to economic opportunity for individuals who have the skills and motivation to operate their own businesses; 3) it sustains businesses that sell goods and services to residents and visitors across the city’s many neighborhoods, enhancing the quality of life. The term “small business” is a broad characterization that encompasses different types of businesses. These include new business ventures with a proprietary product or technology and the potential for rapid growth, small and micro-businesses selling a range of established products and services, and street-level business that serve neighborhood commercial districts. Efforts to support entrepreneurship and small business development must recognize that a supportive environment has a different meaning for each type of business. As Birmingham has begun to spawn more technology-based, potentially high-growth startup companies, an entrepreneurial “ecosystem” that supports the establishment and growth of such companies has begun to emerge. Key elements of this system include the following. TechBirmingham was formed in 2002 to “lead, support, and coordinate the startup, attraction, growth, retention and expansion of technology-based businesses, investments, and jobs. “ It promotes networking and learning among technology entrepreneurs through its TechBirmingham e-newsletters and events such as TechMixers, TechMixer University, and an annual Birmingham Startup Summit. It is also involved in initiatives to improve Birmingham’s image as a location for technology-based businesses, increasing the availability of investment capital, and increasing the technology workforce. The **Innovation Depot** is an award-winning 140,000 square foot technology incubator. As of early 2012, it housed 84 companies with 460 employees in fields including life sciences and information technology. In addition to low-cost space, it provides a range of services to tenant companies including assistance with business plan development, identification of qualified employees or partners, evaluation of IT infrastructure needs and assistance in maintaining current systems, arrangements with local law and accounting firms to provide free or discounted services, and introduction to the regional business community for possible partnerships and opportunities. It also provides space for other business assistance organizations and various educational and networking events. The **Birmingham Venture Club** holds regular speaker and networking events. It also organizes an annual Entrepreneur Accelerator Program, in which 14 entrepreneurs are selected to participate in a three-month program focused on leadership development and entrepreneurial networking. Participants attend educational sessions and build relationships with other entrepreneurs as well as funders, mentors and other leaders that help grow businesses. **Capital sources** targeted to technology firms, including: * The **Birmingham Angel Network**, a group of informal investors that provides seed financing and technical assistance to startups with high growth potential. Investors typically make equity investments in the $300,000-500,000 range. It also teams entrepreneurs with mentors who are experienced executives or entrepreneurs, helps them fill gaps in their management team, and links them with institutional investors for second-round funding. * The **Birmingham Technology Fund**, a $21,900,000 venture capital fund specializing in privately held companies that are commercializing technologies developed at various academic and other research institutions in the State of Alabama, with a primary focus on medical and life sciences technology developed at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. The fund was initially capitalized by the University of Alabama System and the Health Services Foundation and is managed by the local investment firm Greer Capital Advisors. * Birmingham-based **Harbert Venture Partners**, which, with over $150 million in committed capital, provides growth capital to early stage information technology and healthcare companies primarily across the Southeastern U.S. * The Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham’s **Accounts Receivable Revolving Loan Fund**, which provides low-cost, short-term working capital loans of up to $25,000 to tenants of the Innovation Depot and the Bessemer Business Incubation System. * Other local non-traditional institutional investors and non-local venture capital investors. **Professional firms** that specialize in services to startup and early stage technology firms. These include law firms Balch & Bingham, Bradley Arant Boult Cummings, Dominic Feld Hyde, and Maynard Cooper & Gale. The advisory firm Nuvault Financial provides consulting services in finance, accounting, and operations, and introductions to strategic partners and investors. **Entrepreneurial education** programs at area colleges and universities, including UAB’s School of Business, Samford University’s Brock School of Business, and Birmingham-Southern College’s Stump Entrepreneurial Programs. The BBA Blueprint identifies two major action items to expand support for regional entrepreneurship. These are: 1) development of entrepreneurial districts supported by growth of research/resource centers and facilities; and 2) develop a small business seed capital fund to provide early stage investment. Building on Birmingham’s emerging entrepreneurial ecosystem to expand its base of technology and other high-growth firms will require addressing a number CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY of challenges, many of which were discussed in the life sciences research and commercialization sections of Chapter 9 (pp. 9.17–9.20): * The limited availability of state incentives for private investment in research and technology transfer relative to many other states. * Limited availability of proof-of concept funding for pre- startups or startups commercializing new technologies. * The limited number of local entrepreneurs with the skills to move life sciences technologies into the commercial marketplace. * The negative image of the region, both internal and ex- ternal, which hampers the ability to attract research and entrepreneurial talent. * The lack of appropriate space in Birmingham to retain technology firms as they move beyond the startup stage. # STRATEGIES ## A. Strategically invest in initiatives to strengthen ## the entrepreneurial “ecosystem” that attracts ## and retains talented entrepreneurs. ### ACTIONS **1. Develop initiatives to attract entrepreneurs to** **Birmingham to form new companies.** The city has many of the pieces of the entrepreneurial “ecosystem” in place or in development. What is most lacking, according to many organizations that work with and support entrepreneurs, are the entrepreneurs themselves. The city needs to more effectively promote itself as a place of entrepreneurial opportunity. The city, through the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (OED), working with the local entrepreneurial community, should develop a branding and marketing campaign designed to present Birmingham as a desirable location for entrepreneurship. This could include marketing efforts, relying particularly on social media, promoting business media coverage, and events that showcase the local entrepreneurial community such as business competitions and awards. It could also include developing an entrepreneurial ambassador program that would connect prospective entrepreneurs with local entrepreneurs to provide information and candid insights about the city from peers. Finally, the city could consider allocating a portion of its incentive funds to provide small cash grants (e.g., $5,000–$10,000) to startup and early stage companies locating in the city. The funding would serve more to show the city’s interest in welcoming new entrepreneurs than to meet major financing needs. Initial action steps could include establishing a working group of OED and representatives of entrepreneurial assistance organizations such as TechBirmingham and the Innovation Depot to develop the initiative, researching alternative models, designing the initiative with professional assistance, as appropriate, and obtaining funding commitments from city and private sources, including risk financing sources and professional services firms that target services to high- growth firms. **2. Develop a master plan for the downtown** **Entrepreneurial District.** See Chapter 11, p. 11.15. **3. Include City participation in the public-private** **partnerships to support local technology** **commercialization (such as the i2i initiative)** **through infrastructure investments and development** **incentives for the Entrepreneurial District and** **contribution to a community-based innovation fund** **and proof-of-concept fund.** See Chapter 9, p. 9.18–9.20. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY # goal 5 ## Opportunities for all residents with entrepreneurial skills and talents to develop successful businesses. ### POLICIES * Support the sustainability and growth of small and micro-businesses. * Expand access among minority-, women-, and disadvantaged enterprises to government and corporate procurement opportunities. Just as anywhere in the U.S., most businesses in Birmingham are small by any definition. Nationally, approximately 80 percent of all firms are non-employer firms, meaning that they have a sole proprietor with no employees. Among firms with employees, over 99 percent have fewer than 500 employees, the definition of “small” established by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Ninety-five percent have fewer than 50 employees, and 55 percent have fewer than five employees. Minority-owned firms tend to be even smaller than white-owned firms. Data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Economic Census, last conducted in 2007, show that in Birmingham, 96 percent of African-American-owned firms are non-employer firms compared to only 61 percent of white-owned firms. And among employer firms, African-American firms have an average of only seven employees compared to 20 employees for white-owned firms. In addition to resources supporting the development of high-growth early-stage businesses described above, Birmingham offers a number of resources to support its broader small business community. The Birmingham Business Resource Center (BBRC) offers training programs, often in partnership with the U.S. Small Business Administration and the A.G. Gaston Conference, helps businesses secure business financing, and refers businesses to accountants, consultants and other private technical assistance providers, often on a pro bono or reduced-cost basis. The Small Business Development Center (SBDC) at Lawson State Community College provides assistance to existing and prospective small business owners, including individual counseling workshops covering a variety of business skills, and assists businesses to access appropriate forms of financing. This SBDC is not affiliated with the Alabama SBDC Network. The SBDC at the Innovation Depot provides similar services as the Lawson State SBDC. It is a satellite of the University of Alabama SBDC in Tuscaloosa—Birmingham does not have its own full-service SBDC as part of the Alabama SBDC Network. The Central Alabama Women’s Business Center provides similar services as the SBDC’s but is targeted to women-owned businesses. In furtherance of its mission to revitalize neighborhood commercial districts, REV Birmingham offers an Entrepreneurial Workshop Series to entrepreneurs and small business owners on topics like business plan development, marketing, accounting and HR. MSB works one-on-one with business owners to solve problems and pursue new opportunities for their businesses. MSB guides business owners to financing sources, incentives and through City processes like Design Review. MSB has opened and maintains two Business Resource Centers, one in the Ensley community and the other in the Woodlawn neighborhood. The Birmingham Construction Industry Authority (BCIA) establishes voluntary goals for minority and disadvantaged business participation in construction projects for signatories to the Birmingham Plan-Construction Industry agreement and assists minority and disadvantaged business enterprises in the construction field to improve their capacities to bid on construction contracts. The BCIA’s services include a wide variety of education programs, individualized technical assistance, liaison between MBE/DBE contractors, general contractors and projects developers, and certifying firms as MBE/DBE enterprises. The South Region Minority Supplier Development Council, an affiliate of the National Minority Supplier Development Council, facilitates relationships between corporations, educational, governmental and health care entities and certified MBEs. The Council conducts the MBE certification process that qualifies firms for bidding on procurement contracts with MBE status. The **Real Business Solution Center** is a new web-based business assistance tool that offers a wide variety of resources, including group purchasing discounts, bid bulletin boards, career development tools and a buyer-supplier database. Fee-based one-on-one coaching can also be arranged through the site. Future plans include listings of corporate bidding opportunities in addition to the government bids already available, and business workshops and seminars. Small business loan programs: * Birmingham-based **Foundation Capital** provides long-term, subordinated fixed-rate financing through the SBA 504 program in conjunction with loans by banks and other private lenders. * **Seedco Financial** has three loan programs targeted to women and minority-owned businesses: a small business loan fund that provides loans of $50,000 to $250,000, a microloan fund that provides loans up to $50,000, and a short-term loan program in partnership with the U.S. Department of Transportation that provides Up to $750,000 in short-term working capital for qualified disadvantaged small businesses. Seedco is also collaborating with the City of Birmingham to develop a short-term contract financing program targeted to MBE/DBE construction firms. * **ACCION** has an office in Woodlawn and is engaged in providing small business loans. * The **Mayor’s Office of Economic Development** provides low-interest financing in the $100,000–1,000,000 range for economic development projects that create jobs or eliminate blight. While these resources are substantial, economic development professionals and small business service providers believe that the environment for small and minority businesses is not as favorable as it could be. Among the limitations and gaps identified: * The level of minority business formation and growth is considered disappointing in relation to the city’s large minority population. The city has only about 20 African-American-owned firms with 10 or more employees. Expanding the minority business base would increase local employment opportunities and build community assets. * While efforts to support more government and corporate procurement among minority firms have been ongoing, organizations assisting minority contractors note that the level of contracting activity has not reached its full potential. * Support for the development of micro-businesses is limited. Especially given the preponderance of non-employer firms among minority firms, more targeted assistance to address the unique challenges of firms with five or fewer employees is needed. * Small and minority business assistance resources are not sufficiently coordinated. More can be done to integrate services among providers to meet the full range of needs of business clients in a more efficient and user-friendly manner. One of the BBA’s Blueprint Birmingham’s action items is to implement a program in the Birmingham region to better coordinate regional small business support services. # STRATEGIES ## A. Strengthen the network of entrepreneurial education and business assistance programs. ### ACTIONS **1. Increase university engagement with the Birmingham Small Business Development Center, under the auspices of the Alabama SBDC Network.** The Birmingham area has been without a locally-based full-service SBDC since UAB ended its relationship with the program. Normally, SBDCs are located at universities with post-graduate programs such as business and engineering because they can rely on faculty and students to support their activities. The Alabama Small Business Development Center Network, which operates the Birmingham SBDC at the Innovation Depot as a branch of the UA Tuscaloosa SBDC, should work with CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY the area’s universities and other local higher education institutions to develop a network of faculty and students from local higher education institutions to augment the services of SBDC counselors through specialized assistance such as market and competitive analysis, and product and process improvement. In the longer run, the Network should consider re-establishing a full-service SBDC in partnership with a local university if warranted by increased demand for SBDC services. **2. Establish a micro-business program to provide small-scale financing and technical assistance to businesses with 0-5 employees.** As noted, the major of local small businesses and the vast majority of minority-owned businesses are made up of a single proprietor with no employees. Many of these firms need to strengthen their basic business skills if they are to grow or at the minimum provide a solid income to their owners. Programs tailored to the particular needs of these micro businesses are needed. A new organization, ACCION Texas Alabama, an affiliate of ACCION USA, which has sponsored and supported affiliates throughout the U.S., has established Alabama operations at an office adjacent to REV Birmingham’s Main Street office in Woodlawn. ACCION provides microloans and technical assistance to its clients. As the program becomes established, the city should work with it to develop additional forms of business assistance tailored to serving the city’s microbusinesses. This could include using new forms of media to reach a broader clientele or sponsoring events specifically tailored to businesses in the 0-5 employee range **3. Implement the Birmingham Business Alliance Blueprint Birmingham plan to improve coordination of regional small business services.** The Blueprint envisions establishing a Brimingham Regional Enterprise Council to augment and better coordinate regional entrepreneurship and small business assistance services. **B. Strengthen and more effectively coordinate assistance for minority, woman, and disadvantaged businesses seeking access to government and corporate procurement opportunities.** **ACTIONS** **1. Establish a minority business accelerator through a collaboration of existing business assistance organizations that is targeted to established minority businesses that need to build management capacity to successfully bid on government and corporate procurement contracts.** Existing organizations that assist minority businesses with government and corporate procurement should collaborate to establish a minority business accelerator. This would be an intensive technical assistance program targeted to a small number of businesses who are deemed most likely to succeed with government and corporate procurement but still need improvements to contracting skills and general business practices in order to bid successfully on contracts and obtain needed financing. Joint development of this initiative by existing organizations would also encourage them to better coordinate their services. Two potential models are the Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ in Cleveland (see inset) and the recently launched Contractors’ College in New Orleans. Initial action steps could include forming a working group of business assistance organizations that assist minority businesses in contract procurement; **CLEVELAND MINORITY BUSINESS ACCELERATOR 2.5+** The Minority Business Accelerator 2.5+ is an initiative of the Commission on Economic Inclusion, a program of the Greater Cleveland Partnership. It focuses on growing the size, scale and infrastructure of African American- and Hispanic-owned enterprises (MBEs) with annual revenues of at least $2.5 million in Northeast Ohio. It works with the corporate community and the public sector to determine the demand for business-to-business opportunities. It then uses that demand to identify MBEs for participation. Participating MBEs are provided with business development services to ensure that they are ready to respond to business opportunities that the program identifies in the corporate and public sectors. These include readiness assessment, growth plan development, infrastructure and staffing development, certification, bonding, and access to capital. Between April 2008, when its first deal was announced, and December 2011, the Accelerator closed a total of 155 deals valued at $148 million. 10.19 researching alternative models; and developing a management, programmatic, and funding plan. **2. Capitalize a public-private working capital fund to provide short-term contract financing.** As noted, the city is already working with Seedco Financial to capitalize such a fund. Seedco should work in partnership with existing procurement assistance organizations and could be an important financing source for businesses in the proposed minority business accelerator program. # goal 6 ## The City of Birmingham is a community of choice for highly-skilled entrepreneurs and professional workers. ### POLICIES * Increase employment and entrepreneurial opportunities for local college and university graduates. * Provide incentives for talented young adults to locate in Birmingham. * Make quality of life improvements that are important to talented young adults. The ability to retain and attract professional, creative, and entrepreneurial talent will be a key factor influencing Birmingham’s economic development. New talent brings new ideas, skills, energy, and ways of thinking that will invigorate the economic landscape, particularly in knowledge-based and creative industries that are the key to Birmingham’s economic future. Data indicate that while the rest of the Birmingham region may be holding its own in attracting and retaining talent, the same cannot be said of the city. A recent study of U.S. Census data ranked the Birmingham MSA 6th in the percentage growth of residents with a college degree between 2007 and 2009 (because of the short time frame, these data should be interpreted with caution with respect to longer-term trends). However, another study of Census data found that Birmingham was one of just two metros nationally to experience a decline in the number of 25- to 34-year-olds with a college degree living within three miles of the central business district between 2000 and 2009. Even cities that lost far more population overall than Birmingham saw increases in the number of college-educated young people living in their downtowns. Representatives of local young professional organizations cite a perception of limited job opportunities as well as limited access to information about these opportunities as part of the difficulty in attracting and retaining young talent. Another issue is Birmingham’s indistinct image. Local commentators have noted that, while outsiders do not necessarily view Birmingham negatively, neither do they have a positive image that would draw them to the city. Young professionals who live in or near the city see many positives that the city can use as a selling point. This includes the low cost of living, particularly housing, the wide range of cultural, entertainment and recreational offerings, and the opportunities for civic engagement. But while they enjoy the city, many also choose not to live here, citing limited housing choices and the poor quality of the public schools, for young families or those who expect to be forming families soon, as key factors. The city has a number of organizations that provide young professionals with networking, leadership development, and civic engagement opportunities. These include the BBA’s Young Professionals Roundtable, Rotaract Club of Birmingham, Young Professionals of Birmingham, Birmingham Urban League Young Professionals, and Young Professionals United. These organizations could be mobilized around a more robust effort to brand and market Birmingham as an attractive destination for young talent. ### STRATEGIES **A. Develop new initiatives that focus on retention of local college graduates.** ### ACTIONS **1. Expand contacts between the business community and local college students through internship, mentoring, and networking opportunities.** The best way to attract and retain talent is to provide good job opportunities. In the long run, Birmingham should strive to develop the knowledge industries that provide high-quality jobs. In the short run, it can undertake initiatives to market the city’s best qualities and help connect young professionals with jobs that already exist. One way would be to develop more internship, mentoring and networking opportunities for local college students through a business-higher education partnership. Such a program would help students to become more aware of local job opportunities and to develop relationships in the business community that would help them find good jobs when they graduated. As an initial action step, the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, the Birmingham Business Alliance, and local higher education institutions could form a working group to develop the program. **2. Develop an incentive program to encourage graduating students to stay in the City of Birmingham, which could include partial tuition rebates, student loan deferrals, or “urban homesteading” grants.** *** ### B. Target marketing of Birmingham’s assets and positive qualities to young adults. #### ACTION **1. Develop a marketing campaign targeted to young professionals using frequently updated social media and internet-based platforms, highlighting the City of Birmingham’s employment, cultural, social, entertainment, and service opportunities.** This would be similar to the marketing program developed for entrepreneurs described under Goal 4. The city should work with young professionals’ organizations to implement this initiative. *** ### C. Create downtown and neighborhood environments that are attractive places to live, work, and play. #### ACTION **1. Consider the lifestyle preferences of young professionals in housing, urban design, transportation, and recreation planning, particularly with respect to downtown and adjacent neighborhoods.** See Chapters 7 (Goal-3.A.2, Goal-7.C.2) 8 (Goal-3.G.1), and 11(Goal-2.D). *** **2. Improve the quality of life through investments in education, arts and culture, and recreation.** See Chapters 5 (Goal-1.A, Goal-2.C, Goal-3.A&B), 8 (Goal-3.C.1), and 11 (Goal-3.A.1&2, Goal-3.B.1, Goal-3.C.1, Goal-3.D.1). # goal 7 Government policies, programs and processes related to business are efficient, fair and transparent. **POLICIES** * Review and reform the city’s business regulations and processes to make them more business-friendly. * Target city incentives to businesses and development projects that will do the most to further the city’s economic development. * Increase city interactions with the business community to identify and resolve issues in a timely manner. Businesses interact with local government in a wide variety of transactions, including various forms of business assistance and regulations. The City must ensure that its policies and practices are efficient, fair, and transparent while at the same time protecting the broader public interest. It must also develop and maintain a strong capacity to reach out in support of existing businesses. Experience has demonstrated that effective business retention and expansion programs are among the most important tools of economic development. The primary source of business assistance within the City of Birmingham is the Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (OED). Among OED’s functions are: business recruitment; business retention and expansion; administering the city’s 10,000 acre Enterprise Zone; offering a number of federal, state, and local economic development financing programs; administering the city’s Foreign Trade Zone; and offering sites to new and expanding businesses at city-owned industrial parks. It partners with other regional and local organizations in many of these activities, including the Birmingham Business Alliance, REV Birmingham, Urban Impact, the CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Birmingham Construction Industry Authority, and the Jefferson County Development Authority. The city uses incentives in some instances for business recruitment, retention, and expansion. These are typically in the form of sales tax rebates over a period of years and, in some cases, cash grants. The city conducts economic impact analyses before deciding to grant incentives in order to ensure that they have a strong positive economic impact on the city. It also includes claw-back provisions if employment goals are not met. Other city agencies that interact with businesses include the Finance Department’s Purchasing Division, which handles bids on city contracts; the Finance Department’s Tax and License Administration Division, which handles licensing applications; and the Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits, which handles development permit and zoning applications. A review of the city’s business policies and practices, primarily through discussion with city and regional economic development officials and business representatives, suggests a number of issues that need to be examined and addressed: * City licensing, procurement and regulatory processes are often complex and difficult for small firms to navigate. * Business representatives report that inspections required to obtain certain licenses and permits sometimes involve considerable delays and inconsistencies. * The city is sometimes slow paying contract invoices, creating cash flow problems for small firms lacking access to lines of credit. * Business costs tend to be higher than in nearby jurisdictions, such as license fees. At the same time, the City provides amenities not available elsewhere as well as the advantages of clustering. Evaluation of the most effective balance is needed. * The city lacks a single user-friendly web portal with comprehensive information for businesses. * The city’s criteria for granting incentives lack transparency and may appear somewhat arbitrary to members of the business community. A public review of current incentive policies to ensure that they target the most productive forms of development and are closely aligned with the city’s top economic development priorities may be appropriate at this time. # STRATEGIES ## A. Streamline, simplify, and make more transparent business regulatory, development permitting and procurement processes. ### ACTIONS **1. Establish procedures to make city interactions with businesses, including licensing, permitting and procurement, more user-friendly.** The city could take a number of steps to achieve this objective. This could include: developing processes to coordinate permitting functions among city departments; creating an ombudsman’s position to guide businesses through city regulatory processes; establishing a procurement assistance office to provide information and technical assistance to businesses interested in bidding on city contracts, and to certify companies as “bid-ready;” establishing on-line systems to help businesses track the status of licensing or permitting applications, and identify issues that require resolution; and providing customer service training to employees of the departments involved. The city could also consider providing expedited or more intensive assistance to businesses and development projects aligned with city priorities, such as those locating in > **IMPROVING CUSTOMER SERVICE FOR LICENSES AND PERMITS IN NEW ORLEANS** > The City of New Orleans in 2012 commissioned a customer service survey of citizens who had applied for licenses or permits and conducted a survey of national best practices. Four out of ten respondents ranked the City’s performance as low. As a result, the City developed and is implementing a plan to improve service for permits and licenses. > > www.neworleanscitybusiness.com, “Survey results lead city to place emphasis on customer service” Strategic Opportunity Areas or meeting green building standards. As a first step, the city should establish an inter-departmental task force under the Mayor’s leadership to examine business licensing, procurement, and contracting processes. The task force could conduct a customer service survey of current and past business participants in these processes to identify issues in need of resolution; consult with local business organizations and public management experts; and identify best practices in licensing, permitting, and procurement processes from other cities. Based on this research, the task force could then develop a set of recommended improvements for review by the Mayor. #### 2. Improve the City’s website to make business-related information more accessible and user-friendly. The website should establish a distinct “for business” section that includes information on the city’s demographics and economics, business organizations and events, a sitefinder for available real estate, city and state programs and incentives, and business regulations and licensing/permitting processes, and linkages to social media. > Establish a business website development working group. > Review websites in other cities to identify best practices in design and functionality. > Determine what information should be on the website. > Hire a web designer with relevant experience and work closely with him/her to customize the website to the city’s needs. ## B. Develop clearer criteria for city assistance to businesses through incentives and financing, with a focus on supporting catalytic investments. ### ACTION #### 1. Develop a more targeted incentive program with clearer criteria for incentive award. In order to ensure that incentive funds for business recruitment, retention and expansion have the greatest impact on the local economy, the city should consider additional criteria that would limit its direct cash incentives to high-impact businesses. This could include targeting these incentives to: 1) businesses in important existing and emerging economic base industries that primarily “export” their products outside the city, “importing” income and thus fueling further economic growth; and 2) businesses that, while not necessarily economic base industries, are catalytic in nature, e.g., anchor businesses locating or expanding in distressed neighborhoods or businesses developing key parcels that will spur additional business and residential investment. Sales tax rebates, the City’s most frequently used financial incentive, can be offered to a wider range of businesses. Even in these cases, however, the criteria for offering these incentives should be made clear in order to avoid perceptions of inequity or favoritism and to shield the city from an unsupportable number of incentive requests. As initial action steps, the city should develop a list of target industries, with a focus on key economic base industries that export products and services outside the region and are particularly critical to the city’s economic growth, and develop a clear definition of what constitutes a catalytic project for neighborhood revitalization. The city can then publish these criteria to make clear which businesses and projects are eligible for cash incentives and should also provide a written record of incentive decisions available for public review. ## C. Improve responsiveness of local government to business issues and concerns. ### ACTION #### 1. Expand the city’s business retention and expansion program. The Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, the Birmingham Business Alliance, and REV Birmingham all share in business retention and expansion efforts. Efforts to increase existing business retention and reach a wider base of businesses are constrained by staff limitations. One solution would be to recruit a staff CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING_BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY **GROWTHFORCE, CINCINNATI USA REGIONAL PARTNERSHIP** GrowthForce, the Partnership’s Business Retention and Expansion Program, is led by a Regional Business Retention Committee (RBRC), an all-volunteer group of 40 business leaders and representatives of public economic development organizations. With staff support from the Partnership, the RBRC meets with business owners to discuss their growth plans, opportunities and challenges, and apply these findings to meet the company’s specific needs. The roughly 30-minute in-person visits are used to document the current status of the business, better understand the overall business environment in the region, identify areas of concern, and link businesses with needed resources. In 2010, the RBRC surveyed 406 businesses employing more than 32,000 workers. In 2011, the Partnership launched an early-warning network to assist at-risk businesses with a $250,000 grant from the Ohio Department of Development. of trained volunteers, particularly from the ranks of retired business people. Another would be to rely on web-based tools to conduct business outreach. Other measures should include improving data collection tools and developing a robust response system that involves referrals to a large base of partner organizations to address specific business issues along with timely follow-up to ensure that issues are successfully resolved. The Cincinnati USA Regional Partnership’s business retention and expansion program is one example of a program that has successfully made extensive use of volunteers (see inset). In addition to business retention and expansion support, program staff should conduct “exit interviews” with businesses that have decided to leave the city in order to identify the reasons for these decisions. The information obtained from these interviews will provide valuable intelligence that will help the City improve its business assistance programs, public investments, regulatory processes, and tax and fee structures. **2. Conduct a business environment study.** The City should conduct a study of key factors influencing the business environment, including taxes and fees, regulatory compliance, land, transportation and utility costs, labor costs and skill levels, and quality of life, to assess its competitive position relative to other communities in the region as well as other Southeastern and South Central U.S. peer cities such as Nashville and Memphis. The study will help the City identify both its competitive strengths and weakness and focus on addressing issues that will strengthen its competitive position. # goal 8 Vacant industrial sites and vacant buildings with development opportunities are prepared for new uses consistent with shifts in the city’s economic base. **POLICIES** * Develop better information about the city’s commercial and industrial property inventory. * Prioritize property and infrastructure investments to align them with current and emerging demand for commercial and industrial property. * Develop new mechanisms to permit the city to respond in a timely and flexible manner to the property and development needs of businesses. Local and regional economic development professionals note that Birmingham has a limited amount of real estate available for industrial development. Prominent sites that offer development opportunities include 164 un-leased acres at Jefferson Metropolitan Park at Lakeshore, the 27-acre Trinity Steel site and acreage around Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport owned by the Birmingham Airport Authority. The largest site with development potential is the 600-acre Ensley Works owned by USS Real Estate. While the city and the property owner have had discussions about redevelopment of the site, no concrete plans have materialized. One key issue is said to be the cost of environmental remediation. Future demand for industrial real estate in Birmingham will be strongly influenced by the evolution of the city economy. Demand for large tracts of industrial land is likely to be limited, with major manufacturing plants strongly favoring suburban or rural greenfield sites. Conversely, growing research, technology, advanced manufacturing, and professional services industries are likely to require smaller sites and more surrounding amenities. Planning for future real estate needs and site-specific infrastructure investments should take these changes into account. Inventorying the city’s brownfield sites and assessing remediation needs can make an important contribution to expanding the supply of developable sites in the longer run. The more these and other industrial sites can be made “development-ready,” the more options the city will have for offering sites to new, relocating and expanding industrial firms . This will also put the city in a stronger position to compete for these firms with suburban locations, including potential new development sites along the planned Northern Beltline. # STRATEGY ## A. Work in partnership with private landowners to develop reuse plans and secure needed funding for site preparation and property investments ### ACTIONS 1. **Develop an inventory of vacant and underutilized industrial buildings and sites, including brownfields sites.** Innovative uses for brownfields and other underutilized sites should be explored, such as “brightfields” solar arrays and intensive, soil-less food production such as aquaponics. . 2. **Conduct a market study to assess the level and nature of demand for industrial property within the city.** The results of the study should be used to identify priority sites for marketing, brownfields remediation, infrastructure investment and, potentially, acquisition and site assembly. 3. **Establish a citywide entity, such as a redevelopment authority, to work with property owners and/or community and economic development agencies in developing industrial site reuse plans, including brownfields assessment and remediation. (See Chapter 8, pp. 8.12–8.14.)** This entity could assist property owners and agencies through means such as obtaining brownfields assessment funding, providing development incentives, marketing, and making public infrastructure investments. It could also undertake site acquisition and improvements in appropriate circumstances to respond to specific development opportunities. 4. **Target priority sites for public infrastructure improvements.** Initial action steps should include identifying sites with the greatest potential for short-term development and determining likely uses based on market trends, identifying public infrastructure investments that would improve site marketability, and prioritizing these investments in capital improvement plans. In instances where market conditions are most favorable, the City should make “speculative” site preparation and infrastructure investments to make the sites ready for immediate development. # goal 9 ## Modern infrastructure meets business needs at a competitive cost. ### POLICIES * Ensure sufficient investment in both publicly and privately developed infrastructure to maintain and improve the quality, capacity and efficiency necessary to meet current business needs and capitalize on emerging economic opportunities. The availability of modern transportation infrastructure to move goods and people efficiently, and reliable and cost-competitive utilities including telecommunication, electricity and water to meet business needs, are all important to Birmingham’s economic development. Some transportation infrastructure issues were addressed earlier in this section. This included the discussion of CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY transportation infrastructure related to the distribution industry in Chapter 9, and the discussion of workforce transit needs under Goal 3 of this chapter. A broader discussion of transportation policy and investment needs can be found in Chapter 12. A few other infrastructure issues related to economic development should be noted: * The improvements to Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport recently completed or currently underway should position it to accommodate further growth in air passenger and cargo traffic for several years to come. While these additional capacities should be marketed by the Airport Authority, additional growth in traffic will be largely determined by market forces and the business models of air passenger and cargo carriers. * The location of five data centers at the JeffMet Lakeshore Industrial Park demonstrates the role of high fiber capacity in attracting data intensive industries and facilities. It will be important to ensure that the city stays ahead of the curve in offering state-of-the-art broadband services needed by firms in digital media, data management and other growing technology fields. ### STRATEGIES **A. Promote needed investments by public utilities in energy and telecommunications infrastructure.** #### ACTION **1. Continue relationships with public utilities, telecommunications providers and industry representatives to identify emerging needs.** **B. Complete transportation improvements that position the Birmingham region as a Southeast regional distribution center.** #### ACTIONS **1. Develop transportation infrastructure to support the expansion of the distribution sector.** (See Chapter 9, pp. 9.12–9.13.) **2. Collaborate with the Metropolitan Planning Organization (in the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham) to develop a freight transportation improvement plan that relates specifically to facilitating the movement of goods through the city including developing truck routes to minimize conflicts with residential neighborhoods and other traffic), promote regional distribution activities, and work with appropriate agencies to implement the plan.** (See Chapter 12, pp. 12.43–12.44.) **C. Improve transit options for local commuters, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods.** #### ACTION **1. Develop a dedicated transit funding source to support improved public transit services between city neighborhoods and local and regional employment centers.** (See Chapter 12, pp. 12.38–12.42.) CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 10 REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY # C. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Complete implementation of initial Birmingham City Schools reform agenda. | School Superintendent; Educational Foundation, BBA, Mayor’s Office of Economic Development (i.e., enlisting business support) | | Develop initiatives to strengthen P-12–higher-education partnerships. | Education Foundation | | Establish a Jefferson County Workforce Development Collaborative. | Region 4 Workforce Development Council; Jefferson County WIB; Mayor’s Office of Economic Development | | Develop a child care initiative. | Childcare Resource Center; BBA, Community Foundation of Greater Birmingham; Superintendent of Birmingham Schools | | Re-establish a local Small Business Development Center. | BBA; Mayor’s Office of Economic Development, business assistance organizations | | Establish a micro-business program. | BBA; Mayor’s Office of Economic Development | | Establish a working group to revamp economic development marketing, with focus on economic base industries and entrepreneurial and professional talent attraction and retention. | Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; BBA, business and professional organizations | | Develop an initiative to link local college students with employment and entrepreneurial opportunities. | BBA; Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; local higher education institutions | | Conduct a customer-service survey of city licensing and permitting performance. | Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; other city agencies | | Revamp the City website, especially the business section. | Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; Office of Public Information | | Conduct an inventory of industrial sites and buildings. | Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits | | Develop professional development programs for teachers to help meet the changing demands of the workplace. | Superintendent of Birmingham Schools; Educational Foundation; Region 4 Workforce Council | # Chapter 11 # Sustaining Downtown <
> ## PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “Diverse City Center with living/working/entertainment, easy public transportation, retail restaurants, arts.” “A downtown city center that provides jobs, taxes, and is the center of business and cultural facilities for the whole region.” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | Downtown is a thriving, mixed use center of business, employment, institutions, and government. | • Build on downtown’s economic strengths as a center of health care, higher education, finance, and professional and technical services. | | Downtown is also a neighborhood that people in the city and the region experience as a safe, fun, and exciting place to live. | • Continue to strengthen downtown as a lively residential neighborhood.
• Support a residential marketing plan to attract, young professionals, downtown employees, and new hires with targeted messages. | | Downtown has a diverse and contemporary mix of cultural, arts and entertainment venues that make Birmingham a center of urban southern culture and lifestyle. | • Continue to strengthen downtown as the region’s center of culture, the arts, and entertainment. | | Downtown is made up of connected and mutually reinforcing districts. | • Continue to strengthen the pedestrian-friendly character of downtown.
• Ensure strengthened connections for transit, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorist between north and south, and linking downtown and adjacent districts.
• Advocate for state support for the rerouting of I-20/I-59 north of the BJCC area.
• Support a two-way street system for downtown.
• Support new zoning for downtown districts to streamline approvals for desired development. | | Downtown has a strong leadership organization active in planning, promotion, recruitment, development, and public realm improvements. | • Support a consistent financing plan for REV Birmingham (REV).
• Continue to work on implementation of the 2004 Center City Master Plan, with updating and adjustments as appropriate.
• Review downtown neighborhood organization boundaries in light of the growing number of downtown residents. | 11.2 # findings Downtown is a key employment center within the city, with approximately one-third of total city employment, and UAB is the largest single downtown employer by a large margin. During the past 10 years, downtown industries experiencing the greatest growth were health care, higher education, real estate rental and leasing, and "other services" (primarily religious, grantmaking, civic, and professional organizations). Industries experiencing the largest decline were utilities, manufacturing, information, and wholesale trade. Compared to the rest of the Birmingham MSA, downtown has particularly high concentrations of employment in health care, higher education, government, information, professional, technical and scientific services, utilities, and finance and insurance. REV Birmingham has undertaken a number of initiatives to strengthen downtown, including marketing and business recruitment, small business financing, district planning, and a business retention program. The City Action Partnership, a nonprofit organization funded by downtown property owners, works in partnership with government, businesses, residents and the Birmingham Police Department to improve safety and the perception of safety downtown. Downtown had an estimated 8,900 residents in 2010, an increase of 31 percent over 2000. The housing stock is predominantly rental. Residential occupancy rates are very high—99 percent for rental units and 93 percent for owner-occupied units—indicating strong demand (early 2012). Downtown’s collection of historic buildings is unique to the region and the state. Investment and activity downtown is fragmented, with numerous small revitalization areas, tending to give the impression of less activity than is the case. The 2004 City Center Master Plan has been partially implemented. # challenges Continuing need to change perceptions of public safety. Filling vacant ground floor with active uses to link activity areas. Attracting new uses to vacant and derelict buildings and vacant lots. Retaining “graduates” of the Innovation Depot in downtown. Expanding and diversifying housing options in a difficult economic climate. Creating more amenities needed to create a 24-hour community. Improving transportation choice, especial transit service, in downtown to serve residents, commuters and visitors. Enhancing all types of connections between activity and reinvestment areas. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN # A. What the Community Said * Downtown districts still seem disconnected. * Not enough attractions to get enough people out on the street. * “Two downtowns:” west and east of 18th Street; daytime and night time. * Connect downtown activity centers with transit, especially the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center (BJCC) entertainment area and Five Points South, and connect downtown to the rest of the city and region with transit. * Pursue alternatives to the I-20/59 elevated highway to connect the BJCC area with the rest of downtown. * Implement the two-way street system recommended in the 2004 City Center Master Plan and confirmed by a 2010 feasibility study. * Brand downtown districts and improve wayfinding. * Enhance the pedestrian friendly character of downtown, especially to provide safe, well-lit, and appealing pedestrian routes between entertainment and activity centers. * Continue supporting housing development and promote condominium development. * Provide incentives for property renovation, mixed use development, and historic preservation. **HOW IS “DOWNTOWN” DEFINED?** *For the purposes of this chapter, downtown Birmingham encompasses the area between 11th Avenue North, from the entertainment district under construction in 2012 surrounding the Birmingham-Jefferson Convention Center at the north to Highland Avenue to the south, including the Five Points South entertainment district. The east and west boundaries are Red Mountain Expressway and I-65 respectively, with the Sloss Furnaces Historic Site and the Lakeview neighborhood adjacent to the southeast quadrant functioning in some ways as extensions of downtown.* **WHAT MAKES A DOWNTOWN SUCCESSFUL?** * *Great places to live, work and play.* * *A mixture of uses.* * *Walkability, with lively and safe streets.* * *Multiple activity generators within walking distance of one another.* * *Entertainment as a driving market segment.* * *Strong residential neighborhoods downtown and in adjacent neighborhoods.* * *Safety and security.* * *Broad public/private investment in downtown’s future.* * *Citizen pride in downtown.* * Provide incentives for businesses to locate downtown. * Attract more retail businesses, particularly grocery stores. * Increase cultural attractions and other evening activities. * Enhance lighting and other security measures. * Provide affordable space for business-startups and retain start-ups when they expand. * Plan and promote space for Innovation Depot “graduates” in downtown. * Streamline the development process while protecting planning and design principles. # B. Recommendations Downtown Birmingham is the economic, employment, civic, cultural, entertainment and historic heart of the entire metropolitan region. Some 80,000 people come to work in downtown Birmingham every day and an estimated 8,900 residents called downtown home in 2010. **DOWNTOWN MANAGEMENT** REV Birmingham (REV) is a public-private partnership that has been leading downtown development since 1957 under the name Operation New Birmingham. REV is downtown’s urban planner; information <
> clearinghouse; packager of financial incentives and loans; and promoter. REV is funded by contributions from business and government. In 2012, ONB and Birmingham Main Streets merged, giving the combined organization a broader mission to include commercial revitalization outside downtown and the new name. **City Action Partnership (CAP)** is funded by a property tax assessment on 96 blocks of downtown to provide security and cleanliness. Since it began operation in 1996, crime has dropped 62%. ## REAL ESTATE MARKET CONDITIONS **Nonresidential space.** Downtown (including Lakeview) has approximately 5 million square feet of office space. The office occupancy rate as of the third quarter of 2012 was 84% with an average gross rental rate of about $21 per square foot for Class A buildings.[^p294-1] Occupancy will increase due to recent rental of space at the Regions Plaza building. Industrial and retail real estate data is not broken down at the level of downtown. Knowledgeable observers report that one of the major issues downtown is that many vacant buildings are not actively marketed, require extensive renovation, or have unrealistic rents for their condition. **Residential space.** According to a survey by REV of downtown residential developments, demand for residential space in 2011 was very strong, with 99% of rentals leased and 93% of condos sold. Unit types most in demand are small efficiency or one-bedroom units at modest rents ($700–900 per month), but they are also the most difficult to produce from a financial point of view. This indicates that households most interested in living downtown are typically young singles or couples with modest incomes. UAB employees and students likely are a prominent element of this demand. --- [^p294-1]: Cushman & Wakefield, *MarketBeat Office Snapshot: Birmingham, AL, Q3 2012*. This is for their “CBD” market area, which includes all of downtown Birmingham plus Lakeview. ## THE TWELVE-STEP PROGRAM FOR DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION In 2005, real estate developer and researcher Chris Leinberger identified twelve steps to revitalize downtowns.[^p294-2] In Birmingham, many of these steps are completed or ongoing, but there are some areas that still need work. It is important to note that creating a critical mass of downtown residents is the essential ingredient and lays the foundation for a self-sustaining downtown, which typically takes 20 years to attain. *STEP 1 Capture the Vision* and *STEP 2 Develop a Strategic Plan*. Birmingham’s City Center Plan of 2004 fulfilled both of these steps and is still useful, though with modifications, eight years later as this comprehensive plan is being prepared. The City Center Master Plan identified five principles for revitalization: * Build on strengths. * Enhance connections and gateways. * Develop “green streets,” making key corridors tree-lined. * Reorganize the highway and street network. * Strengthen and expand residential neighborhoods. *STEP 3 Forge a Healthy Private/Public Partnership*. REV Birmingham has been Birmingham’s downtown leadership organization and partnership for fifty years. Leinberger’s focus on what makes a “healthy” partnership is on ensuring that the private sector leads while the public sector supports. Another aspect of a healthy partnership is ensuring a consistent and adequate funding source for the organization to be effective. This has been problematic for REV Birmingham in recent years. *STEP 4 Make the Right Thing Easy*. Development regulations should promote mixed-use development and restore the historic right-of-way fabric downtown. Leinberger notes: “over the years, streets as freeways (one way streets meant to encourage automobile speed), streets as regional malls (streets closed off to traffic), and streets as on-ramps became ubiquitous fads. Restoring the original street right-of-way fabric, including tight corner turning radiuses, will bring back one of downtowns major assets --- [^p294-2]: “Turning Around Downtown: Twelve Steps to Downtown Revitalization,” (2005) Brookings Institution. www.brookings.edu. and help re-create the walkable urbanism these cities were designed for.” Although a study confirmed that return to two-way streets is feasible, it has not been implemented. Birmingham has adopted the 2009 International Building Code, which makes adaptive reuse of older buildings easier. The development permitting process, however, involves many steps and could be streamlined somewhat with more transparent and explicit zoning and design standards. *STEP 5 Establish Business Improvement Districts and Other Non-Profits.* Consistent funding for downtown organizations and revitalization nonprofits is essential, so that they do not have to rely on basic funding for foundation grants or variable government subsidies. This is often accomplished through Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) or similar organizations. BIDs typically combine a leadership role in managing implementation of the downtown strategy with an operational role to keep downtown safe, clean, active, and with a good image—all of these roles being funded through an assessment on downtown property that is collected with property tax. In Birmingham, there are two organizations, REV and City Action Partnership (CAP), and only the “safe and clean” function performed by CAP is supported by the assessment, which is 1/1000 of fair market value and has not been increased since the program began in 1995. REV does not have a consistent funding source. Other nonprofit organizations often found in downtown revitalization districts include parking authorities, affordable housing developers, and organizations focused on space for artists to live, work, and exhibit. Birmingham’s Parking Authority manages nearly 9,000 parking spaces in garages and two surface parking lots and is funded completely by parking revenues. At present it is required by law to return any funds not used by operations to the City. Parking fees are low for a downtown: from $3 a day in surface lots to $8 a day in garages (monthly fees range from a little more than $1 a day to $3.50 a day). In some cities, the parking authority is a source of regular funding for downtown leadership organizations. *STEP 6 Create a Catalytic Development Company.* A catalytic developer is a redevelopment organization that undertakes the initial projects that other developers see as too risky or for which they have difficulty getting financing. This role is often played by a redevelopment authority, but there are also examples of private corporations organized to be “double bottom line” investors with “patient capital.” Typically, these organizations assemble land, prepare land for development (through environmental assessment and cleanup, for example), provide gap financing, and sometimes develop buildings from start to finish. New development in downtown Birmingham has already demonstrated success, so a catalytic development corporation is not needed to just show that projects can be successful. However, an entity is lacking that can assemble and prepare sites, provide financing for key infill sites, and assist with particularly costly rehabilitation projects or with projects in emerging districts. The Community Foundation has created the Community Catalyst Funds to invest in the city center. The Catalyst Funds will seek opportunities to invest in Birmingham’s City Center and across the region. As part of REVBirmingham’s expanding role as a partner to the City of Birmingham in economic and community development, the organization’s leadership has approved the goal of becoming a catalytic development corporation. This goal builds on ONB’s 2012 merger with Main Streets Birmingham, which has already played a development role in several Birmingham neighborhoods. REVBirmingham is seeking the resources to take on this new responsibility. *STEP 7 Create an Urban Entertainment District.* Entertainment creates a destination. Birmingham has continued to be the region’s cultural capital and will have two entertainment districts, at the north and south limits of downtown, Five Points South and the new Uptown Entertainment District in the BJCC area. Additional centers of entertainment have already emerged along 2nd Avenue North and in Lakeview (at the Pepper Place area, 7th Avenue South and 29th Street), and more investment in the Theater District would create yet another small district. The challenge here is to connect these areas ### CATALYTIC DEVELOPMENT FUNDING CORPORATION OF NORTHERN KENTUCKY *The Catalytic Development Funding Corporation (CDFC) was established in 2007 to invest and leverage funds for urban development in Northern Kentucky. CDFC raised $10 million in investment by 2012 (during the Great Recession) from the following banks, corporations, and nonprofits:* * *PNC Bank: $2.5 million* * *Bank of Kentucky: $1 million* * *Central Bank: $1 million* * *Corporex: $1 million* * *Duke Energy: $1 million* * *First Financial Bank: $1 million* * *U.S. Bank: $1 million* * *Fifth Third Community Development Corporation: $1 million* * *The Carol Ann and Ralph Haile U.S. Bank Foundation: $500,000* *CDFC's goal is to raise $20 million as a revolving fund to assemble land, recruit qualified developers, provide gap financing, and invest in projects with long-term, low-interest loans. The investors expect to receive a modest return on investment.* *CDFC has a long term goal of a $500,000 operating budget, of which it has raised half. The Fund also received a $10,000 grant from the national community development nonprofit, LISC (Local Initiatives Support Corporation) and has applied for certification as an emerging Certified Development Financial Institution (CDFI), which will qualify the Fund for grants and make it easier for lending institutions to invest in the Catalytic Fund.* *www.vision2015.org/FocusAreas/UrbanRennaisance.aspx* because Birmingham’s various entertainment options are either too distant from one another to walk, or the walk is through a dead zone of empty ground floor spaces. Leinberger notes: > “the most important benefit of entertainment is to get ‘feet on the street,’ especially at night. And just as a crowded restaurant is the best recommendation that it is a good place, crowded sidewalks recommend downtown, signaling a safe environment, and providing an excitement and spectacle that draws people to the area.” In Birmingham, the distance between activities, too many dead zones, and the prevalence of valet parking services tend to keep people off the sidewalks. *STEP 8 Develop a Rental Housing Market.* Downtown Birmingham’s 99% rental occupancy rate and waiting list for units indicates that this step has been successfully completed. The challenge now is to provide more units to meet demand in what is still a challenging market for financing. <
> *STEP 9 Pioneer an Affordability Strategy.* Park Place, the mixed-income HOPE VI development, is the only new housing development downtown with an explicit affordability strategy. However, affordability should be conceptualized as more than a public housing or low-income housing tax credit strategy. As the housing market analysis in the 2004 City Center Master Plan noted: > “Each new residential development could contain a percentage of affordable housing units, ranging from 10 to 25 percent. However, for mixed income development to be financially and socially successful over the long term, the affordable units must be dispersed and indistinguishable in design and materials from the market rate units.” In 2012, realtors and developers reported strong demand for studio and one-bedroom units at $700-$900 a month, but the cost of rehabilitation of older buildings is typically too big to sustain those rents. This is where the availability of gap financing, as discussed under Step 6, could make a difference. Moreover, projects with small units, or basic renovation of empty or underutilized light industrial or warehouse buildings could meet that demand. UAB, including the Medical Center, could include employer-assisted workforce housing for low- and moderate-income employees and affiliates in its housing strategy for downtown. *STEP 10 Focus on For-Sale Housing.* Birmingham has entered the stage of providing more for-sale housing. Empty nesters and retirees tend to be the major target markets. *STEP 11 Develop a Local-Serving Retail Strategy.* The “retail follows rooftops” maxim is particularly true for local-serving retail in reviving downtowns. However, the food business is undergoing a transition. Grocery stores and big box retail are looking for new models after their decades-long expansion into bigger and bigger stores with ever-larger parking lots combined with the rise of internet shopping. Traditional supermarkets are losing out to small-format grocery stores and to economy stores like Dollar General, which are now selling food. Recruiting the right mix of retailers for downtown will be important. The Pizitz building project is slated to include a local specialty grocer. A focus should be given to the development of food retailers that combine online and bricks and morter stores, like the Birmingham startup Freshfully, which opened its first store in Avondale. *STEP 12 Re-create a Strong Office Market.* Downtown Birmingham remains the favored location for some traditional office-based sectors like finance and law, and occupancy rates for Class A buildings are high. At the same time, the federal government’s commitment to a smart growth policy of locating federal offices in urban centers has resulted in the location of major federal offices in distressed parts of downtown: FBI, ATF and DEA offices just north of the BJCC; a large, new, LEED-certified building for the Social Security Administration northwest of Kelly Ingram Park; and a new building for Treasury Department offices across from the Social Security Building at 14th Street North and Rev. Abraham Woods, Jr. Boulevard. ## DOWNTOWN SUBDISTRICTS Downtown is made up of a set of subdistricts, as shown in the REV Birmingham map of focus areas. Although not located in downtown, the adjacent Lakeview area, sometimes called a “design district” is associated with downtown, as is the Sloss Furnaces Historic Site. Each of the subdistricts shown on the map has areas of activity and recent, new or planned redevelopment and activity. <
> ### Cultural and Entertainment (North): Opened in 2013, a 300-room Westin Hotel and 60,000 square foot restaurant and entertainment district, known as Uptown, is aimed at revitalizing the convention center district, supporting the convention business, attracting regional visitors, and connecting the convention center district more effectively to the rest of downtown. Other projects in this area include: * The Alabama School of Fine Arts $10M Performance Network project provides a 500-seat performance hall available for community and arts organization use. * Demolition and redevelopment or renovation of Boutwell Auditorium, which needs at least $4 million for repair and updating, is listed for phase 1 of the 2012 capital improvement bond. * The Museum of Art is seeking to expand, but there is no specific plan as of this writing. ### Loft District and 2nd Avenue: This district was identified in the City Center Master Plan and has seen rental and condo development as well as the emergence of a thriving restaurant and business district on 2nd Avenue. ### Theater District: The Theater District is a small area of several blocks that contains the Alabama Theatre, the Carver Theatre (Jazz Hall of Fame), the IMAX Theatre at the McWane Science Center, Red Mountain Cabaret Theatre, and the Lyric Theatre, which still needs restoration. Activities supporting revitalization of this area include: * EPA workshop in 2012 to assist Birmingham Landmarks, Inc., which owns both the Alabama and the Lyric Theaters, the Friends of the Lyric Theater, and other stakeholders in a workshop on removing toxic materials during renovation. * Bond funding to match private fundraising to restore the Lyric Theater, which has undergone minor renovations, has been approved. In anticipation of bond sales, the City has approved a contribution of $500,000 for the restoration project. * Planning for redevelopment of the Pizitz Building renovation is underway, with a planned food market on the ground floor. ### Central Business District: The Central Business District has remained stable, with limited office vacancies and an average gross rental rate of about $20[^p298-3] per square foot. ### Civil Rights District: The City Center Master Plan proposed new residential development for the blocks to the north and west of Kelly Ingram Park. Potential projects suffered from the financial crisis of the Great Recession. However, projects to enhance or connect attractions in the area have been completed or are in the planning stages as of 2012. --- [^p298-3]: Cushman & Wakefield *MarketBeat Office Snapshot: Birmingham, AL. Q1 2012.* **FIGURE 11.3** <
> [^p298-3]: Cushman & Wakefield *MarketBeat Office Snapshot: Birmingham, AL. Q1 2012.* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN * Completion of the 588,000 sf Social Security Building in 2008, a LEED-certified building with a green roof and innovative stormwater management system. * Treasury Building across the street from the Social Security Building. * Completion of phase I of the civil rights heritage trail. * Pedestrian bridge to link the 16th Street Corridor and Civil Rights Districts with Railroad Park. As of summer 2012, a feasibility study is underway. * Renovation of the Carver Theater/Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame is listed as a phase 2 project in the 2012 capital projects bond. * Proposal for a strategic plan for the Historic 4th Avenue North District and Urban Impact. ### Entrepreneurial District: The downtown master plan recognized this area as an existing focus area, anchored by the successful Innovation Depot. Downtown leaders are now looking to prepare the district to support expansion by “graduates” of the Innovation Depot, to attract other businesses, particularly knowledge industry firms, and provide improvements to serve the district. * REV is developing a planning initiative for the Entrepreneurial District. * Completion of the Intermodal Center will occur when the local match for federal funds is made available. This match is included in the proposed 2012 capital improvements bond referendum. ### Parkside/Railroad Park: The City Center Master Plan’s “Technology and Culture District” encompassed the Parkside subdistrict south of the park and the Entrepreneurial District north of the park with a vision of mixed use and potential UAB biotech development, and a revitalized Theater District. The Master Plan helped jump start planning and funding for the long-discussed park in downtown’s old railroad reservation and the park has become a centerpiece of the City’s strategy for downtown. * Railroad Park opened in 2011. The 22-acre, $23 million park is very successful. * The 8,500 seat Regions Field baseball stadium on 1st Avenue South fronting Railroad Park opened in 2013, bringing minor league baseball back to the city, along with an adjacent Negro Leagues Museum. * First Avenue South street improvements at Railroad Park are proposed for the 2012 capital improvements bond referendum. ### UAB and Medical District: UAB is recognized in the City Center Master Plan as a driver of the downtown economy whose building and urban design strategies have an important impact on downtown’s sense of place. The UAB Master Plan Update (2011) includes pedestrian connections to Railroad Park and Five Points South, as well as proposed housing adjacent to Parkside for UAB faculty and grad students. A new Children’s Hospital was completed in 2012. Cultural and Entertainment (Five Points South): Five Points South has had its ups and downs and appears to be on an upswing as of mid-2012 with the opening of new restaurants and other attractions. However, the physical condition of the public realm needs maintenance and upgrading, and business people are concerned about the potential to lose business when the BJCC entertainment district opens. <
> # goal 1 ## Downtown is a thriving, mixed-use center of business, employment, institutions, and government. ### POLICY * Build on downtown's economic strengths as a center of health care, higher education, finance, and professional and technical services. A key fact in creating a thriving downtown is to maintain and build on its particular strengths as a location of certain key industries within the larger region. Figures 11.5–11.10 indicate both the industries with the highest levels of downtown employment and the industries for which the downtown is most competitively positioned within the region. The data identify four primary industry sectors that are both large employers and highly concentrated in downtown relative to the rest of the MSA. These are government (particularly state, including UAB, and local), health care (particularly hospitals), finance and insurance (both banks and other financial services), and professional, technical and scientific services (particularly legal, but also accounting and architecture). While too small and dispersed among industry categories to show up in the data, downtown also appears to be emerging as a competitive location for technology-based companies. Some recent developments tend to reinforce this broad statistical picture. These include: * A commitment by the federal government to locate more offices downtown as suburban leases expire. Most recently, the U.S. Treasury Department is moving its operations from Homewood to a new 3-story, $19 million, 87,000-square-foot building next to the Social Security Building. * One of the city’s largest law firms, Maynard Cooper & Gale, announced plans for a $1.13 million renovation of its downtown headquarters in the Regions Harbert Plaza, including leasing an additional floor to accommodate growth. * BBVA Compass Bank is renovating the second floor of downtown Birmingham’s Two North Twentieth in a $1.4 million project to consolidate its human resources department and has also decided to retain the Daniels Building as its corporate headquarters. * Plans by Southern Research Institute to build a new 40,000 square foot laboratory at its 9th Avenue South location. A number of current or planned investments in cultural and entertainment amenities downtown should also help to increase the area’s appeal to professional and technical workers. These include Regions Field baseball field, the proposed restoration of the Lyric Theatre, and the ongoing revitalization of 2nd Avenue North. These and other amenities that make downtown active and stimulating during and after work hours will be important to enhance downtown’s ability to attract and retain key downtown industries. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Develop a marketing program targeted to industries for which downtown is already well-positioned or which have demonstrated growth potential. ##### Actions **1. Target marketing and recruitment efforts to industries such as health care, life sciences, digital information and media, professional services (particularly legal), and tourism/hospitality.** These are the industries for which the City of Birmingham is most competitive. **2. Make improvements in the Entrepreneurial District to support new business uses in that area.** See the discussion of an Entrepreneurial District Master Plan in Strategy B. **3. Continue and enhance regular surveys of Innovation Depot and other startup firms’ needs to encourage them to stay in downtown Birmingham.** CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN ### FIGURE 11.4: EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY, DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM* 2010 <
> * Downtown is delineated by zip codes 35203, 35205, 35233, and 35294 ** Government includes public education and health care SOURCE: EMSI ### FIGURE 11.5: CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY, DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM* 2001–2010 <
> * Downtown is delineated by zip codes 35203, 35205, 35233, and 35294 ** Government includes public education and health care SOURCE: EMSI 11.12 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN ### FIGURE 11.6: PERCENTAGE CHANGE IN EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY, BIRMINGHAM* DOWNTOWN 2001–2010 <
> * Downtown is delineated by zip codes 35203, 35205, 35233, and 35294 ** Government includes public education and health care SOURCE: EMSI ### FIGURE 11.7: LOCATION QUOTIENT, DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM* TO BIRMINGHAM MSA 2010 <
> * Downtown is delineated by zip codes 35203, 35205, 35233, and 35294 ** Government includes public education and health care SOURCE: EMSI 11.13 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN <
> * Downtown is delineated by zip codes 35203, 35205, 35233, and 35294 ** Government includes public education and health care SOURCE: EMSI <
> * Downtown is delineated by zip codes 35203, 35205, 35233, and 35294 ** Government includes public education and health care SOURCE: EMSI 11.14 B. Create a plan for the Entrepreneurial District. With the opening of Railroad Park, construction of Regions Field, increasing success of the Innovation Depot, and growing number of technology and other knowledge industry businesses downtown, the Entrepreneurial District is ripe for a district plan. REV has begun discussions with stakeholders to develop a plan for the district. UAB and the Medical Center should be included as stakeholders in the plan even though they are not directly adjacent to the Entrepreneurial District. Successful centers of innovation around the country have typically emerged when nearby research institutions provide fertile soil for new enterprises. ### Actions 1. Create a vision for a mixed use district. Ideally the district should not only be a work district, but also contain live and play opportunities. A first step would be a survey of Innovation Depot companies and other knowledge industry businesses in downtown to find out where they live and what conditions would attract them to live in the Entrepreneurial District. 2. Create a program to prepare existing buildings and sites for new uses. The program would include implementation of blight-elimination activities, starting with intensive code enforcement. Chapters 7 and 8 provide recommendations for a new, coordinated approach to code enforcement and blight reduction. 3. Create a database of properties and owners, and provide assistance in creating ready sites that are affordable to start up and early stage companies. The Innovation Depot reports that graduating companies interested in staying downtown find it difficult to locate property owners and also that it is often too costly to renovate space, despite the lower property values in this part of downtown. The foundation of this database would be the comprehensive property information system recommended for the entire city in Chapter 8 (pp. 8.9–8.10). REV or the redevelopment authority also recommended in Chapter 8 (pp. 8.12–8.14) could assist in creating the ready buildings and sites needed. 4. Improve pedestrian and bicycle connections to Railroad Park. The underpasses at 14th and 18th streets need to be made more attractive and secure. Public art projects that include light displays can be helpful in this regard, but upgrading materials and maintenance is also key. Although a pedestrian bridge may seem a good solution, bridges of this type also can have security issues, among other reasons because they must include elevators to meet ADA requirements. 5. Improve the pedestrian environment in the district. Elements of this program would include enhanced streetscapes with more and better-maintained street trees, up-to-date drainage incorporating green approaches, and installing more and better lighting to enhance safety. 6. Develop a new branding strategy. Some stakeholders do not like the “Entrepreneurial District” brand, which in any case is only used for street signs in the district. One possibility is “Innovation District,” which would clearly link the district with the successful Innovation Depot brand. <
> The Entrepreneurial District brand only appears on these street signs. C. Continue to promote rehabilitation of distinctive historic structures and historic urban fabric that contribute to the character of downtown. **Action** 1. **Continue to market the use of tax credits and other incentives for adaptive reuse.** As of September 2012, the State of Alabama will offer New Market Tax Credits that can be used to assist businesses in qualified low-income areas and businesses. See Chapter 7 (p. 7.22) for more information on historic tax credits and incentives. REV, the City, and downtown developers should continue advocacy for a state historic tax credit. D. Develop a program to address concerns about panhandling and similar issues working with CAP, the Police Department, and social services agencies. Downtown districts often become a center for panhandling, activities by homeless persons without access to day shelters or who do not wish to use shelters, and petty crime that deters other users of the area. In many cases, the number of homeless is relatively small, but because there are few others on the street, their presence is more visible. Coordinated programs, standards for support activities (such as requiring that meal programs provide queuing areas inside or otherwise off the public street), as well as enforcement of existing city ordinances are needed. Downtown, some of the concerns focus on activities outside social service providers, many of whom are interested in working towards long term solutions. The Police and CAP can work with REV and service providers to focus on crime hotspots. # goal 2 Downtown is also a neighborhood that people in the city and the region experience downtown as a safe, fun, and exciting place to live. **POLICIES** * Continue to strengthen downtown as a lively residential neighborhood. * Support a residential marketing plan to attract young professionals, downtown employees, new hires, and empty nesters with targeted messages. **STRATEGIES** A. Continue promoting the construction of new housing and adaptive reuse of older buildings for residential use, in order to strengthen downtown as a neighborhood. More residents will make downtown more successful. While adaptive reuse is essential to preservation of downtown’s historic character, new construction is also an important ingredient to offer a wide array of housing types and sizes. **Actions** 1. **Survey downtown employees about interest in living downtown and their housing needs.** This can be an expansion of the survey proposed for the Entrepreneurial District. 2. **Update the downtown residential market study prepared in 2004 by Zimmerman/Volk Associates for the Center City Plan.** Changing economic conditions combined with the growth in the number of downtown residents will affect a new study of market potential. ### 3. Work with UAB and the Medical Center on developing housing for faculty and graduate students, employees and other affiliates downtown. Direct development, partnerships with private developers, and employer-assisted homeownership programs are some of the ways that the institutions can help drive more residential growth in downtown Birmingham, including mixed-income housing. ### 4. Complete all phases of the Park Place HOPE VI development. ### 5. Provide gap financing, tax abatements for a specified period, or other incentives to help produce workforce housing and create housing in areas such as the Entrepreneurial District and the Civil Rights District. ### 6. Promote simple renovation of warehouse and light industrial space into live-work units. Live-work units that tenants or owners can fit out themselves can be a cost effective way to attract more residents to downtown, particularly those who cannot afford units with higher-cost finishes. *** ## B. Pursue aggressive code enforcement to ensure code compliance. As noted earlier, recommendations for a coordinated code enforcement program for all parts of the city are discussed in Chapter 7 (pp. 7.30–7.31) and should also be employed downtown. *** ## C. Create a vision and a plan for a mixed-use district in the southeast quadrant of downtown. Similar to the Entrepreneurial District’s lack of a planning framework, the southeast quadrant of downtown needs a plan. This area, west of US 280, east of the Medical District and roughly between 2nd Avenue south and 10th Avenue south can become an important connector between the developing mixed-use district in Lakeview and the established downtown activity centers at Five Points South and the Medical District. While there is already some agreement on the potential role of the Entrepreneurial District within downtown, the future of the southeast quadrant of downtown has not been a focus of attention. As downtown continues to develop, it is important to have a planning framework for this area in order to guide future changes. ### Actions #### 1. Create a committee of stakeholders, led by REV-Birmingham, to identify issues and overall goals for an area plan. The committee should include representatives of large and small property owners and business owners in the area; the Housing Authority; residents, including a resident representative of the public housing community; representatives of the development community; hospital representatives; the City’s Planning Division; and the Regional Planning Commission. If the proposed professional Redevelopment Authority is operating at this time, it should also be involved. #### 2. Prepare a request for proposals (RFP) for assistance in preparing the plan. The plan should include development of a vision for the area within the context of the rest of downtown and Lakeview; residential and nonresidential market analysis; land use plan; urban design plan; transportation plan; and an implementation and financing plan. *** ## D. Develop a marketing plan for downtown living that focuses on realtors and downtown employers, with specific strategies that target young professionals, new hires by downtown employers, and empty nesters. Realtors can have a lot of influence in steering clients away from living in the city. Working with realtors and providing them with important information on downtown development, amenities, and safety can have long-term benefits. In addition, relationships with realtors can be a source of information about how their clients perceive living in the city. See the discussion about marketing Birmingham living in Chapter 7 (p. 7.18). CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN # goal 3 Downtown has a diverse and contemporary mix of cultural, arts and entertainment venues to make Birmingham a center of southern culture and lifestyle. **POLICY** * Continue to strengthen downtown as the region’s center of culture, the arts, and entertainment. ## STRATEGIES **A. Extend the mission and accomplishments of the Civil Rights District and Institute to expand tourism, events, and conferences.** ### Actions 1. **Make the Civil Rights Institute a center for conferences and events around national and international human rights.** Continue efforts to make the connection between Birmingham’s civil rights history and broader human rights issues in the 21st century through establishing the Civil Rights Institute and Birmingham as a center of activity through conferences and events. The A.G. Gaston Motel could be renovated to serve those expanded activities. 2. **Consider new ways to bring Birmingham’s civil rights history to life by updating and expanding digital and interactive resources and programs.** Today, many people’s first encounter with a museum or event center is through a web site, which should be well-maintained and up to date. Many museums have enhanced their exhibitions through providing downloadable podcasts for use at exhibits and along heritage trails, living history reenactments, and interactive exhibits. The cost of interactive exhibits has radically fallen with the invention of a small computer device called an “arduino,” which can cost as little as thirty dollars.[^p307-4] *** 3. **Create a strategic plan for the 4th Avenue historic commercial district and Urban Impact, the nonprofit organization that manages it.** Urban Impact, formed in 1980, has accomplished many of its original goals for the 4th Avenue district and needs a new strategic plan. It is conducting a capital improvement needs inventory and has discussed the need for a District Development, Improvement and Implementation Plan. Expanding that idea to create a new strategic plan for both the organization and the district would focus on including new and younger people in the organization, reviewing its mission, role and funding, and developing closer coordination with other downtown organizations. **B. Establish a Contemporary Culture District in what is today designated as the “Parkside/Railroad Park Extension” Focus Area.** The concept for this district is to build on the proposed greenway connection between the Sloss Furnace Historic Site and the proposed greenway link between Railroad Park and Sloss, to create an arts district focused on Southern contemporary art, design and crafts. Industrial buildings in the area could become exhibition, studio and live/work space for artists and artisans. <
> **Railroad Park serves as a cultural venue as well as a green space.** [^p307-4]: www.nytimes.com/2011/03/17/arts/design/arduinos-provide-interactive-exhibits-for-about-30.html 11.18 > **[page 308 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** ### Actions #### 1. Convene stakeholders to develop the district concept. The Birmingham Cultural Alliance could CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN D. Develop a marketing plan and events that target existing downtown employees and regional residents to participate in downtown activities after work and on weekends. Many downtown employees have little relationship with the downtown outside their offices. They arrive and park in or close to their buildings, spend most of the day inside, and leave for the suburbs immediately after work. Events just after work, such as concerts, could attract more of them to spend more time in the city. Providing discounts, promotions, or other marketing strategies could further entice employees to extend their time in downtown. The dispersed attractions in downtown Birmingham attract different age groups, so marketing needs to take into account when activities are most likely to be of interest to singles, families, older persons, and so on. ### Action 1. **Launch a program of events and promotions to attract downtown employees and regional residents to downtown.** REV and the Cultural Alliance, with its *www.Birmingham365.org* platform, as well as other partners such as the Railroad Park Foundation, can develop a pilot program, evaluate the result of that program, and then seek longer-term corporate and other support for a continuing program. # goal 4 Downtown is made up of connected and mutually reinforcing districts. **POLICIES** * Continue to strengthen the pedestrian-friendly character of downtown. * Ensure strengthened connections for transit, pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorists between north and south, and linking downtown and adjacent districts. * Support a two-way street system downtown. * Advocate for state support for the rerouting of I-20/59. * Support new zoning for downtown districts to streamline approvals for desired development. Although there are destinations and activities in each of downtown’s districts, the pedestrian, bicycle or transit connections between them are typically quite weak or nonexistent. Pedestrian routes from one destination to another can go through blocks of empty storefronts and lack good lighting at night. There are no marked bicycle facilities on the streets and the one-way street pair system encourages higher vehicle speeds. Current zoning in downtown, as defined for this plan, is predominantly B-4 Central Business District, M-1 Light Industry, and B-6 Health and Institutional. A multifamily zone (R-6) covers Park Place, and there are spots of the B-3 Community Business District at Five Points South, as well as small areas zoned for O & I Office and Institutional and even M-2, Heavy Industry. Most of downtown is subject to design review by the Design Review Committee and both administrative and design review is used to shape project outcomes in the M-1 zoning district. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN # STRATEGIES ## A. Review and revise downtown zoning to tailor it to the desired results in each district in order to shorten the development approval process. While most of downtown is subject to administrative review and design review, development of more targeted zoning can help move the permitting process along more efficiently. The current downtown zoning districts are extremely permissive, allowing for a large number of uses that are not desired under the Center City Plan or this Comprehensive Plan. Current zoning does not give a project proponent any idea of what is desired, though the City Center Master Plan includes some general design guidelines, should a project proponent consult the plan. Zoning that establishes uses and design standards that are actually desired is much more effective, because a project proponent will understand how to go about designing the project to meet expectations. This can expedite the permitting process as time is not wasted on totally unacceptable options. An overlay district can be a stopgap measure to improve on the current system, but a complete rezoning of downtown would be the best solution. ### Actions **1. As an example of more targeted zoning, promote redevelopment of the high-value sites with frontage on Railroad Park with relatively dense, high value mixed use projects.** Railroad Park is a great success. Half of the frontage on First Avenue South will be occupied by Regions Field and the Negro Leagues Museum. By early 2013, several residential projects had been announced for sites across from the park. Park frontage sites are among the best redevelopment sites in downtown Birmingham because of their proximity to the park.[^p310-5] Locations a block or two away will also attract interest. Numerous studies have shown that values are higher the closer a property is to a park. It is likely that new development projects will arise for this area and it is important to make sure that any development that occurs on those sites will effectively complement the park with designs that promote a lively public realm. **2. Establish design standards for properties fronting on Railroad Park and within two full blocks of the park on all sides through a new zoning district or a Parkside Overlay District.** REV worked with local architects and the City to create design guidelines and building concepts for the Railroad Park frontage (see sidebar on the following page). Buildings in the entire area are subject to review by the City’s Design Review Committee, but establishment of design standards as an overlay in the zoning ordinance would communicate basic design requirements to project proponents from the beginning, expediting the review process. Some of the REV guidelines are suitable for a Parkside Overlay Zoning District, which would establish minimum design standards for the overlay area in order to create a lively, mixed-use, pedestrian-friendly district with a lot of potential interaction with both Railroad Park and Regions Field, and provide incentives for additional desirable characteristics. Suggested design standards include: * New construction to be at least 3 floors for the broader Parkside area (not just Railroad Park frontage). * Ground floor active uses and at least 60% transparency. * No blank walls or dark glass. * All sides and areas of structures visible to the public treated with materials, finishes and architectural details appropriate to primary street-facing facades. * Front doors aligned with pedestrian street crossings. * Building line to the sidewalk unless there is a richly landscaped setback up to ten feet, or, pedestrian-oriented plaza or café space at the sidewalk. * Parking, loading and building service areas located to the rear or in structures wrapped or buffered by building program. [^p310-5]: http://cityparksblog.org/tag/property-values/ CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN ### REV DESIGN GUIDELINES FOR RAILROAD PARK PROPERTIES Four principles: 1) Make development compact, multi-use and pedestrian oriented 2) Aspire to “green” environmentally friendly standards 3) Accentuate primary entrances to the Railroad Park 4) Integrate and optimize on-site parking and access. *Provide Compact, Multi-Use, Pedestrian-Oriented Development* * New buildings to front and side lot lines to the extent practicable. * New buildings fronting First Avenue South, between 14th and 18th Streets, at least five stories. * Avoid single buildings occupying entire city blocks * New buildings to include ground floor pedestrian-oriented uses with direct access to sidewalks on all frontages. * No drive-through facilities. * New buildings should contain multiple uses, * At least two-thirds transparency of the ground floor facades *Aspire To Become A “Green Neighborhood”- Sustainable Development* * Developments are encouraged to meet LEED guidelines for sustainability. * Building tenants are encouraged to LEED certify tenant spaces. * Desired sustainability elements include (but are not limited to): green roofs/roof gardens; energy efficiency; rainwater capture for non-potable uses; heat island reduction; optimized daylighting; bicycle parking; and recycling. *Accentuate Primary Entrances* * Corner buildings should provide activity and vitality on each street frontage. * Primary building entrances should be distinguishable from those of individual storefronts. * Civic art, artistic crafting, and canopies and awnings should be used to emphasize building entrances. *Integrate and Optimize On-Site Parking and Access* * Parking should be located below grade or in interior courts. On-site parking should not be placed contiguous to public sidewalks. * Parking structures should be distinguishable from inhabited buildings but compatible with the character of existing or proposed buildings. * Integrated parking arrangements, including cross parking easements, are encouraged to optimize available parking for different peak hour demands. * Alleys should be preserved and maintained for access for both entry and service where practical. * Driveways should not be on First Avenue South. Source: http://www.yourcitycenter.com/Home.aspx?ContentID=872 * Allowance for off-site parking in shared parking areas. * Preservation of alleys. * Incentives for additional floor(s) if any of the following are included: > Systematic green stormwater management through a green roof or upper floor garden, rain gardens, and other measures. > Building meets or exceeds LEED Silver standards. > In residential projects, 10% affordable housing units indistinguishable from market rate units (affordable to households at or below 80% of area median income, which is the median for the entire region, not the city alone). ### B. Create and implement an enhancement and management plan for Five Points South. Five Points South, with its concentration of nationally-recognized restaurants and other attractions, is the southern anchor of downtown. New, locally owned restaurants and businesses have opened in late 2011 and early 2012, but the public realm is faded and needs maintenance and upgrading, and vacant storefronts are evident in the gateway approach on 20th Street South. Conditions in the parking garage may be a deterrent to some. The area needs an enhanced Main Streets-style management program. ### Actions #### 1. Repair and maintain the public realm and provide new signage and wayfinding. #### 2. Work with property owners and brokers to recruit new businesses to empty storefronts and restaurants. #### 3. Market the Five Points South attractions to convention visitors and baseball fans, and provide transportation options. Some of the city's most well-known restaurants are in the Five Points South area. It is crucial that the area be marketed and connected to the new Uptown entertainment district under development at the convention center and to Regions Field. #### 4. Explore expansion of CAP to Five Points South. Five Points South should be considered the southern anchor of downtown. The public realm in the district is faded and would benefit greatly from CAP support. *** ### C. Work closely with UAB to ensure coordinated action to accelerate downtown revitalization, especially in the Parkside and Entrepreneurial Districts. *** UAB's ten year master plan update envisions an additional 7,000 students and more than 5,700 jobs. Initiatives to connect UAB with other parts of downtown and to embed it in the city's urban fabric include: * Connect to Railroad Park by extending the Campus Green via 15th Street South. * Connect with Five Points South by a walkway stretching southeast from the Campus Green. * Provide housing for university affiliates on 4th Avenue South. * Locate support functions to buildings on streets in the "Midtown" area close to Parkside but not fronting on the park itself. * Make the entire campus more walkable and provide a campus transit system—to increase the permeability of the campus. ### FIGURE 11.11: FUTURE UAB DISTRICTS <
> **Future UAB districts in its 2011 master plan update support revitalization in the Parkside or "Midtown" area. Source: UAB.** * UAB's importance to the city cannot be underestimated and it is critical that it be included in a wide range of initiatives to improve and promote downtown. ### Actions #### 1. Create a regular meeting process for UAB and the City's Planning Division. REV Birmingham has regular meetings with UAB. The City's Planning Division should also have direct discussions—at least quarterly—with UAB. The Chief Planner should request a quarterly meeting or telephone call with the UAB Executive Director for Campus Planning to make sure that the City keeps abreast of UAB thinking on implementation of their master plan and so that the university is aware of City priorities and planning activities. This contact could be incorporated into the existing meetings that REV holds with UAB. #### 2. Establish a system for an annual presentation by UAB on its physical planning and implementation activities to the Birmingham City Planning Commission. Planning staff should work with the Commission to create a series of questions for UAB responses at an annual meeting of the Commission that will help the City and the community understand the university's role as a physical presence in the city and its plans for the future.[^p312-6] *** [^p312-6]: The Town-Gown Reports to the Planning Board in Cambridge, MA, provide a model for this kind of activity. http://www.cambridgema.gov/CDD/planud/institutionalplanning/recenttowngown.aspx D. Create and implement a Downtown Connections Plan that includes a combination of streetscape improvements, street tree planting, recruitment of businesses for ground floor vacancies, wayfinding, activities to mitigate vacancies, and improvements to enhance the perception of safety. Participants in public meetings repeatedly emphasized the need to connect the various activity areas in downtown more effectively by improving pedestrian conditions. ### Actions 1. **Identify connectivity needs and focus improvements on these segments.** The best way to identify needs is to survey people who use the various destinations and find out where they are willing to walk now, where they tend to drive between destinations even though the distance is walkable, and where they think they would walk if conditions were better. A program of public art focused on drawing people through connections could also create interest and excitement. Areas needing special attention include: * The pedestrian underpasses at 14th, 18th, 19th, and 20th Streets. * Connections between the Theater District, 20th Street North, and the 2nd Avenue North restaurant district. * Connections between the Uptown entertainment district and Five Points South. * Connections between Five Points South and UAB. 2. **Pursue implementation of the Park to Sloss connection to extend the greenway.** The local Rotary Club is planning to undertake this project. 3. **Design and implement a branding and wayfinding program for downtown and its subdistricts.** Clear signage and orientation helps people understand where destinations are located and encourages them to walk between destinations. <
> *San Antonio's pedestrian wayfinding system uses these medallions attached to light posts to effectively orient pedestrians.* 4. **Design and construct streetscape improvements for important linkage segments.** Safe, attractive and well-cared for streetscapes encourage walking. 5. **Organize temporary uses, artist displays and performances to activate vacant ground floor uses in important linkage areas.** Empty storefronts and ground floor uses make pedestrians feel insecure. Programs to activate empty storefronts and the street with art, pop-up shops, and other temporary solutions create interest and, if they are regularly changed, can also attract people to make multiple trips. The storefront artist programs have been successful in cities like San Francisco, Seattle, Santa Barbara, and various cities in Massachusetts. Art directly on the sidewalk, from footsteps organized in dance steps to 3-D drawings, can help draw people along streets that otherwise lack interest. 6. **Consider a One Percent for Art program for downtown improvements to the public realm.** One Percent for Art programs set aside one percent of public infrastructure projects over a certain budget threshold for public art projects. Streetscape and road projects in downtown that enhance connectivity would be particularly suitable for this kind of program because of the need to create pedestrian interest in the areas between activity centers. “Light Channels” by San Antonio artist Bill Fitzgibbons transformed two highway underpasses with interactive light art. <
> Source: http://billfitzgibbons.com/portfolio/3/ In addition, art projects can enhance problematic locations, such as the historic pedestrian underpasses linking the north and south parts of downtown. ## E. Develop alternatives to the car as the preferred method to travel in downtown. ### Actions: 1. **Implement the proposed transit circulator to serve residents, commuters, and visitors or explore the potential of a downtown transportation management association supported by the university, major employers, and entertainment district business associations to provide shuttle transit around downtown, with service available to the public.** At the time of writing, there are multiple proposals for downtown circulators serving different groups and the public, including a UAB shuttle, a tourist shuttle serving the Uptown entertainment complex, a business-supported shuttle, and improved DART trolley service. A proposal to enhance downtown transit as well as access from southern bedroom communities called the In-Town Transit Partnership has not been funded and does not appear to have a champion. A downtown Transportation Management Association (TMA) could be a better solution. Transportation management associations are voluntary groups in which public and private organizations cooperate to provide programs to enhance mobility in a particular area (usually a job center). 2. **Create well-marked bicycle routes and provision for secure bike parking.** In the longer term, a rental bike system, like the ones implemented in a number of cities in the US and around the world, would create a new approach to getting around downtown. The Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System plan provides guidance for bicycle routes. See Chapter 12 (pp. 12.26–12.29) for a discussion of “mode-priority” streets. 3. **Make pedestrian conditions comfortable and safe in all seasons of the year.** While Birmingham does have a few months of chilly weather, the main seasonal deterrent to walking is heat. Street trees that provide shade at maturity (i.e., not ornamental trees like crape myrtle which do not provide much shade) are the best way to mitigate heat, so long as the root systems do not interfere with building foundations and so long as the tree crown does not interfere with utility lines. Encouraging awnings, porticos and other shade elements in buildings is also important. 4. **Extend the CAP program to additional parts of downtown as revitalization takes hold and add street beats or a presence of police for enhanced pedestrian safety.** Although the CAP program provides security and assistance in parts of downtown, the potential to expand it to other areas should be explored. Moreover, the visible presence of police officers on ### A TMA OPEN TO CITY RESIDENTS An interesting model for downtown Birmingham is the Charles River TMA, which, among other things, operates a shuttle service between job centers in the technology-rich eastern part of Cambridge, MA, and a transit station in Boston. Like other TMAs, it is supported by private businesses and institutions. The city became a member and worked with the TMA to create a program whereby ordinary citizens can ride the shuttle for $1. www.charlesrivertma.org/index.htm CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN the street or on bicycles adds to the perception and reality of safety. The existing police substation at Five Points South is one model. **F. Implement the plan for two-way streets downtown.** Two-way streets will slow traffic and provide a better environment for downtown development. A feasibility study already exists for converting selected streets into two-way. A pilot project to begin implementing the plan could be tried out during the I-20/I-59 deck replacement project. **G. Ensure that new public buildings, such as a potential police headquarters, or public offices moving to existing buildings are located to promote connectivity and to serve as anchors in downtown districts.** Public buildings are important anchors that bring people to downtown. Consideration of how public offices can contribute to the Downtown Connections Plan and help create a critical mass of activity should be part of any evaluation of locations for public offices. **H. Advocate with state transportation officials for the rerouting of I-59/I-20 to better link the convention center and new entertainment district with the rest of downtown.** See Chapter 12, p. 12.32. # goal 5 Downtown has a strong leadership organization active in planning, promotion, recruitment, development, and public realm. **POLICIES** * Support a consistent financing plan for REV Birmingham. * Continue to work on implementation of the 2004 Center City Master Plan, with adjustments as appropriate. * Review downtown neighborhood-organization boundaries in light of the growing number of downtown residents. **STRATEGIES** **A. Develop a financing plan for REV that provides a consistent level of support and ensure that REV can continue to lead downtown if it adds more responsibilities.** As noted earlier, unlike CAP, REV does not have a dedicated and consistent funding source. As of 2012, the merger of Operation New Birmingham with Birmingham Main Streets brings more responsibilities, and there is increasing pressure for REV to take on new responsibilities in city revitalization. New responsibilities require more staff and funding. Potential funding sources include raising the downtown assessment (which has not changed since 1995) to support REV’s leadership and management role downtown, perhaps also making CAP an arm of REV; raising funds through the Parking Authority, which also has extremely low parking fees; creation of a catalyst development fund, supported by corporate investments, to operate REV and promote strategic development in downtown and Main Streets districts. 11.26 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART IV | CHAPTER 11 SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN ### B. Change neighborhood association boundaries to reflect residents’ identification with downtown as a place. People who live within the downtown area as defined for this plan see themselves as residents of Center City. However, parts of the downtown are included in neighborhood associations of predominantly residential areas outside the downtown, such as Fountain Heights. These association boundaries were established when downtown had few residents and should be adjusted to reflect recent changes. ## C. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Develop an industry marketing initiative tailored to industries most critical to downtown development. | REV; Mayor’s Office of Economic Development | | Develop a program with major employers to market downtown living to realtors and new hires. | REV; Realtor’s Association; major employers | | Create a plan for the Entrepreneurial District. | REV; stakeholders | | Create a program to address concerns about panhandling and similar issues. | REV; CAP; social services agencies; Police Department | | Review and revise downtown zoning. | Planning Division; REV; downtown stakeholders | | Create a Downtown Connections plan. | Planning and other divisions of PEP; REV | | Create a plan for consistent funding for REV Birmingham. | REV; Mayor’s office; corporate supporters | # Part V Strengthening City Systems and Networks **Chapter 12** **Getting from Here to** **There: Transportation** **and Mobility** **Chapter 13** **Supporting Public** **Facilities, Services** **and Infrastructure** ### SUMMARY THEMES City systems of transportation, infrastructure, and municipal facilities and services provide critical support for quality of life and economic development. #### Transportation Choice * **Land use policies and actions coordinated with transportation policies and investments.** > Enhance public transportation by creating compact urban village neighborhoods with sufficient density to support enhanced transit. * **A safe and convenient multi-modal transportation system that includes networks for walking and bicycling as well as driving.** > The Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System is the foundation for a system of pedestrian and bicycle routes throughout the city, but implementation should evaluate specific routes to ensure the best conditions and connections. > Implement the City Planning Commission’s Complete Streets policy when making street improvements. * **Policies that support better public transportation.** > Create a Mayor’s Task Force on Transit, including the BBA and regional partners as well as city residents and small businesses, to evaluate options, reach consensus, and advocate for a new funding systems, as well as other improvements. > Establish SuperStop transfer stations at locations designated for compact development as urban villages. #### Efficient and Cost-Effective Facilities, Services and Infrastructure * **Facilities, services and programs managed with state-of-the-art systems.** > Establish an asset management system to support efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable construction, maintenance, repair and replacement of municipal facilities and other assets. * **Decision making, management and accountability supported by good data open to the public.** > Establish a capital improvement planning process with public criteria to help set priorities. > Collect data on municipal activities and actions and make it available online. * **Stormwater and floodplain management that incorporates best practices.** > Promote natural drainage and infiltration of stormwater, where feasible. > Use “green streets” elements to capture stormwater when improving streets and sidewalks. # Chapter 12 Getting from Here to There: Transportation and Mobility <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “I want to live in a city where I can walk, bike, and ride public transit to work, eat, and play.” “We need better public transit and need to become more pedestrian- friendly.” “Stable, dependable transportation throughout the area.” | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | **Birmingham’s transportation systems help to build the city’s 21st-century economy and a livable urban center of the region.** | • Support strategic initiatives using private and public funds to maintain and enhance the city’s street and transit systems to support city livability.

• Ensure that street improvements and development projects are designed to accommodate all users including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders except when deviations are justified.

• Support Complete Streets policies and practices.

• Support the development of a multi-modal transportation plan that creates complete networks and offers high quality travel options for every budget into and within the city. | | **Bicycling and walking in the City of Birmingham are comfortable, safe and convenient modes of transportation and recreation.** | • Support investments and programs that provide safe, functional, attractive pedestrian environments and walkable districts along transit arterials.

• Support the development of a complete bicycle network of on-street and off-street bicycle routes and trails.

• Support implementation of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System, including the on-street pedestrian segments. | | **Transit in Birmingham is fast, reliable, well-connected, and inviting for daily as well as occasional use by residents and visitors alike.** | • Support coordination and policies among major employers, the City, BJCTA, ALDOT and the MPO for better transit service and efficient routing within the city and county.

• Support coordination among the MPO, the City, and the region to improve access to private, state and federal funding for safe and high-quality transit.

• Support compact development at potential transit stops to support high-quality transit. | | **Streets and sidewalks are accessible and maintained in good repair.** | • Support a system of public criteria for street and sidewalk maintenance priorities.

• Support establishment of a pavement management system, ideally as part of an overall asset management system. | | **Birmingham has state-of-the-art inter-city passenger travel and freight transportation systems.** | • Support expeditious completion of air terminal and cargo projects and the Intermodal Facility.

• Advocate for passenger rail and enhanced passenger air service.

• Evaluate options to expand Birmingport, based on market conditions and feasibility. | # findings The vast majority of federal transportation dollars in the region (over 82%) is being spent on roadway- capacity projects, most of which are outside the City of Birmingham. Nearly 95% of Birmingham residents drive or carpool to work, among the lowest non-motorized and transit travel-mode shares of any major U.S. metropolitan area. Greater Birmingham residents drive an estimated 34.1 miles per day per person, the fourth highest in the United States. Commuters who drive to work spend about $133 per week on their commute. Over 13% of households within Birmingham’s city limits do not have access to a car. While transit ridership has grown nationally over the past five years, it has decreased at a rate of almost 4% per year since 2004 in greater Birmingham. Regional roadways identified as congested: I-65, I-20, I-59, US 11, US 31, US 78, and US 280. Downtown Birmingham is bounded on three sides by elevated freeways: I-65 to the west, I-20/I-59 to the north, and US 280 to the east, creating major barriers to pedestrian and bicycle travel and connectivity between neighborhoods, districts, complementary land uses and potential redevelopment opportunities. The design of the BJCTA’s bus service forces most passengers to route through downtown to the system’s only hub, the intermodal center All City traffic signals can be controlled and operated from a centralized location, the Traffic Management Center (TMC). This Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) investment currently has limited ability to effectively manage traffic congestion due to a lack of City personnel available to staff the TMC. There is redundancy among many of the interregional freight travel corridors. Both the City Planning Commission and the Greater Birmingham Region Planning Commission have recently adopted Complete Streets resolutions. Important recent current transportation planning initiatives include the Freshwater Land Trust’s Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System plan, the City’s accessible sidewalk inventory, the GBRPC’s regional transit system plan, and Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority’s (BJCTA) 2012 Transit Development Plan. The City has neither clear criteria nor a formal process for prioritizing transportation projects and allocating staff resources for project development to see them through; it struggles to match federal funding for projects; and the City’s record of project delivery, due in part to local match, does not put it in a sufficiently competitive position for limited federal funds. The City lacks a formal (and predictable) process for identifying and mitigating traffic impacts for new development. Strip development and lack of coordinated transportation planning for corridor growth and development has led to high levels of congestion along important regional access routes, including US 280. Downtown parking supply is not managed or priced to encourage any mode other than the private automobile. Downtown areas and many neighborhoods lack Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance and sidewalk and street maintenance. The Planning Commission’s Complete Streets Resolution recognizes Public Right of Way Accessibility Guidelines (PROWAG) for ADA compliance on all public rights-of-way (ROW). Right-of-way space, design and road operations is generally dedicated to private automobiles. This is particularly a challenge for downtown areas like the UAB Campus and Five Points South, where walking and bicycling might otherwise be encouraged. Street resurfacing and repair, both in terms of funding and design, focuses only on vehicular needs on the road surface without providing for pedestrian and bicycle users within the road’s ROW. ## challenges Meeting local funding match requirements to use federal dollars for needed transportation systems improvements. *** Strengthening city government to effectively prioritize transportation projects, pursue funding, and allocate appropriate staff resources. *** Gaining necessary public, private and cross-jurisdictional collaboration and support for a transit system that attracts new riders rather than being the travel option of last resort. *** Establishing adequate funding for transit operations and service upgrades. *** Establishing transportation, zoning and land use policies and initiatives to support transit and other alternatives to auto travel. *** Implementing the Planning Commission's recent Complete Streets policies. *** Including bicycle routing with pavement space, marking and signing to encourage bicycling on roads where they are not prevalent today. A. What the Community Said * Transit in Birmingham needs to be much better: * More frequent and more dependable service * Expanded service hours and more convenient transfer locations * Downtown circulator service to connect multiple downtown locations * Transit for commuters within the city and the region * Walking and bicycling should be safe and comfortable, especially downtown: * More dedicated rather than shared bicycle lanes on city streets * Better maintained sidewalks without gaps citywide * More pedestrian and bicycle recreational trails * The impact of the I-20/59 elevated highway should be reduced as a barrier downtown. * Greater coordination among agencies is needed to improve the City’s transportation resources. * Regular street maintenance and sidewalk repairs are needed citywide. # TRANSPORTATION TRENDS ## Transportation for mobility and access An excellent transportation system provides an efficient and effective balance between access and mobility. The overall goal of transportation is access: we travel to reach destinations and the opportunities that those destinations represent, such as jobs, stores, schools, friends and family, and entertainment. Transportation is accomplished through mobility: our physical movement through space. For a long time, we have tended to measure the quality of modern transportation systems by mobility—more specifically, by speed and lack of congestion. More recent thinking suggests a broader way of looking at transportation needs and considers what people actually want, which is access at a reasonable cost and with a high level of convenience. We often hear today about the importance of integrating transportation decisions and investments with land use choices. What this means is that transportation systems should serve land use choices—not the reverse. Transportation in Birmingham has long focused on the automobile. In order to have both good access and good mobility, Birmingham households need to have a private vehicle. This is particularly costly for lower-income households, which spend a much greater percentage of income on transportation than households with incomes over $60,000 a year. Reestablishing high access at more manageable transportation costs for a greater number of people will require a major shift in investment focus, both public and private, to more mixed use and higher density neighborhoods, as well as a greater diversity of transportation options for areas already housing Birmingham residents. While uncongested travel for motorists and freight haulers inside and to and from the city will continue to be fundamental goals for Birmingham’s regional transportation system, high-quality motorist access should be balanced with livability and accessibility for city residents. FIGURE 12.1: HOUSEHOLD TRANSPORTATION SPENDING BY INCOME GROUP <
> ## The importance of connectivity in transportation system design Transportation is a basic building block of urban form. The rail tracks, city streets and highways, rolling stock of trains and buses, signals and their timing plans, sidewalks and curb ramps, and trails and pathways connect people and goods across time and space. Historically, as technology introduced more diverse transportation options, connectivity and access has been reduced for others. Birmingham was founded because of the railroad— the central location of the railroad reservation leading to the Norfolk Southern Line being called Birmingham’s “river.” As more rail track was laid to serve industry, it crossed many city streets, and hemmed in neighborhoods, creating long delays at busy crossing points. As grade- CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY separated highways were built, travel improved for people and freight passing through and across the city, but some neighborhoods such as Collegeville and Thomas continued to be cut off by rail. The map in Figure 12.2 shows the impact of major regional rail and highway infrastructure as it crisscrosses the city. The photograph helps to visualize the barriers that are created in some locations. Birmingham’s rail network continues to be very active and an integral part of the city’s economy and its urban character. How connected a city is internally, to its surrounding region, and to places beyond, determines its most basic attributes: its character and appeal in the market, its cost of living to residents, and the level of ease and efficiency of living and doing business within its borders. Transportation choice and quality are important to businesses and households as a factor in their location decisions. A move to cities rather than to sites and subdivisions in the suburbs occurs in part because of the concentration of transportation connections. These connections found in <
> **FIGURE 12.2: MAJOR REGIONAL RAIL AND HIGHWAY INFRASTRUCTURE** <
> *Rail and highway infrastructure that ties Birmingham to the region and beyond creates major barriers for in-town travel and connectivity.* cities typically provide the greatest access within any region to its goods, services, entertainment, higher education, labor supply and employment. In Figure 12.3, the graphic on the left shows a mix of land uses: shades of red for office and retail, yellow and orange for low to medium-density residential and purple for civic uses such as libraries and schools. The graphic on the right shows lengths and routes of travel between different destinations for its corresponding land use pattern. Travel distance for the suburban-style development pattern, on the upper portion of the images, is longer and ultimately requires each local trip to use the arterial road. This is one of the reasons why suburban arterials are often congested, particularly at the few intersections with collector streets. Building cul-de-sac subdivisions that create dead-end rather than connected street networks is one of the factors contributing to the growing problem of traffic congestion. This typically suburban pattern puts more trips on fewer streets and reduces the effective value of road investment. In the more connected street grid, local travel is more direct and does not unnecessarily add to traffic on the main road. These shorter trips can also be made by walking or bicycling, and on safer and more comfortable lower order streets with less traffic and lower speeds. ### Livability as a transportation value A healthy economy can be influenced by the quality and choice available to users of a city’s transportation assets. One example of this is the recognition by CEOs for Cities that neighborhoods with good walkability have higher housing values and walkability is an increasingly important attribute for attracting talent.[^p323-1] In marketing residential properties, many real estate agents are now including an area’s Walkscore® in the home’s listing to indicate its level of proximity to a broad range of goods and services including shopping, entertainment, restaurants, doctors, churches and parks. The City of Birmingham as a whole has a Walkscore® of only 40, though select areas downtown have scores as high as 96. (www.walkscore.com) Recent studies show a lower percentage of young people are becoming licensed to drive.[^p323-2] Explanatory factors [^p323-1]: http://www.ceosforcities.org/ [^p323-2]: An analysis of Federal Highway Administration data showed a drop in the share PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FIGURE 12.3: URBAN AND SUBURBAN STREET PATTERNS <
> include the growing cost of fuel and owning a car and a shift in values that has led many members of the Millennial generation to choose to locate in walkable places where they have transportation options. They experience the health benefits and lower costs of bicycling to work, and the social benefits of living in walkable places. They are willing and wish to take transit and will rent or car-share when a car is needed as a part of a “car-light” lifestyle. Increasing numbers of healthier seniors contribute to this trend. ### Understanding transportation’s fiscal impacts and opportunities Fiscal concerns are causing cities to rethink their transportation investments in several ways by focusing on “fix it first” strategies rather than building new roads. Increasing oil prices have caused asphalt and other construction materials to nearly double in the last 10 years, causing roads to be more expensive to build and maintain. ### Gaining more capacity from arterial corridors Cities are also placing planning and funding priority on streets that can serve more users more efficiently. The trend is moving toward measuring person trips rather than auto trips to improve transit and bicycle options on [^p324-1]: of 20- to 34-year-olds with a driver’s license: 84.3% in 2010 compared to 89.6% in 2000. Benjamin Davis and Tony Dutzik, Frontier Group; Phineas Baxandall, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, *Transportation and the New Generation: Why Young People Are Driving Less and What It Means for Transportation Policy*, April 2012. FIGURE 12.4: ASPHALT, CRUDE OIL & DIESEL FUEL PRICE INDICES <
> SOURCE: WASHINGTON STATE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION The cost of fuel has directly affected the price of important road maintenance materials. Washington DOT reports a doubling of the price of asphalt between 2002 and 2012. busy commute corridors. Congested arterial roads that have demonstrated potential to carry significant numbers of transit riders are prime candidates for transit upgrades. Memphis has partnered with Memphis Area Transit Authority (MATA) to target its three express bus corridors. The City joins Tennessee DOT, and other jurisdictions in the region to equip signal controllers with transit signal priority so signals can receive radio communications from MATA buses. This effectively ensures that people wishing to commute by bus on these priority transit corridors have comfort, convenience, and travel speed during peak hours that rivals or surpasses that of motorists, thereby rewarding people using transportation that uses less road space and reducing traffic for those who must drive. 12.7 Memphis also joins Austin, Chicago, Portland, San Francisco and DC, in being selected for a “green lanes” technical assistance project. They rank among 42 cities nationally with plans to give over travel lanes on major corridors for dedicated and buffered bicycling lanes. For Birmingham’s growing bicycle advocacy, whose members urged City action during the development of this plan, and for those within the City responsible to that constituency, these will be cities to watch and emulate as experimental protected bicycle lanes are installed, evaluated and introduced into national street-design guidelines. Birmingham’s significant number of redundant streets and those designed for much higher traffic volumes than needed present an opportunity to introduce many more bicycle-friendly streets. Livable Memphis, a non-profit that supports livable transportation, has developed concept plans for that city’s first separated bicycle lane project, the Overton-Broad Connector. A recent study of such lanes in Washington, DC shows a doubling of the number of cyclists using study streets since the lanes were created. Further, surveys indicate that drivers also prefer separated spaces for bicyclists. **Bike share stations.** Bike share stations combined with a robust bicycle-network expansion program has caused dramatic growth in bicycling where they have been introduced, improving healthy and affordable transportation options for both residents and visitors. Leading the way in Birmingham, Alabama Power cut the ribbon in 2012 on a bikeshare program for employees. The City or advocacy groups could work with Alabama Power to monitor this program to inform decisions and actions the City can take as it expands bicycling opportunities for residents and visitors. This collaboration should discover how people have responded to the program, who is participating, whether the trips they take are for running errands or recreation, the characteristics of their routes, and what they believe could be done to make them feel safer. **Birmingham’s road system and travel trends** **Functional Classification of Roads.** Transportation system design has traditionally organized roads by functional classification in a hierarchy of streets defined by the type and typical trip length of the traffic usually found on each roadway category. The implicit user in the traditional classification system is the automobile and how it will safely “function” on a network of streets that must accommodate other traffic and provide access to adjacent land. The “higher” a road is classified, the greater the speed of travel, and the lower the level of land access. Functional classifications in Birmingham include: * *Other Freeway/Expressway:* Continuous routes with trip lengths and volumes that show substantial statewide or interstate travel. I-20 and I-65 are examples in Birmingham. Divided highways with partial (freeway) or full (expressway) control of access. These routes primarily serve through traffic and major circulation movements within federally defined urban areas. The Red Mountain Expressway is a freeway. * *Other Principal Arterial:* Highways that provide long-distance connections but do not fit the two categories above, such as portions of US 11, US 78, and State Route 79. In-town portions of Lakeshore Parkway are principal arterials. * *Minor Arterial:* Continuous routes that provide relatively high travel speeds and minimum interference for through-movements. An example is 4th Avenue N. * *Major and Minor Collectors:* Streets that primarily serve intra-city rather than statewide routes and travel distances that are shorter than those on arterial routes. They can be divided into major and minor collectors. Major collector roads (a) serve larger towns not directly served by higher systems; (b) link nearby larger towns, cities, or routes of higher classifications; or (c) serve more important intra-county travel corridors that could connect consolidated schools, shipping points, important agricultural areas, etc. Minor collectors are spaced to reflect population density and to accommodate local roads within reasonable distance of collector roads, <
> *Alabama Power initiated an employee bike share program in 2012.* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ### FIGURE 12.5: MAJOR STREET PLAN WITH FUNCTIONAL CLASSIFICATIONS <
> **Legend** **Functional Classification** * Interstate * Other Freeway/Expressway * Other Principal Arterial * Minor Arterial * Major Collector * Minor Collector * Future Roadway 12.9 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY provide service to smaller communities, and link locally important traffic generators with the arterial system. * *Local Streets:* Provide access to adjacent land and provide service to travel over relatively short distances as compared to higher-level roads. The creation of a road hierarchy of this type, focused on cars and combined with declining population in most of the city, has resulted in very little congestion on city roads with the exception of the main commuter routes, such as US 280, from downtown to the Cahaba area of the city and bedroom communities. The suburban-style system found in the parts of the city developed since the 1960s is not easily adapted to transit, bicycle and pedestrian travel modes. Growth of the roadway network over time has led to a decline in the ability to maintain streets, since costs for maintenance have outstripped available maintenance funding. The City of Birmingham Planning Commission has adopted a “Complete Streets” resolution indicating that streets should be designed and operated to accommodate a full range of users. Many cities are adding mode priority plans to the functional classification plans as a way of implementing Complete Streets Policy. The mode priority plans classify FIGURE 12.6: RELATIONSHIP OF STREETS TO MOBILITY AND ACCESS IN A FUNCTIONALLY-CLASSIFIED STREET SYSTEM <
> SOURCE: SAFETY EFFECTIVENESS OF HIGHWAY DESIGN FEATURES, VOLUME 1, ACCESS CONTROL, FHWA, 1992 streets according to whether they are particularly suitable for transportation other than cars. The classification, for example a priority transit street or bicycle street, is based upon land use, urban design, the need for certain streets to contribute to the complete user network and a range of other factors that influence mode choice. Transit, for example, needs transfer points between lines to provide access to the broadest area. Bicyclists and pedestrians are particularly deterred by barriers and obstructions within their networks. Refocusing on walking, transit and bicycling as key transportation modes and mixing land uses so these modes can reach them create new transportation patterns that return value to the traditional street grid of Birmingham’s downtown and historic neighborhoods. The region’s major road system provides the framework for patterns of land use and commuting in the City. Birmingham has a strong radial network of limited-access highways that meet and cross downtown. **Commuting Patterns.** According to the 2010 census, nearly 79% of residents in the region drive alone to work. The relatively high share of carpooling, nearly 14%, suggests that there may be potential demand for more and better transit service. It also suggests that the MPO’s CommuteSmart program is an important service in the region to broadly market services and inform commuters, assist with ride-matching, and identify and support employers to improve affordable commute options for their employees. Figures 12.8 to 12.10 show commute patterns for downtown, Woodlawn, and the West End. Darker shades of blue show the most important origins and destinations. The highest concentrations of downtown workers are found in FIGURE 12.7: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMMUTE TO WORK, 2010 <
> # FIGURE 12.8: COMMUTE PATTERNS TO DOWNTOWN BIRMINGHAM * 5 - 49 Jobs/Sq.Mile * 50 - 182 Jobs/Sq.Mile * 183 - 403 Jobs/Sq.Mile * 404 - 713 Jobs/Sq.Mile * 714 - 1,111 Jobs/Sq.Mile <
> SOURCE: U.S. CENSUS, LONGITUDINAL EMPLOYER-HOUSEHOLD DYNAMICS (LEHD) DATA (2005) # FIGURE 12.9: WOODLAWN RESIDENTS’ COMMUTE SHED 5 - 11 Jobs/Sq. Mile 12 - 29 Jobs/Sq. Mile 30 - 40 Jobs/Sq. Mile 41 - 103 Jobs/Sq. Mile 104 - 150 Jobs/Sq. Mile <
> SOURCE: CENSUS LEHD (LONGITUDINAL EMPLOYER-HOUSING DYNAMICS) DATA 2005 FIGURE 12.10: WEST END RESIDENTS' COMMUTE SHED 5 - 6 Jobs/Sq.Mile 7 - 11 Jobs/Sq.Mile 12 - 20 Jobs/Sq.Mile 21 - 32 Jobs/Sq.Mile 33 - 47 Jobs/Sq.Mile <
> SOURCE: CUSUS LEHD (LONGITUDINAL EMPLOYER-HOUSING DYNAMICS) DATA 2005 city neighborhoods along the southern ridge and the “over the mountain” towns of Homewood, Mountain Brook, and Vestavia Hills established early in the 20th century. Newer residential clusters are evident around the region’s arterial roads, State Routes 79 and 75 to the north, reaching along I-65 in Hoover and Shelby County to the south, and along I-20/59 to the southwest. The downtown draw of employees from all around the region is significant. The next two maps compare the work locations of Woodlawn residents with those of West End residents. The maps are at two different scales, in part because Woodlawn residents are working closer to home, with largest concentrations at the UAB medical center and downtown. West End residents are traveling all around the region for work in areas of less concentrated employment but with some focus along the US 11 West corridor. Improving transit to serve existing work trips for West End residents would be more difficult than for Woodlawn, due to the dispersed nature of travel, but also might open up opportunities downtown for West End residents. The dispersed pattern of jobs around the region reflects the influence of the automobile on development and employment. **Traffic congestion.** Participants in the planning process did not identify congestion within the City as a matter of concern. RPC data showed that Birmingham’s traffic congestion is mostly confined to ingress and egress to and from highway ramps during peak travel times (i.e., I-65 and University Boulevard) and on its major commute corridors (US 280). While actual traffic counts were unavailable for this study, many of Birmingham’s arterial and downtown streets have excess capacity: more lanes than needed to support traffic demand. They could be altered to provide space for better transit service, pedestrian and waiting space, and use by bicyclists. Reports and visual observations of relatively low traffic on Birmingham’s arterial streets are in part due to the city’s network of connected streets. As neighborhoods change and the city gains more residents, this growth can continue to generate less traffic than most regional growth if Birmingham follows the recommended strategy of creating compact urban villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas well connected to shopping, services and other destinations of daily living. National transportation studies report that the average American household generates an average of 10 trips per day. About 80% of these daily trips are for purposes other than commuting to and from work. If more of these non-work destinations are located closer to or within neighborhoods and within a walkable, connected street system, more travel in the city can be made by walking or bicycling. **Return to downtown two-way streets.** Following the Center City Master Plan, a 2010 study analyzed seven one-way streets: * 4th Avenue N * 2nd Avenue N and 3rd Avenue N one-way pair * 13th Street N and 14th Street N one-way pair * 17th Street N and 18th Street N one-way pair The study found that it was feasible to convert these streets to two-way traffic, but a comprehensive signal-timing study would be needed to determine the signal timings at all affected signalized intersections. A signal-timing study has not yet been done. Other downtown street conversions to two-way travel are possible and should be evaluated in the Framework Plans recommended for the city, in order to reinforce connections between neighborhoods as well as to and from the interstates. The “Do Not Enter” sign at the entrance to downtown from the BJCC district on Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard North is an example of how the termination of two-way access occurred to manage traffic flows related to interstate access—but created a very unwelcoming condition for visitors. ### FIGURE 12.11: DAILY TRIP CHARACTERISTICS <
> PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> FIGURE 12.12: TRANSIT ROUTES AND MAJOR LAND USE CATEGORIES SOURCE: CITY OF BIRMINGHAM GIS 12.15 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY # Birmingham transit today The City of Birmingham is a member jurisdiction of the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority (BJCTA) and provides $11 million annually for operational funding, more than any other jurisdiction. BJCTA operates both DART downtown circulator service and MAX regional service. The majority of BJCTA’s service, just over 89%, lies within the city. Some of the highest ridership is found on lines serving suburban locations, including the over the mountain communities, likely due to the concentration of service jobs and shopping (some within the city limits) found there. Many cities have recognized the value of transit investment to insure access to the labor force of service workers and hourly wage earners. The Birmingham Business Alliance (BBA) in its 2010 *Blueprint Birmingham* five-year strategic plan declared the need to “Develop a consensus on local and regional transit capacity and needs” as part of the Community and Regional Stewardship goal. # Laying the foundation for a brighter transit future Birmingham’s sprawling geography and low housing density present challenges for its ability to support investment in rail-based transit in the foreseeable future. The red areas in Figures 12.13 and 12.14 show the city’s highest levels of housing and employment density, the trip ends of the most prevalent transit trip types. Areas with densities of 6–9 units per acre provide the minimum concentration of people needed to support local bus service. The regional transit plan. The region has taken several important steps recently to prepare for the potential for more desirable and efficient transit connections. The proposals are based on the 2007 BJCTA Comprehensive Transit Development Plan and envision using the major arterial corridor network to provide a high quality transit alternative to the automobile. The MPO’s Regional Transit System Plan identifies seven major transit corridors, and the In-Town Transit Partnership (ITP) Bus Rapid Transit for premium transit service. The ITP is the linchpin that connects them all through downtown. The images to the right show the vehicle types and service characteristics of these proposed transit concepts. Express bus is anticipated for most of the seven corridors recommended in the MPO’s plan. Bus Rapid Transit or Limited Stop service is proposed on the In-Town Transit Partnership and Bessemer Highway CIRCULATOR/SHUTTLE SERVICE/PICK-UP LINES <
> * 8 to 30 passengers * Used in defined campuses and districts, such as schools, hospitals, business parks, downtown areas * Operated and funded by self-taxing districts, transit agencies, business owners, etc. * Flexible or fixed-route service * Flexible or fixed-schedule service * Typically curb-to-curb service * Connects to other transit modes- i.e. regular city bus, commuter rail, etc. CITY BUS <
> * 40 to 75 passengers per vehicle * Fixed-route and fixed schedule * Stops every 500 feet to 1 mile, most common spacing is 1,000 to 1,200 feet * Generally a mix of federal and local funding EXPRESS BUS <
> * Up to 120 passengers per vehicle * Runs in mixed traffic * Fewer stops; farther apart * Longer routes, connecting city centers to smaller suburban centers * May have enhanced stations * May have transit-signal priority * Strong branding and image * Peak periods or all-day service BUS RAPID TRANSIT <
> * Mixed traffic or exclusive lanes * Station spacing dependent on land use * Enhanced stations * Enhanced ticketing * Transit-signal priority * Modern vehicle design, but rubber-tire vehicles * Route length varies **Different transit types are suitable for different circumstances.** 12.16 PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FIGURE 12.13: OCCUPIED HOUSING UNITS PER ACRE, 2010 <
> Occupied Housing Units Per Acre (2010) 0 - 1 1.1 - 2.0 2.1 - 3.0 3.1 - 5.0 5.1 - 9.0 Calculated by dividing number of occupied housing units by total acreage of census tract. Figure does not subtract park space, vacant parcels, or vacant homes. SOURCE: BIRMINGHAM GIS 12.17 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FIGURE 12.14: TOTAL EMPLOYMENT BY CENSUS TRACT, 2010 <
> SOURCE: BIRMINGHAM GIS Corridor routes. Most of these plans have moved beyond the conceptual stage to identify specific alignments and possible “Super Stop” locations for transfers along the routes. These services will be challenging to fund without more compatible land use densities. **SuperStop transfer stations.** The SuperStop is an important change that can offer greater convenience to today’s crosstown riders. SuperStop or hub locations should be planned jointly by the City and the BJCTA to meet both the operating efficiency needs of transit and the land use and neighborhood revitalization goals and strategies of the city, ensuring that the systems of streets and needed land use densities will be in place to support a high quality of service. As the land-use partner to the transit agency’s operator role, these SuperStops can be located and designed to achieve the placemaking and economic development goals of transit accessibility. People choosing an urban lifestyle that are repopulating cities generally expect that transit service is part of the urban amenity package. High-quality urban centers that offer citywide accessibility will choose areas built around Birmingham’s SuperStops. The City can play a role to ensure that transit sites are reserved during the development process and well-located for the greatest operating efficiency. A partnership that plans routes and stations together with land use and local road and path access is a collaboration vital to bringing about the “urban village” concept described in this plan. Because of the system design as of 2012 that has all buses converge at downtown’s Central Station to facilitate passenger transfers between routes, most transit trips involve a trip through downtown and stop at Central Station. The city is large enough that this service design creates inefficiencies that not only add travel time and inconvenience for passengers and reduces the perception of service as fast and convenient; it also costs the agency more per ride. Long routes make schedules difficult to keep, causing frequent early or late bus arrivals, neither of which supports use by riders other than those who have no other choice. Routing and service inefficiencies also increase variable costs to the agency and ultimately its funders, including the City, for bus operations, fuel, and fleet maintenance. **The BJCTA Transit Development Plan.** A new BJCTA Transit Development Plan is underway at the time this Comprehensive Plan is being written and is expected to evaluate service and routes alternatives. This study, required by the Federal Transit Administration to continue to qualify for federal funds, will produce recommendations for near-term action. Implementing recommended service changes can also provide the foundation for a long-term premium transit system in need of supportive land use densities to attract federal funding. The transit development plan is typically a five-year growth and operating plan. Because of the role transit plays in supporting City residents and serving major employers, the Birmingham Planning Commission should engage in the annual transit development update and go on record with an endorsement of its recommendation. Assumptions made in the transit plan should then inform an integrated transportation plan that identifies mode priority streets. **New technology to improve transit service.** Automatic vehicle locator (AVL) technology, transit signal priority (TSP), and global positioning systems (GPS) are revolutionizing the ability of transit to be more efficient for both operators and users. GPS can also help riders to track the location of their bus through internet connections and LED message signs at stops. New technologies have been found to help to reduce the number of vehicles required to meet service needs by improving reliability. These costs can be significant. The City has invested in signal hardware capable of using advanced technologies that are compatible with bus and scheduling systems. But these systems must be coordinated by their owners through agreement and regular ongoing collaboration. This plan proposes the designation of transit priority streets where this coordination and collaboration should be focused to improve transit service within the City. These streets (see Figure 12.15) should also receive priority funding consideration for bus stop shelters, seating, lighting and sidewalk access improvements. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> FIGURE 12.15: TRANSIT PRIORITY STREETS CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ## Birmingham’s vital role in regional freight movement The economic history of Birmingham is closely tied to its place at a critical southern crossroads of rail-based transportation. Three Class 1 railway lines, owned and operated by Norfolk Southern, CSX and Burlington Northern Santa Fe, are major assets in Birmingham’s freight distribution economy. Birmingham Southern Railroad links to Birmingport along the Black Warrior River. The city’s highway network is being improved with the addition of the I-22 corridor that will complete a connection to Memphis, linking industrial and warehousing districts to points north. While these transportation assets are important to the region’s economy, their placement, design and management create challenges for city residents and neighborhood livability. Issues of noisy freight traffic and the physical barriers that major roads and active freight lines must be considered spatially as the city plans for infrastructure investment that can spur neighborhood revitalization. ## Reducing the barriers to Birmingham’s connectivity Birmingham’s downtown network grid of streets and connectivity between neighborhoods was redefined in the 1960s with the construction of the interstate highways I-20/I-59 and I-65 and later improvements to US 280, the Red Mountain Expressway. The elevated expressway sections created large dead zones and physical barriers to connectivity in the heart of the city. The 140-foot-plus areas under the freeways are used as parking lots, and 80-foot surface streets to circulate from freeway ramps that run parallel create another large swath of road further separating activities on one side of the freeway from other areas. The character of the city’s most important destinations, including the BJCC, UAB and the Civil Rights District, is influenced by the location of these elevated highway sections, limiting their ability to influence neighboring areas and improve synergies between uses. These barrier roads effectively reduce the walkability of places and connections needed for certain business types to develop and prosper. ## Inviting active transportation back to Birmingham “Active transportation” is the new name for walking and biking as transportation modes. Birmingham’s natural beauty and the potential for a wide-reaching trail network from miles of abandoned rail track can make it a Mecca for bicycle tourism and recreation. The Red Rock Ridge and Valleys Trail System (RRRVTS) recognizes this opportunity and has created a comprehensive vision for the future. Off-road trails can offer more than recreational and tourism value. Trails can be an important part of the transportation system during the daylight hours. Until the City develops a Citywide Transportation Plan, the RRRVTS should be referenced in this Comprehensive Plan as a guide to build the City’s bicycle network. The City will need to adapt some of the recommended routes to better fit complete systems needs. The street corridors identified in the RRRVTS designation system are proposed to help the City begin the process of redefining user space to include all modes of transportation within the system. Those identified corridors in the RRRVTS provide the basis for bicycle priority-street classifications proposed in this plan. As Community Framework Plans are developed, new bicycle priority streets will be added to the system. City staff participated with others in the region to develop Facility Design Guidelines for safe bicycle accommodation as part of the Birmingham Area Bicycle, Pedestrian and Greenway Plan. The City has only marked space on three streets for bicycling. National research suggests that about <
> *Bicycle networks need secure parking options in order to be successful.* CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FIGURE 12.16: RED ROCK RIDGE AND VALLEY TRAIL SYSTEM NETWORK AND MAJOR LAND USE CATEGORIES <
> Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System | | | | :--- | :--- | | | Single-Family Residential | | | Multi-Family Residential | | | Employment | | | Industrial | | | Transportation and Utilities | | | Open Space/Parks/Recreation | | | Agriculture | | | City Limits | | | Parks | | | Water | * Clarification Needed * Greenway Trail Existing * Greenway Trail Proposed * Natural Surface Trail Existing * Natural Surface Trail Proposed * Street Based Trail Existing * Street Based Trail Proposed 12.22 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FIGURE 12.17: ROADWAY NETWORK AND MAJOR LAND USE CATEGORIES <
> 12.23 60% of most populations who do not currently bicycle would ride if safe facilities were available on streets. It is difficult to assess the city’s true bicycling demand without a more complete system. The level of interest generated by the RRRVTS, the requests made by residents involved in this study, and the rapidly growing memberships of bicycling groups in the city indicate that demand for bicycling facilities is significant. A series of ten conceptual street sections prepared for this plan appear at the end of this chapter. These sections show concepts for how bicycles can be incorporated into existing street rights-of-way. Rapid progress can be made when all public projects that reconstruct or repave streets include the consideration of bicycle accommodation. Civic uses like schools and libraries, and commercial uses such as office buildings and retail development, will need to require bicycle parking as part of new development. The requirements should consider user demand for short- and long-term space, and offer detailed design guidance. Arlington County, Virginia’s requirements require that parking racks be provided within 30’ of the front door, encourages access by bicycles, high visibility, and the allocation of prime space for bicyclists. Existing destinations should be targeted for retrofit parking through public or private initiatives through sponsorship programs. ## B. Recommendations Birmingham’s past investments in rail and road infrastructure, which helped make it a major industrial center from the late 19th century into the 20th century, can be transformed into new networks of transportation choice for the Birmingham of the 21st century. The recommendations are organized to engage individuals and create partnerships, presenting mutually supportive plans, processes, and practices. The Strategies and Actions can guide transportation funding, design and operating decisions for fully integrated systems that not only improve options to move people and goods, but also coordinate with land use location decisions to places where transportation is most supportive. # goal 1 ## Birmingham’s transportation systems help to build the city’s 21st-century economy and a livable urban center of the region. ### POLICIES * Support strategic initiatives using private and public funds to maintain and enhance the city’s street and transit systems to support city livability. * Ensure that design of street improvements and development projects accommodates all uses, including motorists, pedestrians, bicyclists and transit riders, except when deviations are justified. * Support Complete Streets policies and practices. * Support the development of a multimodal transportation plan that creates complete networks and offers high-quality travel options for every budget into and within the city. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Enhance knowledge among Birmingham’s public, private and non-profit sector leadership to achieve Comprehensive Plan goals with supportive transportation-related investment, management, planning and funding decisions. ##### Actions ###### 1. Prepare and document a Peer City Tour by a diverse group of community, advocacy, business and government leaders. Memphis, Charlotte and Chattanooga are cities at the forefront of business-friendly, livable transportation solutions. They can provide experience and lessons for Birmingham leaders who will partner to implement this Comprehensive Plan. One or more groups of agency and government leaders should join leaders from Birmingham’s business and non-profit sectors (including bicycling, transit and public health advocates) to visit and document what they find in these peer cities. A PEER CITIES TOUR ENGAGES BALTIMORE LEADERS TO LEARN ABOUT BEST PRACTICES. A Baltimore housing advocacy non-profit, Citizen Planning and Housing Association, partnered with the Maryland Transit Administration and the City of Baltimore on events and activities to engage communities and businesses along a planned transit corridor. Community and government leaders visited Boston, Los Angeles, Denver and Portland to learn about bus rapid transit and light rail and how they could help improve neighborhoods and attract development along their routes. Volunteers representing a variety of incomes and interests can be change agents within their communities, particularly when they have firsthand knowledge of the possibilities. These tours also help people with different interests find common ground and ways to work together toward shared interests. Participants can help to bring the lessons from other cities back to Birmingham, create needed alliances for change, and adapt lessons learned and best practices to fit Birmingham. Having several groups meet with their peers in several cities and learn about resources they have used, how they have organized their interest groups, and see changes firsthand can do a great deal to bring this plan to life. ### 2. Create and staff multimodal transportation planning and design competency within City government. The City of Birmingham today lacks staff dedicated to coordinating transportation policy and planning for all modes of travel within the city and linking the city to the region and the world. At one time there was a transportation planner in the Planning Division, but the position has not been filled for some time. Transportation planning-related issues today are typically handled by one person in the Mayor’s office, the City’s traffic engineer (who focuses on motorized vehicle travel), and a land use planner. While there are transportation planners at the MPO, it is critical that the City have its own in-house expertise in the form of a transportation planner with transportation education or commensurate experience. The transportation planner must understand all modes of travel, how they can be coordinated, their relationship to land use policy, and how they can be funded. S/he must be able to do the following: * Provide decision-makers with data, technical analysis, and specialized knowledge in urban multimodal systems, including transit and active transportation best practices. The office or individual should engage at the cabinet level to provide transportation guidance to City economic development and investment decision-making. * Recommend policy and oversee programs, working with implementation staff within City agencies responsible for City public works projects and development, oversight and regulatory compliance. * Represent the City on regional transportation issues, initiating and tracking progress, and participating as a City representative with the following agencies: ALDOT, BJCTA, Birmingham MPO and Regional Planning Commission, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and bicycle and neighborhood advocacy groups. The City of Charlotte, NC, offers a model of cooperation and coordination that brings together staff from the transit agency, development review, public works, traffic engineering, and other offices as needed to review development proposals and organize new initiatives in support of its Centers, Wedges and Corridors policies for growth and development. Implementation in Birmingham could include leading and organizing existing City staff to coordinate mutually supportive land use, transportation and fiscal initiatives. ### 3. Support staff participation, training and leadership in national urban transportation research and peer group organizations. Organizations like the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) and urban issue committees of the Transportation Research Board (TRB) and Transit Cooperative Research Board (TCRB) are leading transportation practice research that can be applied in Birmingham. Participation in these organizations is typically free to officials and permits CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY staff to stay abreast of the industry’s evolving technical, management and financial resources. Birmingham could also be a test and research city for innovations in urban transit. ## B. Establish and implement fully integrated systems plans informed by local neighborhood and district experience. Integrated transportation systems plans are designed to provide seamless, convenient, safe, and secure services. They are intermodal, providing convenient and efficient connections and transfer facilities in and among all modes. Moreover, they are inclusive, providing safe, reliable, affordable, and convenient service to all of our citizens, wherever they may live, work, or travel.[^p343-3] The most important streets in the system are the arterial network streets. They are generally needed for efficient transit, auto and truck freight mobility. As transit streets, they should also be safely crossed by pedestrians, particularly in employment, retail and residential zones. Parallel streets with lower traffic volumes can be joined together as a safer alternative for bicyclists. ### Actions 1. **Adopt a plan establishing Mode Priority Streets for truck, transit and bicycle routing to guide public and private improvements to City streets as a means to implement the Planning Commission’s Complete Streets Policy Resolution.** A number of cities and counties such as Austin (TX), Denver (CO), and Arlington County (VA), have established a system of classifying streets by priority travel mode in addition to the traditional functional classifications that focus on moving vehicles. All streets have a limited amount of right of way to be allocated to different modes, but the streets can be designed so that they are particularly suitable for certain travel modes. Transit, truck, bicycle and walking priority designations for streets help transportation engineers make design decisions as they resurface and restripe or mark individual streets. A scope of work would involve identifying major generators of certain trips, overlaying the existing mode-based plan and addressing conflicts to separate modes where possible. Then establish priorities and identify necessary funding or exaction methods for implementation. The concept of mode priority streets for Birmingham can be seen in Figures 12.18–12.19. These maps have been assembled using the existing individual regional or local plans for bicycling, transit and truck routes. 2. **Prepare a Citywide Transportation Plan that establishes a Mode Priority Streets Plan to fully adapt and integrate current plans for transit, greenways and bicycling routes, and freight routes.** Different agencies and sponsors in the Birmingham region have developed plans focused on a single purpose or mode. This Comprehensive Plan takes a first step at integrating plans prepared for freight, transit and bicycling that identify streets important to the operation of those users into a Mode Priority Streets Plan. This integrated transportation network map appears in Figure 12.19 as the Mode Priority Streets for Transit, Trucks and Bicycling. The existing plans used to create this map are the 2012 BJCTA Routes, freight routes documented by the Birmingham MPO, and the recently completed Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System, a collaboration of the Freshwater Land Trust and the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership. This Mode Priority Streets Plan should be updated with the support of a task force comprised of users and transportation professionals. Mode priority on city streets helps designers as they consider lane widths and marking of street space, traffic engineers appropriately equip and time traffic signals for the priority mode type, and help businesses and households make location choices compatible with the transportation service they need. Truck priority streets are based upon needed connections to the regional highway system and intermodal freight transfer sites. Arterial streets, typically those that connect many areas over a long distance, are those most often used by transit vehicles to make using transit as fast and efficient as possible for riders. Examples of how a mode priority system can make a difference include: [^p343-3]: Federal Transportation Advisory Group, Vision 2050: An Integrated National Transportation System (2001), p. 9. http://web.mit.edu/aeroastro/www/people/rjhans/docs/vision2050.pdf CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FIGURE 12.18: MODE PRIORITY STREETS PLAN <
> **Mode Priority Streets Plan** — Transit Priority Routes (2010) — Truck Priority Streets Bicycle Priority Routes — Existing on-street routes ··· Planned on-street routes — Existing off-street routes ··· Planned off-street routes 12.27 PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> FIGURE 12.19: MODE PRIORITY STREETS PLAN WITH LAND USE **Mode Priority Streets Plan** * Transit Priority Routes (2010) * Truck Priority Streets * Bicycle Priority Routes * --- Existing on-street routes * --- Planned on-street routes * --- Existing off-street routes * --- Planned off-street routes **General Land Use** * Vacant/Undetermined * Residential * Commercial * Industrial * Transportation/Utility * Public/Semi-Public * Parks/Open Space * Agriculture 12.28 * *Signal timing.* A series of connected signals can be timed by the traffic engineer for a given traffic progression speed. If the street has bicycle priority, the progression speed can be set so the cyclists travelling at that speed will make fewer stops at red lights. On transit streets, signal controllers can be equipped with communications equipment that helps them to respond to a bus’s request for signal priority, helping to keep the bus on schedule. * *Land use.* An individual household or business seeking high transit mobility can use the map to identify locations where two transit priority streets cross. Zoning for warehouse, distribution and manufacturing can consider proximity to truck priority streets. * *Lane markings.* Knowing which modes will need to use a street, particularly for streets with high concentrations of traffic, can help to identify for the designer how lanes should be organized and marked to reduce and manage conflicts between users. * *Bicycle alternative routes.* Since bicyclists are the most vulnerable users of general traffic lanes and can also navigate smaller spaces, arterials with high truck and transit value are identified first. Local parallel streets can sometimes be found and improved as part of a bicycle network. These parallel routes, often residential rather than commercial, usually carry less traffic and can be organized with a variety of speed reduction techniques that make them even more comfortable for bicycling. * *Transit priority.* A priority transit street through downtown will typically be the street on which the majority of transit routes operate, and in some cities that street becomes the spine of the system. So rather than a single stop where all transfers take place, the street can serve double duty, creating layers of service through downtown that help to support more frequent service along that street and also facilitate transfers between bus lines. The street will be an obvious place where even occasional riders can expect to find service with covered shelters at key stops. Examples in Bir- mingham are 18th Street and 5th Avenue South as proposed in the In-Town Transit Partnership.[^p346-4] * *Truck routes.* Designated truck access roads are proposed in Figure 12.20 as part of a mode-based street classification system. Designation ensures that the City preserves and improves its important connector streets for the movement of freight to attract manufacturing and distribution activities to priority destinations and opportunity sites. Recognizing streets that are required to serve this function can help to inform plans as they reassess those streets and rails no longer critical to freight movement to improve local connectivity and circulation. **3. Fine-tune and coordinate separately planned general traffic, truck, bicycle, transit and pedestrian routing needs as part of the Framework Plans for each of Birmingham’s 23 communities.** As the recommended Framework Plans are created, transportation elements should include taking a closer look at opportunities to identify and improve connectivity between neighborhoods, from housing to schools, parks, bus stops, within communities and beyond. For commercial centers and employment areas, access routes for trucks, employees and customers arriving by transit, walking and bicycling should be identified. The effort should include work with BJCTA, advocacy groups for disabled persons and bicyclists, and freight industry representatives (where appropriate) to reaffirm, designate and implement transportation mode priority on key city streets. **4. Review existing approved and funded transportation projects for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, future Citywide Transportation Plan, incorporating the proposed Mode Priority and Sidewalk Plans, and strategic needs.** Many transportation projects have been approved for the City of Birmingham in regional transportation plans prepared by the MPO but they have not received the local funding match that would allow them to proceed. Projects should be reviewed and identified to go forward if they meet the following criteria: [^p346-4]: http://www.rpcgb.org/transportation/projects/itp/ CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY FIGURE 12.20: PRODUCTION DISTRIBUTION & TRANSPORTATION <
> 12.30 * Responds to health and safety needs * Avoids deterioration that would be more costly if not repaired or replaced * Supports a strategic asset (such as the Intermodal Facility or advancing the In-Town Transit Partnership) Other projects should be reviewed for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan and the future Citywide Transportation Plan. All resurfacing projects should be reviewed for appropriate pedestrian and bicycle facilities. ### C. Continue to expand and support the introduction of state-of-the-practice transportation analysis and planning compatible with successful urban cities. #### Actions **1. Develop and use Multi-Modal Level of Service (MMLOS) standards for all improvements under consideration.** Improvements to city streets should include multi-modal level of service measures and evaluations in order to provide the improved pedestrian and bicycle conditions and connectivity that residents repeatedly requested during the planning process. Proposed projects can be required to collect data and consider the “level of service” (LOS) for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders as well as motorists. Until recently engineers measured service quality of road improvements based only on vehicle congestion and delay, using an A-through-F grading system which gave the highest grades to quick, uncongested motor vehicle travel. The 2010 Highway Capacity Manual, published by the Transportation Research Board and the National Academy of Sciences, now provides methods to measure the quality and proposed improvements to transportation facilities based on the factors important to each type of user. The criteria considered for these Multimodal Level of Service measurements requires that designers think differently about what is needed. For example, bicyclists are more comfortable on streets with less traffic and slower speeds; transit quality considers the availability of a shelter, seating and convenient sidewalk access, as well as service frequency and on-time arrivals. **2. Establish performance measures and track progress on key indicators of plan progress.** State and city departments of transportation throughout the country increasingly use performance management to make data-driven decisions, measure program outcomes, and demonstrate progress to key constituencies. Birmingham’s Comprehensive Plan provides an excellent opportunity to further integrate multimodal performance measures into City transportation decision-making. An effective set of multimodal performance measures for Birmingham will help to ensure that individual transportation decisions help to move the City toward the goals of the Plan including a multimodal transportation network. Transportation performance management is an emerging topic, and there are no standard guidelines to follow. In general, three key principles should guide a performance measurement and monitoring program tailored to the goals of the Plan: * *Determining the performance measures most appropriate for a given situation.* The set of performance measures will depend both on plan objectives and available data (existing and/or expected). * *Developing a data collection plan to support selected performance measures.* Note that performance measures and data collection should be planned together to ensure that the required data collecting effort is realistic. * *Setting performance standards (i.e., targets) for specific measures.* Depending on the application, standards may be set for only some or none of the measures. Ideally, performance measures relate to outcomes rather than actions, allowing them to measure not simply whether an action was taken but how well that action addresses a given issue. For instance, if the goal is to reduce speeding, the solution may be installation of speed humps. Using “Number of Speed Humps Installed” as a performance measure demonstrates responsiveness, but “85th Percentile Traffic Speed” (or the speed at or below what 85% of motorists are driving) describes the results. Such outcome-oriented performance measures allow agencies to tailor responses over time to focus resources on the most effective treatments. Continuing with the example above, measuring speed could allow an agency to compare the effectiveness of speed humps and curb extensions to inform subsequent traffic calming investment decisions. | TABLE 12.1: POTENTIAL PERFORMANCE MEASURES FOR BIRMINGHAM | TYPE | | :--- | :--- | | **INFRASTRUCTURE** | | | Miles of New Bikeways | Action | | Miles of New Sidewalks | Action | | Number of Crosswalks Improved | Action | | % Signals without Pedestrian Countdowns | Action | | **SAFETY** | | | Crash Frequency at Key Intersections | Outcome | | Traffic Fatalities | Outcome | | Pedestrian Crash Frequency | Outcome | | Bicycle Crash Frequency | Outcome | | **SYSTEM PERFORMANCE** | | | Commute Mode Share | Outcome | | Traffic Volume on Key Streets | Outcome | | Traffic Speed on Key Streets | Outcome | | Number of Citizen Complaints | Outcome | | **TRANSIT SYSTEM PERFORMANCE** | | | On-time Performance | Outcome | | % of residents within ¼ mile of transit stop | Outcome | | % of bus stops with shelters | Outcome | | **ASSET MANAGEMENT** | | | % Arterial Lane-Miles with Good/ Excellent Pavement Condition | Outcome | | % Sidewalk Miles in Good Repair | Outcome | | % Signals Retimed in Past 5 Years | Action | | % Signs less than 10 years old | Action | ## D. Leverage agency partnerships to advance Birmingham’s transportation priorities with program and technical support. ### Actions **1. Partner with ALDOT during the planning and design of interstate and state highway projects to reduce interstate highway impacts and improve local street connectivity, especially downtown.** The Alabama Department of Transportation (ALDOT) is responsible for performing regular maintenance, improving safety, and adding road capacity to major roads in the city. ALDOT’s program of improvements presents opportunities for the city to work with designers on important state projects to advance city goals. Rehabilitation of I-20/59 through downtown and the interchange design project of I-65 at University Boulevard, projects underway as this plan is being written, are examples of projects where the City should be prepared to exert its influence to reduce the impacts of road infrastructure and traffic patterns on the city. As ALDOT finalizes plans to make needed structural repairs and repave I-20/59 through downtown, the City can assist ALDOT to reduce project costs and delay for permitting and construction. Two areas of potential support include: (1) the City’s control of and permit authority over local streets to be included in traffic diversion plans, and (2) facilitating communication with residents and businesses potentially impacted by the construction. In turn the City should invest the time to fully understand the range of options available. As an example, the project could extend the interstate highway’s life by 30–40 years—or improvements could be limited to critical safety and maintenance needs, with cost savings used to evaluate the benefits and costs of long-term solutions more supportive of downtown, such as relocation of I-20/59 on the other side of the BJCC, possibly along Finley Boulevard. (The City of New Orleans was awarded coordinated grants from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to conduct just such a study of the I-10 elevated Claiborne Avenue Expressway.) The I-20/59 project also offers the potential to test the proposed conversion of downtown streets from oneway to two-way pairs. The highway rehabilitation will require “maintenance-of-traffic” to ensure minimal disruption to through traffic while repairs are being made. The significant size of this project makes this element potentially very costly. City transportation staff will need to have the necessary political support in place to evaluate the options proposed by ALDOT. ### 2. Improve BJCTA accountability for efficient, high quality transit service for city residents with a hands-on approach to Board of Directors decision-making. Present analysis to the City’s representatives on the BJCTA Board to ensure that they recognize the value of responsive transit to both the direct users of transit service (existing and potential riders) as well as indirect users (employers who depend upon their employees accessing affordable and reliable transportation). The Urban Village concept presented in this plan suggests locations for some of BJCTA’s SuperStops, making the village housing attractive to households seeking good transit access. Ensuring that these areas are planned together to make the most of the transit service and investment, the City and BJCTA should collaborate to establish mutually beneficial SuperStop location and design criteria. ### 3. Establish a Mayor’s Task Force on Transit. The Task Force should include transit advocates, riders and small business owners, as well as others, such as members of the BBA. The Task Force would make recommendations on how management and accountability of BJCTA can be improved. Members should attend Board meetings, review reports and findings, including past and soon-to-be-released Transit Development Plans, assess progress made toward implementing past plans by the agency, and investigate potential funding sources, including the existing state prohibition on using gas tax revenues for local transit operations. ### 4. Work with BBA, RPCGB and BJCTA to expand the region’s CommuteSmart Program with more employers providing incentives for commuting by means other than the single-occupancy vehicle. * Conduct an assessment of the program’s success and identify non-participating, city-based employers for targeted needs surveys and marketing of the region’s Commute Smart program. * Identify and work to resolve any needed legislative, financial, staff support and/or marketing initiatives. * Ensure that BJCTA transit passes are available to participating employees on a pre-tax basis and employers are aware of commute tax benefits. * Encourage employers with 20 or more employees to provide initiatives that improve travel options and/or introduce employees to active transportation alternatives such as Alabama Power’s recently implemented bike-share program. * Organize employer awareness and action activities for advocacy in support of transit service and bicycling facilities improvement. * Initiate Live-Near-Your-Work programs of employer-assisted housing. (See Chapter 7, pp. 7.31–7.32). #### TRAVEL DEMAND MANAGEMENT (TDM) PROGRAMS COORDINATE DEVELOPMENT AND TRANSPORTATION *TDM programs are an important tool to promote and enhance multimodal transportation. Key features of the program used by Arlington County (VA) include:* * *Coordination of site plan development with commuter and transit services.* * *A matrix of voluntary TDM strategies based on a site’s land-use and transportation categories. During project review, the matrix is used to identify TDM strategies that become part of an approved Site Plan Conditions and Transportation Management Plan.* * *A requirement that developers prepare a TDM report before approval of the first certificate of occupancy and submit an updated TDM report each year.* # goal 2 Bicycling and walking in Birmingham are comfortable, safe, and convenient modes of transportation and recreation. ### POLICIES * Support investments and programs that provide safe, functional, attractive pedestrian environments, and walkable districts along transit arterials. * Support the development of a complete network of on-street and off-street bicycle routes and trails. * Support implementation of the RRRVTS, including the on-street pedestrian segments. City streets, parks and plazas, all part of the public realm are defining features of city environments and the perception people have of their walkability. Many aspects of the built and natural environment contribute to the quality of the pedestrian experience and feelings of safety and security. As a function of transportation, nearly every person begins and ends a trip as a pedestrian. The decisions of many people help to ensure that pedestrians enjoy a continuous network of lighted, interesting, and inviting experiences along their paths of travel in the city; that they are directed to safe locations to cross the street, and that motorists know that they should expect to find them there. Awareness of how to recreate these experiences must be broad-based and available through design guidance to be effective. Property owners, developers and their professional consultants, City site plan reviewers, traffic engineers, and street designers can help to transform the city through the successful application of pedestrian-oriented design practices. Transit priority street access to bus stops, commercial and entertainment districts, and civic destinations such as libraries, schools and parks should be priority locations for pedestrian improvements. These improvements may require the enforcement of the City’s sidewalk maintenance regulations. # STRATEGIES **A. Ensure that public and private projects, the City’s capital improvement program, and new real estate development add to and complete the street network and accommodations for safe and convenient bicycling and pedestrian travel.** ### Actions **1. Use the City Sidewalk Master Plan under development in 2012 to identify acceptable approaches to maintain and extend the existing sidewalk network.** A City Sidewalk Master Plan will focus on the physical infrastructure and network for an excellent pedestrian experience. The City has an ordinance that places responsibility for upkeep of sidewalks on property owners, but in practice, the ordinance is not enforced and the City funds sidewalk maintenance and expansion. The needs are great and the resources have been limited. Funds for pedestrian improvements are available in the capital improvements bond passed in 2012. Priorities for sidewalk maintenance and improvements should include the Urban Villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas identified in the Comprehensive Plan, downtown entertainment **PRIORITY CRITERIA FOR FUNDING GUIDE DECISION-MAKING** *Easley, South Carolina, developed an implementation strategy for its Bicycle and Pedestrian Master Plan that uses these evaluation criteria in a weighted formula to prioritize potential projects:* * *Critical gap/crossing closure* * *Serves safety need* * *High potential use* * *Relative ease/cost* * *Connects to parks, library, YMCA* * *Improves school access* * *Traffic calming/bike route* * *Access to downtown* * *Access to commercial areas* * *Local political/ community support* *www.bikeeasley.com/Pedestrian-Bike-Plan/Chapter-7_Implementation_Plan.pdf* areas and high pedestrian traffic areas, segments of the Red Rock Plan that connect with the initial greenway segments to be developed, and neighborhood connections to parks. Strategies that ensure sidewalk construction through private development should also be included. ### 2. Target activity centers such as employment centers, shopping districts, high density residential areas, schools, transit stops and parks as priority for bicycle and pedestrian system improvements. These areas represent quasi-public places and as such should be accessible by safe, comfortable and convenient transit, bicycle, and pedestrian facilities. ### 3. Finalize planning and implement the conversion of one-way street pairs to two-way streets for appropriate downtown streets. Many downtown one-way couplets were designed to expedite traffic movement to and from the interstate highways. An initial study suggests that traffic congestion through downtown does not affect most downtown streets and conversions would introduce a variety of livability benefits worthy of further consideration. ### 4. Establish transportation project development guidelines for land use context in order to build complete networks of streets and paths for active transportation connectivity. The NJDOT/PennDOT Smart Transportation Guidebook (http://www.smart-transportation.com/guidebook.html) is a useful reference prepared for street designers with place-typing information for establishing context. It is used to determine the range of specifications of transportation infrastructure that reinforces the land use activities and area character present or desired. This is particularly important for specific design considerations of pedestrian and bicycling space requirements. For example, commercial main streets sidewalks will have different dimensions than sidewalks on a low-density residential street. ### 5. Establish network-building procedures to increase the reach of transit service into neighborhoods by identifying bicycle and pedestrian route gaps. Working with BJCTA, identify highest transportation hub locations for transit-to-transit and transit-to-walk and bicycle networks. Prepare GIS 1/2-mile route maps for walking and 1- to 2-mile maps for bicycling. Identify low-cost/ high-value opportunities to improve transit access for existing residents and employees. ### 6. Amend development regulations to include guidelines and require consideration of active and public transportation modes in impact studies, access and circulation designs, and parking. Guidelines included in development regulations as part of the design standards for zoning districts can notify project proponents of the importance of pedestrian, bicycle, and transit access and circulation and the potential to improve transportation networks in project review and evaluation. The guidelines can include identification and consideration of off-site destinations (for residential projects) and origins (for employment and commercial uses) and mapping of bicycle connections (within 1 mile), and pedestrian and transit stops (within 1/2 mile). Recommended Framework Plans should identify needed sidewalk connections. Plans should also indicate whether or not ROW is needed. An impact fee or system development charge would require legislative action if funds other than general pay-as-you-go or bond funding are needed. Best practice training opportunities should be provided to staff reviewers and the local engineering and design community, as needed. <
> A **"GREEN TRANSPORTATION HIERARCHY,"** adopted by cities such as Portland, Oregon, promotes public works engineering for transportation that helps to create walkable places and cities pedestrian- and transit-first policies. This policy supports pedestrian-friendly street design and maintenance, parking regulations, and traffic operations. ## B. Promote pedestrian and bicycle safety and provide cues for drivers to anticipate the use of road space by pedestrians and bicyclists. Traffic calming can improve neighborhoods and major streets for living, walking and bicycling. A toolbox of techniques is provided at the end of this chapter. These treatments include road narrowing to decrease pedestrian crossing distances and exposure to traffic, methods to divert and reduce through traffic on neighborhood streets, and measures to reduce travel speeds where speeding has been a problem. Any of these traffic calming initiatives must be balanced against the need for delivery and utility trucks to access businesses and residents in a neighborhood. ### Actions #### PEDESTRIAN ##### 1. Promote “pedestrian first” policies for all planning, design and construction decisions in urban conditions. Making urban streets that are used by pedestrians more safe and comfortable for them will put their needs before consideration of potential delay to motorists. This may require staff and professional training in pedestrian oriented design. ##### 2. Promote street design for greater visibility of pedestrians by motorists and reduced pedestrian crossing distances at intersections and conflict points. This is particularly important on major streets where transit and commercial activity is present. Tree canopy, visible crosswalk markings, corners designed to limit turning speeds for motorists and other road features will encourage moderate vehicle speeds and provide highly visible crossing locations for pedestrians. ##### 3. Provide regular enforcement of pedestrian safety laws and provide “No turn on red” and “Yield to pedestrians in crosswalk” signage. Raising awareness of pedestrian vulnerability should include an educational enforcement campaign in which fines are waived. ##### 4. Conduct pedestrian (and bicycle) safety awareness campaigns through news media and in partnership with schools and public safety officers. All users of the transportation system will be served through greater attention and information of the rights and obligations that come with using shared road space. Safe Routes to School is an example of a low-cost program that teaches children safe pedestrian behavior through “walking school buses.” Birmingham’s program, covering only a handful of schools, should be expanded. #### BICYCLING ##### 5. Integrate the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Bikeway Design Guide into roadway design guidance to allow for emerging bicycle facility types (e.g., cycle tracks, bike boxes) and provide separated space for bicyclists on medium and high traffic streets. Studies have shown that both bicyclists and motorists favor protected bicycle lanes. On streets where space permits, bicycling for inexpensive and safe transportation should be encouraged with dedicated lanes. The Birmingham region’s 1996 Bicycle and Pedestrian Facility Design Guidelines should be updated with recent and emerging NACTO and American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) guidelines. ##### 6. Promote bicycle parking in commercial and mixed-use areas of public and private infrastructure projects. Encouraging bicycle transportation requires convenient, secure parking in public destinations. Many US cities have introduced bicycle parking facilities as part of development and capital facility approvals so government offices, parks, libraries, clinics and schools as well as a new shopping district or office building will be inviting to bicyclists and reduce user impacts to unintended street anchors. The City’s zoning ordinance should include both short-term and long-term or commuter parking options with new development. Short-term parking is generally located proximate to building entrances ( up to 30´) and in the “furniture” or landscape zone of the sidewalk in commercial areas. Long-term parking should be covered and secure in new parking structures for commercial buildings or within multifamily rental buildings. Space allocation for future bikeshare stations should be considered with new transit centers, major cultural and civic buildings, and employment centers. The Association of Bicycle and Pedestrian Professionals is a good resource for best practice examples of bicycle parking design and regulation. ### 7. Partner with local advocates on a variety of programs, including “bike-to-work” day, organized rides, and other promotional events. Promote involvement by local advocates with national resources that support bicycle advocacy organizations. These include the League of American Bicyclists and the Alliance for Biking and Walking. ## C. Adapt, adopt and create an implementation plan for the city’s portion of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Plan (RRRVTSP), including ensuring that the City’s network of low volume streets and abandoned rail corridors are used to increase routes parallel to major traffic and transit corridors. ### Actions #### 1. Identify important transportation corridors for bicycle transportation, locating specific low-volume streets, intersections for special conflict management treatments, segments for enhanced lighting, etc. Locate bicycle priority streets away from major transit streets where possible. Where alternative routes are available, design streets for safe use by all modes. #### 2. Provide guidance to road resurfacing and major street construction to include bicycle accommodation. Very few streets in Birmingham are marked for bicycle use. Existing road maintenance, resurfacing and reconstruction projects offer a low-cost opportunity to show progress and improve safety for an increasing segment of the traveling public. #### 3. Identify opportunities to improve active transportation links to nearby neighborhoods and ensure that design of new buildings or renovations improves the public realm. Increasingly, private development is looking beyond its site boundaries to how customers will access businesses, and where residents will shop, recreate, and learn. A checklist for private development can help identify opportunities that may be addressed with new construction to improve site marketability and provide needed network connections for public use. (See Goal 2 Action A.6 on p. 12.35). ## D. Ensure that the parking supply is appropriately sized, located and managed to support walking, bicycling and transit access. ### Actions #### 1. Explore parking solutions with design and location criteria to reduce the impacts of parking and parking access on area character and walkability. Parking lots and garages lining the street create dead zones that negatively impact the appearance and feel of a place. Particularly in single use office and commercial districts, its effects can discourage walking. To reduce the impact of too much parking and to encourage people to walk and use transit when it is convenient, parking solutions such as shared parking and parking maximums help to control the amount of parking provided, as well as design standards for placement of parking on the site help to create and preserve safe and attractive conditions for pedestrians. #### 2. Ensure parking management strategies are in place for downtown and are extended to neighboring communities to reduce overflow parking on neighborhood streets. Pricing of parking at meters that does not encourage long stays, garage pricing that is competitive with the cost and reduced convenience of transit, as well as permit parking for residents, are all forms of parking management that considers parking as a use of publicly owned real estate in ways that provide some public benefit. As downtown and in-town neighborhoods gain more households, parking management should be thought of as a critical tool to enhance and preserve livability. # goal 3 ## Transit in Birmingham is fast, reliable, well-connected, and inviting for daily as well as occasional use by residents and visitors alike. #### POLICIES * Support coordination and policies among major employers, the City, BJCTA, ALDOT, and the MPO for better transit service and efficient routing within the city and county. * Support coordination among the MPO, the City, and the region to improve access to private, state, and federal funding for safe and high-quality-transit. * Support compact, transit-ready development at potential transit stops to support high-quality transit. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Work with partners in business, institutions and transportation agencies to investigate and weigh the value of public transportation to the City’s economic health, including access to opportunity for citizens and attractiveness as a business location. ##### Actions **1. In partnership with institution and business leaders, investigate the experience of other cities that have successfully harnessed transit investment in support of economic growth.** Consider peer-to-peer visits with Charlotte’s Transit Oriented Business Alliance (see call-out box on p. 12.39) or to Memphis to learn about its participation in the region’s Transit Signal Priority program and collaboration with MATA, TDOT, and neighboring jurisdictions. **2. Develop a robust public education campaign featuring news stories from other US cities and testimonies from employers and employees who support transit investment and participate in the region’s CommuteSmart Program.** The Mayor’s Office of Public Information can assist to gain media attention for City initiatives to raise awareness and dialogue about transit. **3. Continue to work with UAB on specific transit- and community-enhancement initiatives.** UAB initiatives could include support for a downtown circulator service open to all or a Transportation Management Association (TMA), employer-assisted housing programs and downtown housing, and enhanced support for CommuteSmart, including subsidized transit passes. TMAs are membership associations that provide transportation in a particular area, such as downtown. They are usually public-private partnerships and are managed by the members. TMAs promote and organize efforts for employees to commute by bicycle, transit, and carpool. **4. Establish zoning and regulatory policies described in Chapter 14 (p. 14.23) to allow and incentivize compact, transit-ready development at potential transit stop locations.** #### B. Actively work with the BJCTA to improve transit service and establish greater accountability for effective and efficient use of City transit funds. Birmingham citizens who participated in the planning process repeatedly cited better transit service as one of the top two priorities for Birmingham’s future. Because the city’s effective housing density will only support bus transit until it begins to implement the Urban Village and Strategic Opportunity Area recommendations of this plan, the highest priority in the short and medium terms is to improve bus service so that it will be used by “choice” riders, that is, people who can choose their mode of travel. Premium bus or limited-stop (express) service, longer hours of service, consolidated bus stops and routing buses to improve travel time will be needed to attract a broader range of riders. ##### Actions **1. Advocate for more cost- and time-efficient transit service driven by transit demand analysis through the establishment of SuperStop transfer stations.** Several plans have recommended the Super Stop concept of providing several transportation transfer locations in addition to the current single transfer station downtown, route changes, and new service to improve the efficiency of existing bus service for riders. These changes would also be cost-savings measures. To date, these plans have not been implemented. ### 2. Establish staff responsibility and a transit working group to regularly attend BJCTA board meetings and track progress on implementation of recommended cost savings and enhanced service improvements. See discussion of transportation planning staff discussion in Goal 1. ### 3. Establish a City/BJCTA collaboration to implement roadway improvements to improve the comfort and convenience of transit service, including shelters, bus stop curb extensions and transit signal priority. Transit agencies increasingly work with municipal public works departments to improve the road conditions for safe, efficient transit operations. Typically the City’s responsibilities would include improving waiting and sidewalk conditions, ensuring adequate access space and lighting, and providing transit signal priority or signal timing in support of transit. To be successful, these improvements will require coordination and collaboration. ### 4. Investigate and target funding options to make investments to improve and expand transit service. Table 12.2 on pp. 12.40 and 12.41 provides a range of funding options. #### CHARLOTTE'S BUSINESS-DRIVEN TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE In the mid-1990s, business leaders engaged with local elected officials and citizens to develop a vision for economic and regional growth. These leaders understood the need to provide transportation choices to support this future growth and the role a strong transit system would play. From this vision, the transit system in Charlotte, NC, has become a national example of integrating land use, economic development and transit planning. The regional vision, developed in 1994, provided a framework for the City to create policies and incentives that would concentrate density and economic development along five radial transit corridors that connected economic activity centers in the city. The 25-year transportation plan, adopted in 1998, provided an outline of strategic land use that would support transit, economic development and growth management strategies. The City also passed a half-cent sales tax that dedicated a revenue source of $1 billion over 20 years. This integration has been strongly supported by the region's business alliance and City investment studies and programs. CATS and the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Planning Commission completed a major investment study for all five corridors. The study recommended a combination of light rail, bus rapid transit, streetcar, and commuter rail with extensive local bus systems. Specific station plans were developed for all 60 stations in the five corridors. These station plans preserved the character of station-area communities while introducing concepts for new station-area development that would be compatible with the transit service investment. This included more densely developed housing and/or employment, depending on the area's surroundings, and the addition of retail and service uses and a walkable street network. The City also held "Development Response Sessions" early in the station planning process with property and business owners and developers interested in investing around potential transit stations. Having business leaders and developers participate in early planning ensured that resulting concepts would be more likely to be built by the private sector. It also helped area residents understand opportunities and ultimately support plans as a blueprint for change, thereby reducing investor risk that often delays or reduces private development. The effort also provided support for government projects needed to leverage private dollars. Several business-friendly initiatives to support economic and workforce development were established as a result of this planning. The Charlotte-Mecklenburg Business Investment Program provides a "grant" of 90% of the new property tax generated by the investment for the first three years of business for businesses meeting the following criteria: * Develop within the transit corridors * A minimum investment of $3 million * A minimum of 20 new jobs created * Pay employees more than the Charlotte-Gastoria-Rock Hill MSA average pay rate * Employ 80% Work First participating employees or development zone residents **Key Guidelines that encouraged transit:** * A strategic plan that develops and implements strategies that support transit * Investment in transit corridors that connect centers of economic activity and neighborhoods * A combination of transit systems supporting different types of trips and densities * Land use and design that supports transit AND responds to community goals and placemaking CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ### TABLE 12.2: FUNDING OPTIONS | PUBLIC FUNDING OPTIONS | PRIVATE FUNDING OPTIONS | COMBINATION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING OPTIONS | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Federal Funding**
The Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21) signed in July 2012 went into effect in October 2012 for two years. It authorized funding to be administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to support locally planned and operated public mass transit systems.

This funding is in turn awarded in the form of grants that typically require matching funds depending on the type of program, to individual transit systems by formulas that may vary from year to year. State funds may be used by providers to meet the matching requirements of federal grants. | **Advertising**
A common source of revenue for transit providers is income from advertisements placed on vehicles, facilities and transit related materials such as schedules and maps. These revenues; however, are generally modest, accounting for anywhere between 0.1% and 3% of total operating income.

*Examples: LYNX (Orlando, FL)
Chicago Transit Authority (Chicago, IL)* | **Public Private Partnerships (PPP)**
The US DOT has prepared model legislation. The model provides states with examples of the basic elements to consider in authorizing PPP legislation.

*Examples: BART Oakland Airport
Connector (San Francisco Bay Area)* | | **General sales taxes**
Sales taxes are the most common source of funding for local and regional transit services. They generally provide the greatest revenue yield and stability and are broadly accepted as a source of revenue for public transportation.

*Examples: Athens Transit (Athens GA);
Regional Transportation District (Denver,
CO)* | **Corporate franchise taxes**
Franchise taxes are generally levied on the profits and other taxable assets of a corporation. It is considered to be a tax on business operations and is most often based on the par value of the corporation's outstanding shares and surplus. Franchise taxes are often targeted at specific types of industries and economic activity.

*Example: New York Metropolitan
Transportation Authority (New York, NY)* | **Tax-increment Financing Districts**
Tax-increment Financing Districts (TIF) are focused on capturing the added increment of a future stream of increased taxes that result from an increase in property values due to public investments. The excess tax increment is used to repay the public improvement bonds used to fund the improvements that led to the increase in value and tax returns. The revenues derived from these districts may be used for a number of purposes, including transit development.

*Examples: City of Irving (TX);
City of St. Louis (MO)* | | **Occupational Taxes**
An occupational tax for Jefferson County could be orchestrated to require that a defined percentage of the total be set aside to fund BJCTA operations. | | | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY | PUBLIC FUNDING OPTIONS | PRIVATE FUNDING OPTIONS | COMBINATION OF PUBLIC AND PRIVATE FUNDING OPTIONS | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **Tollway revenues**
Revenues from toll facilities are often dedicated to providing for enhanced transit services within the tolled corridor.

*Example: San Diego, CA* | **Sponsorship Funding**
Transit agencies give local businesses the opportunity to sponsor transit vehicles, stations, educational materials or tickets. In exchange for different levels of sponsorship, businesses receive advertising opportunities as well as “transit-friendly” logo’s to put in their business window.

*Example: Trimet (Portland, OR)* | **Transportation Development Districts**
Transportation Development Districts (TDDs) are a form of community improvement or community facilities district that is intended to provide a means of raising funds specifically for transportation improvements. They are generally aimed at financing the cost of a specific project and may be applied to developing or improving transit services. These districts typically raise funds through the issuance of bonds, which are generally supported by tax increment procedures or dedicated sales taxes. Tax increment procedures are established by various state and local entities as a process for determining the value of land prior to development so that the incremental increase in value due to development can be appropriately credited to the desired programs. Bonds are issued based on the expected incremental increase and the revenues directed to the project.

*Examples: Knox County (TN); City of Lenexa (KS)* | | **Parking fees and fines**
Parking fees may be imposed to achieve a number of municipal goals including revenue generation, traffic management and mode shift. Local transit agencies may receive significant levels of funding for operations from the parking fees and parking fines levied by the city or other regional government or they may receive parking related revenues generated at facilities owned by the transit authority.

*Example: San Francisco Metropolitan Agency* | **One-Time Tax for Capital Cost of Premium Transit**
An aggressive strategy that generates revenue for Capital costs for implementing premium transit. This one-time tax is imposed on businesses and is normalized based on the businesses proximity to the planned premium transit and the size of the business.

*Example: City of Portland (OR-Trimet Streetcar)* | **Business Investment Incentives**
Incentives, such as temporary tax-relief and low interest loans, can encourage local developers and businesses to develop and invest along major transit corridors. This creates land uses and development that is transit supportive and is conducive to Transit Oriented Development.

*Example: CATS (Charlotte, NC)* | SOURCES: NCHRP REPORT 89: http://utcm.tamu.edu/tfo/transit/summary.stm; CHARLOTTE AREA TRANSIT SYSTEM (CAST): http://charmeck.org/city/charlotte/cats/Pages/default.aspx; PORTLAND STREETCAR: http://www.portlandstreetcar.org/ 12.41 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY **HALF-CENT SALES TAX SECURES LONG-TERM BONDS TO FINANCE THE TRANSFORMATION OF LOS ANGELES FROM A CAR-CENTRIC TO A TRANSIT-FRIENDLY REGION** *In November 2008, Los Angeles County voters embraced an aggressive transit-expansion plan by approving, by a two-thirds vote, a 0.5 cent sales tax that will generate a projected $36 billion to transportation upgrades over the next thirty years. A strong public desire to improve transit and a healthy dedicated revenue stream enabled the County to create a “30/10 Initiative” for transportation projects. The concept is to use the sales tax as collateral for long-term bonds and federal loans, such as Transit Improvement Bonds, Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) and Early Systems Work Agreement (ESWA). This will allow the County to build 12 key mass transit projects over 10 years instead of 30 years. The project breakdowns are:* * *Transit capital (new light rail, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit projects) 39.4%* * *Highway Capital (new carpool lanes, and extension of I-70 and other projects) 19.7%* * *Transit Operations (including a discount Metro fare freeze until 2013) 24.6%* * *Local return (for cities to spend on anything transportation related) 14.8%* * *Administration 1.5%* *This strategy was motivated by the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (Metro) desire to accelerate the construction of transportation projects, allow construction projects to beat future inflation, giving Metro the revenue it needs to take advantage of historically low interest rates, and accelerate the creation of jobs in the county. The strategy has become a national model for leveraging funds for transit enhancements and large-scale transit projects that require significant capital and maintenance funds.* # goal 4 Streets and sidewalks are accessible and maintained in good repair. **POLICIES** * Support a system of public criteria for street and sidewalk maintenance priorities. * Support establishment of a pavement management system, ideally as part of an overall asset management program. # STRATEGIES **A. Establish criteria for City funding priorities on street and sidewalk maintenance and improvement projects and allocation of resources.** **Action** 1. **Identify and fund needs based on investment strategies, including the Urban Villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas, and from plans such as the Red Rock Trail System Plan and the Sidewalk Master Plan.** Capital improvement and investment criteria related to adopted plans and programs should be made public, **COMMUNITY INPUT IDENTIFIES STREET REPAIR NEEDS** *In Philadelphia, Operation Smooth Streets brings the community into the City’s asset management program. Residents are encouraged to make pothole repair requests by phone or through a Web portal (www.potholes.phila. gov). The City promises that potholes will be repaired within three business days. The website is also used to provide information about other issues concerning city streets maintenance. Since key commuter routes in the city are on state-maintained roads, requests are also forwarded to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, and citizens are provided the phone number for follow-up.* *Other cities have opted to use the website SeeClickFix.com to encourage citizens to send information on needed repairs.* so that the reasons why funds are allocated to specific projects are made available to the public. **B. Establish a pavement management system so that, over the long term, maintenance costs will be reduced.** **Actions:** 1. **Evaluate and document the cost of deferred maintenance in Birmingham to establish a baseline standard for a regular, cost-efficient maintenance program.** Deferred maintenance typically increases the lifetime costs of major infrastructure. The City should know what level of maintenance is necessary to avoid major reconstruction costs given weather, use and other local conditions affecting infrastructure life cycle. A pavement management system should be incorporated into an overall asset management system for the City. 2. **Establish and publicize a program to engage residents in the identification of needed repairs to streets.** Use the public’s interest in and daily experience of pedestrian and driving conditions to keep the City’s inventory of maintenance needs up-to-date. Efforts like Operation Smooth Street in Philadelphia also offer strong public relations messages that the City is interested in and responsive to constituent concerns and complaints. 3. **Establish and fund a schedule for pavement condition inspection and assessment.** Reports on infrastructure conditions should be available to City leadership during the annual budget cycle in order to identify pavement maintenance needs and funding options, allocate resources, and track on-schedule progress. 4. **Engage building inspectors to investigate all utility and other construction activity within the right-of-way to ensure that permits were purchased and require the City Engineer to inspect repairs for compliance with guidelines.** # goal 5 Birmingham has state-of-the-art inter-city passenger travel and freight transportation systems. **POLICIES** * Support expeditious completion of air terminal and cargo projects and the Intermodal Facility. * Advocate for passenger rail service and enhanced passenger air service. * Evaluate options to expand Birmingport based on market conditions and feasibility. **STRATEGY** **A. Continue to establish and seek regional and state support for Birmingham’s transportation priorities that will advance progress towards achieving the goals of the Comprehensive Plan.** The City of Birmingham has an important role to play as the largest municipality in the Birmingham MPO, the economic engine of the region, and the most important economic center in the State of Alabama. Inter-city passenger service today includes Amtrak’s Crescent line daily travel between New York and New Orleans through Birmingham and direct flights to 40 US cities from Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport. Alabama’s largest airport had nearly 1.5 million commercial passenger boardings in 2011. Like the airport, currently completing a major expansion, the city’s rail gateway at Central Station will undergo major improvements. The project to rebuild Central Station can be an important statement with a futuristic vision. It can link national and regional rail service to downtown and citywide connections with attractive and safe pedestrian and bicycle ways and premier transit connections to businesses, universities and neighborhoods beyond. Transit and land use relationships in cities, unlike in the suburbs, must be synergistic. This will require attention and collaboration, particularly as the city prepares for a future based on the historic foundation of its urban form. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY ## Actions 1. **Continue to actively participate in regional policy making and project identification for high quality inter-city freight and passenger service and infrastructure.** Through its role on the MPO, the City should provide capital programming and City-oriented study initiatives that support its reinvestment goals and opportunities. Carefully evaluate proposed transportation investments, such as commuter rail to Montgomery, that could potentially draw private capital away from Birmingham's neighborhoods, commercial districts and industrial zones, considering both long-term costs and benefits. 2. **Work with the freight industry to confirm major truck routes for priority designation to connect industrial areas to interstate access points for enhanced efficiency and safety.** Participate with the MPO and ALDOT to assess connectivity and road-condition needs for short and long-term economic development priorities. Allocate sufficient annual funds for regular maintenance and needed upgrades of priority freight routes. Ensure that private development not only adds identified capacity but upgrades existing infrastructure related to site activity. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY # Traffic Calming & Active Transportation Safety Toolbox HIGH VEHICLE SPEED (TRAFFIC CALMING) TREATMENTS <
> ### 1. Fog Lines or Wide Parking Lines Wide edge-lines used to precisely define and limit the space for moving traffic. Usually widens parking lanes and narrows travel lanes. **Advantages:** Narrows travel lane, thus reducing speeds. Can offer space for bicyclists, especially if space does not exist for full bicycle lanes. **Disadvantages:** Not as effective as other physical traffic-calming treatments. <
> ### 2. Narrow Travel Lanes Restriping of existing travel lanes to reduce width. **Advantages:** Slows traffic. Provides more space for bicyclists and possible bicycle lanes. **Disadvantages:** May yield an increase in vehicle-vehicle crashes. <
> ### 3. On-Street Parking Full-time parking provided adjacent to the curb or just beyond a buffered bicycle zone (protected bicycle lanes). **Advantages:** Increases safety by placing a physical barrier between moving vehicles and pedestrians. Reduces the speed of traffic traveling adjacent to the parked vehicles. Provides parking. **Disadvantages:** Can be dangerous for bicyclists riding in door zone. Ineffective at reducing speeds if travel lane is very wide. Reduces sight lines for motorists entering the street from driveways. <
> ### 4. Rumble Strips Pavement surface treatments intended to cause vehicle vibrations signaling drivers to slow down. Best used with other traffic-calming treatments. **Advantages:** Reduces speeds. Low cost. **Disadvantages:** Vibration noise created may be inappropriate in residential areas. Perceived more as a warning to slow down than a physical measure that forces slower speeds. Loses effectiveness over time. 12.45 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> ### 5. Speed Bumps/Humps Speed bumps are narrow, mountable obstructions installed on the pavement surface across travel lanes, intended to cause vehicles to slow to almost a full stop. Speed humps are flatter and wider, creating a gentler crossing by vehicles. **Advantages:** Inexpensive. Very effective in slowing travel speeds. Easily navigated by bicyclists. **Disadvantages:** May be considered loud or noisy to nearby residents. Forces emergency vehicles to slow down. Inappropriate on streets with bus traffic due to rider comfort and reduced travel speeds. Creates a high-speed traffic hazard. <
> ### 6. Speed Table Wide, mountable obstructions installed on the pavement surface across travel lanes intended to cause vehicles to slow. Speed tables are similar to speed humps except they have a flat-top. Generally wider than speed humps, gentler on vehicles, and typically used on higher-order roads than bumps or humps because they allow a smoother ride and higher speeds. **Advantages:** Slows traffic. Smoother ride than humps and bumps. Not as effective in reducing speeds as humps and bumps. More applicable for higher-order roads (collectors). Compatible with bicycle use, particularly on low-volume streets. **Disadvantages:** Higher design speed. Can be expensive if used with textured materials. May be considered loud or noisy to nearby residents. <
> ### 7. Chicane A series of fixed objects, usually extensions of the curb, that alter a straight roadway into a zigzag or serpentine path to slow vehicles. Can also be created by alternating on-street parking between sides of street. **Advantages:** Reduces speeds of motorists. Noise is not as common as with speed humps or rumble strips. Potential to increase trees, landscaping and water-runoff treatment. **Disadvantages:** Reduces on-street space for parking. Maneuvering can be difficult for larger vehicles such as buses, trucks, and fire trucks. Potential for motorist collision with the physical chicane. Needs landscape maintenance. PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> ### 8. Choker Narrowing of a street, often mid-block and sometimes near an intersection. May be created with curb extensions, landscaping or edge islands in the street. They can form safe crossings if marked as crosswalks. Chokers can leave the street section with two narrow lanes or be taken down to one lane, thus requiring approaching drivers to yield to one another. **Advantages:** Reduces speeds and volumes of motorists. Shortens crossing distances for pedestrians if used at mid-block crossings. Provides pedestrian refuge area. Can reduce traffic volumes. **Disadvantages:** Potential for motorist collision with the physical choker. Reduces on-street space for parking. Compatible with bicycling only when specified space is provided. Design challenges if used on narrow streets without on-street parking. May divert traffic to alternate streets. <
> ### 9. Neighborhood Traffic Circle/Mini-Traffic Circle A small circular or oblong island used in the middle of intersections and intended to force vehicular traffic to slow and negotiate around it. When used in residential areas, they can be landscaped for aesthetic or barrier purposes, and may have mountable curbs to allow movement of emergency vehicles. **Advantages:** Reduces speeds of motorists. Improves safety. Reduces need for complete stops by motorists. **Disadvantages:** Maneuvering can be difficult for larger vehicles such as buses, trucks, and fire trucks. Pedestrian crossings are less managed than traditional stop-controlled intersections. May require eliminating some on-street parking. <
> ### 10. Raised Intersection The entire area of an intersection is raised above normal pavement surface level to reduce vehicle speed through the intersection and provide a better view of pedestrians and motorists in the intersection. **Advantages:** Reduces speeds through intersections. Reduces red light running at high speeds. Calms two streets at once where collisions are most prevalent. **Disadvantages:** Potential drainage issues. Less effective in reducing speeds than humps, tables, or raised crosswalks. Expensive. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> ## 11. Reduced Curb Radii Reconstructing a street corner with a smaller radius to reduce vehicle turning speeds. **Advantages:** Forces sharper turn by right-turning motorists. Improves safety of pedestrians by reducing crossing width and slowing motorists. Reduces speed of right-turning motorists. **Disadvantages:** Space may not be available. Can be expensive. HIGH-TRAFFIC VOLUME CONTROL TREATMENTS <
> ## 1. Half Closure/Semi-diverter Barriers that block travel in one direction for a short distance on a two-way street. **Advantages:** Diverts through traffic to other routes. Shortens crossing distances for pedestrians if used at crossing location. **Disadvantages:** Reduces on-street space for parking. Can cause circuitous routes for local traffic and emergency vehicles. May reduce access to local businesses. <
> ## 2. Diagonal Diverter Barrier dividers or medians placed diagonally connecting two opposite curbs within the intersection, blocking through movements and creating two L-shaped streets. **Advantages:** Reduces cut-through traffic for specific movements. Allows residents to access homes, albeit along a circuitous route, but discourages non-local traffic. Maintains full pedestrian and bicycle movements. **Disadvantages:** Prevents left-turning movements. Can cause circuitous routes for local residents and emergency vehicles. <
> ## 3. Forced Turn Raised islands used on intersection approaches that force drivers to turn in only one direction (usually right). Often used at major-minor street intersections where the left-turn onto the major street is unsafe. **Advantages:** Reduces cut-through traffic. Improves safety by eliminating left turns. **Disadvantages:** Prevents left-turning movements. May just move cut-through traffic to another street. 12.48 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> ### 4. Full Street Closure Barriers placed across an entire width of a street to completely close the street to through-traffic, usually leaving full pedestrian and bicycle access. Full street closures are also referred to as cul-de-sacs or dead ends. **Advantages:** Reduces cut-through traffic and speeding. Maintains pedestrian and bicycle access. **Disadvantages:** Adds traffic to adjacent streets. Reduces circulation and access to businesses. Can introduce security concerns in “dead zones.” <
> ### 5. Median Barrier Islands constructed between travel lanes through an intersection to block movements. Median barriers are intended to prevent left turns from the major street and through movements along the minor street. **Advantages:** Reduces cut-through traffic. Improves safety by eliminating left turns. **Disadvantages:** Prevents left-turning movements. May move cut-through traffic to another street. Needs sufficient roadway width for construction. PEDESTRIAN INTERSECTION-SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS <
> ### 1. Prohibit Right-Turns on Red Mounted sign eliminates the right of motorists to make a right turn at a red light. Can be used full-time or under restricted time intervals. **Advantages:** Reduces conflicts between motorists and pedestrians. **Disadvantages:** Reduces time motorists have to make a right turn. Potential vehicle queuing. <
> ### 2. Signal-Timing Modification Adjustments of existing signal timings to accommodate all modes more readily. Could include reducing the amount of green time to decrease the amount of time pedestrians wait at signals. **Advantages:** Improves conditions for pedestrians. Improves overall safety of intersection. **Disadvantages:** Improved conditions for one mode often come at the expense of others (e.g., giving more green time to pedestrians often means motorists receive less green time). 12.49 > **[page 367 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** <
> ### 3. Leading Pedestrian Interval Pedestrians are given advance time to begin crossing at the crosswalk before conflicting vehicles start moving. **Advantages:** Puts pedestrians well into the ### 7. Reduce or Add Lane; Modify Existing Geometry Modify the existing intersection geometry to respond to conditions including reducing pedestrian crossing exposure to traffic, adding or eliminating a traffic movement, creating space for the type and level of pedestrian activity, reducing speed of turning vehicles. <
> **Advantages:** Improves safety or capacity according to situation. Increases or decreases user delay, according to situation. **Disadvantages:** Lack of right of way and/or physical space. High cost and long timeframe. ### 8. Roundabout Raised circular island intersection treatment where all entries are yield-controlled, circulating vehicles have the right of way, and pedestrian access is allowed only across the roundabout legs. <
> **Advantages:** Yield control reduces wait times, thus moving traffic more steadily through the intersection. Reduces the severity of crashes compared to signalized intersections. Reduces conflict points compared to a signalized intersection. **Disadvantages:** Requires substantial right of way for construction. Pedestrians are not provided with a protected signal phase where all traffic is stopped and must rely on driver courtesy and respect for pedestrian right-of-way in the crosswalk. High cost. --- ### PEDESTRIAN SAFE-CROSSING TREATMENTS ### 1. In-Street “Yield for Pedestrian” Sign Signs placed in the middle of crosswalks to increase driver awareness of pedestrians and the legal responsibility to yield right-of-way to pedestrians in crosswalk. <
> **Advantages:** Increases the number of motorists that yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk. Reinforces the right of pedestrian in the carriage-way. **Disadvantages:** If used too often, motorists have a tendency to ignore the signs. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> ### 2. High-Visibility Crosswalk Clear, reflective roadway markings and accompanying devices at intersections and priority pedestrian links, located only where motorists should expect pedestrians with sufficient sight distance and reaction time with prevailing travel speeds. **Advantages:** Warns motorists of potential for pedestrians. Designates a preferred location for pedestrians. Alabama law requires motorists to yield to pedestrians in or near the vehicle’s path in marked crosswalks. **Disadvantages:** Most effective with other traffic control (signals, stop signs) or physical treatments (bulb outs) that help to reinforce crosswalks and support reduced vehicle speeds. Motorists may ignore. <
> ### 3. Raised Crosswalk A pedestrian crossing area raised above street grade to give motorists and pedestrians a better view of the crossing area. A raised crosswalk is essentially a speed table marked and signed for pedestrian crossing. **Advantages:** Provides better view for pedestrians and motorists. Slows motorists travel speeds. Lends itself to broad application on both arterial and collector streets. **Disadvantages:** Can be difficult to navigate for large trucks, buses, and snow plows. <
> ### 4. Bulb-out/Curb Extension An extension of the curb or the sidewalk into the street (in the form of a bulb), usually at an intersection, that narrows the vehicle path, inhibits fast turns, and shortens the crossing distance for pedestrians. **Advantages:** Shortens crossing distances for pedestrians. Reduces motorist turning speeds. Increases visibility for both motorists and pedestrians. Enables permanent parking. Enables tree and landscape planting and treatment of stormwater runoff. **Disadvantages:** Can only be used on streets with unrestricted on-street parking. Physical barrier can be exposed to traffic. Greater cost and time to install than high-visibility crosswalks. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY <
> ### 5. Raised Median Island/Pedestrian Refuge Area Provides a protected area in the middle of a crosswalk for pedestrians to stop while crossing street. **Advantages:** Reduces the number of crashes at marked and unmarked crosswalks. Preferred on multi-lane streets. Reduces the length of gaps in traffic during which pedestrians can cross the street. Used to create entry point into area of high pedestrian activity. **Disadvantages:** Must have at least 6 feet of space to accommodate wheelchairs; not all streets will have adequate space. Physical barrier in the street. <
> ### 6. Rectangular Rapid Flash Beacon Signs with a pedestrian-activated “strobe-light” flashing pattern that attracts attention and notifies motorists that pedestrians are crossing. **Advantages:** Typically increases motorists’ yielding behavior. Pedestrians may not activate flashing light. **Disadvantages:** Motorists may not understand flashing lights. <
> ### 7. Pedestrian Hybrid Signal (HAWK) Pedestrian-activated signal, unlit when not in use, begins with a yellow light alerting drivers to slow, and then a solid red light requires drivers to stop while pedestrians have the right-of-way to cross the street. **Advantages:** Very high rate of motorists yielding to pedestrians. Drivers experience less delay at hybrid signals compared to other signalized intersections. **Disadvantages:** Expensive compared to other crossing treatments. Requires pedestrian activation. 12.53 BICYCLE ACCOMMODATIONS CONTRIBUTING TO TRAFFIC CALMING <
> ### 1. Wayfinding Signs directing pedestrians and bicyclists toward destinations in and routes through the area, typically including distance and average walk/cycle times. **Advantages:** Eases navigation for residents and visitors by bicycle. Provides guidance to destinations from streets and along multi-use trails. Offers another indication to motorists of the presences of bicycles. **Disadvantages:** Maintenance and vandalism. <
> ### 2. Bicycle Sharrows/Enhanced Sharrows A shared-lane marking, or sharrow, is a pavement marking used where space does not allow for a bike lane typically indicating that bicycles have equal right to the travel lane. Sharrows remind motorists of the presence of bicycles and indicate to cyclists where to safely ride within the roadway. Enhanced sharrows include additional lines so are more visible. **Advantages:** Reduces wrong-way and sidewalk riding. Improves cyclists positioning in the roadway. Informs motorists of presence of bicyclists. Marks streets without adequate space for bike lanes. **Disadvantages:** Pavement marking maintenance. Not as effective as a bike lane. <
> ### 3. Bike Lane Markings The area of roadway designated for non-motorized bicycle use, separated from vehicles by pavement markings. **Advantages:** Improves safety and comfort by increasing the visibility and awareness of cyclists. Designates carriage-way space for bicyclists. **Disadvantages:** May still conflict with motorists. Motorists may illegally park in bike lane. 4. Bike Box Marked area in front of the stop bar at a signalized intersection that allows cyclists to correctly position themselves for turning movements during the red signal phase by pulling ahead of the queue. <
> **Advantages:** Decreases conflicts and crashes between cars and bicycles. Separates bicycles from cars at the intersection. **Disadvantages:** Extensive public education required. Pavement marking maintenance and costs. 5. Bicycle Boulevard/Greenway Low-volume and low-speed streets that have been optimized for bicycle travel through treatments such as traffic calming and traffic reduction, signage and pavement markings, and intersection crossing treatments. <
> **Advantages:** Converts well-connected streets prone to cut-through traffic to streets well-suited for bicycle transportation. Allows through movements for cyclists while discouraging similar through trips by non-local motorized traffic. Creates a comfortable, low-volume, low-speed space for bicyclists and pedestrians. **Disadvantages:** Some treatments more expensive than others. In areas with few alternative routes, reduces those that can relieve traffic during peak travel times. 6. Cycle Track/Protected Bike Lane An exclusive bike facility physically separated from vehicle travel lanes, parking lanes, and sidewalks. Can be one-way, two-way, at street level, at sidewalk level, or at an intermediate level. <
> **Advantages:** Buffer provides higher level of safety than bike lanes. Reduces risk of “dooring” compared to a bike lane. Attractive to a wider spectrum of the public than bike lanes. **Disadvantages:** Potential conflicts at intersections. Can be expensive. Requires more space than bike lane <
> ### 7. Multiuse Pathway/Sidepath Paved pathways parallel to but away from the carriage-way and out of the path of turning vehicles; designed with space adequate for safe use by both pedestrians and bicyclists. Appropriate for roads parallel to rail track, waterway or other conditions with infrequent cross traffic. | Advantages: | Disadvantages: | | :--- | :--- | | Separates bicyclists from vehicle traffic. | Needs adequate space to accommodate buffer from street and width to allow the passing of bicyclists and pedestrians. | | Combination of pedestrians and bicyclists requires less space than separate facilities for each. | Bicycle and pedestrian conflicts. | | | Unsafe in highly urban areas or along roads with driveways. | <
> ### 8. Bicycle Parking Devices and/or areas that allow secure bicycle parking, often located at areas of high bicycle and pedestrian traffic such as office and industrial areas, shopping centers, schools, and multi-use trails. Can be provided on a curb extension or in on-street parking spaces. | Advantages: | Disadvantages: | | :--- | :--- | | Provides a secure location to store and lock bicycles. | Requires space in potentially busy area. | | Locations are generally very close to and visible from the point of interest. | May remove an on-street parking space. | | Relatively inexpensive and easy installation. | | | Encourages community bicycle use. | | <
> ### 9. Bicycle-Actuated Signals Bikes cannot activate traffic signals. Bicycle-actuated signals should be installed when bicycle priority streets cross arterial and collector streets. | Advantages: | Disadvantages: | | :--- | :--- | | Provides clear indication to bicyclists and motorists when bicyclists have the right of way. | Cyclists must be positioned properly to activate the signal. | | Additional means to manage motorist/bicyclist conflicts. | Installation, timing, and maintenance can be challenging initially. | # Street Sections The cross sections for the street locations were selected to provide conceptual guidance to build on-road options along streets identified in the Red Rock Ridge Valley Trails System to accommodate bicycles and improve the environment for pedestrians. They were selected to represent a range of roadway types—from local residential and industrial-zone streets to important arterials that may also serve as key bus and freight routes. These conceptual schematic cross section proposals present low-cost accommodation of bicycles within the existing paved and curbed street section. Pedestrian space on sidewalks is shown with more generous space that can be considered as land uses change. All proposals will need to be evaluated based on actual traffic volumes, travel speeds, and mix of trucks and buses. as these concepts have not had the benefit of that analysis. Transitions for bicyclists at intersections where congestion and conflicts occur will also be required for implementation. Where safe accommodation on the actual proposed streets is not possible, parallel streets must be provided to retain the integrity of the RRRVTS complete network. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY # Location 1: Avenue W at 47th Street Ensley (Five Points West) ### EXISTING CONDITIONS <
> ### PROPOSED CONDITIONS <
> *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. ## Location 2: 20th Street North at 5th Avenue North (CBD) ### EXISTING CONDITIONS <
> | SIDEWALK | INTERMITENT PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | RAISED MEDIAN | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | INTERMITENT PARKING | SIDEWALK | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 8' | 9.5 | 11' | 11' | 10' | 11' | 11' | 9.5 | 15' | | | | | | Curb to Curb 73' | | | | | | | | | | 119' | | | | | ### PROPOSED CONDITIONS <
> | SIDEWALK | INTERMITENT PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | RAISED MEDIAN | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | INTERMITENT PARKING | SIDEWALK | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 8' | 9.5 | 11' | 11' | 10' | 11' | 11' | 9.5 | 15' | | | | | | Curb to Curb 73' | | | | | | | | | | 119' | | | | | <
> ### Sharrows Shared-lane markings, called “sharrows,” help bicyclists and motorists share and navigate streets where there are no exclusive bike lanes. Sharrows show bicyclists where to travel on the road and alert motorists to the presence of bicyclists. ## Location 3: 1st Street North at 55th Place (Woodlawn) ### EXISTING CONDITIONS <
> | SIDEWALK | PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | PARKING | SIDEWALK | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 7' | 6' | 10' | 10' | 10' | 10' | 6' | 7' | | | | | Curb to Curb 52' | | | | | ### PROPOSED CONDITIONS <
> | SIDEWALK | PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | MEDIAN/ LEFT-TURN | TRAVEL LANE | PARKING | SIDEWALK | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 8' – 10' | 8' | 13' | 10' | 13' | 8' | 8' – 10' | | | | | Curb to Curb 52' | | | | NOTE: Bike Sharrows on Pavement *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. <
> ### Sharrows Shared-lane markings, called “sharrows,” help bicyclists and motorists share and navigate streets where there are no exclusive bike lanes. Sharrows show bicyclists where to travel on the road and alert motorists to the presence of bicyclists. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY # Location 4: 5th Avenue South at 42nd Street (Avondale) **EXISTING CONDITIONS** <
> **PROPOSED CONDITIONS** <
> *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. ### Sharrows Shared-lane markings, called “sharrows,” help bicyclists and motorists share and navigate streets where there are no exclusive bike lanes. Sharrows show bicyclists where to travel on the road and alert motorists to the presence of bicyclists. 12.61 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY # Location 5: 8th Avenue West at Arkadelphia Road (Smithfield) **EXISTING CONDITIONS** <
> **PROPOSED CONDITIONS** <
> *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. 12.62 # Location 6: 28th Street North (Norwood) ### EXISTING CONDITIONS <
> | SIDE WALK | BUFFER | UNMARKED PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | UNMARKED PARKING | BUFFER | SIDE WALK | | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | | 5' | 10' | 8' | 10' | 10' | 8' | 10' | 5' | | | | | Curb to Curb 36' | | | | | ### PROPOSED CONDITIONS <
> | SIDE WALK | BUFFER | MARKED PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | MARKED PARKING | BUFFER | SIDE WALK | | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | :---: | | 5' - 8' | 10' | 8' | 10' | 10' | 8' | 10' | 5' - 8' | | | | | Curb to Curb 36' | | | | | NOTE: Bike Sharrows on Pavement *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. <
> ### Sharrows Shared-lane markings, called “sharrows,” help bicyclists and motorists share and navigate streets where there are no exclusive bike lanes. Sharrows show bicyclists where to travel on the road and alert motorists to the presence of bicyclists. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 12 GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY # Location 7: Lyon Lane (Access to Red Mountain Park) **EXISTING CONDITIONS** <
> **PROPOSED CONDITIONS | ALTERNATIVE A** <
> *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. **PROPOSED CONDITIONS | ALTERNATIVE B** <
> *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. 12.64 # Location 8: 83rd Street South (East Lake) ### EXISTING CONDITIONS <
> | SIDE WALK | BUFFER | UNMARKED PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | UNMARKED PARKING | BUFFER | SIDE WALK | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 5' | 6' | 8' | 10' | 10' | 8' | 6' | 5' | | | | | Curb to Curb 36' | | | | | ### PROPOSED CONDITIONS <
> | SIDE WALK | BUFFER | MARKED PARKING | TRAVEL LANE | TRAVEL LANE | MARKED PARKING | BUFFER | SIDE WALK | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 8' - 10' | 6' | 8' | 11' | 11' | 8' | 6' | 8' - 10' | | | | | Curb to Curb 36' | | | | | NOTE: Bike Sharrows on Pavement *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. <
> ### Sharrows Shared-lane markings, called “sharrows,” help bicyclists and motorists share and navigate streets where there are no exclusive bike lanes. Sharrows show bicyclists where to travel on the road and alert motorists to the presence of bicyclists. ## Location 9: 5th Avenue South at 28th Street South (Lakeview) ### EXISTING CONDITIONS <
> ### PROPOSED CONDITIONS <
> *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. <
> ### Sharrows Shared-lane markings, called “sharrows,” help bicyclists and motorists share and navigate streets where there are no exclusive bike lanes. Sharrows show bicyclists where to travel on the road and alert motorists to the presence of bicyclists. # Location 10: Tuscaloosa Avenue at Center Street (Arlington-West End) ### EXISTING CONDITIONS <
> ### PROPOSED CONDITIONS <
> *Proposed conditions are concepts ONLY. # Chapter 13 Supporting Public Facilities, Services and Infrastructure <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “Each neighborhood [with] great educational opportunities, accessible to health care facilities, dedicated green space, increased presence of police.” “…a concept with integrated schools, police, utilities and public services.” > **[page 386 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | **The City has state-of-the-art data and information resources and programs to support decision-making, facilities, services, and performance management across city departments.** | • Invest in creating and maintaining data and information resources to maximize benefits and efficient use of taxpayer dollars. | | **Public safety departments meet best practices performance standards.** | • Support a strategic plan for the police department, including technology, facilities, and vehicles, to make the police department # findings ### DATA AND INFORMATION The City lacks up-to-date inventories of its assets and data systems. ### PUBLIC SAFETY The Birmingham Police Department is close to full strength (840 officers) in terms of staff, but needs upgrades to technology and records management, facilities, and vehicles, as well as creation of a strategic plan. There are four precincts for a large city. Crime is down, particularly certain violent crimes like murder and robbery. The police department includes a Community Services Division focused on community policing, including the schools. The Birmingham Fire Department has 32 fire stations (one under construction as of early 2012). Blight and vacancy, plus the prevalence of older and deteriorated housing, results in many fires. Fire Department priorities include updated equipment, improved facilities, additional staff, and enhanced training. ### HAZARD MITIGATION The City of Birmingham participates in the hazard mitigation planning process led by the Jefferson County Emergency Management Agency. Major hazards in the city are repetitive floods in the city's Village Creek and Valley Creek floodplains. ### WATER AND SEWER SERVICE The City depends on regional providers for drinking water and sewer service, the Birmingham Water Works Board (BWWB) and the Jefferson County Environmental Services Department (JCESD) respectively. Drinking water supplies are expected to be plentiful for the next 75 years, but droughts are also expected to become more common. Sewer improvements are underway, and Birmingham ratepayers will see sewer rates go up. ### DRAINAGE AND STORMWATER MANAGEMENT A plan for compliance with NPDES Phase II stormwater regulation has been developed. Flood mitigation property buyouts have been undertaken as funds are available from the Corps of Engineers and FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency). Guidelines for the design of stormwater facilities are available and enforced by the Planning, Engineering and Permitting Department. ### CULTURAL FACILITIES Birmingham has an excellent public library system with 19 branches and a central library, which includes an important rare books and manuscript collection. The system is also part of the Jefferson County Library Cooperative and is linked with the other library systems within the county. The City owns a number of cultural institutions and venues, such as Sloss Furnace, the Botanical Garden, the Zoo, the Museum of Art, Arlington House, Boutwell Auditorium, and the Southern Museum of Flight. ### RECYCLING AND SOLID WASTE The City owns and operates two landfills and provides residential refuse collection twice a week, as well as curbside recycling for single-family houses. The projected capacity of both landfills is more than 20 years. ### PUBLIC WORKS The Department of Public Works (DPW) is responsible for the maintenance of all city buildings and other facilities, grounds and landscapes, including the park system; cleaning of streets and drainage ditches; enforcement of quality of life ordinances; construction administration; demolition; construction of sidewalks, curbs and gutters; and solid waste operations, including collection and landfill. DPW mows grass at over 3000 vacant lots. The Equipment Management Department maintains all city vehicles as well as all the public works machinery. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE # findings (continued) ## PUBLIC SCHOOLS Public school enrollment has declined 50% in 30 years to a 2011/12 school year enrollment of 25,100 students, 10,000 fewer than in 2005. Almost all schools are currently operating at less than capacity and eleven have occupancy ratios of 50% or less. Twelve school buildings are vacant. A capital improvement program, based on a study that assumed 3% annual population growth, will result in capacity for 37,364 students, more than 10,000 above current enrollments. School improvement programs are being implemented to improve academic outcomes, support professional development of teachers, and support parent involvement in the school system. The Birmingham Education Foundation has been created to support public school improvement programs. Because of the capital improvement program, the physical plant of the school system is improved, with many new facilities. Additional improvements are needed at some schools. The school system owns facilities, dating predominantly from the 1950s-1990s, that it wishes to dispose of. # challenges Obtaining resources for public safety facility, technology, equipment and training improvements. Improving the perceptions of public safety. Ensuring long-term water and sewer service. Establishing an asset management system that includes all city facilities. Improving both the reality and perception of public school system performance. FIGURE 13.1: PUBLICLY-OWNED FACILITIES <
> | Major Public Facilities | | | :--- | :--- | | **NAME** | **INDEX** | | Airport | 2 | | Southern Museum of Flight | 3 | | Art Museum | 4 | | Boutwell Auditorium | 5 | | Jefferson County Courthouse | 6 | | Main Post Office | 7 | | Sloss Furnace | 8 | | City Hall | 9 | | Greyhound Bus Station | 10 | | Vann Federal Courthouse | 11 | | 16th Street Baptist Church | 17 | | Hugo L Black Federal Building | 19 | | Civil Rights Institute | 20 | | McWane Center | 21 | | Alabama Theatre | 23 | | Jazz Hall of Fame | 24 | | Legion Field | 25 | | Bartow Arena | 27 | | Arlington House | 30 | | Alys Stephens Center | 32 | | Vulcan | 33 | | Botanical Gardens | 34 | | Zoo | 35 | | Alabama Sports Hall of Fame | 36 | | Birmingham Jefferson Convention Complex | 38 | | BJCTA | 39 | | | 41 | SOURCE: BIRMINGHAM GIS # A. What the Community Said * Improvements to the public school system are needed, * Crime and perception of crime are significant issues in many neighborhoods * Street and sidewalk maintenance and repair is needed throughout the city. * Localized flooding and poor drainage continue to be problematic in certain areas of the city. * The prospect of increasing sewer rates is a concern to many citizens. * The disposition and future use of vacant city-owned and school department-owned properties should be part of a planning process. # B. Recommendations ## goal 1 ### The City has state-of-the-art data and information resources and programs to support decision-making, facilities, services, and performance management across city departments. **POLICIES** * Invest in creating and maintaining data and information resources to maximize benefits and efficient use of taxpayer dollars. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Enhance the City of Birmingham's information system for the public through website improvements, data inventory, an open data warehouse, and smartphone apps, and to support City performance management systems. ##### Actions **1. Improve the City's website to offer more information and e-government services.** The City’s website should be redesigned and maintained to provide a greater variety of information on programs, resources, departments, documents and forms. The current website, as of 2012, is inconsistent in the type and timeliness of information made available by various departments. The full Code of Ordinances should be available online—either on the city’s website or through an online resource such as Municode (www.municode.com) as well as proposed ordinances. Although some forms are posted on the website, there are few opportunities to submit forms through the website for various city services. Studies and reports are not consistently posted. There is no comprehensive listing of departments, offices and contact information. Examples of effective municipal websites include Huntsville (www.hsvcity.org), Augusta, GA (www.augustaga.gov), Winston-Salem, NC (www.cityofws.org), and New Orleans (www.nola.gov). **2. Inventory city data and work toward creation of a publicly-accessible online data warehouse.** Cities are increasingly providing open access to data to their citizens. For example, Washington, DC has created an award-winning public information system and data warehouse, called City DW, open to the public. The data warehouse includes raw data from multiple city government agencies supplied over 425 data feeds to online sites, citizens, and government agencies. The DC Data Catalog allows users to subscribe to real time data feeds of information ranging from public space permits and completed construction projects to juvenile crime data and government employee credit card transactions. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 13 SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE The Digital Public Square is a virtual town hall with public access to current government information along with avenues for involvement and collaboration through social networks. Citizens have created apps using the public data on topics such as parking meter locations and historic buildings. Residents have also created their own informational websites populated by City DW data feeds, such as www.JDland.com, a site dedicated to news and information in Southeast Washington. ### 3. Establish a performance management system for city departments and agencies. Evidence-based decision-making is the foundation of the performance management systems used by mayors and city officials around the country to track performance against established goals. First developed by Baltimore as the CitiStat program, the key features of performance management are: * Collection and analysis of data to spotlight problem areas and potential solutions. * Development of quantifiable measures to assess policy performance and draw comparisons across similar circumstances or peer groups so that “best practices” can be identified and expanded. * Public dissemination of data and metrics on policy results, so those outside government can hold public officials accountable for their performance.[^p391-1] These systems can create a culture of measurement and accountability that can improve performance and lower costs. As an example, Augusta (GA) has created a “performance dashboard” with performance management results available on the city website. (www.augustaga.gov/index.aspx?nid=165) ### 4. Create a comprehensive property management system. See Chapter 8, pp. 8.9–8.10. [^p391-1]: http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2007/04/data_driven_policy.html # goal 2 Public safety departments meet best practices performance standards. **POLICIES** * Support a strategic plan for the police department, including technology, facilities, and vehicles, to make the police department state-of-the-art. * Support fire department needs for upgraded equipment and training. * Continue to support community-based public safety programs. # STRATEGIES ## A. Support the Birmingham Police Department planning, facility and equipment priority needs and enhanced collaboration with other agencies ### Actions **1. Create and implement a long-term strategic plan for the Police Department and establish a five-year strategic planning cycle thereafter.** A long-term strategic planning process will provide the opportunity to integrate needs for staff, training, facilities and equipment into the City’s overall 21st century plan for a thriving downtown and neighborhoods of choice. Like other City departments and partners, the Police Department needs data and analysis (a beat study and a manpower study) to understand how population changes have affected its responsibilities. However, it is very important that this understanding of changing conditions be an ongoing practice. Implementation of the strategic approach recommended in this comprehensive plan means that population projections based on past data (the typical approach to population forecasting) may not reflect changing trends. The Police Department strategic plan and other City plans and initiatives should be aligned. A five-year planning cycle after completion of a broader strategic plan will help the Police Department effectively communicate its needs to the community. 13.7 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE **2. Create a separate Downtown precinct, make improvements or replace precinct buildings and the downtown headquarters, locating any new facilities to anchor and contribute to revitalization goals.** The East and South precincts have unfinished buildings, and the North precinct building needs rehabilitation. The new West Precinct Police Station, under construction in 2012, is located in the Five Points West commercial center, close to a library branch and CrossPlex. This model of locating new police facilities in the proposed Urban Village Districts will support the strategic neighborhood revitalization model and should be followed, if possible, in locating other precinct buildings. New precinct buildings should be designed to include community meeting space. Similarly, the current police headquarters building has an unusable floor, inadequate technological systems to support a full laboratory, and insecure parking. A central downtown location and the design for a new police headquarters should be chosen strategically to provide additional synergy to downtown. Location of the headquarters’ parking should be carefully studied so that it does not detract from the pedestrian-friendly character essential to downtown streets. **3. Seek a solution for a new municipal jail and locate it appropriately.** In poor condition, the municipal jail needs replacement, and solutions ranging from a regional facility to privatization have been suggested. Regionalization is unlikely until after the County resolves its financial problems. Privatization, usually promoted for fiscal and efficiency reasons, can have impacts that need to be weighed carefully. **4. Implement a technology strategy so that police data can be collected and reported easily and quickly.** Police departments need up to date technology to operate efficiently and analyze crime patterns, a proven strategy in New York City (CrimeStat) and other cities. Police officers in Birmingham have laptops, but, as of late 2011, they could not make direct reports to the department from their laptops. Some data was still being collected and organized by hand. Federal grants have been obtained for some upgrades to records management and computer aided dispatch is being installed in 2012. **5. Continue and enhance community-based and collaborative programs and explore establishing a Cease Fire Program in Birmingham.** In addition to civilian Crime Prevention Officers and Community Service Officers in the department that work with businesses and residents, the Birmingham Police Department has a Citizens Police Academy for citizen volunteers, works with a Weed and Seed Program in North Birmingham that started with federal funding, and sponsors mentoring, and other community based programs. “Neighborhood Watch” and “Neighborhood Night Out” programs, often in conjunction with neighborhood associations, have been valuable in many cities in building relationships and trust between the police department and neighborhoods. The “Cease-Fire” model, which began in Boston and has spread to many cities, such as New Orleans and Chicago, has demonstrated success in radically reducing gun violence among young people.[^p392-2] The programs target with intense police pressure the relatively small group of people who are typically the source of the majority of violence, while at the same time offering assistance for those who want to stop using violence and guns to solve disputes. **6. Organize relevant governmental systems/ services to garner support from other agencies to promote and support community policing efforts, such as more effective code enforcement, including ticketing/ citations for “quality of life” offenses.** Crime data is one of the information sources of most interest to citizens who have access to data warehouses and it is essential for targeting policing. In addition, the comprehensive property information system recommended in in this plan should include information on crime and policing activity at specific addresses. The police and fire departments should also be included in planning projects—identifying locations, developing plans, and implementing the plans for Urban Village Districts, and Strategic Opportunity Neighborhoods. [^p392-2]: http://www.commonwealthmagazine.org/Voices/Conversation/2012/Summer/001-Hold-your-fire.aspx; http://ceasefirechicago.org/data-research ### 7. Continue aggressive efforts to secure grants for needed improvements to the police and fire systems. The Fire Department has been very successful in obtaining grants for improvements. The Police Department recently hired a grant writer in order to make sure that the department takes full advantage of grant opportunities. --- ## B. Support needed improvements in Fire Department facilities, equipment and programs. The Fire Department has 648 firefighters and 32 fire stations and provides hazardous-materials response and emergency medical services in the City of Birmingham. Emergency medical calls on average account for 75 percent to 80 percent of all calls, and firefighters are trained as emergency medical technicians. In 2006, 42 percent of fire incidents were determined to be intentionally set. The department commissioned a study of station locations and coverage in 2002. The study concluded that although several stations could be combined because of overlapping service areas, the number of operating units should remain, because of the workload. The national standard for arrival of a fire or emergency medical team is four minutes. The study showed that units met that standard 85 percent of the time. Several areas were not served within four minutes. Because Birmingham has a number of locations within the city limits that extend in narrow “arms,” effective fire protection requires many fire stations. Some communities, use inter-jurisdic- tional agreements to get needed services and coverage from nearby jurisdictions without investment in fixed public assets. The study’s recommendations included combining stations with overlapping service areas and building several new stations in areas at the city’s edge, such as Oxmoor, where a new station was built in 2013. ### Actions #### 1. Prepare and update Fire Department strategic plans on a five-year cycle to continue to ensure that the Fire Department has the stations, equipment, training and resources to respond to fire, hazards, and medical emergencies. #### 2. Update and expand the fire station study to identify facility needs in light of changing demographics, sources of fire danger, and the planning and land use strategy of the Comprehensive Plan. The Fire Department should update its plans every five years to take account of changing conditions and needs. It is important to evaluate needs in terms of new planning approaches. For example, a more effective code enforcement and blight prevention program could reduce the number of fires in abandoned properties. At the same time, if Strategic Opportunity Areas and urban villages attract more population, their needs for fire and emergency services must be met. #### 3. Provide newer vehicles and apparatus to keep equipment up to date. Combined ladder truck and pumper truck vehicles purchased since the 1990s have not held up over time as well as expected. A program to purchase new vehicles and approaches should be put in the Capital Improvement Plan. #### 4. Continue and expand training opportunities for Fire Department personnel. # goal 3 ## Water and sewer service that meets the long-term needs of the city. **POLICIES** * Support policies that ensure long-term security for drinking water supplies. * Support sewer service policies that resolve current problems, taking into account burdens on ratepayers. ### STRATEGIES ## A. Work closely with water and sewer service providers to ensure adequate service to the city. ### Actions 1. **Support efforts to add additional drinking water sources to the supply.** Assist the BWWB in obtaining right of way for the expansion of their transmission system within the city. 2. **Support continuation of the Replacement and Renewal Program to maintain the system.** The City should ask the BWWB to evaluate the fire water system and to improve the system in order to minimize the Fire Insurance rates. 3. **Support the efforts of Jefferson County Environmental Services in stabilizing the costs of operation and maintenance of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities as they work to meet the requirements of the Federal Consent Decree.** *** ### B. Establish water-conservation programs. *** #### Actions 1. **Identify potential water-conservation programs.** While Birmingham today appears to be relatively water- rich, establishing a culture of resource conservation and resource efficiency will be beneficial to the Birmingham area. Common water-conservation measures include plumbing retrofit programs, water use audits, and public information and education programs. *** ### C. Prepare an annual report for public distribution on the water and sewer service as it affects the city. *** Despite the existing websites and other materials prepared by the BWWB and the Jefferson County Department of Environmental Management, a brief annual infrastructure report from the City that also includes information on water and sewer service issues as they affect city residents would be valuable in raising public awareness of how these regional activities are affecting the city. This report could be integrated into an annual report on the progress of the City’s capital improvement programs. # goal 4 ## Stormwater-management and floodplain-management systems incorporate best management practices. **POLICIES** * Continue the Flood Mitigation Program through property buyouts in repetitive-flood areas. * Pursue development of a comprehensive watershed-management plan and encourage the use of best management practices for stormwater runoff treatment, including use of non-structural solutions where feasible. * Continue to support initiatives that aim to incorporate stormwater infrastructure design into an amenity, such as as a greenway. The purpose of a drainage system is to manage the quantity and quality of stormwater in areas that have been modified by development and construction. Where land is undeveloped, most precipitation is absorbed into the ground or is returned to the atmosphere through evapotranspiration by trees and other plants. Urban development can disrupt natural hydrological systems through clearing of vegetation; grading; soil compaction; the addition of impervious surfaces in the form of buildings, roads, and parking lots; and the use of drainage infrastructure such as gutters, storm sewers and hard-lined water channels. Water flows away from these surfaces, either directly, to natural waterways, or into engineered storm sewers or drainage ways that eventually convey the water to natural streams or lakes. These alterations of the land can increase the volume and velocity of stormwater runoff and increase erosion, causing flash floods, flooding and pollution in downstream bodies of water that receive the runoff, unless they are properly managed. Stormwater management is designed to reduce both the volume and pollution impacts of stormwater. Increased impervious surfaces produce more storm water— heightening the potential for flooding—which then carries contaminants into natural waterways. Pollution from stormwater is called “nonpoint source pollution” because it does not come from a specific piped source, like a factory, but from stormwater flows that, for example, CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 13 SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE pick up oil, gasoline and other pollutants on roadways as they move toward water bodies. Best management practices increasingly focus on re-introducing natural drainage systems and low-impact development into urban conditions when possible. The US EPA is responsible for regulating the water quality of the navigable waters of the United States and has issued a General Permit under the National Pollution Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) to the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) to regulate, permit and monitor discharges to the navigable water of the state. This is implemented in two programs. One is the point source discharges program which includes wastewater facilities. The second is the non-point source program which covers storm water systems, farm lands and industrial sites. The City of Birmingham owns, operates and regulates the municipal storm sewer system (MS4) within the City. The City regulates the discharge of storm water into their MS4 and soil erosion under Ordinance 99-131. Jefferson County collects a stormwater fee with the property tax—$5 per residential property and $15 for each commercial property, and these fees are then sent to the city to help fund this program. The City cannot have a regulation that is less or more restrictive than any provision of the Clean Water Act or the State of Alabama rules and regulations. As part of their responsibility, the City requires that for all developments the post-development storm water runoff rate be no more than pre-development runoff rate. The City also requires that all projects with land disturbing activities, regardless of size, submit erosion control best management plans as a part of the permitting process. The plans must be prepared in accordance to the Alabama Handbook for Erosion Control, Sediment Control and Storm water management of Construction Sites and Urban Areas. As a supplement to ADEM's construction stormwater program, the city monitors construction sites, regardless of size, to help ensure these meet land-disturbance requirements. The city also monitors industrial sites for pollutants in the storm water runoff. For construction sites one acre or larger, ADEM requires the filing of a Notice of Intent. The City requires a Construction Best Management Practices Plan (CBMPP) be prepared and that erosion prevention and sediment control provisions are included in all construction plans which include ground disturbance. The city also monitors industrial sites for pollutants in storm water runoff. In the spring of 2013 EPA is scheduled to release new regulations governing Municipal Storm Sewer Systems (MS4). These new regulations will likely include new development performance standards, redevelopment performance standards, transportation requirements, and special provisions for the critical waters. As the standards become available the City of Birmingham can embrace these new regulations, and keep their system up to date with national standards. # STRATEGIES ## A. Adopt strategies to reduce the amount and improve the quality of stormwater runoff entering the city drainage system. Impervious surfaces on developed land—mainly rooftops and paving—shed stormwater at high rates, sending it into the stormwater system and, eventually, streams and rivers, where it increases pollution, erosion and turbidity if not managed properly. Cities across the US have considered and adopted regulations, programs, and incentives to keep significant volumes of stormwater out of the stormwater system, thereby reducing the public cost of maintaining and addressing stormwater system problems. The construction and operation of municipal separate storm sewer systems is a costly federal and state requirement. However, when cities allow and encourage stormwater best management practices that retain water on site so that it either evaporates into the air (because it is taken up by trees and plants), slowly infiltrates back into the ground, or is used to irrigate landscapes, the communities benefit. There are many examples of the benefits of these practices, for example: 13.11 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE * Adding roadside bioswales, making roads narrower and designing smaller or porous parking lots with on-site runoff detention saves money by reducing the amount of pavement, curbs and gutters needed. * Installing green roofs, disconnecting roof downspouts from impervious surfaces (driveways and streets), and incorporating bioretention areas to capture on-site runoff saves money by eliminating the need for costly runoff detention basins and pipe delivery systems. * Designing more compact residential lots saves money by reducing site grading and building preparation costs, and can increase the number of lots available for sale. * Preserving natural features in neighborhoods can increase the value and sale price of residential lots. * Using existing trees and vegetation saves money by reducing landscaping costs and decreasing stormwater volumes. * Low impact development improves community aesthetics, expands recreational opportunities, increases property values due to the desirability of lots and their proximity to open space. These properties also have increased marketing potential and faster sales for residential and commercial properties. * Stream channel damage and pollutant loadings in downstream waters is lessened and the need for flood buy-out is reduced, again saving public costs and individual frustration and impact from recurrent flooding. * Drinking water treatment costs are reduced, thereby costing water customers less for drinking water. * Costs due to combined sewer overflows can also be reduced. ### Actions **1. Revise regulations to consider incentives to promote best management practices and include default language that reflects a preference for natural drainage and natural channel design.** Stormwater best management practices should be incorporated into development regulations with applications in all general land use classification types. Short term improvements could include: * Updating ordinances to promote post-development runoff hydrography that mimics pre-development hydrography and consider incentives to accomplish this goal for large projects. Current subdivision regulations stipulate that post-development runoff should be no more than pre-development runoff (Article 5.5.A). * Consider incentives for stormwater detention/retention facilities to be designed to function as site amenities in addition to mitigation elements. * For erosion and sediment control, increase staff monitoring and sampling to ensure that Best Management Practices are used in construction and industrial operations or require property owners to make reports when necessary and monitor through spot checks. Incentives could include permit streamlining, abatement or reduction of the stormwater fee, or property tax abatements for a specified time period. **2. Require by ordinance that development and significant redevelopment comply with the City’s NPDES Permit for run-off.** **3. Develop mechanisms, such as maintenance bonds, to ensure maintenance of detention ponds by developers and property owners.** The City already requires that developers/property owners maintain these ponds. Better enforcement mechanisms are needed. Examples can be found at water.epa.gov/polwaste/nps/stormwater.cfm. **4. Consider incentives to promote use of natural drainage systems, where feasible, to manage stormwater.** Cities across the nation have been searching for alternatives to traditional “hardscape” solutions to storm drainage problems. Communities are increasingly implementing best management practices for stormwater management that encourage preservation of natural drainage systems and, where preservation is not feasible, that encourage use of natural drainage and channel design to the extent possible. Current best management practices emphasize the many benefits of preserving natural drainage: * Floodplains store water during big storms, reducing the velocity of the water and reducing downstream flooding. * The natural floodplain buffer between developed areas and the stream mitigates nonpoint source pollution from the developed areas. * Tree conservation, parks, greenways and recreational areas in the floodplain enhance the community. Consider incentives to use methods that incorporate water-quality enhancement and public amenity with drainage improvements. Common approaches applied on a smaller scale include vegetated swales and the protection and enhancement of stream buffers. Others, as in Birmingham, include floodplain enhancement on a larger scale. Such approaches gain greater effectiveness when implemented alongside strategies that keep stormwater runoff out of storm sewers altogether. Use of pervious pavement and redirection of rooftop runoff to vegetated areas helps to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff entering the system. ### 5. Consider, through incentives or regulations, best management practices in limiting impervious surfaces. Create incentives and provide public education to promote best practices in reducing impervious surfaces and enhancing on-site management and infiltration of stormwater, such as rain gardens, porous pavement, bioswales, and similar on-site actions. ### 6. Consider incentives to incorporate floodplain and natural drainage systems into greenways and similar open space amenities. A well-designed urban amenity floodplain offers multiple benefits: * Improvement of the drainage way’s ability to treat stormwater runoff in addition to maintaining its capacity to hold and discharge water according to its design parameters. * Reduction of channel erosion. * Lower maintenance costs through good professional design and proper application of landscaping, trees, and plants throughout the floodplain. * Development of linkages to other areas of the city along the floodplain with walking and/or bike paths. * Development of conveniently situated passive recreational areas. * Increase in natural habitat areas for birds and other wildlife. ### 7. Promote best management practices, in accordance with the City’s NPDES permit, through development of a Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SP3) for the operation and maintenance activities of all City Departments. ### 8. Consider creating a Stormwater Advisory Board to work with City departments to ensure best practices in all City activities relating to stormwater management. --- ## B. Supplement existing stormwater-management regulations with incentives that promote best management practices which may include on-site management and infiltration of stormwater. Stormwater-management ordinances and manuals, subdivision regulations and zoning should provide criteria, regulations and incentives for use of bio-retention areas (rain gardens, bio-swales, filtration strips, etc.) and similar practices in all types of development. All of these strategies call for creation of areas planted with native vegetation that allow for the collection and infiltration of stormwater, especially from rooftops and parking areas. ### Actions #### 1. Use “Green Streets” approaches to stormwater management. “Green Streets” include vegetated elements that intercept stormwater contaminated with gasoline and other chemicals for infiltration and mitigation. Such early interception of runoff reduces demands on stormwater sewers and helps the system return relatively clean water to the receiving streams. Green Streets can include planted bio-retention “bump outs” at corners and mid-block or wide vegetated areas between sidewalks and streets. Depending on the context, Green Street designs can be formal in business or commercial districts, and more informal in neighborhood settings. <
> ***“Green Streets” can include vegetated areas in the public realm, and, together with other tools, make up “green infrastructure” for stormwater mitigation in urban conditions. (Source: www.phillywatersheds.org/what_were_doing/green_infrastructure/tools)*** Green Streets programs are consistent with the Complete Streets policy endorsed by the Birmingham Planning Commission. City of Birmingham street and sidewalk capital improvement programs could incorporate the most up-to-date stormwater management design. ### 2. Seek collaboration with UAB’s sustainable engineering program in developing greener city standards. Faculty and students are engaged in studies that can contribute to enhancing city standards. ### 3. Add City staff and equipment to handle the stormwater infrastructure maintenance and runoff monitoring in both construction and industrial operations. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 13 SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE ### STORMWATER UTILITIES SUPPORT MANAGEMENT WITH DEDICATED FUNDING Stormwater utilities have been established in cities and counties all over the country, including in Georgia, Florida, Oklahoma, Michigan, Kentucky, Ohio, Minnesota, Washington, Oregon, Colorado and Utah, to refine their stormwater-management programs. The purpose of a stormwater utility is to create a dedicated source of funding for maintenance and improvement of stormwater management. In Birmingham, Jefferson County currently collects flat fees ($5 per residential lot and $15 for commercial properties) with property tax. In a utility, however, the fee for stormwater impact is based on the amount of runoff that enters the public stormwater-management system—the use of the system by the property owner. This idea reflects the principle used for water and sewer service that customers should pay for service based on usage measured by their water meters. Stormwater utility fees are typically calculated based on the amount of impervious surface on a site, though some communities use gross parcel size for residential properties. Stormwater utilities provide an incentive for best management practices by offering credits against the stormwater fee to private property owners who reduce or eliminate runoff or improve the water quality of runoff. In addition, stormwater utilities often offer exemptions for certain kinds of properties based on level of development, ownership, community use, and similar considerations. In the case of Birmingham, where some residential areas have very little public drainage infrastructure—typically lower-income neighborhoods—property owners should not be subject to a full fee if little service is available. By establishing a stormwater utility, a community is creating a type of enterprise fund similar to the water and sewer funds, where the cost of maintenance and capital expenditures should be paid by the utility’s revenues. This then frees up General Fund resources for government services and facilities that do not have the potential to generate revenue. Stormwater-utility revenues are used for a variety of purposes, including flood control, maintenance, water-quality treatment and management improvements, system planning, open space preservation, and regulation and enforcement. Most communities with stormwater utilities bill the fee with other utility bills or on the property tax bill. State courts have found that stormwater utility charges are true user fees for services and not taxes. Establishment of a stormwater utility generally requires some years of planning, preparation and public education. Many manuals are now available to assist communities in crafting a utility appropriate to their conditions. Low initial rates can help property owners get used to the idea of paying a stormwater charge. It is essential to have a stormwater-management master plan as part of the establishment of a stormwater utility because the plan puts forward the program of specific programs and projects that need to be funded and then the rate structure will have to be adjusted so that, over time, these programs and projects are put into effect and supported by sufficient funding. The plan should demonstrate how it would promote those goals, comply with state and federal regulations, and be integrated with other plans and documents, including the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan, and provide for mitigation in the case of variances or exemptions from local stormwater regulations that are designed to promote the goals. 13.15 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE # goal 5 City resilience is supported by effective measures to mitigate hazards presented by tornadoes, floods and other environmental hazards. **POLICIES** * Continue efforts to provide effective warning of flood and tornadoes, as well as neighborhood-based “safe rooms” in public facilities. * Continue to work with FEMA and others to both eliminate repetitive flood hazards and manage floodplain development. ## STRATEGIES **A. Create a plan for locating and funding public safe rooms around the city.** **Actions** 1. *Study and evaluate the availability and suitability of existing public safe rooms.* 2. *Develop a needs list based on the travel time from all areas to safe rooms.* **B. Continue to submit applications to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to participate in buyout programs as funds become available.** The City has purchased about 1,200 properties with repetitive flooding through FEMA and USACE programs. The City should be ready when funds become available in the future. **Actions** 1. *Continue to maintain a list of properties that would benefit from the buyout program.* 2. *Prepare and submit applications to FEMA as funds are available.* 3. *Integrate these properties into open-space programs such as greenways, community land trusts, side-lot sales, community gardens and similar programs.* **C. Continue localized drainage projects.** There are repetitive flood areas that would benefit from localized drainage projects. These may include the upgrade of existing drainage structures, the addition of drainage facilities or providing detention facilities. **Actions** 1. *Develop a list of areas that would benefit from minor drainage projects.* 2. *Develop a shovel ready project list of drainage improvement projects for construction should federal funds become available.* # goal 6 City facilities are models of energy and resource efficiency and maintained for long-term use. **POLICIES** * Support investment in an asset-management system for all city-owned facilities. * Where possible, meet new needs and demands by enhancement/expansion of existing facilities. * Use best practices for long-term, life-cycle energy and resource efficiency in improvements, renovations, or new facilities. * Continue to support a priority system and plan to fund all outstanding ADA deficiencies in public facilities. The physical systems and structures owned by the City represent a huge community investment. These are long-term assets purchased with public funds and should be designed, built, maintained and managed with life-cycle costs in mind. Birmingham has not updated the inventory and conditions of city property for some time. There is a significant maintenance and repair backlog, but no systematic way to prioritize many needs. When cities experience financial constraints, maintenance and repairs > **[page 401 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** tend to build up, creating a “culture of emergency,” which ultimately results in higher costs. This problem is not unique to Birmingham, as news of bridges collapsing, water pipes bursting, and parks closing can be The Government Finance Officers Association recommends the following steps in creating a system for capital maintenance and replacement:[^p402-4] * Develop and maintain a complete inventory of all capital assets in a database (including GIS), including information such as location, dimensions, condition, maintenance history, replacement cost, operating cost, and so on. * Develop a policy for periodic evaluation of physical condition. * Establish condition and functional performance standards. * Develop financing policies for maintenance and replacement and consider earmarking fees or other revenue sources. * Allocate sufficient funds in the capital program and the operating budget for routine maintenance, repair and replacement. * Prepare an annual report on capital infrastructure including: * Condition ratings for the city * Condition ratings by asset class and other relevant factors * Indirect condition costs (for example, events like water main breaks that indicate condition) * Replacement life cycle by infrastructure type * Year-to-year changes in net infrastructure asset value * Actual expenditures and performance compared to budgeted expenditures and performance * Report trends in spending and accomplishments in the CIP. ## B. Develop and showcase City facilities, buildings, and operations as models of resource efficiency by establishing a set of policies for facility operations, maintenance, renovation and new construction. ### Actions #### 1. Re-use existing buildings before building new, if possible, and use recycled and locally-sourced content in municipal construction where practical. Existing buildings contain “embodied energy” that has already been invested. Retrofitting existing buildings can be more energy-efficient than building new. However, some buildings will need to be replaced, and use of recycled materials and locally-sourced materials that do not require high transportation costs should be pursued in those cases. An example of this approach can be found in the 2011 study of alternatives for the Birmingham Central Library by Robert A.M. Stern Architects. The Report concluded that the best solution to create a 21st century library was to keep the two existing buildings, reorganize the use of space, and upgrade systems for energy efficiency. #### 2. Design municipal buildings to maximize energy efficiency by attention to ventilation, windows, site orientation, use of trees on the south and west sides of buildings for shading, “green” roof construction where feasible, painting flat roofs white, and similar energy-efficient construction methods. City projects should be subjected to a life cycle cost-benefit analysis that takes into account the long term operational and maintenance costs of new construction or rehabilitation. Although some design elements may cost more initially to construct, they save municipalities more money over time through lower heating and cooling costs. City buildings should strive to meet the highest resource-efficiency standards possible through application of benchmark systems such as LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) or similar standards. [^p402-4]: GFOA, *Capital Maintenance and Replacement* (2007) (CEDCP), Recommended Practice Brief. *www.gfoa.org*. 3. **Identify and implement water conservation measures for all public buildings and services, including re-use of non-potable water.** Water conservation is a prudent practice that saves resources. It can be implemented through renovations and new building projects by the use of water-conserving fixtures and systems. Use of non-potable water where drinking water is not needed can save money over time as unnecessary water treatment is avoided. 4. **When repaving municipal parking areas, explore permeable surface construction.** Where the underlying soils are suitable, permeable parking areas will reduce stormwater runoff. Strategies such as the use of permeable surfaces in parking spaces while retaining impervious circulation areas can be one way of balancing conditions to promote more natural drainage. Low-traffic areas, such as small parking areas in parks, could use gravel or other low-cost permeable surfaces. 5. **Implement a municipal procurement policy that minimizes use of toxic materials.** Many communities have instituted procurement policies that require non-toxic materials, when available, for cleaning agents, construction materials and similar uses. C. **Continue funding to remedy existing ADA deficiencies in public buildings and ADA needs in new public construction, as well as PROWAG for public rights-of-way.** ADA compliance is a legal necessity as well as a moral imperative so that all citizens can participate in public life. ### Actions 1. **Keep the City’s ADA Transition Plan updated to document ADA compliance and deficiencies and request funding.** Evidence of compliance is valuable in requesting federal and other funding for public projects. 2. **Establish a policy for using “universal design” criteria in the design of any new government buildings.** Universal design is the next step beyond handicap-accessible or barrier-free design. It is predicated on the idea of designing spaces to be usable and attractive to everyone, without specialized elements specifically for disabled people. Principles of universal design include:[^p403-5] * Equitable use * Flexibility of use * Simplicity and intuitive nature of design; * Making information perceptible * Building in tolerance for error * Designing to reduce physical effort required * Provision of sufficient space and size for approach and use. 3. **Complete outstanding ADA deficiencies identified in public buildings.** Some funds should be allocated every year toward eliminating deficiencies. 4. **Continue to update ADA information available to the public and to private sector developers.** Keep ADA accessibility updated on the City website and provide informational brochures or web-based information to guide the private sector (public and developers) about ADA standards, compliance, and permitting issues. 5. **Dedicate a small portion of ticket sales, rental fees, etc., received at public facilities to underwriting ADA needs at public buildings.** Adding a small fee to facility use fees at City facilities such as CrossPlex to build up an ADA fund is a simple way to create a dedicated funding source for some improvements. If fees are raised, a public statement that the increment is dedicated to making all public facilities accessible to everyone can help mitigate the impact. [^p403-5]: www.design.ncsu.edu/cud/about_ud/udprinciplestext.htm (The Center for Universal Design, North Carolina State University) ## D. Develop a capital improvements program (CIP) with public criteria to prioritize needed capital improvements. There is no central location of capital improvement needs except for the most recent capital improvement plan. When a new capital improvement plan is under development, the various lists of proposed projects are coordinated by PEP. Capital improvement needs identified by City departments and agencies gathered during the course of this planning project include: * Roof and mechanical equipment replacement in many buildings across the city * Police station improvements * New police headquarters * Rehabilitation or demolition and rebuilding of Boutwell Auditorium * Local matching funds for the Intermodal Center Project * Local matching funds for the initial Red Rock Trails System greenway projects * Matching money for vehicle and pedestrian bridges in North Birmingham * Matching money to build linear park along Village Creek * Funds for sidewalks * Matching money for $200,000 federal grant to relocate utilities on 16th Street * New municipal jail or, at a minimum, new HVAC system * Energy systems for Bill Harris Arena at Fair Park * Sloss Furnaces visitor center new construction * Upgrades at municipal court * Citywide street resurfacing * Landfill improvements and expansion * Warming and teaching pool at Crossplex sports facility * Commercial district redevelopment * Fire station equipment including two pumper trucks * Legion Field improvements including painting, roof repair, concession stands and parking lots * Citywide street lighting improvements * New road in Pratt City from Dugan Avenue to Sheridan Road for new residential development * Street improvements on First Avenue South near Railroad Park * Traffic signals * Red Mountain Park entrance road * Ensley Avenue infrastructure improvements along 20th Street to Warrior Road * Infrastructure improvements on 12th Street from Lomb Avenue to Third Avenue West * Improvements along 19th Street, Ensley from Bush Boulevard to Tuxedo Junction * ADA pool lifts at all 17 city pools * Industrial park infrastructure * Renovation of Carver Theater/Alabama Jazz Hall of Fame * Restoration of Lyric Theater, matching money for private fundraising * Improvements to neighborhood streets, library, park and community center enhancements ### Actions #### 1. Develop a capital planning process that meets best practices. Capital Improvement Plans (CIP) play an essential role in implementation of a master plan. The Comprehensive Plan sets forth a vision for the City of Birmingham’s future and a set of goals, strategies, and action steps to implement the strategies and achieve the goals. The plan focuses on policy and organizational initiatives to more effectively achieve the goals, and it identifies criteria for decision making and the kinds of projects that are preferred, given the goals of the plan. As the Comprehensive Plan is reviewed and revised over the years, and as Community Framework Plans are adopted as part of the plan, the Comprehensive Plan may come to include more specific project information. This will also depend on implementation of recommendations to make the city’s financial policies, plans and operations more transparent. With the completion of the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan, reference to the Plan and the extent to which proposed capital improvements are consistent with the Plan and contribute to implementation should become part of the capital planning process. In Birmingham, capital improvement information is presented in the form of an annual capital budget in which there are a number of general capital categories that continue for many years. Each year, the deputy directors in each department identify capital projects and equipment needs. The department director submits each department list to PEP, which then works with the Mayor’s Office to determine priorities based on funding. Best practices in capital improvement planning according to the Government Finance Officers Association include:[^p405-6] * Identification of needs through a process that includes using projections, plans, and citizen input with attention to assets that require repair, maintenance or replacement; improvements needed to support redevelopment or growth; improvements that have revenue-generating potential or support economic development; and changes in community policies. * Determination of the full extent of project costs including consideration of scope, timing, and appropriate methods of estimating costs and potential revenues; possible inflation impacts for multi-year projects; operating costs associated with a project and the sources of operating funding; estimate of all major cost components, including land acquisition, design, construction, contingency and post-construction; and evaluation and mitigation for non-financial impacts (such as environmental impacts). * Priority-setting for capital requests by using criteria and a rating system based on policies, plans and studies; input from major stakeholders and the public; legal requirements and mandates; operating budget impacts; and analytical techniques, such as cost-benefit analysis. * Development of financing strategies taking into account anticipated revenue and expenditure trends; cash flow projections; legal constraints; estimated funding amounts from all funding al-ternatives; and the impact of financing strategy on debt ratios, taxpayers, ratepayers, and so on. The complex process of setting priorities can be made more transparent by developing a set of criteria and a rating system. Criteria can include categories such as public health and safety; legal requirements; implementation of adopted plans; percentage of people served; benefit to economic development; resource efficiency; impact on operating budget; project life expectancy; availability of financing; public support; and so on. The capital improvement budget should include the following information:[^p405-7] * A definition of capital expenditure for that entity. For example, equipment, buildings, land or other goods expected to last at least 10 years or costing more than a defined amount. * Summary information of capital projects by fund, category, etc. * A schedule for completion of the project, including specific phases of a project, estimated funding requirements for the upcoming year(s), and planned timing for acquisition, design, and construction activities. * Descriptions of the general scope of the project, including expected service and financial benefits to the jurisdiction. * A description of any impact the project will have on the current or future operating budget. * Estimated costs of the project, based on recent and accurate sources of information. * Identified funding sources for all aspects of the project, specifically referencing any financing requirements for the upcoming fiscal year. * Funding authority based either on total estimated project cost, or estimated project costs for the upcoming fiscal year. Consideration should be given [^p405-6]: GFOA, “Best Practice: Preparing and Adopting Multi-Year Capital Planning (2006),” www.gfoa.org [^p405-7]: GFOA, “Best Practice: Incorporating a Capital Project Budget in the Budget Process (2007),” www.gfoa.org. to carry-forward funding for projects previously authorized. * Any analytical information deemed helpful for setting capital priorities (this can include any cost/benefit comparisons, and related capital projects). GFOA also recommends making periodic reports on all ongoing capital projects available to decision makers and the public. The reports should include a comparison of actual expenditures to the original budget, level of project completion; and identification of any changes in scope, schedule, or anticipated completion time. # goal 7 ## Minimized City funding for operational and capital costs for City-owned cultural and entertainment facilities. ### POLICIES * Support continued emphasis on public-private operational agreements and fund-raising for cultural facilities owned by the City. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Evaluate the City’s role and costs in ownership and operation of cultural, entertainment and similar facilities. The City of Birmingham owns and contributes to the operating and capital costs of a number of cultural, entertainment and similar facilities that, in other cities would tend to be more independent of City funding. For example, at a minimum, museums today typically ask for a donation, if not a required fee, while still providing free access to groups like students or seniors. Birmingham’s institutions and facilities are very important to the city’s role as the cultural center of the region and, to a great extent of the State of Alabama. Some Birmingham institutions have public-private partnerships responsible for some or all of operating costs, and for raising money for capital costs. These kinds of approaches may be possible for more of the city’s institutions. Because there are many pressing needs for city resources, an evaluation of the City’s financial role in supporting these institutions would be worthwhile. ### Actions **1. Commission a study to identify and evaluate City support for operating and capital costs, review models from other cities, propose criteria for City support, and make recommendations on the city role.** A study will help clarify the options and the best approaches in light of City needs, and the important role played by these institutions. **2. Contract with the Cultural Alliance of Greater Birmingham to act as the City’s Cultural Commission.** The Alliance can provide services to the City on a per task basis to support and attract arts and culture producers to live and work in the city. # goal 8 ## Solid waste is reduced at least 20 percent below 2011 levels by 2030. ### POLICY * Support measures to reduce the amount of solid waste that goes to the landfill. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Establish programs that consider providing incentives to reduce the solid waste stream. ### Actions **1. Expand the City’s capacity to move toward the expansion of recycling.** Incentivizing residential recycling would be the most effective initiative to meet the goal. Birmingham’s DPW already uses single-stream recycling, so that there is no need to separate the recyclables. This makes recycling easier and increases compliance. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART V | CHAPTER 13 SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE **2. Provide appropriate equipment to the Department of Public Works for recycling.** The DPW needs specialized trucks and equipment in order to provide the kind of recycling service needed to expand recycling. **3. Allow composting on residential properties and create a municipal compost program.** Composting ordinances have been adopted in many U.S. cities to allow and regulate small-scale compost operations to reduce solid waste in a way that is cost-effective, and encourages gardening by creating good soil. Municipal compost programs require property owners to put garden waste (leaves, clippings, branches) into paper bags, which are then collected separately and taken to a municipal compost area where they are shredded and composted. This compost is typically made available to residents for free and is also used by the municipality for public landscaping needs. **4. Establish practices in collaboration with multifamily and commercial property owners and businesses to reduce solid waste, including restaurant waste.** The City government participates in the recycling program and can provide technical assistance to businesses in setting up their own internal systems for recycling. **5. Continue capital programs to get maximum long-term use from the city’s two landfills.** The combined estimated life the landfills is 50 years at current levels of use. DPW is thinking ahead to acquire an additional 16-acre site. The current Solid Waste Master Plan will remain in effect until 2020. **B. Evaluate opportunities to cover the operational and capital needs of the solid-waste operation, while promoting recycling.** Many cities charge fees for trash and garbage collection and use the fee structure to promote recycling. For example, the first bag or barrel collected could be free. Fees could be raised gradually over a few years until most or all of the actual operating and capital costs of garbage collection are covered. In most cities, garbage and trash collection is a weekly operation and twice-weekly collection is being phased out. Any changes in these services would have to be accompanied by strong public education and enforcement programs. **Actions** **1. Explore the possibility of weekly rather than twice-weekly trash and garbage collection.** A cost-benefit analysis should be prepared. **2. Explore an equitable system of charges for residential trash and garbage collection.** The system should be evaluated to see how revenues compare with actual costs. In addition, the fee system could establish thresholds at which fees would increase (e.g., anything over one container would incur a higher fee). Fee systems should be carefully weighted against the potential for increased dumping if fees are assessed. **3. Evaluate the educational and enforcement programs that would be needed to implement actions 1 and 2.** **4. As current vehicles wear out and current employees retire, phase in more automated collection vehicles requiring less manpower.** # goal 9 ## An effective and well-regarded public school system. **POLICIES** * Support public school improvement programs. * Support collaborative planning for excess school capacity and disposition of school property. The City of Birmingham government does not control the public school system. However, it can exercise influence and actively seek collaboration with the system. **STRATEGIES** **A. Support the academic improvement programs of the public school system and the Birmingham Education Foundation.** 13.23 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITIES, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE **B. Explore opportunities to create “community schools” by using excess school building capacity for social service agencies and programs, adult education, fitness and other services for neighborhood children, youth and adults.** See the discussion of community schools in Chapter 7, p. 7.11. **C. Incorporate school system disposition of excess properties into community/neighborhood planning initiatives, if feasible.** The school system has excess property which it is trying to sell. The City’s planning department and the school system should work together to identify if any of these properties has potential to become a neighborhood anchor with new uses. **D. Work with the school system to make existing and future school facilities accessible by pedestrians and bicyclists as well as motorized vehicles.** The school facilities capital plan is nearing completion, and decisions about where to locate school facilities were not made in the context of holistic and integrated planning for neighborhood development in the city. Some new schools are difficult or nearly impossible to access by pedestrians and bicyclists. As the city develops and implements its road and sidewalk improvement program, including a system of mode priority streets, connections to schools should be included. # C. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Fund preparation of a strategic plan for the Police Department and Fire Department. | Mayor’s office; City Council; Police Department, Fire Department | | Develop an incentive system and revise regulations as needed to enhance best management practices in stormwater management. | PEP | | Fund and implement an asset-management system. | Mayor’s office; Council; DPW; Finance Department; Information Management Services Department | | Develop a more structured and transparent capital-planning program. | Mayor’s office; PEP; Finance Department; Information Management Services Department | # Part VI From Plan to Action ### Chapter 14 ### Future Land Use, Regulations and Urban Design ### Chapter 15 ### Stewardship and Implementation of the Plan ### SUMMARY THEMES * **A Future Land Use Plan that preserves and enhances Birmingham’s urban character.** * Continuation of the single-family housing character of the majority of Birmingham neighborhoods. * A high-intensity, mixed-use downtown. * Mixed-use, compact, urban village centers to serve and revitalize neighborhoods and to support transportation choice. * Multi-family development in or near mixed-use centers to support retail and transit. * Robust green networks to connect city destinations. * **Zoning and development regulations and procedures that reflect the comprehensive plan.** * Revision of the zoning ordinance to reflect the Future Land Use Plan and desired development outcomes, including the possibility of creating a Unified Development Code. * **Urban design principles and standards to enhance Birmingham’s quality of life and competitiveness as an urban center** * Incorporation of design in zoning to streamline permitting while protecting and enhancing the public’s interest in quality design and sustainability. # Chapter 14 Future Land Use, Regulations and Urban Design <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “A prosperous, viable, equitable, diverse city that has strong neighborhoods and is visually attractive.” “Multiple, small, robust neighborhood centers.” CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | A development pattern composed of a high-intensity, mixed-use downtown; mixed-use urban village centers to serve and revitalize neighborhoods; and strong green networks. | • Promote development that can strengthen the city's tax and job base while serving citizen, workforce and tourist needs and preserving city character. | | | • Consider incentives to help preserve and support the character of stable residential neighborhoods. | | | • Consider incentives for compact mixed-use urban villages that concentrate retail and services in walkable environments. | | | • Consider incentives for major mixed-use centers downtown, in other job-rich locations, and to support major transit stops. | | | • Consider incentives for the preservation and protection of environmentally sensitive land. | | | • Establish urban design frameworks to guide new development so that it improves the public realm and fits into the urban fabric. | | | • Preserve land for industrial uses. | | Zoning and development regulations and procedures that reflect and implement the Comprehensive Plan. | • Support a rewrite and consolidation of development regulations to combine high-quality development with clear, user-friendly regulations and streamlined administration. | | Excellent urban design quality to enhance city livability and competitiveness. | • Strengthen the city's public realm and urban design character. | | | • Support high-quality design through incentives in regulations and in land use decisions. | PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN # findings Residential areas that have seen the most population loss and disinvestment are typically older areas where industry and transportation lines have created fragmented land use patterns by dividing and isolating neighborhoods. Additional public school closings are expected to add more vacant buildings to neighborhoods. There is too much underutilized or vacant commercial space in Birmingham for the size of the population and reuse depends on growth in households and population or innovative use of vacant property or space. A large inventory of underutilized or vacant industrial space needs to be repurposed. The zoning ordinance does not have a modern, user-friendly organization and it does not incorporate design standards effectively. Design standards and guidelines for design review districts are not on the City web site or otherwise easily available to property owners, businesses and residents. # challenges Transitioning the city’s industrial property to other uses over time. Right-sizing residential districts to be sustainable even if they do not return to historic densities. Consolidating very fragmented land uses with better connectivity. Providing the right kind of land and space for the 21st century economy. Balancing revenue needs for sales tax with good land use policy, so that commercial development contributes to centers of critical mass that can leverage enhanced transit and other improvements. Modernizing development regulations to balance the goals of streamlined processes with the desire for urban design outcomes that promote desired activities and aesthetic character. Providing public participation when completing the zoning rewrite process. # A. What the Community Said * Over recent decades, poorly designed multifamily development has intruded into predominantly single-family neighborhoods. * Some neighborhoods are isolated because of industrial, rail and highway barriers. * Vacant and blighted property results in fragmented and disconnected areas within neighborhoods. * Vacant and blighted properties in nonresidential areas need to be repurposed. * Streamlining of the permitting process is desired. # B. Recommendations ### 1. LAND USE PATTERNS Land use patterns and decisions are influenced by population and economic growth (which create market demand), transportation access and opportunities, the availability of infrastructure, environmental constraints, as well as the potential for a high quality of life reflected in parks and recreational opportunities, cultural amenities, and school quality. Most development decisions are made by the private sector, but those decisions occur within a land use framework created by zoning and other development regulations and influenced by public investments, incentives and disincentives. These regulatory and incentive frameworks will not, by themselves, cause development of a specific type to happen, but they can encourage it. Every community comprehensive plan contains a Future Land Use Plan. This comprehensive plan chapter and the Future Land Use Plan set forth the policy framework for the physical development of the city, providing a guide for decision makers in directing the pattern, distribution, density and intensity of land uses that will, over time, best achieve the Comprehensive Plan’s goals for revitalization of downtown and core city neighborhoods, support for stable neighborhoods, job growth and economic development, transportation choice, and a robust network of greenways and green spaces. The plan aims to direct the most efficient, functional, cost-effective and aesthetically pleasing way to provide sufficient land to meet potential demand for various land uses in the future. As an older city, Birmingham should focus and consider incentives for the redevelopment of previously developed land and at this point, there is more than enough land in Birmingham to meet current demand. * **Population and economic growth.** The City of Birmingham has sufficient land in redevelopment opportunities and in as yet undeveloped land to accommodate population and economic growth over the next twenty years for the types of land uses projected to be of most importance. Like other formerly industrial cities, Birmingham’s problem, as discussed elsewhere in this plan, is that many vacant parcels are brownfields in need of remediation, while “greenfield” parcels, particularly for industry, lack infrastructure and prepared sites. The main issue is to ensure that redevelopment provides sufficient choice in the types and locations of development that people and businesses are seeking. This means new housing types, as well as rehabilitation of older housing, and building types and locations for businesses and industries—such as multitenant buildings for technology companies. * **Transportation access.** Transportation choice and convenience—transit, roads, bicycle and multiuse routes, as well as freight and long-distance opportunities—influence where people want to live and where businesses want to locate. Offering more transportation choice and locating it strategically will be a key element in shaping Birmingham’s future development. * **Infrastructure.** Birmingham’s highway and rail infrastructure was located for economic reasons but it has divided the city and isolated a number of neighborhoods, sometimes near empty or declining industrial uses. Within the city, infrastructure projects of highest interest should be focused on improving quality of life in order to retain and attract households and businesses: rerouting the I-20/59 elevated highway to reunite the BJCC district with the rest of downtown, implementation of the Red Rock Trail System, providing better bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure, improving transit, and repairing streets and sidewalks. * **Environmental issues and constraints.** Within the city, continued efforts to improve air and water quality, buy out properties subject to repetitive flooding, and ensure safe development on steep slopes are some of the environmental issues affecting land uses. * **Quality of life.** A number of issues make up quality of life: parks and recreational opportunities, culture, walkability, convenient and attractive retail areas, transportation choice, public school quality, and so on. School quality is less important for attracting and retaining singles, childless couples, empty-nesters and retirees than for families. Although quality of life conditions are often considered only in terms of residential development, businesses of all kinds that provide good jobs for educated workers want to locate in places with many amenities, because that is where their workers want to live. Birmingham’s partnerships and investments in a new network of parks and greenways has galvanized the community and set the stage for the 21st century city to be known for providing extraordinary access to nature and outdoor experiences inside the city limits. The well-known real estate mantra, “location, location, location,” is as important for the overall pattern of land use and development within a community as it is for the individual property owner. A “good” location is only partly an attribute of a particular piece of property (soils, topography and vegetation can be positive or negative depending on the proposed use); it results from the intersection of interrelated conditions that include nearby existing and future land uses, transportation investments, infrastructure availability, and the likelihood for these conditions to persist or change. Many of the conditions that create a “good” location depend on public action and public investment, either because of investments in public improvements or because of regulation. This is the origin of zoning in the United States: a way to protect single-family homes from impacts of existing or future industrial or other nonresidential uses. The legal justification for zoning rests on government’s authority to protect public health, safety and welfare. How land uses are located geographically and their relationship to one another helps create higher value, “good” locations with greater overall choice and amenities in the community as a whole, improving quality of life and economic prosperity. Land uses arranged so that they have beneficial impacts on one another help produce communities where the whole results in more than the sum of the parts. A system of well-organized land uses creates the possibility of more choice in transportation, supports businesses, provides neighborhoods attractive to the work force, and mitigates adverse impacts, improving the compatibility of diverse land uses. ## 2. EXISTING LAND USE PATTERNS **Existing land use patterns within the city.** Birmingham’s land use patterns have been significantly affected by the railroad and highway networks and the growth of the city by annexing smaller independent towns. The city’s industrial heritage is evident in the large amount of active and inactive industrial land occupying an arc from Ensley in the west, through Pratt and North Birmingham, to East Birmingham, the eastern part of Northside, and the southern part of Woodlawn. Together with the railroad network and the highway network, this industrial legacy has the effect in many places of isolating and fragmenting neighborhoods. The core residential and employment areas of the city today stretch southwest to northeast, from Belview Heights to Huffman/Roebuck, south of I-59 and Village Creek and north of an imaginary line stretching from Red Mountain though Ruffner Mountain. This core area is centered around downtown, with relatively affluent residential neighborhoods to the south and southeast, a ring of struggling, disinvested residential neighborhoods from the west to the northeast, and industrial areas in varying stages of transition to the east. Residential neighborhoods linked to industrial plants are found north of I-59 and Village Creek. The peripheral areas within the city limits in areas such as Coalburg Road and lands connecting the city to Birminghamport are still predominantly in timber or other rural uses. South of the Red Mountain/ Ruffner Mountain line, the Oxmoor neighborhood has a mixture of industrial, recreational open space, institutional, residential and commercial land uses, but a significant area remains undeveloped. # PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN <
> **The industrial land shown in purple and former industrial land in gray makes an arc around the center of the city.** <
> **The larger, suburban-style lots and more winding streets of Roebuck contrast with the smaller lots, street grid, and more uniform blocks in the older Eastlake neighborhood.** About two-thirds of the city is made up of older neighborhoods laid out before 1960 with grid street patterns, sidewalks, and modest lot sizes. About half the housing in the city was built before 1960: typically a bungalow-style, single-family house located relatively close to the sidewalk. The northeastern part of the city (Roebuck, Huffman, East Pinson Valley, and Airport Hills) was developed after the 1960s and has the typically suburban physical character of the last 50 years: larger lots, more winding streets and blocks of different sizes, houses set back more from the street and without sidewalks in some areas, and long arterial roads with auto-dependent commercial uses. The residential neighborhoods that lie north of the I-59/ Village Creek line are among the parts of the city most affected by the location of both active and inactive industrial sites, the location of the rail network, and environmental issues. Neighborhoods created for workers to be in close proximity to the industrial plants are now losing population, often becoming increasingly fragmented because of blight and vacancy, and likely affected by environmental contamination. The Communities of Ensley, North Birmingham and East Birmingham saw population declines over 20% in the 2000-2010 decade, and have some of the highest unemployment rates in the city. While the Pratt Community lost 14% of its population in the same census period, it was slightly better off before the 2011 tornadoes. While it is receiving funds for rebuilding and reinvestment, the land use pattern in this neighborhood remains quite fragmented. Although the majority of residences in the city are single-family houses, there are multifamily buildings throughout the city. These include new and adaptive reuse buildings downtown; historic apartment buildings in the Highland Park neighborhood; housing authority garden apartment and townhouse complexes; small-scale apartment buildings inserted into older neighborhoods; and relatively new, self-contained apartment complexes and townhouse developments built as suburban-style “pods” off arterial roads, at the edges of the city. With few exceptions, the development pattern of multifamily housing in Birmingham does not appear to have much planning or design logic, such as location near neighborhood commercial nodes, or transitions to single-family areas. The larger multifamily developments are designed as enclaves within neighborhoods and sometimes seem deliberately sited to isolate the residents, as in the case of the Housing Authority’s Harris Homes, which is surrounded by rail lines and an interstate highway. It is certainly possible to have a successful mix of single- and multifamily housing in a neighborhood, but there are many examples in Birmingham of two extremes—either a self-contained pod or an inexpensive box on a lot without much attention to the surrounding context. <
> Small multifamily buildings like this one in Fountain Heights have been inserted in single-family neighborhoods over the years. ## 3. LAND USE POLICY AND PATTERNS This chapter of the plan sets forth the policy framework for the physical development of the city. The Future Land Use Plan is a guidance document—not a set of regulations—and does not replace the City’s zoning and development regulations. The Future Land Use Plan is not a zoning map and its land use categories are not zoning districts. It does not address design issues and has no direct impact on the function and appearance of land uses. The Future Land Use Plan and the accompanying interpretive text will help guide decisions on zoning amendments and discretionary permits. The City’s Planning Division, the Birmingham Planning Commission, and the City Council will refer to the Future Land Use Plan as they face future decisions on land use and zoning. The Future Land Use Plan will also be subject to periodic review to see if conditions have changed and the map should be amended. The Future Land Use Plan was created based on a review of existing land uses; an evaluation of the City’s current adopted future land use map that is made up of proposed land use patterns established in the early 1990s with modifications that emerged through the adoption of small area plans since then; the recommendations and strategies of this Comprehensive Plan; and discussions during the planning process. The Future Land Use Plan was prepared with a 20-year time horizon in mind. This means that it is based on an understanding that revitalization and growth in the City of Birmingham will be an incremental process that will proceed at different speeds in different parts of the city. Changes to existing land uses in this Future Land Use Plan focus on the areas that are the most strategically important for the next two decades. The land use designations in the Future Land Use Plan are intended to be broad and flexible. It is common to see comprehensive plans for older cities with Future Land Use Plans providing only general indications of density or building type. This is because these cities have grown organically with a fine-grained mix of densities and land use types. In the case of Birmingham, significant population decline and disinvestment have resulted in effective household and population densities in many parts of the city that are not necessarily reflective of urban form, lot sizes and housing types. Through implementation of the Comprehensive Plan, the urban fabric that has been damaged in some parts of the city in the past years can be repaired over time. **What kinds of land uses are likely to stay the same?** Any land use map for the future is based on existing land uses. Some land uses are less susceptible to change once they have been established. For example, single-family and lower-density residential neighborhoods tend to stay in place over long periods, with limited change or encroachment from other uses. Similarly, functioning heavy industry and utility facilities do not tend to move because it is difficult to find new locations. In contrast, retail, commercial and light industrial land uses are more likely to change and to change in more rapid cycles. Because Birmingham has many older established residential neighborhoods, the majority of the residential areas on the Future Land Use Plan will continue to reflect existing residential types and densities, particularly neighborhoods that contain predominantly single-family to four-family buildings. Areas with nonresidential land uses that citizens want to retain and that are expected to persist are the mixed-use commercial districts in older neighborhoods; shopping areas that serve neighborhood needs; cultural and entertainment areas; existing institutional areas, such as university and medical campuses; and industrial land that is currently in use or expected to be used in the future. **What kinds of land uses are likely to change?** Underutilized commercial and industrial properties and public properties no longer needed are the prime candidates for transition to new uses. Vacant agricultural or industrial land, dead or dying shopping centers, decommissioned schools and churches, empty office buildings, downtown parking lots, and so on, are the types of uses that are most likely to be subject to change and to be ready for new land use designations. A critical dimension to successful new development is making sure that there are development and design standards in place that create attractive environments within the new development, connect it with the surrounding area so that it becomes part of the existing urban fabric, and ensure that the edges of the new development provide appropriate transitions to traditional neighborhoods. ## 4. LAND USE ISSUES AND FUTURE LAND USE APPROACH The most serious land use issue facing the City of Birmingham is that there is a large amount of vacant property, both buildings and land, in all categories—residential, commercial, and industrial. Unlike growing communities, which seek to identify sufficient land to meet future demand, Birmingham’s focus must first be on stimulating demand, retaining current residents and businesses, and attracting new ones. School closings present a related issue, with empty public buildings adding to the inventory of vacant buildings in city neighborhoods. In addition, the City’s dependence on sales tax means that the City is motivated to gain control of land where retail development is likely. This was the great success of the annexation efforts of the 1980s, which secured for the City the land on US-280 where The Summit lifestyle shopping center opened in 1997. **Blight and vacancy in residential neighborhoods.** As discussed at length elsewhere in this plan, there are not enough households currently in the City of Birmingham to fill all the housing units and support all the retail and commercial space. At the time this Plan was prepared, the city had trouble attracting new residents except to the downtown area. The strategy recommended in this Comprehensive Plan is to focus density on a few areas designated for mixed-use that have the potential to serve as locations for enhanced bus service and, potentially over the long term, new forms of public transportation like Bus Rapid Transit (BRT). * *Land use goal:* Focus density in key locations. Limit new multifamily development in predominantly single-family neighborhoods. * *Future land use category designations:* * The majority of residential neighborhoods in the city are designated Residential-Low Density/Single Family. Even if some multifamily units have been located in these areas in the past, additional multifamily development in these areas is not recommended. Areas with small lot sizes and many vacant lots can benefit from encouraging transfer of those lots to neighbors, creating over time a neighborhood with larger lots. > Key locations are designated Mixed-Use and are suitable for multifamily development appropriately located at or near the Urban Village commercial centers, transit stops, at important intersections, and so on. > All residential and mixed-use categories automatically include churches, public and private schools, public uses such as fire stations, police stations, libraries, and small pocket parks. **Vacant and underutilized industrial properties.** In one sense, Birmingham has too much industrial property. There are some very large inactive former heavy industry sites, as well as vacant light industrial buildings and sites. Greenfield property at the edges of the city is also potentially usable by industry. Yet there is much discussion that the City lacks industrial land. This apparent contradiction is due to several factors. Birmingham lacks industrial property that is prepared and ready for tenants. The inactive heavy sites require some level of environmental remediation, depending on the former use. The greenfield sites are not served by infrastructure. In some cases, land assembly is needed to create sites of appropriate size. Smaller light industrial buildings that might be suitable for companies graduating from the Innovation Depot or other technology companies also require work and are not ready to be leased and occupied. The economic findings of this Plan indicate that traditional industry is a declining sector in Birmingham and is providing a declining number of jobs. Big manufacturers today tend to prefer very large greenfield sites in exurban locations. In addition, manufacturing in the New Economy is increasingly automated, providing fewer jobs and requiring more education for those positions that do exist. From the perspective of this Plan, the 21st-century economic destiny of the City of Birmingham is to be the region’s center of the knowledge economy, not traditional manufacturing, though the knowledge economy can include advanced manufacturing as well. The expectation is that over time, there will be a transition, especially for light industrial properties, towards more office, technology, research, and biomedical uses. The potential transition for the large, heavy industry sites is more clouded at present and innovative options in use elsewhere, such as “brightfields” solar arrays, or conversion to unique tourist destinations, should be explored. * *Land use goal:* Continuing industrial uses for operating businesses and flexibility for inactive uses. It is expected that opportunities may arise where non-industrial uses are increasingly emerging in areas designated industrial on the Future Land Use Plan. In that case, adjustment of the Future Land Use Plan and associated zoning would be appropriate. * *Future land use category designations:* > Heavy Industry, where intensive and high-impact industry or distribution is operating. > Light Industry, where it continues to operate or may be appropriate. Some small heavy-industrial areas that are located adjacent to or within areas of light industry have been designated for Light Industry. The Light Industry category can also include urban agriculture, business parks, offices and artisinal-style industries such as craft breweries. Many of the locations designated for Light Industry in this Future Land Use Plan are expected to shift sooner or later to general commercial or mixed-use areas. Areas with light industrial properties in downtown and in the proposed urban village areas have been designated with the Mixed-Use land use category. > The Planned Development land use category is used on several former industrial sites that are large and could accommodate a variety of reuse options. **Vacant and underutilized commercial properties.** The decline in population combined with a changing retail industry over the last thirty to forty years has resulted in an oversupply of commercial sites in the city, especially along arterial roads and in former neighborhood commercial districts, but also including vacant space in shopping centers and malls, such as Century Plaza. A number of big box retailers are downsizing and “the pool of tenants looking for large blocks of space is shrinking,” according to commercial real estate experts.[^p418-1] The expansion of online retailing also presents a serious challenge to all kinds of retailers. However, the 2012 acquisition of Eastwood Festival Centre by a Canadian company that is making improvements and attracting new tenants may encourage other retail investments in that area, which still has an exceptional location for regional retail nearly 50 years since Alabama’s first mall was built there as Eastwood Mall (now the Wal-Mart location). [^p418-1]: http://www.cpexecutive.com/newsletters/capitalmarkets-newsletter/netleasecolumn/the-effects-of-big-box-downsizing-on-the-retail-side * *Land use goal:* Promote commercial consolidation in the urban village strategic focus areas and in downtown as part of a mixed-use environment, and in key retail centers that have locational advantages. Neighborhood-serving retail is struggling in many locations because of declining population, but the potential for revival of some of these neighborhood main streets should be preserved, with efforts to encourage clustering in a few blocks. Long stretches of low-density commercial land uses—and vacancies—on arterial roads such as US-11 and 1st Avenue North will persist without the addition of new households. In the future, it may be possible to change some segments from commercial to residential through implementation of redevelopment plans that include land assembly, streetscape and street improvements. Corner stores, which typically served dense, older neighborhoods and in some cases still exist, have been included in overall residential designations. While these stores are sometimes well-managed and liked by residential neighbors, in other cases they attract problems and criminal behavior that neighbors do not like. From a land use point of view, these stores should be subject to discretionary approvals, such as continuation of the Zoning Board of Adjustment’s (ZBA) authority to permit resumption of legal non-conforming uses. * *Future land use category designations:* These designations are intended to provide for flexibility. * The Mixed-Use land use categories designate key potential locations for urban villages such as Five Points West, Carraway/Norwood, Woodlawn, and Parkway East, as well as downtown. * The General Commercial designation, which includes both retail and office uses, is used for areas that today or in the recent past have had medium to high intensity commercial uses. * The Neighborhood Commercial designation is used in locations where small-scale businesses today or in the past have served neighborhood needs. In order to encourage clustering and elimination of excessive amounts of retail space, conversion of some blocks to residential uses can be encouraged. * As in the residential land use categories, schools, churches and public uses that support neighborhoods are included. **Vacant schools and other public properties.** When schools close, the surrounding neighborhoods and school alumni are upset because of the role that schools play in neighborhood identity. The school system has a responsibility to do more than simply divest itself of the properties or hand them over to the City. The City and the school system must develop a set of criteria and a basic planning process for these properties before the City agrees to accept more vacant school property. The fate of empty public buildings should be discussed with residents in the development of the Community Framework Plans. These properties must be evaluated for their potential to serve other public purposes and for their market potential to serve private purposes. Schools may be suitable for use by social service agencies or as elderly housing, artists studios or live-work buildings, offices for start up businesses, and so on. The costs of renovation, rehabilitation, securing empty buildings over long periods, and demolition must be compared. Costs and potential benefits—including intangible benefits, such as preservation of historic character—must be balanced. **Greenfield areas.** Many acres of unbuilt lands at the edges of the city continue to be used for rural enterprises such as timber or are simply being land-banked and held for future development. Some of these lands were annexed as long ago as the 1970s and have not yet been developed. Most of this land is owned by a handful of corporations. The Comprehensive Plan Vision, Principles and Goals—all based on the community planning process—and the strategies to achieve that vision, focus on redevelopment of existing communities and promotion of economic development. While nonresidential development could be beneficial, residential development of these greenfield properties at the edges of the city is not a priority of this Comprehensive Plan, with few exceptions. Revitalization and redevelopment of existing neighborhoods, reweaving of the historic urban fabric, and an initial focus on the mixed-use centers strategy (urban villages and downtown) are the focus of this Plan. This includes the creation of new market-rate housing. One exception is Oxmoor, located within a matrix of developed communities, both in Birmingham and adjacent jurisdictions, and which already has some subdivisions and the Robert Trent Jones golf trail course at Oxmoor Valley. As suggested earlier, development in this area could target retirees in conservation/open space subdivisions that cluster housing units while preserving large areas of open space. * *Land use goal:* For most of these lands, continue with maintenance of rural enterprises unless a significant job-creating development is proposed. For the Oxmoor area, encourage planned developments that include conservation/open space subdivisions, light industry/office/technology parks, mixed-use clusters. * *Future land use category designations:* * The Rural Enterprise land use category can include single-family houses on agricultural properties, timber lands, and land being held for future development without an identified current use. * The Resource Extraction land use category includes mining for minerals, gravel, sand, clay, and so on. * The Planned Development land use category is intended to provide flexibility and the ability to take advantage of opportunities, while still promoting an overall master planning process for development. * Proposed new uses should be examined carefully in a process that may include consideration for the amendment of the Future Land Use Plan and the zoning ordinance. **Metropolitan development.** Chapter 3 discussed the sprawling character of metropolitan growth around the City of Birmingham, the many independent jurisdictions within the region, and the city’s 50-year history of declining population and households. This experience of seeing Alabama’s biggest city and the core city of the region on an apparently permanent trajectory of population loss has created a zero-sum mentality in which gains for communities outside the city are interpreted as taking from the city’s potential growth. Implementation of the Comprehensive Plan is not only about capturing a greater share of regional growth for the city—it is about fostering urban-inclined economic and household growth that would otherwise not come to the region. Development regulations appropriate to urban character should align with this policy goal. *** **FEDERAL TRANSPORTATION PLANNING IS NOW GUIDED BY SIX PRINCIPLES OF LIVABILITY** * *Provide more transportation choices* to decrease household transportation costs, reduce our dependence on oil, improve air quality and promote public health. * *Expand location- and energy-efficient housing choices* for people of all ages, incomes, races and ethnicities to increase mobility and lower the combined cost of housing and transportation. * *Improve economic competitiveness of neighborhoods* by giving people reliable access to employment centers, educational opportunities, services and other basic needs. * *Target federal funding toward existing communities* – through transit-oriented and land recycling – to revitalize communities, reduce public works costs, and safeguard rural landscapes. * *Align federal policies and funding* to remove barriers to collaboration, leverage funding and increase the effectiveness of programs to plan for future growth. * *Enhance the unique characteristics of all communities* by investing in healthy, safe and walkable neighborhoods, whether rural, urban or suburban. Source: http://www.dot.gov/livability/101.html *** **Annexation policy.** This Comprehensive Plan recommends caution and careful evaluation of annexation proposals. Annexation of small adjacent communities that are having trouble providing services to their residents would bring additional population but at the high cost of adding service demands and more blight. Annexation of more greenfield sites, taking into account the costs of infrastructure, extension of services like fire protection, and similar considerations, should also be subject to a thorough cost-benefit analysis, even if proposed or likely uses will be non-residential. *** ## 5. ZONING AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS Zoning ordinances and development regulations need reorganizing and updating from time to time. Incremental amendments can introduce inconsistencies, ambiguity, and confusion—and produce disappointing outcomes. As communities change, so do their land use goals. Unanticipated consequences of previous decisions need to be corrected. The current Birmingham Zoning Ordinance is based on a 1962 ordinance, modified with major changes and readopted by the City Council in 1990. Additional amendments have changed the code since 1990. After the adoption of a new Comprehensive Plan, it is usually necessary to either modify an existing zoning ordinance to reflect the comprehensive plan, or to completely rewrite it. A modern zoning code is based on planning goals and principles, is user-friendly and precise about what is and is not permitted, and provides clear standards for high quality and sustainable development. As a result, modern codes make it possible for most development projects to proceed without lengthy delays and reviews, because developers and communities know what to expect and what is expected. Many communities have opted to create a “unified development code” that gathers into one document zoning, subdivision regulations, thoroughfare regulations, development standards, environmental regulations, sign regulations, historic preservation regulations, permits, and annexation regulations. ## Approaches to Zoning Land use zoning first appeared in the United States in 1916. The zoning system that emerged in the early twentieth century is now called conventional or “Euclidean” zoning (after *Euclid v. Ambler*, the 1926 Supreme Court case that validated zoning as a proper exercise of municipal police power). As some of the disadvantages of conventional zoning became evident by the second half of the twentieth century, new zoning approaches emerged, including performance zoning and form-based (also called design-based) zoning. Conventional zoning remains the basis of most zoning systems today, but many jurisdictions have added aspects of performance zoning and form-based zoning. **Conventional Zoning.** Conventional zoning was originally created to separate industrial and other noxious land uses from residential areas, and particularly to preserve quality of life and property values in single-family home neighborhoods. Conventional zoning regulates the uses and dimensions of development, for example: * Type and mix of land uses * Size and dimension of lots * Type, size and height of buildings * Distance of front, side and rear setbacks * Width and length of streets and sidewalks * Amount and size of off-street parking Conventional zoning separates land uses deemed to be incompatible and is prescriptive, in that it specifies land uses and required maximum or minimum dimensions, parking, etc. This prescriptive character makes it easy to implement both by governments and by property owners because there are no judgment calls when the zoning says, for example, that a building must be ten feet from the front lot line. However, conventional zoning is also proscriptive, that is, it focuses on what is not allowed rather than articulating what is actually desired. Conventional zoning provides some certainty about development outcomes and, because it is long-established, it is familiar to everyone. However, it is inflexible and inhibits design creativity. It is one, though not the only, source of the “Anywhere, USA” sprawl landscape that has produced a modern built environment lacking in distinctiveness. Most municipal governments in Alabama have conventional or Euclidean type zoning. The homogenizing and inflexible outcomes of conventional zoning have led to the establishment of an array of strategies to get around that inflexibility. Variances, conditional uses, special exceptions, bonuses and incentives, planned unit developments, design review, and similar devices are intended to allow development to be more closely tailored to particular conditions and desired results. Most of Birmingham’s existing zoning code is conventional and Birmingham has also found it necessary to add mechanisms to improve the outcomes from conventional zoning. **Performance Zoning.** Performance zoning has its origins in industrial performance standards that identified limits on measurable industrial impacts such as noise, vibration, light, dust, smells, and so on, and that were incorporated into zoning codes for industrial land uses. This idea was expanded in performance zoning to regulation of the impacts and effects of the built environment. Unlike conventional zoning, which assumes certain uses are incompatible and separates them, pure performance zoning assumes virtually any uses can be made compatible if impacts are properly managed. Because it can provide flexibility to developers and designers to present their own solutions to mitigate impacts for administrative review, the specific outcomes are not always predictable. Generally speaking, performance zoning requires highly- trained administrators who have the confidence of residents, property owners, and developers. Performance zoning emerged in the 1970s and 1980s. There are few places with a pure performance zoning system, but some aspects of performance zoning are incorporated into many communities’ zoning codes. In Alabama, the City of Auburn has elements of performance-based zoning combined with conventional zoning. **Form-Based Zoning.** Form-based zoning focuses more on building form—the physical character of the building and how it addresses the public realm—than on land uses. Form-based codes are based on the concept of a transition from low densities at the periphery to high densities at the center (called a “transect”)—of a city, a district or a neighborhood. These codes are a reaction to conventional zoning’s separation of land uses, which made it impossible to build mixed-use neighborhoods and districts, and its neglect of the public realm, which resulted in visually- and functionally-impoverished environments that are often unattractive and functional for only one type of user. Form-based codes are very detailed and prescriptive about certain aspects of design and use many visuals to give a positive vision of what is desired, rather than focusing on what should be excluded. They require a design-focused community process in advance of writing the zoning. In existing communities, these kinds of codes have generally been applied in specific districts, such as a commercial corridor, rather than city-wide. Birmingham’s zoning code includes a form-based overlay district for the Highland Park neighborhood. Several other Alabama cities have incorporated form-based zoning into their regulatory system, such as Montgomery’s downtown zoning regulations. A few small towns, such as Pike Road (AL), have only form-based zoning codes. Where there is already some development interest, form-based codes have been found to hasten development and improve property values. **Hybrid Zoning.** Conventional, performance, and form-based zoning codes all have advantages and disadvantages. Because of its familiarity and long institutional history, conventional zoning is likely to remain the foundation of most zoning codes. However, performance standards and form-based elements are valuable to increase the flexibility of conventional zoning. For example, conventional zoning is organized in separate-use districts on a citywide basis and is not effective in mediating impacts at the edges of districts—which is precisely the strong point of performance zoning. Form-based codes are organized around the street and the neighborhood and are particularly good for mixing uses and about conveying what is desired in terms of the relationship between private buildings and the public street. A type of hybrid zoning known as “place-based” zoning focuses on the desired characteristics of types of places, such as residential areas, walkable mixed-use centers, or industrial areas. In this type of zoning, design standards are included in the zoning district requirements. ### The Existing City of Birmingham Zoning Ordinance The City of Birmingham Zoning Ordinance is based on what is called “pyramid” or “cumulative” zoning. This is a system that establishes a hierarchy of uses in which zoning districts are organized from most restrictive in terms of uses to least restrictive. In single-family zoning districts, only single-family housing (and some public or semi-public uses such as schools, parks and churches) is allowed (the top of the “pyramid”); multifamily districts continue to allow single-family uses; and commercial districts allow all residential uses. In pure cumulative zoning systems, heavy industrial zones also allow residential, commercial, and all types of industrial uses. What makes the system “cumulative” is that any use permitted in a less intensive zone (i.e., where uses have less impacts on neighbors) is permissible in a more intensive zone. Most cities today do not have true cumulative zoning. What is more common is to have a hierarchy within a general zoning category. For example, all residential uses would be allowed in the least restrictive residential zoning district, some residential uses would be allowed in commercial districts, but industrial zoning districts would not allow residential uses. Birmingham has a modified cumulative zoning system. Cumulative zoning, particularly when there are few design standards, can create uncertainty for businesses, property owners and developers and retard investment. While they might wish to make improvements, build housing or commercial uses, or open a business, they hesitate to make an investment because incompatible and unappealing uses may be able to locate next door. For example, the M-1 Light Industrial District, that covers much of the western CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN half of downtown north of the railroad as well as Lakeview, permits uses such as lumber yards, truck terminals, metal plating, and “similar uses,” as long as they don’t produce “objectionable noise, vibration, smoke, dust, odor, heat or glare” (performance standards for which no measurement criteria are given in the zoning ordinance). This is not the same thing as having a “mixed-use” district. The strict definition of mixed-use limits it to vertical mixed-use in which a single structure contains more than one land use, typically retail/housing or retail/commercial. For the purposes of this Comprehensive Plan, “mixed-use” also incorporates horizontal mixed-use, in which buildings with different but compatible or reinforcing land uses are located in close adjacency. ### Design Review as a solution to zoning deficiencies Like many communities that decided that as-of-right zoning would not produce the desired results in certain areas of the city, Birmingham has made projects in much of downtown, certain commercial districts and corridors, and local historic districts subject to review by the Design Review Committee (as well as placement of telecommunications equipment in national register historic districts). **Commercial Revitalization Design Review.** Authority for design review is found in Section 60-5, Article IV of Ordinance 79-56 in the General Ordinances. The authority is based on the adoption of Urban Renewal Plans in the decades after 1978. A 1984 amendment to the General City Code, Section 7-1-C “Building and Housing Code Enforcement” currently governs the Committee’s actions. This ordinance outlines the purview of the Design Review Committee in very general terms and states that more detailed standards for each area were to be developed by the Committee in collaboration with the areas’ Merchants’ Associations. Within a few designated design review districts, the design review process is connected to the City’s façade improvement program which provides a 20% rebate of façade improvements in accordance with architectural guidelines, and a 10% rebate of the cost of other capital improvements, within specified maximum limitations. The design review standards and guidelines for the various design review areas are not available online. Because the expressed rationale for review lies in the city’s interest in revitalizing older commercial areas, the commercial revitalization design guidelines have their roots in historic district design guidelines, with an emphasis on restoration to prior conditions. In addition, in the older sets of district guidelines, there is less focus on the urban design character of the project (whether rehabilitation or new construction) or sustainability than would be found in more recent design guidelines from other cities. In Downtown and Lakeview, where the M-1 Light Industry zoning district covers a substantial portion of the area, design review is clearly being used as a way to overcome the deficiencies of the base zoning as a guide for development and redevelopment. Modern zoning codes often include basic design standards as part of the zoning district regulations. Design review is deployed for development projects that meet certain size and impact thresholds (which can include certain important locations), rather than covering all developments, many of which can be sufficiently guided by design standards in the zoning. These design standards for by-right development need to be understandable to project proponents and to the building and permitting staff who will have the responsibility of signing off for issuance of a building permit. ### Existing zoning and design review: potential issues Examples of the kinds of issues that need attention in the current zoning ordinance include: * **Lack of user-friendly organization and illustrations.** Better organization of procedures, definitions, and administrative materials, replacement of the laundry list approach to uses (including the vague “or similar uses”) with use categories, and more charts and illustrations are among the improvements that can make the zoning ordinance more user-friendly. * **Sign regulations scattered in many places.** Regulations about signs can be found in multiple locations—descriptions of use districts, a separate article in the zoning ordinance, and some, but not all of the various sets of design review guidelines. 14.14 ### FIGURE 14.3: DESIGN REVIEW AREAS <
> SOURCE: BIRMINGHAM GIS * **Large number of residential zoning districts.** There are 10 residential zoning districts in Birmingham, of which four are single-family districts, one is a two-family district, and one permits up to 4-family dwellings. Three multifamily districts allow increasing levels of density. Of course, because this is a cumulative system, all residential districts also allow the least intensive use—a single-family home on at least a half acre. There may not be a need to have so many relatively minor gradations of residential density. Two of these districts, E-1 and R-1 have minimal difference in required lot size and frontage but are otherwise identical. The Planned Residential Zoning District (R-8) does not allow for a mixture of uses but the B-5 Mixed Business District is essentially the same as the R-8 except that it allows business and has a smaller acreage requirement. Buffer requirements appear to reinforce suburban-style “pod” subdivisions, rather than promoting connectivity and appropriate transitions between new planned districts and existing areas. * **Large number of business zoning districts.** There are four other business districts in addition to the Planned Business District. B-3 Community Business District and B-4 Central Business District are essentially the same except that B-4 does not require off street parking. * **Five industrial districts.** The rationale behind the uses enumerated in the various industrial districts and how the districts are distinguished from one another needs to be reviewed in light of desired economic activity in various parts of the city. * **Mixed-Use District (MXD).** The Mixed-Use District is essentially what in many other zoning ordinances is called a Planned Unit Development or PUD, which promotes integrated master planning of a significant area with a mixture of uses. The Birmingham zoning district requires a minimum of 40 acres when initiated by a property owner or developer, which seems unnecessarily large. The various subtypes of the Mixed-Use Zoning District list allowed uses (with a vague “other like uses” at the end of the list) and provide detailed use percentages, dimensional standards for various types of mixed-use, and so on. The project is required to include a set of development guidelines, but little guidance is given on what the city’s urban design goals are and what the indicators might be to meet those standards. In this case, the zoning district’s goal of flexible and creative development and design approaches might be better met by providing a set of urban design and sustainability goals and indicators, which the project proponent would then have to respond to with a narrative explaining how the site design and guidelines will meet the City’s goals. # goal 1 A development pattern composed of a high-intensity, mixed-use downtown; mixed-use urban village centers to serve and revitalize neighborhoods; and strong green networks. ### POLICIES * Promote development that can strengthen the city’s tax and job base while serving citizen, workforce, and tourist needs and preserving city character. * Consider incentives to help preserve and support the character of stable residential neighborhoods. * Consider incentives for compact mixed-use urban villages that concentrate retail and services in walkable environments. * Consider incentives for major mixed-use centers downtown, in other job-rich locations, and to support major transit stops. * Consider incentives for the preservation and protection of environmentally sensitive land. * Establish urban design frameworks to guide new development so that it improves the public realm and fits into the urban fabric. * Preserve land for industrial uses. # STRATEGY ### A. Use the Strategic Policy Map and the Future Land Use Plan to guide land use decision making. ## The Strategic Policy Map The Strategic Policy Map provides a diagrammatic expression of the key land use issues and changes that emerged from the recommendations of other Comprehensive Plan elements: * **Downtown as a major mixed-use center** with a strong residential population, expanded entertainment and cultural options, and an entrepreneurial environment for economic innovation. * **Creation of walkable “urban villages” at key locations and varying scales** to provide for residential critical mass to support retail and to function as transit hubs, first for express bus service and over the long term for Bus Rapid Transit. * **Strategic Opportunity Areas around urban villages** for an integrated program of physical revitalization, social services, workforce development, and other supports to improve quality of life. * **An Urban Agriculture Innovation District** in Ensley, to create a new industry of intensive indoor and outdoor agriculture to serve the restaurant industry and other consumers in the city and region. * **Preservation of the single-family character** of most Birmingham neighborhoods. * **Concentration of heavy industry** in a few major locations. * **A robust greenway network** that links community destinations and preserves environmentally sensitive areas, while helping to achieve the goal of public green space within a ten-minute walk. #### FIGURE 14.4: BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN STRATEGIC POLICY MAP <
> ### The Future Land Use Plan As noted earlier, the Future Land Use Plan is not a zoning map. It includes a map that shows the distribution of general land use categories for desired future development within the city. The land use categories in a Future Land Use Plan are often reflected by more than one zoning district in a zoning ordinance. Any future land use plan in a long-established city is inevitably based on the existing uses, because some land uses are much less susceptible to change once they have been established. The Future Land Use Plan balances respect for existing land uses with designations for consolidated land uses and new future land use designations. The consolidated land uses as they appear on the map take two forms: a) consolidation under one category of land uses with similar impacts, for example, a “General Commercial” designation for areas where there is an existing mixture of retail, service and office uses or where that mixture would be appropriate; or b) a consolidation under a predominant use, for example, where an area is predominantly residential but also includes schools, churches, and a few scattered retail, office, or public uses. The existing development pattern in the city includes many areas with scattered examples of other land uses. In some cases, these uses coexist without much difficulty, such as churches and schools in single-family neighborhoods. In others there are different land uses or intensities of the same land use that are located in ways that do not function effectively. For example, a number of older areas within the city limits contain a few streets with residential uses surrounded by industrial or transportation uses, sometimes as a small enclave and sometimes as dead end streets that empty directly onto a collector street or major arterial. The edges of the city contain areas where greenfield properties entirely surround isolated suburban-style subdivisions except for one connection to an arterial road. This Future Land Use Plan also does not provide full detail for where neighborhood retail and service centers should be located in all revitalization areas. Instead, the Principles to Guide Future Land Use, and the Zoning and Urban Design Principles provide guidance for the Framework Plans and other detailed planning that will be necessary for successful revitalization. The appropriate location for an urban village or neighborhood commercial center in neighborhoods that require significant redevelopment should be established on the basis of this detailed planning, including the incorporation of market analysis. Finally, it should be noted that this Future Land Use Plan is conceived with a 2030 time horizon in mind, and the understanding that the amount of job growth and household growth that can be achieved over the 20-year time period will affect the outcome. From the land use point of view, a few key locations—designated as urban villages in the Strategic Policy Map—should have high priority because of the opportunity to leverage existing job numbers, transportation opportunities, investments and programs, and other benefits. Once there is success at these locations and sufficient growth, then subsequent Future Land Use Plans can identify additional locations for shaping change. ### FUTURE LAND USE CATEGORIES These future land use categories provide a generalized pattern of land uses that are consistent with the Comprehensive Plan Vision, Goals, and Strategies. As noted earlier, schools and churches are not called out separately but are subsumed as neighborhood uses in residential, mixed-use and commercial areas. The Plan recommends locating new government facilities such as fire stations and police stations, in mixed-use and commercial areas, when feasible, but existing facilities of this type are also subsumed into the general land use category. The Future Land Use Plan for the entire city can be seen in Figure 14.5, and Future Land Use Plans by Community can be found in the Appendix. #### RURAL USES * **Rural Enterprise** > Single-family homes on very large lots or associated with rural enterprise uses. > Agricultural and forestry uses. > Vacant land that has not previously been developed. > Schools, churches, and neighborhood-serving public uses. #### RESIDENTIAL USES * **Residential Low-Density (Single-Family)** > Single-family homes. > Schools, churches, and neighborhood-serving public uses. The predominant residential land use in the City of Birmingham is the single-family dwelling. Depending on the location, lots can be quite small, so some single-family areas are denser than others. Additional multi-family development in areas with this land use category is not recommended. | PRINCIPLES TO GUIDE FUTURE LAND USE | | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | • *Preserve the single-family character of the majority of Birmingham’s existing occupied single-family residential neighborhoods and promote consolidation of vacant lots with occupied housing, where appropriate.* | • *Locate compact, neighborhood mixed-use centers (“urban villages”) with residential, retail and office uses at key intersections within walking distance of neighborhood residences and where they could support improved public transportation service.* | interconnected greenways and multi-use paths, parks, and passive and recreational spaces. | | • *Encourage residential infill development on vacant lots, starting with Strategic Opportunity Areas.* | • *Locate multifamily development in mixed-use centers (“urban villages”); where there is nearby access to retail, services, and public transportation; or on collector or arterial streets and at intersections.* | • *Locate new housing developments adjacent to and connected to existing development, rather than in areas where they are surrounded by undeveloped land.* | | • *Concentrate density and mixed-use development in a limited number of mixed-use centers in order to promote the emergence of critical mass to make a visible difference and support retail and transit.* | • *Implement the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System by preserving land to achieve a green network of* | • *Avoid locating residential uses where they will be surrounded by industrial uses.* | | | | • *Establish appropriate transitions from higher-density and higher-impact land uses to lower-density and lower-impact land uses.* | # FIGURE 14.5: FUTURE LAND USE <
> # FUTURE LAND USE **Future Land Use** * Residential - Low * Residential - Medium * Residential - High * Neighborhood Commercial * General Commercial * Mixed Use - Low * Mixed Use - Medium * Mixed Use - High * Mixed Use - Downtown * Light Industrial * Heavy Industrial * Institutional * Planned Development * Parks and Recreation * Open Space * Rural Enterprise * Resource Extraction * Transportation and Utilities * Community Boundary This map was prepared for graphic representation and is not to be used for conveyance. Any use of this map for such purposes shall be at the sole risk of the person or entity using it. The City of Birmingham makes no warranty, expressed or implied, as to the accuracy of the information contained herein. UNITED FOR THE GOOD OF THE CITY MAYOR WILLIAM A. BELL, SR. Source: Birmingham GIS, 2011 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN * **Residential Medium Density (Two-Family, Townhouse, Small Multifamily)** * A mix of single- and two-family, townhouse, and small and medium size apartment buildings. * Schools, churches, and neighborhood-serving public uses. * **Residential High (Multifamily)** * Multifamily rental and condominium structures and townhouses, typically in large developments or mid-rise and high-rise buildings. * Generally found at or adjacent to major transportation/transit corridors and intersections and in downtown adjacent areas. * Schools, churches, and neighborhood-serving public uses. **COMMERCIAL USES** * **Neighborhood Commercial** * Areas for neighborhood retail and services that meet the day-to-day needs of residents and workers of surrounding neighborhoods (typically within a 1-mile radius) with a range of uses such as smaller grocery stores, banks, restaurants and services such as small professional and health offices, barber/beauty shops, dry cleaners, etc. * Small- to medium-scale offices. * Areas are accessible both by automobile with sufficient parking, but also designed to accommodate pedestrian and bicycle access. * Schools, churches, and neighborhood-serving public uses. * **General Commercial** * Commercial areas serving a citywide or regional trade area, including shopping and entertainment centers that offer a range of retail and service establishments including large supermarkets, department stores, movie theaters, big box stores, and supporting retail and other services. Office uses with ground floor retail are encouraged. * Office buildings. * Leisure and entertainment uses. * Accessible by auto, but should be designed to accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists, provide interior circulation between properties, and appropriate landscaping to counter heat island and stormwater impacts. * Residential higher-density uses. * Schools, churches, and neighborhood-serving public uses. **INDUSTRIAL USES** * **Light Industrial** * Light industrial and office uses, potentially in “business park” settings, and typically near major transportation routes including Interstates, State Highways, railroad spurs and airport facilities. * Warehouse and distribution uses. * Urban agriculture. * Supporting uses, such as minor retail and services to support the major uses. * Residential uses by ZBA special exception. * **Heavy Industrial** * Heavy manufacturing. * Uses that require significant truck traffic and/or rail connections. * Supporting uses included (minor retail, services, offices connected to the industrial use or serving an industrial park). * No residential uses. * Certain public uses, such as landfills, that have an industrial character and impact. **RESOURCE EXTRACTION USES** * Mining. * Gravel, sand, and clay pits. * This land use category has the potential over the long term to transition to other uses if these uses are abandoned and market conditions promote site restoration and redevelopment. **MIXED-USE AREAS** Mixed-use centers, ranging from vibrant downtown environments to active urban villages, include residential, retail, entertainment, and office uses. The mixture can be vertical, with uses on different floors of a building, and horizontal, with different uses in adjacency. Mixed-use centers are pedestrian-friendly and provide concentrated population and activity centers that can support enhanced transit. Buildings should be oriented to the street, with active ground-floor uses or easy pedestrian access. Parking should be located in the rear of the parcel or to the side where lots are shallow, or in parking structures or parking areas that serve multiple lots. Uses that require large amounts of trucking are not suitable for mixed-use areas. Churches, schools and public uses are included in mixed-use areas. * **Mixed-Use Low Density** * Compact, walkable, residential and commercial areas, often with a “Main Street” spine that historically served as a town center with two- to three-story buildings. * Uses can be mixed horizontally (side-by-side), or vertically (one above the other) and include multifamily, townhouse, cottage and small-lot single-family residential, neighborhood supporting retail and services, offices, hotels and live/work structures. * Main Street areas would typically be characterized by ground-floor uses including small markets, convenience retail and services, restaurants and cafes, and existing or potential residential uses on upper floors. * **Mixed-Use Medium Density** * Similar mix of uses as in Mixed-Use Low-Density but with provision for up to mid-rise buildings, artisanal industries and small warehouses that may be characterized as light industry but that do not have noise, odor, illumination, trucking, or other adverse impacts on adjacent land uses. * **Mixed-Use High-Density** * Medium- to high-density office, residential, retail, artisanal industries and small warehouses that may be characterized as light industry that do not have noise, odor, illumination, trucking, or other adverse impacts on adjacent land uses. Also including entertainment areas, typically mid-rise to high-rise, including mixed-use lifestyle center types. * Transit-accessible or transit-ready locations. * Intensity of development would vary by area. * Potential uses include multifamily, loft, townhouse, cottage and small-lot residential, retail and services, offices, hotels, large entertainment facilities, and live/work structures. * Ground-floor uses encouraged on desired pedestrian-intensive streets. * **Mixed-Use Downtown** * Medium- to high-density office, residential, retail and entertainment areas that create vibrant 18–24-hour, 7-day a week live-work-play environments, typically mid-rise to high-rise; artisanal industries and small warehouses that may be characterized as light industry that do not have noise, odor, illumination, trucking, or other adverse impacts on adjacent land uses. * Transit-accessible. * Focused in the downtown area. * Uses include multifamily, loft, townhouse, retail and services, offices, hotels, large entertainment facilities, and live/work structures. **OTHER** * **Institutional** * Hospitals, colleges, nonprofit research facilities and universities. * Public and private primary and secondary schools and churches are not included in this category. They are allowed within all residential and commercial areas. These land uses, whether public or private, are designated as separate land uses because of their campus-like character, which requires special attention to edges and relationships with adjacent areas. * **Parks and Recreation** * Parks and playgrounds, recreational fields and facilities managed for public access and recreation. * The exact location of future public open space will depend on the implementation of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail Plan and the Community Framework Plans. The Strategic Policy Map provides a diagram of the potential major greenway network in areas identified by the Red Rock Trail Plan. * **Open Space** * Lands owned for conservation purposes, such as the water-supply protection lands owned by the Birmingham Water Works Board or the Freshwater Land Trust. * Cemetery * FEMA-designated floodways CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN * **Transportation and Utilities** * Airports, major train yards, highway and interstate rights-of-way. * Water and sewer plants, including publicly owned plants. * Electric utility plants. * **Planned Development** * Planned Development areas are lands that have no current use but may be suitable in the future for a variety of uses. They can be “greenfields,” which are undeveloped properties that are being held for future development but have no specific current purpose (either for profit or to promote other values, such as conservation), or they can be previously developed properties that are no longer in use, such as former industrial lands. In order to preserve flexibility, the Planned Development category does not indicate a more specific use such as residential or industrial, although recommendations for some areas can be found elsewhere in the Plan. The Framework Plans and market conditions will provide more guidance. ### ACTIONS **1. Consult the Future Land Use Plan when considering zoning amendments or other land use changes.** Consider both the letter and the spirit of the Future Land Use Plan as it reflects the values, goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan as a whole. # goal 2 Zoning and development regulations and procedures that reflect the comprehensive plan. **POLICY** * Support a rewrite and consolidation of development regulations to combine high quality development with clear, user-friendly regulations and streamlined administration. **Zoning codes and land use regulations.** Given the time that has passed since the Birmingham Zoning Ordinance (BZO) has had the benefit of guidance from an up-to-date comprehensive plan, revision of the ordinance is inevitable and desirable. Recent amendments to the ordinance have introduced some best practices, providing a foundation for a new approach to land use regulations. With completion of the comprehensive plan and further elaboration of Community Framework Plans, the City may wish to completely rewrite the zoning ordinance and/or create a unified development code. In the interim, strategic amendments can be prepared to address the most pressing problems, and to ensure that the ordinance does not conflict with the Comprehensive Plan. **Best practices characteristics of modern zoning codes** **User-friendliness and clarity in organization and expression.** Clear organization and language, tables for rapid understanding of regulations, and illustrations (drawings and photographs) that show what is and what is not permitted. **A limited number of zoning districts and grouping of land uses.** As a general rule of thumb, the fewer the zoning districts in an ordinance, the easier the regulations will be to understand and administer. Many codes now group land uses, providing definitions for those groups, and often further create land use categories based on common characteristics such as type of products, site conditions and impacts, amount of activity, and so on. The table of uses allows a rapid review of which use categories are allowed by right or by special permit in which zoning districts. The advantage of this system is that it eliminates the “laundry list” approach to uses and the need to amend the zoning code as land use types change over time. **Streamlining by-right development with robust standards.** More robust development standards attached to by-right zoning can provide confidence to project proponents and the community that quality development will result and streamline development approvals for smaller projects, while allowing City staff and the Design Review Committee to concentrate on more complex development approvals and area planning projects. Zoning that reflects the Comprehensive Plan’s Future Land Use Plan should also be less subject to rezoning, particularly changes in use. This will give property owners more confidence in the long-term value of investments, and it will reassure residents, who will be able to count on stability in land use designations. **Incentives for desired outcomes.** Many communities allow greater density or other types of regulatory relief in return for provision of public benefits by the developer—as long as certain criteria are met. Such mechanisms are usually confined to particular zoning districts, types of development, and geographic areas. Birmingham’s zoning ordinance does not lend itself to the most common types of incentives. For example, there are two business zoning districts in Birmingham (B-3 and B-4) that do not have a height limit. Density bonuses have little value in such circumstances. **Combining development standards for better design and more sustainable outcomes.** A Unified Development Code offers the most comprehensive approach to an integrated system of development standards, as well as being user-friendly. The current regulations offer a limited array of development standards scattered among various sections of the zoning code and in other regulations and general ordinances. The zoning ordinance itself provides no clear urban design vision and associated standards for different areas. Development standards should also incorporate and encourage sustainable development practices—for example, allowing for natural drainage systems, pervious pavement, green roofs and solar panels. **Subdivision design characteristics that promote connectivity, multimodal travel, access to open space, and sustainability.** Issues that need consideration in updating subdivision regulations include: * Review of street and right-of-way widths to avoid over-capacity and excessive impervious surfaces, to provide flexibility in subdivision design, and potentially, to create incentives for desired subdivision types, such as conservation/open-space clustered subdivisions * Review of maximum block size, cul-de-sac length and similar measures with an eye toward promoting pedestrian friendliness and future road network connections. * Providing a conservation/open space subdivision option with incentives and with a series of design steps to ensure effective design.[^p432-2] ## STRATEGIES ### A. Implement the Comprehensive Plan by rewriting the zoning ordinance, as needed, and consider consolidating a new zoning code with other development standards in a Unified Development Code (UDC). The zoning code is one of the primary tools for implementing the Comprehensive Plan. A new code will help preserve the character of places that residents want to conserve while creating opportunities to grow the community and the economy. It is important, therefore, that people who want to invest in the community know where they can locate, what the rules are, and that those rules are consistently and predictable applied. New or re-written zoning codes will make Birmingham a better place to live and to invest by: * **Setting clear standards:** design standards that enhance the appearance of the entire area, such as in place-based zoning or form-based zoning. * **Removing obstacles:** eliminating or modifying rules that unnecessarily hinder development. * **Creating incentives:** providing flexibility to encourage real estate and business development. [^p432-2]: See Randall Arendt, *Growing Greener*, (Island Press, 1999) for a detailed approach and model ordinances. The existing zoning ordinance has all the characteristics of a code that has been added to incrementally and has not been comprehensively reviewed or revised in many years. For example, there are about a hundred pages of “Supplementary Regulations and Modifications.” The most effective way to reform the development regulation and permitting process is to create a Unified Development Code (UDC) that encompasses zoning, subdivision regulations, street and thoroughfare regulations, development standards, environmental regulations, sign regulations, historic preservation regulations, and permitting and annexation rules. Today, new codes for entire jurisdictions are generally hybrids of several zoning approaches, so that the right approach is tailored to a particular place. The foundation of a new code will continue to be the conventional zoning model that people are familiar with and understand, because there are many parts of the city which do not require changes. However, aspects of performance zoning and form-based zoning can be incorporated into a new zoning code or UDC, which would have the following characteristics: * A single, uniform set of definitions and terminology * A refined list of zoning districts and a new land use classification system * Integrated procedures with step-by-step details on the sequence of development approvals * Illustrated design guidelines and standards * A detailed table of contents and index * Hyperlinks to code sections (in an online electronic version) and site design standards * New and improved page layout and content. ### Actions #### 1. Use a set of principles to audit and guide the rewrite of zoning and development regulations: A modern zoning ordinance is more than requirements and mandates. It should make it easy to do the right thing. Obstacles that stand in the way of desirable development practices should be removed, and the connection to the land use policies of the Comprehensive Plan should be evident in both the text and the zoning map. **Consistency with the Comprehensive Plan:** * Provide for systematic neighborhood, citizen, and property owner input into proposed zoning changes. * Draft districts and regulations to provide the Planning Commission and City staff with land use tools to implement the Comprehensive Plan Vision and Goals. * Connect zoning to the Comprehensive Plan by basing the zoning map on the Future Land Use Map and associated text. **Usability, Streamlining, and Administration:** * Eliminate obstacles to development by deregulating routine matters, minimizing nonconformities, and eliminating unnecessary and redundant regulations. * Whenever possible and without loss of desired development outcomes, replace discretion and administrative interpretation with urban design and other standards to make the zoning ordinance consistent and predictable for development decision-making. * Make administrative provisions and processes a consistent, predictable and understandable process for anyone using the zoning ordinance—resident, property owner, developer, or staff person. * Make the ordinance easier to understand by modernizing terms and using appropriate illustrations, tables, matrices and charts. **Rural Enterprise Area principles:** As of 2012, there are many different kinds of land uses in the Rural Enterprise areas, a condition made more complicated by the fact that the city’s border is very complex and sometimes incorporates small fragments of development or parcels that are mostly within another jurisdiction. There is a certain amount of leapfrog and sprawl development within these peripheral areas, but many of the greenfield parcels are being landbanked as the owners wait for development opportunities. When property owners in these districts want to pursue development opportunities, they will need to request changes in zoning, allowing the City to shape development. * Planned development that connects with existing development is preferable to isolated, pod-like development. * Because the city’s best interests would be served by attracting new residents to downtown, existing neighborhoods, or new development that is well-connected to existing neighborhoods, residential development in greenfield sites at the edges of the city should not be a high priority, except where there are existing amenities and services, such as Oxmoor. * Provide zoning and consider incentives for conservation/open space subdivisions that cluster housing while keeping part of the property as usable open space for nature or agricultural uses. ### Residential Neighborhood Principles: * Residential low: single-family residential * Review residential zoning districts to ensure that they reflect existing or desired character and consolidate residential zoning districts that do not result in significant variations in development. * Integrate development standards into residential district regulations where there is a desire to maintain existing residential character. * Ensure that new infill or redevelopment housing built in the older parts of the city is compatible with the patterns established by the historic street grid, traditional orientation of front doors to the street, average setbacks, and parking strategies (parking on street, in alleys or at rear where driveways are not part of the traditional streetscape). * Ensure that new infill in suburban-style developments is compatible with established patterns. * Residential Medium: two-family, multifamily (including townhouse) * Connect multifamily housing to its surrounding neighborhood by integrating it into the street system and providing regulations that ensure proper transitions from lower to higher density development. * Ensure that multifamily housing is sensitive to its context by creating design and development standards that are compatible with the broader residential neighborhoods in relation to location and orientation on the site, parking, pedestrian-friendly character and similar issues. * Design parking to be as unobtrusive as possible. * Residential high: adaptive reuse and high-density mid-rise/high-rise: * Establish a height limit for buildings. * Establish transition standards such as upper story setback planes between higher and lower buildings. * Ensure that any parking structures are required to be wrapped with building program. * Promote designs that incorporate townhouse-style units with separate street entrances to enhance pedestrian-friendly character. ### Commercial district principles: * Create standards for compact, neighborhood-oriented commercial districts that provide pedestrian-friendly conditions, relegate parking to the side or rear, and mitigate impacts on residential areas. * Create standards for commercial districts where shoppers arrive primarily by auto to be pedestrian-friendly and functional, but where parking is not the most visually prominent land use. * Revise the current commercial district standards to ensure a high quality of design and integration with other uses, as well as safety and comfort for pedestrians. * Include design standards for each scale of commercial development, coordinating with design review standards. **Districts with Mixed-Use Principles:** Mixed-use areas combine diverse uses, mixed horizontally and vertically, each of which must be individually successful while contributing to a larger experience and identity. This does not mean that every property within a mixed-use center must contain more than one land use. It does mean that mixed-use properties and buildings will be permitted; that single-use sites will be designed to be compatible with other desired uses in the mixed-use center; and that the public and semi-public realm (streets, sidewalks, parking lots, building setbacks, building facades, landscaping) will be designed to work together and create human-scaled, walkable environments while still accommodating cars, loading and similar necessities. Because mixed-use development is more complex, it will require more design and standards review than development in other zoning districts. * Locate mixed-use development on the Zoning Map within or near commercial areas. Mixed-use development can also function as a buffer between large-scale commercial development and adjacent neighborhoods. * Provide regulations to insure proper transitions from lower to higher density development. * Create districts for mixed-use development of various scales. This includes vertical mixed-use (within one building) and mixed-use on the broader neighborhood level. * Establish urban design goals and standards for mixed-use districts that emphasize pedestrian-oriented ground floors, sidewalks and streets. * Manage the amount, location and design of parking to support urban design goals in mixed-use districts, and require, where appropriate, contributions to a network of open spaces through the development approval process. * Establish zoning for downtown that reflects the mix of places identified in the Comprehensive Plan, transforming it from a series of individual destinations into a cohesive, interconnected, and well managed center. > Continue to allow higher heights and densities in downtown than elsewhere, particularly in the Central Business District, but establish a height limit. > Establish a system of primary streets with design standards that are characterized by continuous zero-lot-line street wall, active ground-floor uses, transparency (percentage of the building frontage with windows) and permeability (building frontage with doors opening on to the street). > Support historic-building investments by removing unnecessary obstacles to the rehabilitation of existing buildings such as parking requirements and expansion of nonconforming uses. **Industrial Uses:** * Reduce conflicts both within industrial districts and between industrial districts and adjacent non-industrial districts. * Consider design standards for both buildings and the larger design of the site for industrial, business, and research parks. Design standards will help to mitigate impacts and assure a desired aesthetic image. * Review industrial performance standards and measures for noise, dust, light, truck traffic and similar impacts in establishing uses and evaluating impacts near residential areas. * Attract new employers by creating a positive image through appropriate development standards. * Include new landscaping standards to buffer incompatible uses, screen parking lots and outdoor storage areas, and improve the appearance of the site and street frontage. Tailor sign standards to the nature of the district, in terms of both the types of signs allowed and the size of signs. Regulations should work to achieve a coordinated appearance within a commercial area or along commercial corridors. * Incorporate a design review process that informs both the developer and the neighborhood about community design standards and operational concerns. **Institutional Uses:** * Allow mixed-use development in institutional districts. * Establish appropriate boundary transitions and connectivity between major institutional uses and the surrounding neighborhood to ensure good neighbor compatibility. * Continue to require institutional master plans to guide development. **Sustainability and Environmental Standards:** Zoning for sustainability helps shape development that is energy and resource-efficient, minimizes the impact of human land uses, and promotes compatibility with local climate and environmental systems. Zoning can support and encourage sustainable development by eliminating or revising existing rules that unnecessarily hinder sustainable development; providing incentives for using sustainable design techniques; considering incentives for incorporating basic sustainable development standards that address landscape, building materials, building and siting; and relating the location of use types and densities to properly scaled transit access. * Consider incentives for the use of water conservation and innovative stormwater management techniques in site planning and new construction, including the use of semi-pervious paving materials, where conditions are suitable. * Consider incentives for the use of sustainable stormwater management practices, scaled to the size and character of the site, such as bioswales, rain gardens, green roofs, and parking lot landscaped islands that are designed to absorb stormwater. * Allow parking alternatives, such as shared parking lots and parking space maximums, to reduce the amount of paved surfaces in new development. * Allow for land banking of parking facilities—where a portion of a parking area is kept in green space until the paving of additional parking areas is necessary—to reduce impervious surfaces. * Allow and encourage urban agriculture in appropriate locations. * Allow small-scale food processing in certain residential or commercial districts, for example home-based commercial kitchens or shared-use commercial kitchens for specialty foods production. * Permit solar collectors as an accessory use but with the proper zoning standards in place to minimize negative aesthetic impact. * Consider building siting guidelines for larger developments to allow for passive solar systems. * Consider incentives for bicycle parking facilities for certain types of new development, as well as bicycle storage facilities in larger residential developments. * Consider incentives for setback maximums or build-to standards to establish the desired scale of development within areas where a pedestrian-orientation is desired. * Consider incentives for pedestrian cross-access connections between sites and to adjacent developments, to create a larger, walkable environment. * Include provisions to encourage vehicle cross-access easements between adjacent parking areas for different businesses, which can encourage shared parking areas and reduce curb cuts. * Regulate the spacing of curb cuts to preserve sidewalk continuity for pedestrians and preserve on-street parking spaces in districts where high pedestrian friendly conditions are needed and desired. ### 2. Use form-based zoning or place-based zoning for mixed-use districts or subdistricts, working with property owners and others to find appropriate standards. Form-based zoning, which focuses on the physical characteristics of buildings and development rather than the uses, is most suitable for defined districts where a variety and mixture of land uses is desired and detailed physical planning can be accomplished. Birmingham’s Highland Park Neighborhood District has a form-based zoning overlay. The planning process that involves community stakeholders, business and property owners first establishes goals for the district, then creates a physical plan called a “regulating plan,” and finally transforms that plan into regulations accompanied by illustrations of desired development. Completely form-based codes, with no use regulations, are rare in existing cities, because most residents still feel more comfortable with some certainty about uses. “Place-based” or “context-based” zoning establishes design standards within zoning districts that are intended to create developments that are compatible with the existing or desired character of particular areas. This kind of zoning is not as prescriptive as form-based zoning but still provides site and building standards based on design principles for the zoning district. ### 3. Update the design review system and process in new zoning regulations. Consider integrating and illustrating as many design standards as possible into by-right zoning. Additionally, review, rewrite, consolidate and illustrate as much as possible the current urban design standards and guidelines used by the Design Review Committee. The combination of some development regulations in zoning and architectural control in the design guidelines could help provide guidance for a desired urban design character, especially the impact of buildings on the public realm. Examples of actions that could be taken (and suggested review authority) to update the zoning regulations and the design review guideline could include: > Building Design * Build to the street line or prevailing setback on the block. (Zoning) * Clearly define the building entrances. (Zoning) * Maximize ground-floor transparency. (Design guidelines) * Incorporate windows and architectural details to create an interesting pedestrian experience at the street level. (Design guidelines) * Encourage more active uses at street level. (Design guidelines) * Encourage building with less bulk. (Design guidelines) * Encourage non-visible parking under buildings. (Design guidelines) * Encourage buildings to have a continuous building face at street level. (Design guidelines) > Parking Design * Break up surface parking lots into smaller “pods.” (Zoning) * Encourage the building of multilevel parking structures instead of surface lots. (Design guidelines) * Encourage the incorporation of commercial uses on the ground floor of parking garages. Screen the upper levels with architectural features or landscaped walls. (Design guidelines) * Encourage underground parking where feasible. (Design guidelines) > Public Open Space * Public open space should be visible from the street. (Design guidelines) * Include multiple, direct access points from adjacent streets. (Design guidelines) * Incorporate amenities such as benches, seats, tables, and water features. (Design guidelines) > Sustainable Design * Reuse existing building stock when possible. (Design guidelines) * Incorporate existing on-site natural habitats and landscape elements. (Zoning) * Incorporate stormwater-control features, such as green roofs, rain gardens, and swales. (Zoning) * Maximize daylight for exterior spaces and minimize shading of adjacent sites. (Design guidelines) * Encourage sun shade devices to reduce heat gain. (Design guidelines) * Encourage building orientation and massing to reduce heat gain. (Design guidelines) > Signs * Sign: size, location. (Zoning) * Sign: color, materials, lighting and content. (Design guidelines) * Review the locations where design review is currently required, including downtown and commercial revitalization districts. With the incorporation of design standards into new zoning, the goal would be to allow some projects to proceed without the need for design review, as long as they incorporate the design standards in zoning, while focusing design review on projects within Urban Renewal Areas. * Review and revise design review guidelines. Currently, individual design review districts have their own guidelines, some of which were established decades ago, with varying degrees of specificity. As noted earlier, many of guidelines are heavily influenced by historic preservation, which may or may not be appropriate today. The guidelines should be reviewed in the context of the Comprehensive Plan, new zoning, and development history. ## B. Ensure that subdivision regulations allow for alternatives to standard subdivision designs ### Actions #### 1. Incorporate conservation/open space subdivisions options into the subdivision regulations. As noted elsewhere in this plan, conservation subdivisions provide for preservation of open space by clustering housing, often while keeping overall density at the same level as a conventional subdivision (see footnote 2 on p. 14.25). ## C. Develop integrated plans for Urban Villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas that create environments where the whole becomes more than the sum of the parts. Conceptual examples for Woodlawn, Five Points West, and Parkway East appear in Figures 14.6–14.8. These three examples represent areas with different contexts and different land use character. * Woodlawn is one of the former town centers that were absorbed into the City of Birmingham and exhibits traditional, walkable, urban form. * Five Points West is a commercial center at an intersection of regional importance that is already slated to become a bus SuperStop. With public investment in CrossPlex and available public land, it offers the opportunity to create a new center of critical mass that can also help improve the attractiveness of the traditional neighborhoods that surround it. * Parkway East is characterized by big box and strip commercial developm ent along a regional arterial that serves suburban-style neighborhoods and commuters. The large land parcels and regional connections make this a potential location for mixed-use development of the “lifestyle center” type that could provide the density needed to support new transit options over the long term. FIGURE 14.6: CONCEPTUAL PLAN: WOODLAWN URBAN VILLAGE AND STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY AREA # Concept Plan: Woodlawn Urban Village and Strategic Opportunity Area Woodlawn United, the Woodlawn Foundation, Birmingham Main Streets, and the Woodlawn Neighborhood Associations and Community have been working for several years to revitalize the historic town center of Woodlawn and surrounding neighborhood. KPS Group, a member of the Comprehensive Plan team, has also worked with the Woodlawn partners to create a physical plan for the area. These images and concepts appear here courtesy of KPS and the Woodlawn Foundation. ### PROPOSED LAND USE PLAN <
> ### LAND USE, DESIGN, AND PROGRAMMATIC STRATEGIES These strategies are consistent with the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan: * A mixed-use core with ground-floor retail and services, upper-story dwellings and offices, and civic open spaces, where the highest mix and intensity of uses are concentrated. * Consolidation of single-family residential areas through a neighborhood conservation district and no more multifamily buildings in single-family areas. * Designated areas east of the core for higher-density residential development. * Stronger connections among the areas but with appropriate transitions at the edges. * New zoning to reflect the desired mix and intensity of uses. * Complete streets design to provide safe and attractive access for all users. * Design to provide “eyes on the street” and discourage locations that shield criminal behavior. * Investment in enhanced education for both public and private schools. * Provision of social service supports. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN This map shows the proposed priority street designations for the Woodlawn Strategic Opportunity Area as mapped by Comprehensive Plan team member Kittelson & Associates. <
> # Woodlawn Strategic Opportunity Area | | | | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | --- Bicycle Priority Streets (dashed lines underneath indicate existing on-street bicycle routes) | | Parks | | | ●●●●● Truck Priority Streets | | Water | Sources: Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, Regional Planning Council of Greater Birmingham, Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System, City of Birmingham | | —— Transit Priority Streets | | Non-Park Open Space | | | | | Vacant Parcels | Streets and Highways | 0 500 1,000 Feet | | | | Parcel Boundaries | Railroads | | 14.31 FIGURE 14.7: CONCEPT PLAN: INTEGRATING HOUSING AND SERVICES TO CREATE A FIVE POINTS WEST URBAN VILLAGE AND STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY AREA # Concept Plan: Integrating Housing and Services to create a Five Points West Urban Village and Strategic Opportunity Area The City’s Office of Economic Development asked BlocGlobal, one of the Comprehensive Plan team members, to prepare a master plan for the CrossPlex area focused on nonresidential uses. The plan calls for improvements of the interstate gateway from I-20/59 on Ensley Avenue, improvements in existing strip commercial areas, and commercial development on the CrossPlex site, as well as a Boys and Girls Club. The City’s approach is to focus on commercial uses that can produce sales tax or other revenue. <
> **Encourage mixed-income housing on land east of the Crossplex; invest in pedestrian-friendly urban design, streetscape and circulation improvements.** Five Points West has received significant public investment in recent years: CrossPlex, a new police station, and a library. The new police station offers the opportunity to intensify community-based policing. BJCTA and MPO planning has targeted Five Points for a bus SuperStop transfer hub and in the long term, a major Bus Rapid Transit stop. The stops are likely to be close to the intersection of US-11 and Ensley Avenue. Within a short distance sits one of the city’s most important employment centers, Princeton Baptist Hospital. The City owns the Fairgrounds site, which gives it the opportunity to use land costs as an incentive for desired development. Segments of the Red Rock Trail System are nearby. This Comprehensive Plan recommends investing in making Five Points West a major mixed-use urban village with pedestrian-friendly urban design, streetscape and circulation improvements, and new housing on the Fairgrounds site. The success of new development would require a highly coordinated and organized program of physical and transportation improvements; optimal housing and landscape design; creative financing; and targeted social service and workforce development programs in the surrounding single-family neighborhoods. Improvements to the streetscape and surrounding areas would need to be made in advance or simultaneously with any housing development. A well-designed, mixed-income and possible mixed-use development along US-11 near the Lomb Avenue intersection would increase household density and give Five Points West a new identity. Prospective residents could be recruited among hospital employees as well as others who could potentially benefit from better bus service. The City could elect to keep ownership of the land or create a community land trust as one way to help attract a housing developer. Because the housing would be on the Fairgrounds land, it might be perceived as safer than a development elsewhere in the area. A study of the options and market possibilities that looks at all the details of a coordinated development program for Five Points West would be important as exploration of this approach was proceeding. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN This map shows the proposed priority street designations for the Five Points West Strategic Opportunity Area as mapped by Comprehensive Plan team member Kittelson & Associates. The MPO is in the planning process for a potential Bus Rapid Transit route on US-11. In addition, the BJCTA is expected to designate Five Points West to be a bus SuperStop for transfers. <
> # Five Points West Strategic Opportunity Area | | | | | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | -- -- | Bicycle Priority Streets (dashed lines underneath indicate existing on-street bicycle routes) | | Parks | Sources: Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, Regional Planning Council of Greater Birmingham, Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System, City of Birmingham | | ●●●●● | Truck Priority Streets | | Water | | | —— | Transit Priority Streets | | Non-Park Open Space | ---- | Red Rock System Off-Street Trails (proposed) | 0 500 1,000 Feet | | | | | Vacant Parcels | —— | Streets and Highways | | | | | | Parcel Boundaries | —+— | Railroads | | 14.33 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN ### FIGURE 14.8: DESIGN CONCEPTS: A MIXED-USE LIFESTYLE CENTER PRIMED FOR BUS RAPID TRANSIT AT PARKWAY EAST # Design Concepts: A Mixed-Use Lifestyle Center Primed for Bus Rapid Transit at Parkway East—A Long-Term Vision Parkway East today is a suburban retail strip with some large parcels and big box retail. In the future, it could become a mixed-use center combining 3- to 5-story multifamily development, retail, and a major transit stop—in the long term, Bus Rapid Transit. This kind of transformation has already occurred in other regions. ### 3- TO 5-STORY MIXED-USE RESIDENTIAL CORRIDOR <
> *Encourage locally produced public art in sidewalk and plaza spaces to revitalize the public realm.* <
> <
> *Activate and strengthen the pedestrian realm with cafes, outdoor dining and other community-oriented amenities.* <
> *Screen the expansive surface parking lot with multifamily residential corridor and live-work lofts along the traffic arterial.* <
> *Screen above-grade structured parking from the sidewalk with wrapped residential and retail uses.* 14.34 PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN ### PARKING “GREEN” <
> <
> <
> *Explore means for generating alternative energy from the vast expanses of paved surface parking lots.* <
> *Employ landscape and public art to enhance the pedestrian experience of customers who use public transit and have to walk across expansive parking lots to access the big-box retail store.* <
> <
> <
> *Use permeable pavers, rain gardens, street edge landscaping and increased planting to manage stormwater.* ### BUS RAPID TRANSIT FACILITIES <
> <
> *Integration of real-time transit signage within the design on transit shelters.* <
> <
> *Bus-only lanes with permitted access to bikes and taxis* <
> *Traffic calming with textured pavement surfaces* <
> <
> *Center bus lanes and transit shelter carved out from existing arterial* 14.35 ### FIGURE 14.9: PARKWAY EAST STRATEGIC OPPORTUNITY AREA <
> # Parkway East Strategic Opportunity Area ## STREET CLASSIFICATION PRIORITY MAPS | | | | | |---|---|---|---| | <
> | Bicycle Priority Streets (dashed lines underneath indicate existing on-street bicycle routes) | <
> | Parks | | | | <
> | Water | | <
> | Truck Priority Streets | <
> | Non-Park Open Space | | <
> | Transit Priority Streets | <
> | Vacant Parcels | | | | <
> | Parcel Boundaries | | <
> | Streets and Highways | | | | <
> | Railroads | | | Sources: Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority, Regional Planning Council of Greater Birmingham, Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System, City of Birmingham 0 500 1,000 Feet # goal 3 ## Excellent urban design quality to enhance city livability and competitiveness. ### POLICIES * Strengthen the city’s public realm and urban design character. * Support high-quality design through incentives in regulations and in land use decisions. **What is “urban design”?** In the broadest terms, urban design is the process that shapes physical environments at a variety of scales, from regions and cities as a whole, to city districts or neighborhoods, down to individual lots. Urban design is concerned with the physical character of spaces in three dimensions. It is not, as sometimes thought, simply about visual appearance or style. Urban design affects many aspects of how we experience places, including how the different elements of spaces, such as buildings, sidewalks, roads, parking lots, and parks, relate to one another; how spaces function in facilitating, directing or obstructing people’s activities; and how spaces express aesthetic values. Although urban design can be practiced both in publicly-owned and privately-owned places, the focus here will be on the public realm and on private places that are commonly open to the public, such as retail developments. Many aspects of the Birmingham vision and principles focus on issues that are the province of urban design: a reinvigorated downtown and inner city neighborhoods; preservation of historic resources; development and change that reflect sense of place and community; connected networks of parks and trees; improvements in transportation; a more pedestrian- and bicycle-friendly community; and creation of beautiful public places. The older parts of the City of Birmingham were created at a human scale—laid out in a connected grid of streets with small blocks, sidewalks and tree-lined streets, parks and schools as the center of neighborhoods, shops clustered together and built to the sidewalk, and streets that accommodate cars without being dominated by cars. ### STRATEGIES **A. Continue to promote urban design guidelines and standards that emphasize human scaled, walkable environments.** ### Actions **1. Adhere to a few basic interrelated urban design principles and add design standards to zoning districts.** Although many parts of Birmingham were developed before widespread suburbanization, many business and retail areas even in these older areas have been affected by suburban-style design approaches that tend to focus on accommodating vehicles. The standards below that apply to private development can be incorporated into the zoning ordinance, with illustrations or photos to demonstrate preferred and unacceptable solutions. * **Focus on creating human-scaled environments.** Places should be designed primarily at a scale that is comfortable for people, rather than at a scale primarily focused on vehicles. That does not mean that all developments need to be small or low-rise, but that design should take into account the way that we experience environments at the ground floor, as we navigate parking lots, and so on. * **Focus on streets as three-dimensional shared spaces.** Streets are the most important public spaces in any city and are made up of the travel right-of-way (including sidewalks) and the land, landscaping and buildings that line the travel way. Context-sensitive and Complete Streets policies should be used when designing and redesigning streets and roads. The vertical elements at the edge of the street—buildings and street trees—should create a sense of enclosure. Some researchers say that the optimum relationship of the vertical (height of buildings) to horizontal (width of street) dimensions in a street corridor should be no more than 1:4 (e.g., a street that is 80 feet wide should be lined with buildings at least 20 feet high). Street trees spaced no more than 35 feet can also create this sense of enclosure, even if the height to width ratio cannot. Among other things, a lack of enclosure encourages higher vehicle speeds. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 14 FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS AND URBAN DESIGN * **Create walkable environments.** Everyone is a pedestrian at some point during every day, at a minimum at the beginning and end of every vehicle trip. Walkable environments—connected, safe, comfortable, appealing—are important in both the public and semi-public realms and have been emphasized throughout this plan. In the public participation process, Birmingham residents were clear about their desire for more walking opportunities. Walkability depends on a variety of other design choices as well, such as block size. Smaller blocks provide more intersections and more opportunities for direct routes to destinations. In commercial areas, visual interest, safe crossings, shelter from sun and rain (trees, canopies, colonnades, and galleries), human-scaled lighting, and other amenities can keep people walking. Re-knit the urban fabric through safe and comfortable pedestrian and bicycle routes, improved lighting, landscaping, and public art to reduce barriers caused by highways and arterial roads. * **Plant trees.** Planting trees along streets and roads and in parking lots is one of the easiest ways to enhance the public realm, create comfortable environments, and reduce heat and stormwater impacts. Very few parking lots in Birmingham have trees that provide shade, and those that do often have trees only along the periphery of the lot. Trees should be chosen for their suitability to the task. For example, street trees along sidewalks should be chosen to have canopies sufficiently high and broad to provide shade to pedestrians. Parking lots should be broken up into small parking fields shaded by trees. One best practice rule of thumb for hot climates like Birmingham's is to plant enough trees to ensure that fifty percent of the parking lot will be shaded when the trees reach maturity. Ornamental shrub trees like crape myrtles have their place, but they should not be planted instead of shade trees that can make an enormous difference in Birmingham's hot summers. * **Bring buildings to the street.** In both the older and newer parts of the city, buildings should be located at the sidewalk, behind a small landscaped or hardscape setback, or, in a few cases along major arterials, behind limited, single-loaded parking. Locate building entries to promote safe pedestrian movement across streets; to relate to crosswalks and pathways that lead to public transportation stops; and to encourage walking, biking and public transit use for employment and other travel around the city. * **Put parking to the side, to the rear, in structures or underground, with clear signage to direct motorists to parking.** Parking is necessary but should not dominate street frontage. Rear parking should not, however, result in buildings that turn their backs on the street frontage. Parking structures should be wrapped by building program or, at a minimum, have active ground-floor uses on the street frontage, and at least some design elements such as screens and vines on other frontages to give the ground floor more aesthetic appeal. * **Use more pedestrian-friendly site design within retail centers.** Designated pedestrian pathways along buildings and through parking lots towards building entrances, pedestrian precincts, and pedestrian connections from sidewalks directly to stores can make retail centers more attractive. In large centers, designated pedestrian paths at least every 300 feet to connect with entrances is a common rule of thumb. Pedestrian ways should also provide for shade. * **Create visual interest in buildings by avoiding blank facades.** Articulated and modulated façades, windows and transparency attract interest by providing a sense of activity within. Screens and vertical plantings, including vines growing up the building, also improve on facades that otherwise have little interest. * **Design new neighborhoods by integrating them into existing street grids.** Establish connections and transitions in scale and density from surrounding areas; provide usable open space; establish development-specific guidelines about building appearance, streetscape, signage, utilities, parking, landscape, sustainability, and materials. * **Consider incentives to design compact subdivisions for walkability, diversity, and connectivity.** Smaller block sizes, averaging of lot sizes to allow for different housing types, narrower streets, limits on cul-de- sacs and dead end streets, provisions for future connectivity and dedication of open space will create subdivisions that, when connected together, create neighborhoods. > Smaller block sizes (under 600 feet) improve connectivity. > Narrower streets slow traffic and reduce the amount of impervious surface and stormwater runoff. Public safety officials, who sometimes worry about access if streets are narrow, should be included in discussions of alternative design standards which can meet these concerns. > Cul-de-sacs and dead end streets reduce connectivity and should be limited. > Subdivisions should be designed and built to provide open space and appropriate locations for future connections. * **Promote sustainability.** Consider building elements that improve energy efficiency, such as white roofs, green roofs, rain gardens, solar panels, wind turbines, and others wherever possible. These elements should be scaled appropriately and incorporated seamlessly into the overall façade. Incorporate passive heating and cooling mechanisms such as operable windows, sun shades, cross-ventilation, and adequate insulation into the design of buildings whenever possible. * **Provide for urban agriculture at all scales.** Standards for urban agriculture will need to be established depending on scale and purpose. A small community garden or a back-yard chicken coop will require different standards than a for-profit enterprise. # C. Getting Started | ACTIONS | RESPONSIBLE PARTY | | :--- | :--- | | Put all development regulations, including design review guidelines, on the City website where they can be easily located. | PEP; City Webmaster | | Review the Future Land Use Plan and the Zoning Ordinance for consistency, identify and write high priority zoning amendments. | Planning Division; PEP | | Identify design standards to be included in zoning districts. | Planning and Urban Design Divisions; PEP | | Review and evaluate design guidelines for consolidation. | Urban Design Division; PEP | | Evaluate the costs and benefits of creating a Unified Development Code | PEP | # Chapter 15 Stewardship and Implementation of the Plan <
> ### PERSONAL VISION STATEMENTS “I see a city that finally achieves its promise by fully embracing its motto, ‘the people are the city.’” | GOALS | POLICIES FOR DECISION MAKERS | | :--- | :--- | | **Regular review of implementation progress is part of the City’s annual calendar.** | • Establish public review of progress in implementing the Comprehensive Plan. | | **The Comprehensive Plan is incorporated in decision-making at multiple levels.** | • Use the plan in preparing and approving other planning and implementation activities by city agencies. | | | • Take the lead on the state level to address issues of importance to Alabama’s larger cities. | | **Internal and external accountability is effective.** | • Provide effective and meaningful access to information about government activities and performance. | | | • Enforce municipal laws and regulations more effectively. | | | • Promote a customer service atmosphere in delivery of city services. | | **There are sufficient local and other resources to provide cost-effective services and support innovative programs and revitalization.** | • Use local resources efficiently. | | | • Promote engagement with national organizations and funders. | ## findings Implementation of previous plans has often not been a priority in the past. The City’s goals and planning strategies have not been systematically communicated to City departments. Internal communication between city departments and programs is sometimes lacking. Information on implementation of plans and programs is sometimes difficult to obtain. Citizens report an inconsistent customer service orientation in government. Citizens report a need for more effective enforcement. Birmingham is not well-connected to national sources of community revitalization funding and technical assistance. ## challenges Establishing a focus on customer service. Establishing greater public communication and transparency. Establishing greater inter-departmental communication within city government. Incorporating consultation of Comprehensive Plan policies in day to day decision making. Establishing regular events to monitor and support actions to implement the Comprehensive Plan. Attracting outside resources to assist in community revitalization. # A. What the Community Said * During the planning process, members of the community repeatedly expressed concerns about implementation of the Plan in terms of costs, capacity, and politics. * Residents want more communication and transparency about plans and implementation of plans. * Residents and businesses want more efficient delivery of services. # B. Recommendations ### THE PURPOSE OF A PLAN IS TO ORGANIZE FOR ACTION The 21st Century Birmingham Comprehensive Plan expresses the values and aspirations of Birmingham residents for quality of life and prosperity during the next 20 years. The intensive community dialogue that started with the Visioning Forum resulted in a vision for the future and a set of principles to guide decision making. This unprecedented community process continued across the city through a series of workshops and open houses. Throughout, the process was overseen by a steering committee made up of a diverse group of community members. Assisted by the consultant team, city residents and stakeholders have now created a framework of goals, policies, strategies and actions designed to achieve their ambitious vision. As a 20-year plan, the Comprehensive Plan includes many recommendations and strategies, some of which can be implemented quickly and others that require new levels of organization, collaboration, transparency, and funding. This chapter of the Comprehensive Plan discusses overall stewardship of the Plan to keep it useful and current and the specific activities that are needed to implement the Plan. It includes methods to incorporate the Plan into day-to-day decision making and to assess progress and make needed revisions so that the OPlan remains relevant. The last section of this chapter is a matrix of action plans corresponding to each of the Plan elements. Although there is more focus on actions that the City of Birmingham government can take to implement the Plan, many actions will also need the participation of private sector partners. The recommendations of this Comprehensive Plan are aligned with the priorities of the federal government, particularly the six “Livability Principles” jointly adopted by the U.S. Departments of Transportation and of Housing and Urban Development, and the Environmental Protection Agency: * Provide more transportation choices. * Promote equitable, affordable housing. * Enhance economic competitiveness. * Support existing communities. * Coordinate and leverage federal policies and investment. * Value communities and neighborhoods. This alignment enhances funding potential for implementation of the Comprehensive Plan. Moreover, the Plan’s extensive community participation process brings great legitimacy to the consensus on goals and policies. Representatives of diverse interests, from elected officials to business leaders to residents, aligned around the same message can have a powerful effect in bringing local concerns into decisions by the state and federal governments. Effective monitoring and implementation of the Plan will also help Birmingham attract public and private investment and financing to achieve the vision and goals of the Comprehensive Plan. ### STEWARDSHIP OF THE PLAN The planning process has benefited from the support of the Mayor, City Council, Planning Commission and Planning Division staff in making the process open to public participation and discussion. The citizen members of the steering committee worked hard to create a successful Comprehensive Plan that is ambitious and forward-looking but still grounded in the values and realities of the City of Birmingham as a place and as a community. The participation of so many people who took time to be involved in creating this Comprehensive Plan bodes well for future implementation. But—individuals move in and out of government, and the day-to-day demands on the attention of elected officials and staff can push the plan into the background as a decision-making tool. Throughout the planning process, some citizens expressed concerns about implementation, enforcement, and accountability. Successful implementation of the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan will require communication, collaboration and coordinated activity from many government departments, from elected leaders, and from partners in the private and nonprofit sectors. It is important to create systems and procedures to make sure that the plan is used to guide decision-making and that it is evaluated regularly to see if strategies are working and if it continues to reflect community goals. ### THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND THE DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING, ENGINEERING AND PERMITS The Birmingham Planning Commission and the Planning Division of the city’s Department of Planning, Engineering and Permits (PEP) have responsibility for planning to preserve and enhance the welfare of the city. According to state law, the Planning Commission is the entity that has primary responsibility for the Comprehensive Plan. It is the Planning Commission’s role and responsibility to look at development projects from the point of view both of the entire city and of the neighborhoods or districts that host new development or redevelopment; to promote citizen participation in planning, so that resident and other stakeholder interests are appropriately protected and advanced; and to ensure that projects fit into the physical fabric of the city, creating a public realm and a design identity that fits harmoniously into its context, respects the landscape and historic resources, and improves livability. The Urban Design Division of PEP and the Design Review Committee give more detailed design attention to development projects located in designated commercial and historic districts. Providing the Planning Commission and staff with more effective tools for carrying out its mission is a critical aspect of this Comprehensive Plan. These tools include a new and up-to-date zoning code, ideally a Unified Development Code containing zoning and all other regulations affecting development; a set of Framework Plans that provide a place-based expression of Comprehensive Plan policies and strategies on the community level; a staff member designated to be the City’s Long Range Planner; and a greater role in ensuring that public and private investment reflects the goals of community-based planning. This Plan recommends the modernization and consolidation of zoning and development regulations into a unified development code that includes strong and appropriate development standards and design guidelines. This would allow more development to occur without the need for time-consuming discretionary approvals, leaving the Planning Commission and the elected officials to focus only on those projects whose impacts require more intense scrutiny. Planning cannot stop with the adoption of the Comprehensive Plan. The recommended Framework Plans for the Communities, as well as planning around changing uses for closed schools or other public buildings, require that the City has the time, staff and expertise to think ahead and to convene other agencies around efforts to ensure that the maximum quality of life and economic benefits result from change. As it does its work, the recommended Birmingham Redevelopment Authority or similar entity will engage in redevelopment planning in revitalization areas, but it will need to collaborate closely with the Planning Commission and staff. With active planning for the future, the City will begin to shape and drive change towards the goals that citizens want to achieve. Unlike some states, Alabama has no requirement linking planning, minimum levels of service, capital improvement programs, and financial feasibility. Throughout this Comprehensive Plan, deficiencies in facilities and services have been discussed, particularly in the context of disinvestment. The City’s capital improvement planning process should be informed by the Comprehensive Plan. # goal 1 ## Regular review of comprehensive plan implementation progress is part of the City’s annual calendar. #### POLICY * Establish public review of progress in implementing the Comprehensive Plan. ### STRATEGIES #### A. Make regular review of the Comprehensive Plan a public process. ##### Actions 1. **Create a Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee made up of planning commissioners, residents and representatives of business and institutional interests to serve as continuing advocates, stewards and monitors of the Comprehensive Plan.** Just as an advisory group played an important role during the planning process, the implementation phase of the Comprehensive Plan needs a representative group to serve as the steward and nongovernmental monitor and facilitator of progress in implementing the plan. The Implementation Committee shall be a subcommittee of the Birmingham Planning commission. Seven planning commission members on the committee shall be appointed by the Birmingham Planning Commission chairman, while the other 14 members of the committee shall be appointed by the Mayor of Birmingham. Total membership of the committee shall not exceed 21 at any one time. The Committee shall be tasked with development of an accessible public document, a draft of which shall be presented to the committee within 90 days of plan adoption. This public document is intended to describe the essence of the plan and directs the public to the Comprehensive Plan for specific strategies and actions for implementation. Additional tasks will include development of a priority list of implementation items that should be completed within five years of adoption of the Comprehensive Plan and development of a resource list to be added to the appendix of the plan that describes the mission of all agencies listed in the plan. The committee will meet as often as necessary to accomplish all required tasks, one of those times being in advance of annual public hearings on Comprehensive Plan progress, in which the Committee will participate. The Long-Range Planner in the Planning Division, discussed below, will serve as staff to this implementation Committee. 2. **Review implementation progress in a joint annual public hearing before the Planning Commission and City Council.** The public hearing should review how the plan is being used, the way the Vision, Principles and Goals have shaped decision-making, successes and obstacles to implementation, and new circumstances that may affect the plan's goals and principles. This will keep the plan current as officials and the public are reminded of its contents and discuss any needed changes. 3. **Schedule a public process every five years to confirm or revise the Vision, Principles and Goals and review progress on implementation.** A Comprehensive Plan must reflect the needs and aspirations of community residents. It must be a flexible document that can change according to circumstances. A series of public meetings in conjunction with public surveys and/or Web-based opportunities for public input should be held at least every five years. The process should include a summary of progress made on implementing the plan and unforeseen circumstances—both opportunities and obstacles—that affect implementation. After a review of the Vision, Principles and Goals of the plan, the public should be asked to confirm, revise, remove or add to these aspects of the plan. 4. **Update the Comprehensive Plan thoroughly at least every 20 years.** Many communities update their comprehensive plans every ten years, but at a minimum, the plan should be thoroughly updated at least every 20 years. This should include a major public participation process and detailed attention to every plan element. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # goal 2 ## The Comprehensive Plan is incorporated in decision-making at multiple levels. **POLICY** * Use the plan in preparing and approving other planning and implementation activities by city agencies. * Take the lead on the state level to address issues of importance to Alabama’s larger cities. ### STRATEGY #### A. Deploy staff, resources and training to support implementation of the Comprehensive Plan **Actions** **1. Designate an existing or additional staff planner as the Long-Range Planner in the Planning Division to serve as the City’s expert on the plan and coordinator of implementation.** A Long-Range Planner position should be created to be filled by an experienced existing or new planner. This person should have a master’s degree or equivalent in planning and municipal experience. This implementation planner should: * Become thoroughly familiar with the plan and implementation recommendations. * Organize documents, materials, mailing lists, and digital resources transferred from the consultant team. * Make comprehensive plan materials available on the city website or make the plan’s website a continuing, interactive resource. * Keep abreast of funding opportunities for Comprehensive Plan implementation. * Staff and support the Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee: develop agendas, schedule and call semi-annual meetings; send meeting notices and other information to the committee. * With the Implementation Committee, support development of citizen activities to advance implementation of Comprehensive Plan recommendations; use mailing lists to attract additional people with a known interest in the Comprehensive Plan to participate in activities; and develop priority implementation activities for citizen action. * Serve as an interdepartmental communication vehicle on Comprehensive Plan issues: seek information from other City departments, staff and officials on Plan implementation. * Make presentations on the plan to citizen groups to explain implementation actions under way and encourage citizen participation. * Serve as the contact point for neighborhood groups or others with an interest in implementation activities. * In collaboration with the Office of Public Information, create a quarterly or semi-annual e-newsletter on Comprehensive Plan implementation activities for circulation within city government, to citizens, and to the media. * Prepare an annual report on Comprehensive Plan implementation for the Planning Commission and the City Council, and organize an annual public hearing on Comprehensive Plan implementation. **2. Use the Plan annually in preparing and approving departmental work plans, operational budgets and capital improvement plans.** A number of cities use their Comprehensive Plans in an annual process to develop departmental budgets and work plans. Among other things, this helps to ensure a certain level of understanding throughout City departments of what is in the Comprehensive Plan and how it is being implemented. A statement of how the budget or work plan reflects the priorities of the Comprehensive Plan should be required. 3. Use the Plan in preparing and approving One-Year and Five-Year HUD Consolidated Plan documents, redevelopment grant proposals, and similar documents. The required plans for HUD formula grants should also be consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and a statement on how the Consolidated Plan documents reflect the Comprehensive Plan should be required. 4. Use the Plan in working with the Greater Birmingham Regional Planning Commission/ Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Organization on the Long-Range Transportation Plan and other transportation planning documents, as well as in working with the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. Federal and state funding for a variety of transportation activities becomes available through the MPO planning process and can include funding for multi-use trails for bicyclists and pedestrians, public transportation innovations, and improvements to state and federal roads and bridges. 5. Identify Comprehensive Plan-related actions on agendas of the City Council and the Planning Commission. Sometimes citizens are unaware of implementation actions and believe that a plan is “gathering dust on the shelf” when in fact it is being implemented. An icon or identifying note in agendas of decision-making bodies is a systematic way to show how the City is implementing the Comprehensive Plan. 6. Publicize actions and activities that implement the Comprehensive Plan. While many citizens have embraced the comprehensive plan process, many remain skeptical about implementation. Actions by the City and by others that implement the Comprehensive Plan should be publicized as such, giving credibility to the planning process. Publicizing the connection between the recommendations of the Comprehensive Plan and implementation actions will require information sharing and communication. B. Incorporate the Comprehensive Plan into the Capital Improvement Planning process, as well as other best practices. See Chapter 13, pp. 13.20–13.22. C. Organize and lead an alliance of Alabama’s major cities to obtain state legislation friendly to urban concerns and issues. Alabama’s major cities—Birmingham, Montgomery, Mobile, and Huntsville—have many common goals and issues. State legislative delegations for metropolitan areas may represent too many diverse perspectives and interests to work easily together on specifically urban problems and concerns. Birmingham, as the state’s largest city, is well-positioned to lead an alliance of cities to work with the legislature on urban issues. In many cases, legislation could be put into effect that either requires an opt-in process, or is limited to places with urban conditions, so that it would not affect rural jurisdictions. Legislation to allow cities to deal efficiently with vacant, abandoned, and tax-delinquent properties, so that they can be returned to commerce or land banked in a timely and less expensive way than is now possible, would be one very high priority issue that could make a tremendous difference in revitalization programs. Action 1. Lead creation of an “Alabama City Alliance” based on a short list of desired legislation. Birmingham can take the lead in developing a short list of two to four issues that need legislative attention in order to promote economic and community revitalization in Alabama cities, provide a white paper for each, convene meetings with prospective members of the Alliance, and then develop a plan for working with legislators and state government to pursue needed legislation. Business, community, and neighborhood leaders should be recruited to work with the Alliance and communicate their support to the legislature. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # goal 3 ## Internal and external accountability is effective. **POLICIES** * Provide effective and meaningful access to information about government activities and performance. * Enforce municipal laws and regulations more effectively. * Promote a customer service atmosphere in delivery of city services. ### STRATEGIES **A. Measure government performance and make information available to the public.** #### Actions **1. Create a performance measurement system and share the results with the public.** This Plan recommends a performance management system (p. 13.7). Meaningful measurement systems for government activities for some activities will consist in counting inputs and outputs (e.g., weekly maintenance activities at parks), in other cases they must go beyond counting to measure the impact of activities in improving quality of life. The Government Finance Officers Association recommends a publication by the National Performance Management Advisory Commission, *A Performance Management Framework for State and Local Government: From Measurement and Reporting to Management and Improving* (2010). **2. Create an online information warehouse open to the public and enhance the E-government capacity of Birmingham City government.** Establishment of a state-of-the-art E-government (electronic-government) and open data system in Birmingham provides an important foundation for implementation. As both businesses and residents increasingly expect cities to take advantage of technology to provide services and information, a robust E-government and open data system will make Birmingham a more competitive city. (See Chapter 13, p. 13.6.) Mid-size and smaller cities are increasingly using innovative data strategies to enhance efficiency, deliver services, and enhance accountability. A case study for Somerville, MA, is available at www.socrata.com/discover/video-case-study-somerville-ma/. In addition, a “national platform for data innovation,” including a section for municipalities, has been established at www.data.gov/communities/cities. **3. Conduct a customer service survey for city services and make changes in procedures and training based on the results.** As noted in the economic development analysis, it is important to streamline city procedures and services, while still protecting the public interest, to make the city attractive as a place to do business. A customer-service culture is also important for existing and potential city residents. A survey of both businesses and residents on customer service will help identify areas that need improvement. Then, the appropriate training and changes in procedures should be put in place to improve the delivery of these services. Use of an improved website and smartphone apps, online utilities, and, where necessary, complete reform of systems, can improve both the reality and the perception of City government’s customer-service orientation. **B. Focus on more consistent and effective enforcement of municipal laws and regulations.** #### Actions **1. Provide the tools, training and funding needed for effective enforcement of the City’s laws and regulations.** Throughout the Comprehensive Plan process citizens called for more effective enforcement of existing regulations. Enforcement and accountability should be priority values for creating a more livable and prosperous City of Birmingham and visible enforcement of laws is critical to confidence in the area’s future. Inter-departmental task forces and working groups can focus on solving multi-faceted problems. The comprehensive property management system recommended in this plan can centralize the data and information needed for staff. Reorganization of enforcement systems and training of enforcement staff, such as the code enforcement reform underway in Baltimore, will improve enforcement and give more job satisfaction to enforcement officers by 15.8 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN helping them become more effective. Certain kinds of enforcement actions can involve fees or fines, which then can fund the training and tools needed. (See Chapter 7.) **2. Publicize and take full advantage of online utilities to aid city government.** A number of online utilities and applications are emerging that can empower both citizens and government. One example is www.SeeClickFix.com, in which citizens can report potholes, litter, or other problems online or through mobile applications. (See the City of Boston example at www.cityofboston.gov/DoIT/ apps/citizensconnect. asp.) It is essential, however, that if the City promotes use of these kinds of applications, it has to be ready to be responsive. # goal 4 ## There are sufficient local and ## other resources to provide cost- ## effective services and support ## innovative programs and ## revitalization. **POLICIES** * Use local resources efficiently. * Promote engagement with national organizations and funders. ## STRATEGIES **A. Review options to ensure that local resources are deployed in the most cost-effective manner to help achieve the community's vision and goals for the future.** Implementing the Birmingham Comprehensive Plan and achieving the vision chosen by Birmingham residents for their future will require new resources and, by extension, new approaches to funding services, facilities and infrastructure. Investments in quality of life will help the City of Birmingham retain and attract both jobs and residents. Because of revenue constraints, inadequate maintenance over the years has resulted in situations where facilities or infrastructure are not performing as well as they should. In order to improve overall level of service and the city's competitiveness as a place to live and do business, it is important to make the most of all local resources. Neighborhood revitalization, downtown enhancements, a connected network of green places, an effective multi- modal transportation systems, economic development services, and so on—the improvements and services that make the City of Birmingham a better place to live and support businesses—will move the area closer to achieving the Comprehensive Plan vision. In many cases, partial funding for capital improvements may be available through grants, but matching funds are often necessary. New or improved facilities need maintenance and operating funds. **Actions** **1. Commission a study of the cost of services in relation to benefits.** Better understanding of the cost of services and of different levels of community or individual benefit can support a number of aspects of government: performance measurement; setting user fees; evaluating alternative methods of delivering services. It will allow for fiscal strategies that are appropriate for the type of service, while ensuring quality performance and access to all residents. Measures of the cost of services should include all direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include as salaries, materials and supplies, utilities, rent, travel and other costs that underlie the delivery of the service. Indirect costs include shared administrative expenses and support functions (such as legal, human resources, facilities, technology and so on). Indirect costs need to be allocated in a systematic way. Part of a study of this type should also identify the difference between services that primarily benefit individuals or individual households according to the amount of the service that they use (measurable services), and services that benefit the community as a whole. **2. Review the full range of funding options for implementing the Comprehensive Plan to identify the most effective funding strategies to meet Plan goals.** Capital improvement plans should reflect Comprehensive Plan goals and identify future operating impacts. The Comprehensive Plan in Chapter 13, pp. 13.20–13.22, identifies guidelines and best practices for capital improvement plans. Capital investments should reinforce the goals of the Comprehensive Plan, with policies and strategies to support fiscal sustainability. Future capital improvement planning should identify those projects that are new construction, expansions, and/or provide additional capacity. Operating impacts of new capital projects should also be identified. There are a number of funding resources typically used by municipalities: * **General obligation bonds.** Using debt to build infrastructure and make other necessary capital improvements is standard practice and an integral part of municipal fiscal sustainability. This is particularly the case when the assets will be used by both current and future residents and businesses. That is, those paying for the improvements will enjoy and benefit from the capital improvements. General obligation bonds and revenue bonds are the most common options. General obligation bonds are paid back from general tax revenues and require voter approval, and revenue bonds are paid back from specific revenues, such as utility rates or user fees. As this Comprehensive Plan was being completed in 2012, city voters approved a $150 million bond for short- and long-term capital improvements. The bond was broken down into six categories: * Landfill improvements and expansion: $6.3 million * Public park and recreational facilities: $20 million * Street and sidewalk improvements: $48.7 million * Industrial park and economic development: $19 million * Public building facilities and equipment: $45 million * Storm sewers: $11 million * As noted earlier, choices for bond financing in the CIP should reflect the priorities of the Comprehensive Plan. Many of these improvements will be the result of deferred maintenance, highlighting the need to establish an asset management program and implement a system to provide timely maintenance. An extensive capital improvement program is an ideal moment to begin a robust asset management program, as the new projects can be entered into the system with all the necessary baseline information to begin tracking the projects over time to schedule maintenance. * **Sales tax increases dedicated to specific projects or improvements.** The recently approved $150 million improvement bond in an economic climate of very low interest rates is likely to provide low-cost financing for a number of city capital improvements for a number of years. As this is a 20-year plan, however, it is important to review other potential sources of funding to achieve city goals. Often, when communities need to increase revenues, the first sources considered are the largest existing revenue sources. Birmingham’s largest revenue source is the 4% sales tax, which, when added to the state sales tax of 4% and Jefferson County’s 2%, totals a 10% sales tax experienced by the consumer. A small increase in the sales tax can result in a significant amount of revenue—and in the case of sales tax, visitors and workers, not just residents, generate revenue. Many communities have raised sales tax by a half-cent or a penny to pay for specific improvements or programs. Oklahoma City is well known for its success with this kind of initiative. The Oklahoma City MAPS Program, a one-cent sales tax increase approved by voters in 1993 to support a variety of downtown projects, was a resounding success. A 21-member citizen committee made recommendations to the city council and provided oversight for all projects. An economic impact study on the improvements identified significant additional private and institutional investment in the city’s core linked to the public investment. The original MAPS project was followed by MAPSforKids in 2001 and MAPS3 in 2009. MAPS3 included funds for citywide trails, sidewalks and health/aquatic centers, as well as river improvements and downtown transportation, park and convention projects. Another example is the “Penny for Pasco” program in Pasco County, Florida. Voters approved a one-cent local option surtax for the county, the county school board, and municipalities within the county, for specific purposes within each jurisdiction. For example, the tax proceeds in the county were to be used for transportation (50%); acquisition of environmental lands (25%); public safety improvements (20%); and contingencies (5%). * **Explore the potential of new and/or increased fees.** See discussion below. * **Use federal grant programs strategically.** Federal entitlement funds, such as the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and HOME, have been cut overall for decades and because of Birmingham’s population decline. Although it is appropriate for these programs to be focused on assisting low and moderate income residents throughout the city, they can also provide support for implementation of Comprehensive Plan recommendations. Federal funds are increasingly being made available through competitive processes, such as the TIGER grant awarded in 2012 to Birmingham. The existence of the plan for the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System helped make the Birmingham proposal highly competitive and successful. Having a community-based Comprehensive Plan is also competitive advantage for winning discretionary federal and state grants, because it sends a message that the community knows what it wants and has developed a strategy to get there. * **Strengthen partnerships with regional and local philanthropies and the business sector to support implementation of the Comprehensive Plan.** Members of these groups have already contributed to the creation of Railroad Park and the new trail system, redevelopment projects in Woodlawn, and other projects. As implementation programs are being created and pursued, philanthropic, nonprofit and business sector groups and leaders should be invited to take on parts of the implementation program. The City might invite local foundations and funders, as well as business leaders, to be part of a Comprehensive Plan Partners’ Committee to work with the City and the Advisory Committee on implementation. ### 3. Explore the use of fees, rather than general tax revenues, for measurable services. Cities experiencing constraints in operating funds usually begin by decreasing levels of service: layoffs, furloughs, closing of non-essential facilities, and similar actions. Next, they explore alternative revenue sources and strategies, with the most common approach being increases in user fees and implementation of new user fees. Fees that support the costs of services that otherwise would be paid for by general fund taxes can free up those tax funds for other purposes. Fees, rather than general tax revenues, should support measurable services that primarily benefit individuals or individual households—typically the case for water and sewer service enterprise funds, which in the case of Birmingham are provided by non-City agencies. Many communities also have enterprise funds for solid waste collection and stormwater management. Outside of enterprise funds, fees can be appropriate for other types of services that primarily benefit individuals, for example, adult recreation classes and team sports. In contrast, however, summer day camp and similar kinds of youth programs designed to provide positive activities for young people should be viewed as beneficial to the community as a whole, with a minimum of fees. Fee structures should be established to recover the costs of providing services and include provision for access to important services by low-income households. Fees are typically established to recover costs, not to make a profit. Decision makers need to discuss and identify the balance between individual and community benefit that is appropriate for the City of Birmingham and develop a formal policy on fees that identifies the criteria to be used in setting fees. Comprehensive user fee programs can be developed with a long-term perspective by establishing policy goals for the user fee program, including the appropriate direct and indirect costs to be recovered through the fees and the level of cost recovery for each department. Principles to guide the establishment or increase of fees include: * Consider community-wide benefit versus specific benefit for certain services, such as recreation programs, City facility rental use, and senior activities. Set fees according to this benefit trade-off. * Establish fees at a level that permits lower-income groups to participate in services that they might not otherwise be able to afford. * Determine who is the service recipient and who is the service driver. For example, code enforcement benefits the community as a whole, but the service is driven by an individual or single business owner violating City code. * Consider how price affects demand for City services. Increasing the price of some services results in a reduction of demand for those services, and vice versa. For example, most youth and senior programs are extremely price-sensitive, and significant increases in fees can decrease demand significantly, meaning that youth and seniors may not have programs that they need. * Price services to encourage or discourage certain behaviors, for example, false-alarm-response fees that increase with repeated events would discourage multiple false alarms and costly City response. * Establish a formal review process of the comprehensive fee schedule in order to monitor and adjust fees to changes in service delivery functions, resources and costs, thus avoiding the potential for significant fee spikes. A tracking system for all fee-generating services can help determine work-flow patterns and provide information to help fine-tune fee levels to meet City goals. ### 4. Develop a strategy to fund match requirements for grants and federal funding. In the past, Birmingham and the region have not always taken advantage of federal and other funding because of an inability or unwillingness to meet the match requirements. Strategies to address this problem could include creation of a “sinking fund,” and public information and communication campaigns around high-priority projects and programs to create broad-based constituencies that will support contributions to match requirements. ## B. Promote engagement with national organizations and funders. A number of recommendations in this plan encourage Birmingham to create relationships with national foundations that support community revitalization and pursue studies and technical assistance from organizations with national expertise in solving many of the types of problems found in Birmingham. Just as the Mayor and other leaders keep in contact with federal elected and appointed officials, it is important to develop strong relationships with national funders. Changing political conditions may make federal support more difficult to obtain for needed initiatives, making engagement with foundations and other national funders more essential than ever. ### Actions #### 1. After the Comprehensive Plan is adopted, organize a conference on the future of Birmingham neighborhoods with speakers from national funders, technical experts, and governmental and grassroots practitioners. See discussion in Chapter 8, p. 8.15. The purpose of this conference is to showcase Birmingham initiatives, including the Comprehensive Plan, to showcase a variety of innovative solutions to common problems that Birmingham could pursue, and to create relationships with national organizations and funders to seek support for Birmingham’s community-revitalization efforts. #### 2. Designate a person in City government to develop ongoing relationships with national funders, keep up with funding opportunities, and organize preparation of proposals for grants. There should be a person in City government with a broad understanding of the vision, goals and strategies in the Comprehensive Plan who is tasked with keeping up with funding opportunities, making decision makers aware of these opportunities, and then being responsible for preparing grant proposals. In some cases, working with local foundations to seek national support may be the most successful strategy. Among the national funders who should be approached are the Rockefeller Foundation, Ford Foundation, LISC, Enterprise Foundation, Surdna Foundation, Living Cities, and Bloomberg Philanthropies. CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # C. Implementation and Action Plan ## 1. IMPLEMENTATION TOOLS The most important implementation tool that city government has is the ability to decide where and how to make public investments—in infrastructure, in programs, and in development assistance. City investments improve quality of life and delivery of services, and in some cases serve as project-specific incentives. For Birmingham, which has suffered from inadequate private investment over several decades, a major strategy in this Plan involves making targeted public investments to create a critical mass of activity that can leverage private investment while ensuring quality-of-life improvements for current residents. Public investments coupled with the Plan tell the development community that local government will do what it can to support new private investment that will implement the plan. A representative list of regulatory, financial and incentive-based types of tools includes: * **Zoning and development regulations.** Most people think of zoning as the preeminent implementation tool for a land use plan, and it certainly provides one of the foundations for effective implementation of a plan. Modernization of the City of Birmingham zoning ordinance and other regulations, ideally in a Unified Development Ordinance (UDC) and developed on the foundation of the Framework Plans for Communities, will provide higher-quality development and more predictability for residents, property owners, and developers. * **Urban design strategies and design review.** The current design review process has helped the city promote higher design standards in historic districts and commercial revitalization districts. However, it relies for the most part on general guidelines, many created decades ago for urban renewal districts and based on a historic-district model. The guidelines are not easily available to the public. Elsewhere in the city, the lack of basic urban design standards in the zoning ordinance has resulted in poor development outcomes from a design point of view. Refinement of the city’s urban design standards should occur in tandem with modernization of the zoning ordinance and development regulations. * **Framework Plans for Communities.** The Plan recommends that the City’s Planning Division create Framework Plans for the city’s Communities in order to apply the goals, policies and strategies of the Comprehensive Plan to the specific conditions in the Communities and Neighborhoods. This process will promote implementation of the Plan by embedding the Plan’s principles, which emerged from the public participation process, throughout the city, widening the circle of public participation and growing the constituency for implementation of the Plan. * **Major Street Plan with Mode Priority Streets.** Since Birmingham has been operating for many years without a planning framework for physical development, the Major Street Plan has not been kept up and used. The Comprehensive Plan now provides that framework, and adds criteria for creating a system of Mode Priority Streets in order to create a robust network of transportation options for pedestrians, bicycles, transit, cars, and freight. * **Capital Improvement Plan (CIP).** The Plan’s goals, principles and recommended actions should be consulted as the capital improvement plan is modified every year. * **Federal and state transportation funds.** The Metropolitan Planning Organization—which is administered by the Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham—prepares the regional Long-Range Transportation Plan and the TIP (Transportation Improvement Program). Decision-making for Birmingham transportation needs within the MPO should be coordinated to achieve Comprehensive Plan goals. * **Redevelopment districts and land assembly/land banking.** Urban renewal legislation and plans from previous decades continue to be used in Birmingham. Creation of a professionally-managed Birmingham Redevelopment Authority, as recommended in this Plan, will result in an updated approach to redevelopment and incentives, land banking, and facilitation of land assembly, land swaps, and similar activities to encourage development. 15.13 * **Tax abatements.** The City currently uses tax abatements as incentives for desired private investment, often projects likely to produce sales tax revenues or immediate jobs. While the rationale for these priorities is understandable, this Plan suggests that the City direct some of these incentives to support expansion of emerging economic sectors that have long-term prospects for growth and success. In addition, limited property tax abatements to help provide incentives for renovating historic buildings can help revitalize neighborhoods and downtown without an excessive impact on revenues. ## 2. IMPLEMENTATION MATRICES The implementation matrices for Chapters 4–13, which begin on p. 15.15, provide more specific guidance about how to put the plan to work and begin transforming ideas into action. The plan has a long-term horizon, looking ahead to 2033, but it also includes a number of short- and medium-term actions that are necessary prerequisites to long-term results. Each action plan includes goals, strategies (“what”), actions (“how”), responsible parties (“who”), a target timeline (“when”) and potential resources. Most of the actions are relatively short-term, but this is because many need to start within the next few years in order to produce visible results over the medium to long terms. ### Abbreviations | | | | :--- | :--- | | **ADEM** | Alabama Department of Environmental Management | | **ALDOT** | Alabama Department of Transportation | | **BBA** | Birmingham Business Alliance | | **BCS** | Birmingham City Schools | | **BJCTA** | Birmingham-Jefferson County Transit Authority | | **BWWB** | Birmingham Water Works Board | | **CDBG** | Community Development Block Grant (federal) | | **EPA** | Environmental Protection Agency | | **HABD** | Housing Authority of Birmingham District | | **Map-21** | Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (federal transportation funding statute) | | **MPO** | Metropolitan Planning Organization (in RPCGB) | | **PEP** | Department of Planning, Engineering, and Permits | | **REV** | REV Birmingham | | **RPCGB** | Regional Planning Commission of Greater Birmingham | | **SRI** | Southern Research Institute | | **TIGER** | Federal transportation funding to support economic development | | **UAB** | University of Alabama–Birmingham | | **WIB** | Workforce Investment Board (federal) | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 4—NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. A comprehensive green infrastructure system provides access to and preserves natural areas and environmentally sensitive areas.** | A. Enhance Birmingham’s urban forest. | 1. Amend Tree Ordinance. | City Council; Horticulture Division/Public Works Dept. | Short Term | Staff time | 4.16 | | | | 2. Plant more trees. | City Council; Birmingham Tree Commission; Horticulture Division | Short Term and ongoing | Arbor Day Foundation; US Small Business Administration Tree Planting Initiative; Urban and Community Forestry Assistance Program; streetscape funds (federal and local); adopt a tree public contributions | 4.16 | | | | 3. Prepare an Urban Forestry Plan. | Birmingham Tree Commission; Horticulture Division; consultant | Medium Term | Alabama Cooperative Extension Service/ USDA Forest Service; USDA Forest Service Urban Forestry Grants | 4.17 | | | | 4. Engage the public around the importance of the urban forest for quality of life. | Birmingham Tree Commission; Botanical Gardens; Ruffner Mountain Nature Center; Southern Environmental Center; UAB | Short Term and ongoing | USDA Forest Service Urban Forestry Grants; Alabama Forestry Commission assistance | 4.17 | | | B. Implement priority portions of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System (RRRVTS). | 1. Initiate priority projects for green infrastructure improvements. | Planning, Engineering, and Permits Department (PEP); Freshwater Land Trust; | Short Term and ongoing | Transportation funds; foundation grants | 4.18 | | | | 2. Develop partnerships and funding | PEP; Health Action Partnership; UAB; RPCGB | Medium Term | Staff time | 4.19 | | | C. Audit and amend development regulations, as needed, to promote environmental goals. | 1. Audit development regulations. | PEP; Planning Commission | Short Term | Staff time; volunteer professionals; STAR Community Rating System (starcommunities. org) | 4.19 | | | | 2. Consider incentives for the use of conservation developments. | PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short Term | Staff time | 4.21 | 15.15 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 4—NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 3. Establish zoning provisions to allow for compact housing. | PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short Term | Staff time | 4.22 | | **2. Reinvestment in existing communities conserves resources and sensitive environments.** | A. Convert selected brownfields to usable open space. | 1. Identify brownfield sites for open space use. | PEP; REV; Redevelopment Authority/Land Bank; Parks & Recreation Dept; Public Works Dept; City Council; Freshwater Land Trust; RPCGB; Southern Environmental Center | Medium Term | EPA funds; grant funding; general fund | 4.23 | | | | 2. Acquire and remediate selected sites. | Mayor's Office; City Council; City departments; EPA Region IV; Southern Environmental Center; Cawaco RC&D | Long Term | EPA Region IV | 4.23 | | **3. The city makes every effort to consistently meet clean air standards.** | A. Implement priority portions of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. | 1. Develop a priority list for unfunded segments of the Trail System and seek funding according to the list. | Mayor's Office;City Council; PEP; Freshwater Land Trust; RPCGB | Short Term | Staff and partner time | 4.25 | | | B. Use clean fuels and encourage vehicle emissions testing. | 1. Expand use of clean fuels. | City government; Alabama Partners for Clean Air; Alabama Clean Fuels Coalition; Health Action Partnership | Short Term and ongoing | City fleet management purchases and staff time; UAB Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center | 4.25 | | | | 2. Encourage periodic vehicle emissions testing. | Mayor's Office; RPCGB; Alabama Partners for Clean Air; Health Action Partnership | Short Term and ongoing | Staff and volunteer time; grant funds | 4.25 | | **4. The city makes every effort to consistently meet clean water standards.** | A. Maintain updated citywide flood-mitigation and stormwater plans. | 1. Update the 2004 Flood Mitigation/ Stormwater Management Plan. | Floodplain Division/ PEP; water quality monitoring consultant; | Short Term | FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance (HMA) Grant programs | 4.26 | | | | 2. Evaluate recommendations and update flood regulations. | Floodplain Division/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short Term | Staff time | 4.26 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN CHAPTER 4—NATURAL RESOURCES AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONSTRAINTS Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | B. Continue water-quality monitoring and begin enforcement based on new city-wide Stormwater Ordinance. | 1. Work to remove local streams from the 303(d) list of impaired waters. | PEP; ADEM | Short Term and ongoing | Staff and consultant time | 4.27 | | | | 2. Work to reduce pollutant loading on city water resources. | | | | 4.28 | | | C. Use green infrastructure best practices, as feasible, in City capital-improvement projects, as well as consider incentives for private development. | 1. Create a green infrastructure program as part of the City’s street and sidewalk improvement plans. | PEP; planning, design, and engineering professionals | Short Term | Staff time; consultants; infrastructure bond | 4.28 | | | | 2. Incorporate green infrastructure best practices in implementation of the 2012 TIGER grant and implementation of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System. | PEP; design and engineering professionals | Short Term | Staff time; consultants; TIGER funds | 4.28 | | | | 3. Create incentives to promote green infrastructure (low-impact) development for private development. | | | | 4.28 | 15.17 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 5 —OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. Every resident is within a ten-minute walk of a park, greenway or other publicly accessible, usable open space.** | A. Identify and prioritize residential areas within the city that lack usable open space within a ten-minute walk. | 1. Identify opportunity sites in priority areas with limited access to existing parks, recreation and open space amenities. | Planning Div/ PEP; Parks and Recreation Dept | Short term | Staff time | 5.13 | | | | 2. Update the citywide parks and recreation master plan. | Parks and Recreation Board; Parks and Recreation Dept.; Red Mountain, Railroad, Ruffner parks; Botanical Gardens; planning/ design consultant | Medium term | Staff time; consultant; infrastructure bond | 5.14 | | | | 3. Support alternative open space and recreation providers. | City Council; Parks and Recreation Dept.; Parks and Recreation Board; REV Birmingham | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; small grants | 5.14 | | | | 4. Acquire and develop desired park sites. | City Council; Parks and Recreation Dept.; Parks and Recreation Board | Medium term | Business community; CDBG; Land and Water Conservation Fund (federal/state) | 5.15 | | | | 5. Prepare and implement plans to revive underutilized, historic facilities. | Planning Division/ PEP Dept.; Parks and Recreation Dept.; local planning and design professionals; Neighborhood Associations | Medium term | Staff time; Auburn Urban Design Studio; Alabama Trust for Historic Preservation; foundation grants | 5.15 | | | B. Incentivize park development and open space preservation as a part of private development. | | Planning Division/ PEP Dept.; Planning Commission | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; potential inclusion in zoning revision or Unified Development Code | 5.15 | | **2. City parks and recreation facilities are safe, well-maintained and widely used.** | A. Assure adequate park maintenance and associated funding. | 1. Increase coordination between city departments on parks and recreation maintenance. | Public Works Dept.; Parks and Recreation Dept. | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; National Recreation and Park Association best practices | 5.16 | 15.18 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 5 — OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Dedicate adequate funding for parks maintenance and for capital improvements. | City Council; Parks and Recreation Dept. | Short term and ongoing | Bond funding for capital improvements; general fund for maintenance; Friends' groups to volunteer and raise funds for maintenance | 5.16 | | | | 3. Seek additional funding for sports, culture and other specialty programs and facilities. | Parks and Recreation Dept.; “Friends” groups | Medium term | Foundations such as the Tiger Woods Foundation, NFL Foundation, Community Foundation; fundraising by “Friends” groups; sliding scale fees | 5.17 | | | B. Continue partnering with public and private organizations to enhance the parks system. | 1. Establish best practices policies for public/private partnerships. | Parks and Recreation Board; Parks and Recreation Dept.; Red Mountain, Ruffner Mountain, Railroad Park; Friends groups | Short term | Center for City Park Excellence/ Trust for Public Land; National Recreation and Park Association | 5.17 | | | | 2. Encourage creation of “Friends of Parks” groups. | Neighborhood advocates; business leaders; community leaders; park supporters | Short term and ongoing | Parks and Recreation Board; Neighborhood Associations; recreational users groups | 5.17 | | | | 3. Join the City Parks Alliance. | Parks and Recreation Board; Parks and Recreation Department; Railroad Park; Ruffner Mountain | Short term | Staff time; modest membership fee | 5.17 | | | C. Adjust recreational programming to best serve neighborhood demographics. | 1. Survey residents on park and recreation needs. | Parks and Recreation Dept.; Parks and Recreation Board | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; National Recreation and Park Association; local universities | 5.18 | | | | 2. Encourage professional development of staff. | Planning Division/ PEP Dept.; Parks and Recreation Dept.; Parks and Recreation Board | Short term | Staff time; membership fees; National Recreation and Park Association; City Parks Alliance | 5.18 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 5—OPEN SPACE, PARKS AND RECREATION Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | D. Increase safety in parks, greenways and recreation facilities. | 1. Adopt CPTED principles for parks, greenway and recreational facility design. | PEP; Parks and Recreation Board; Parks and Recreation Department; Neighborhood associations; Friends groups; citizen patrol groups; police department | Short term | Staff time; volunteer time | 5.19 | | | | 2. Maximize surveillance of parks and recreation facilities. | Neighborhood associations; Friends groups; citizen patrol groups; police department | Short term and ongoing | Police time; volunteer time; Neighborhood Watch; National Night Out program | 5.19 | | 3. The city’s major natural amenities are enjoyed by residents and visitors. | A. Improve access to Red Mountain Park and Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. | 1. Improve wayfinding and access to Red Mountain Park. | Red Mountain Greenway and Recreational Trails Commission; City; adjacent municipalities; RPCGB; ALDOT | Medium term | MAP-21 or TIGER grant | 5.20 | | | | 2. Improve wayfinding and access to Ruffner Mountain Nature Center. | Ruffner Mountain Nature Preserve; City; ALDOT | Medium term | MAP-21 or TIGER grant | 5.20 | | | | 3. Explore opportunities to provide transit access to these parks. | BJCTA; Red Mountain Commission; RPCGB; BBA; Tourism and Visitor’s Bureau | Medium term | Red Mountain Commission; tourism operators | 5.21 | | | B. Support development of recreational access to the Cahaba River and other are waterways. | 1. Expand and improve recreational access to the Cahaba River. | Freshwater Land Trust; Cahaba River Society; Cahaba Riverkeeper; City and adjacent municipalities | Medium term | Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (National Park Service) | 5.21 | | | | 2. Develop greenway trails to provide recreational opportunities along area streams. | Planning Division/ PEP Dept.; Freshwater Land Trust; Parks and Recreation Dept. | Short term and ongoing | MAP-21 or TIGER grant; Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program (National Park Service) | 5.22 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 6—SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. City operations serve as a model of energy and resource efficiency.** | A. Develop a citywide sustainability program for all operations and facilities. | 1. Prepare a Sustainability Plan. | Mayor’s office; City departments; consultant | Short term | Foundation grants | 6.11 | | | | 2. Update departmental policies and procedures. | Mayor’s office; City departments | Medium term | Staff time | 6.11 | | | | 3. Incorporate green design in City facilities. | PEP | Medium term | Bond funding | 6.11 | | | | 4. Evaluate lifecycle costs in development of new city facilities and for purchase of equipment. | PEP; Finance Dept. | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 6.12 | | | | 5. Continue cost-effective conversion of the vehicle fleet to reduce costs and emissions. | Equipment Manager | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 6.13 | | | B. Increase recycling. | 1. Expand city recycling program to more users where feasible. | Public Works Dept. | Medium term | Capital fund for equipment | 6.13 | | | | 2. Promote recycling. | Public Works Dept. | Short term and ongoing | Alabama Environmental | 6.14 | | **2. Reinvestment in existing communities conserves resources.** | A. Attract private investment to existing communities. | 1. See Actions in Chapter 4, p. 4.22; Chapter 7, pp. 7,8-7.32; Chapter 8, pp. 8.9–8.70. | | | | 6.14 | | | B. Identify and participate in priority brownfield projects. | 2. See Chapter 9, p. 9.20 | | | | 6.14 | | | C. Encourage adaptive reuse of existing buildings where appropriate. | 1. Require cost comparison for redevelopment projects involving City financial support. | Finance Dept. | Short term | Staff time; developer time | 6.15 | | | | 2. Compare costs of reuse versus new construction for capital projects. | Finance Dept. | Short term | Staff time | 6.15 | | | | 3. Facilitate the development of a Preservation Guild. | Historic Preservation Commission; designers; builders; craftspeople | Medium term | Staff time | 6.16 | 15.21 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 6—SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | D. Encourage urban farming and community gardens to reduce food deserts | 1. Continue support for community garden programs. | Neighborhood groups; Nonprofit organizations | Short term | Private funds | 6.16 | | | | 2. Encourage urban agriculture. | Planning/PEP | Short term and ongoing | Jones Farm | 6.16 | | **3. Private developments incorporate cost-effective sustainable planning and design features at the regional, citywide, neighborhood and site levels.** | A. Incentivize green building and neighborhood design. | 1. Audit and amend development regulations. | Planning and Urban Design/PEP; | Short term | Staff time; EPA Sustainable Design and Green Buildings Toolkit: http://www.epa. gov/region4/ recycle/green-building-toolkit.pdf | 6.18 | | | | 2. Provide incentives for green design. | Mayor's office; Planning/PEP; Office of Economic Development | Short term and ongoing | Tax abatement | 6.19 | | | | 3. Adopt a cost-effective green-compatible building code. | Planning/PEP; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 6.19 | | | | 4. Launch a white roofs program. | Mayor's Office | Medium term | Private funds; volunteers | 6.20 | | | B. Promote water conservation. | 1. Advocate for state laws and local standards allow appropriate use of greywater. | BWWB; PEP | Medium term | Staff time | 6.21 | | | | 2. Support programs in partnership with the Birmingham Water Works Board to increase water efficiency. | Mayor's Office; BWWB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 6.21 | | | | 3. Encourage water efficiency as a part of programs to promote green building design. | Mayor's Office; Planning/PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 6.21 | | **4. The city makes every effort to reduce air pollution.** | A. Develop and implement a Sustainability Plan for city operations. | 1. Establish measurable goals to decrease emissions from city operations. | Mayor's Office | Short term | Staff time | 6.22 | | | | 2. Reduce transportation-related emissions. | Mayor's Office; Equipment Manager | Short term and ongoing | Equipment fund | 6.22 | | | | 3. Reduce emissions from buildings and energy use. | See green building above. | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 6.22 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 6—SUSTAINABILITY AND GREEN PRACTICES Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 4. Support state and federal weatherization programs. | Mayor's Office | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 6.23 | | | | 5. Promote use of renewable energy sources. | Mayor's Office; utilities | Short term and ongoing | | 6.23 | # CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. Neighborhoods are enhanced by investments to improve quality of life.** | A. Develop a program for Strategic Opportunity Areas to focus a defined portion of public investments, incentives, and programs on neighborhoods with potential "urban villages" at their core. | 1. Identify potential urban village districts, based on comp plan concepts. | Planning/PEP; Community Development | Short term | Staff time | 7.8 | | | B. Create a series of proactive "framework plans" to include all of Birmingham's Communities to translate the goals and policies of the Comprehensive Plan to the community level and adopt these plans as part of the Comprehensive Plan." | 1. Planners from the City's Planning Division work with Communities in order to develop long-term expertise and relationships. | Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 7.9 | | | | 2. Engage neighborhood groups, students and volunteers to perform rapid "community audits" of the public realm to aid in developing the framework plans, targeting and prioritizing resources for public improvements. | Planning/PEP with neighborhood associations, churches, schools, college students, or other local organizations. | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; volunteer time; small foundation grants; student programs | 7.9 | | | | 3. Create Framework Plans through a public process. | Planning/PEP; RPCGB; Auburn Urban Studio; Neighborhood Associations; merchants' groups and business owners | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; RPCGB staff and funds; Urban Studio | 7.10 | | | | 4. Develop templates for the Framework Plans so that the Planning Department can oversee plans carried out by others. | Planning/PEP; RPCGB; Auburn Urban Studio; Neighborhood | Short term | Staff time | 7.10 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING [ ] Short-term action (2013–2016) [ ] Medium-term action (2017–2023) [ ] Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | C. Create a system or consultation structure to ensure communication and coordination with the Housing Authority, School System, Transit Authority, and other government agencies, including county, state and federal agencies with facilities in the city, about location and disposition of facilities so that they further City of Birmingham goals for neighborhood and economic development. | 1. Create a Public Facilities Working Group and invite relevant public agencies’ facilities staff to meet at least twice a year. | Mayor’s Office; PEP director | Short term | Staff time | 7.10 | | | D. Explore the potential of community schools as neighborhood anchors for residents of all ages, including coordination with recreation programs, health and social services, adult education and fitness, and so on. | 1. Bring together school system officials, the Education Foundation, city staff nonprofits, higher education institutions social services providers, parents and other stakeholders to explore the community schools model for Birmingham. | Mayor’s Office; PEP director; Board of Education; BCS; nonprofits | Short term | Staff time | 7.11 | | | | 2. Support local efforts to bring a Promise Neighborhood Initiative program to Birmingham. | Foundations and other local organizations; Board of Education; BCS | Short term | Staff time; nonprofit organizations | 7.12 | | 2. Community/ neighborhood centers (urban villages) that provide access to retail and services. | A. Amend commercial strip zoning along arterial roads to promote more compact, mixed-use and walkable commercial districts. | 1. Designate intersections and segments of commercial corridors for different intensities of commercial development and introduce new mixed-use zoning options to create Urban Village Zoning, especially where there are future opportunities for transit stops. | PEP | Short term | Staff time | 7.12 | 15.25 ### CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Establish a program to redesign commercial corridors with enhanced streetscapes or parkway-style environments that create more attractive development opportunities. | | | | 7.13 | | | | 3. Improve the function and design for all neighborhood centers, including access management, internal circulation, buildings at the street edge, pedestrian networks, landscaped and distributed parking lots, and similar measures, through enhanced development standards in development regulations. | Urban Design/PEP; Traffic Engineering; City Engineer | Short term | Staff time; developers | 7.13 | | | | 4. Use form-based zoning or place-based zoning in mixed-use urban village and commercial corridor locations as a way to promote pedestrian-friendly environments with quality design. | Urban Design and Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 7.13 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | B. When locating city, school, or other public uses, give priority to districts identified in the Comprehensive Plan future land use map as compact, mixed-use commercial districts, such as Urban Village and Main Streets districts. | 1. Coordinate disposition of, or new uses for, publicly-owned properties through the PEP to ensure compatibility with Comprehensive Plan goals and strategies, as well as plans for neighborhoods and commercial areas. | Planning/PEP; Board of Education | Short term and ongoing | Staff Time | 7.14 | | | | 2. In future public school improvement programs, work with the State Superintendent and State Department of Education to design schools for urban contexts. | Board of Education; BCS; State Superintendent, State Department of Education | Long term | Staff time | 7.14 | | | C. Promote the development of business or merchants' associations to serve as the voice of business owners in Urban Village/Main Street districts. | 1. Pursue funding to support capacity building for business associations, coordinating with programs for technical assistance and supports for small businesses and microenterprises. | Office of Economic Development; REV Birmingham; Community Development Dept. | Short term | REV; National foundations | 7.15 | | | D. Continue to recruit grocery stores and fresh food outlets with a preference for locations in or adjacent to Urban Villages/Main Street districts, and avoid incentivizing fast food outlets. | 1. Identify specific locations for grocery stores or other anchors, preferably in or adjacent to Urban Village/Main Streets districts and other future compact, mixed-use districts, prepare market analyses for these locations, and develop incentives appropriate for specific locations. | Mayor's Office; Office of Economic Development; Planning/PEP; market analyst consultant | Short term | Staff time; general fund; federal Healthy Food Financing Initiative | 7.16 | 15.27 # CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | E. Develop criteria to deploy city incentives strategically, based on data about the ability of localized markets to support desired retail and services as well as understanding of where gaps in market support exist, and coordinate with revitalization planning in efforts to close gaps. | 1. Coordinate with city departments and agencies in charge of revitalization planning to ensure that a portion of economic development incentives are targeted to urban villages in Strategic Opportunity Areas where they will have the most impact. | Mayor’s Office; Office of Economic Development; REV- Main Street Program; City Council | Short term | Staff time; tax abatements | 7.16 | | | | 2. Give priority to public infrastructure improvements in urban villages in Strategic Opportunity Areas. | Mayor’s Office | Short term and ongoing | Bond funding | 7.16 | | **3. City neighborhoods have a good public image.** | A. Create a marketing plan for the city and work with realtors, major employers, and others to ensure that people new to the region consider the City of Birmingham as a place to live. | 1. Designate a city staff member to organize a working group representative of government, major employers, realtors, and developers to create a plan and seek funding to support it. | Office of Economic Development; major employers; Birmingham Association of Realtors; developers; REV Birmingham | Short term | Staff time; sponsorships; advertising | 7.18 | | | | 2. Develop a web site and marketing materials that highlight living in downtown and city neighborhoods, cultural and park assets, restaurants and food culture. | REV Birmingham; Realtors’ association; developers | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; sponsorships; advertising | 7.18 | # CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 3. Create a program, materials and regular events to work with realtors and with major employers such as the health care industry, higher education, financial services, and others to market the city as a place to live so that employees new to the region are not “steered” away from living in the city. | REV Birmingham; Office of Economic Development; Birmingham Association of Realtors; major employers | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; business contributions | 7.18 | | | | 4. Create a program of volunteer residents willing to be city “ambassadors” to talk to potential new residents. | Mayor’s Office; City Council; Neighborhood Associations | Short term | Volunteer time | 7.18 | | **4. The Citizen Participation Plan continues to serve residents and the City well.** | A. Modernize the Citizen Participation Plan system. | 1. In collaboration with residents, review and adjust Neighborhood Association and Community boundaries to reflect changing demographics, physical conditions, and city finances. | Community Development Department; Mayor’s Office for Citizen Assistance; Neighborhoods/ Communities, | Medium term | Staff time; residents; Citizens Advisory Board | 7.19 | | | | 2. Explore and analyze citizen participation systems in other cities to identify best practices suitable to Birmingham. | Community Development Department; Mayor’s Office for Citizen Assistance; Neighborhoods/ Communities, | Medium term | Staff time; Citizen Advisory Board | 7.19 | | | | 3. Create a “Capacity College” for neighborhood groups and nonprofits. | REV Birmingham; United Way; Grant Office | Medium term | Staff time; grants | 7.20 | | **5. The integrity and character of distinctive historic structures and districts is maintained and enhanced.** | A. Create a community-based, comprehensive citywide Historic Preservation Plan informed by a broad range of constituencies and interests. | 1. Develop a community-based, 21st-century Historic Preservation Plan for Birmingham. | Historic Preservation Commission and staff; consultant; Birmingham Historical Society | Medium term | Staff time; consultant time; general fund resources | 7.21 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Identify priority properties for preservation by means of a rating system. | Historic Preservation Commission and staff; Birmingham Historical Society; consultant | Medium term | Staff time; consultant time; general fund; grants | 7.21 | | | B. Raise public awareness for residents and visitors of all aspects of Birmingham’s historic heritage. | 1. Tell Birmingham’s story by creating new historic interpretation activities, such as heritage walking trails, historic signs/markers, and a Magic City History website with downloadable podcasts to include lesser-known heritage…and history. | Historic Preservation Planner; University community; Birmingham Historical Society; Convention and Visitors’ Bureau | Medium term | Staff time; consultant or volunteers; fund by advertising | 7.22 | | **6. Historic preservation initiatives support and invigorate community/ neighborhood renewal.** | A. Promote rehabilitation of historic properties with incentives. | 1. Provide a tax credit or abatement for residential historic restoration activities in National Register Districts and in areas targeted for strategic revitalization (Strategic Opportunity Area). | Mayor; Jefferson County Delegation; PEP; Historic B & B Regulations | Medium term | Staff time; tax incentives | 7.22 | | | B. Consider creating Neighborhood Conservation Districts. | 1. Enact an ordinance establishing a system for creation and implementation of Neighborhood Conservation Districts. | Historic Preservation Planner; Historic Preservation Commission; Neighborhood Associations; Planning Commission; City Council | Medium term | Staff time | 7.23 | | | C. Provide guidance on affordable building materials and components that are appropriate for houses with historic value. | 1. Create a guidance document for the most common historic building types in Birmingham that includes information on appropriate and affordable options for rehabilitation and renovation. | Historic Preservation Planner; Urban Design/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 7.23 | 15.30 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING [ ] Short-term action (2013–2016) [ ] Medium-term action (2017–2023) [ ] Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | D. Promote salvage of architectural elements and materials from historic buildings in major renovations or demolitions. | 1. Include architectural salvage as an element of renovations or demolitions in projects to which the City contributes through tax abatements or other means. | Historic Preservation Planner; dealers such as Southern Accents Architectural Antiques, Architectural Antique Warehouse, Rescued Relics | Short term | Staff time | 7.24 | | 7. A comprehensive housing policy to support quality neighborhoods. | A. Create a publicly-accessible source of data on housing markets and housing needs as part of a broader property information system. | 1. Commission a detailed real estate market study of the entire city to identify market conditions on as fine-grained a level as possible, ideally using census block groups. | Mayor; Office of Economic Development; Planning/PEP; Community Development | Short term | General fund; grants; CDBG; The Reinvestment Fund (TRF) | 7.26 | | | B. Create a Housing Policy Advisory Council. | 1. Organize a Housing Policy Advisory Council to be staffed by the Community Development Department and the Planning Division of PEP. | Community Development Department; Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 7.27 | | | | 2. Focus a portion of the City's CDBG and HOME funds on the Strategic Opportunity Areas. | Mayor; Community Development Dept. | Short term | Staff time | 7.27 | | | C. Maintain and expand market rate housing choices. | 1. Work with Neighborhood Associations to support services and conditions in stable neighborhoods so that their housing markets continue strong. | Mayor's Office for Citizen Assistance; PEP; capital planning; City Engineer | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; bond funding for improvements | 7.27 | 15.31 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Identify niche market segments, such as retirees and Millennials/ Generation Y, prepare marketing materials, approach potential appropriate developers and market the city to these segments. | Office of Economic Development; Planning/PEP; Community Development Department; REV Birmingham; realtor | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; developers | 7.27 | | | | 3. Develop a revolving loan program with design guidelines for small developers to do infill renovation and new construction in neighborhoods with attractive housing stock and nearby amenities. | Office of Economic Development; Community Development Department; local banks | Short term | Staff time; local banks | 7.28 | | | D. Coordinate public sector capacity in housing policy implementation and build nonprofit sector capacity in housing production. | 1. Create a public sector subcommittee of the Housing Policy Advisory Council. | Housing Authority of Birmingham District; PEP; Community Development Dept.; Birmingham HUD representative, | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 7.28 | | | | 2. Seek grant or foundation funding for a fund to support capacity building and training for nonprofit organizations in the housing sector. | Mayor’s Office; Grant Department; SEEDCO; local nonprofits | Short term | Staff time; technical assistance from HUD Capacity Building program intermediaries | 7.28 | | | E. Encourage the development of homeless prevention programs, foreclosure assistance, and supportive and transitional housing for residents who are at risk of homelessness and/or are living in substandard housing. | 1. Continue implementation of the Birmingham Continuum of Care program and Ten Year Plan to end homelessness. | Mayor’s Office; Community Development Dept.; One Roof | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; HUD McKinney grants | 7.29 | CHAPTER 7—NEIGHBORHOODS, HISTORIC PRESERVATION AND HOUSING | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **8. All housing is in good condition and code compliant.** | A. Establish systems to support and coordinate code enforcement and other quality of life regulations. | 1. Create a single code enforcement division for both residential and nonresidential code enforcement and seek advice on reforming the system to work better for the community and to be more cost-efficient. | Mayor's Office; Code Enforcement Staff | Short term | Staff time; seek information from Baltimore and New Orleans | 7.30 | | | | 2. Include code enforcement, public safety, and public health information on the property level in the property information system recommended in Chapter 8, Strategy A.1. | Mayor's Office; GIS; Information Services | Medium term | Staff time | 7.30 | | | | 3. Establish a registration and inspection system for rental properties. | Mayor's Office; City Council; Legal Dept.; PEP | Medium term | Staff time | 7.30 | | | | 4. Consider creating a ticketing system with fines for quality-of-life offenses such as littering and illegal dumping, storage of junk cars, lack of mowing, and noise. | Mayor's Office; City Council; Environmental Police; Code Enforcement | Short term | Staff time | 7.30 | | **9. Quality housing to meet the diverse needs of households at all income levels and all stages of the life cycle.** | A. Review and revise regulations to ensure appropriate standards and guidelines for fitting new housing into existing neighborhoods. | 1. Make appropriate changes to the zoning code and the permitting process to ensure that all projects that have public financing or other assistance are reviewed by the Planning Division urban design staff for urban design and fit. | Mayor's Office; City Council; PEP; Community Development | Short term | Staff time | 7.31 | | | B. Explore employer-assisted housing programs with major employers. | 1. Explore employer-assisted housing options targeted at city neighborhoods with Birmingham’s major employers. | Mayor's Office; UAB; St. Vincent Hospital;Princeton Baptist Hospital; Birmingham-Southern College; other major employers | Medium term | Staff time; employer resources | 7.32 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 8—COMMUNITY RENEWAL Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. Blight is substantially eliminated in Birmingham neighborhoods over 20 years.** | A. Create a comprehensive property and neighborhood information system. | 1. Develop the information system by building on the existing GIS and assessor’s property databases and integrating the market value analysis system recommended in Chapter 7, p. 7.26. | Mayor’s Office; GIS; Information Services; Jefferson County Assessor; university partners | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; bond funding for software; general fund for operations; or partner with a university | 8.9 | | | | 2. Establish and maintain an inventory of all vacant sites that are identified brownfield sites and likely brownfield sites and integrate it into the property information system. | Mayor’s Office of Economic Development; GIS Department; Information Services | Short term | Staff time | 8.10 | | | B. Designate a position responsible to the Mayor with the authority and responsibility to coordinate and organize the blight eradication activities of all relevant city agencies. | 1. Designate a Director, responsible to the Mayor, to take charge of anti-blight activities. | Mayor’s Office | Short term | Center for Community Progress; new or reassigned salary line | 8.10 | | | | 2. Establish a vacant property registration ordinance and a regular cycle of vacant building inspections. | Mayor’s Office; City Council; PEP | Short term | Fee to support cost of inspections. | 8.10 | | | | 3. Develop a review process and criteria for demolition of properties by government entities. | Proposed anti-blight Director | Medium term | Staff time | 8.10 | | | C. Develop and implement a strategy to prevent abandonment of properties. | 1. Identify at-risk properties. | PEP; Community Development; Environmental Police | Short term | Staff time | 8.11 | | | | 2. Develop and use strong partnerships. | PEP; Community Development Dept; neighborhood associations; social service providers; nonprofit housing developers; realtors; private lenders | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 8.11 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 8—COMMUNITY RENEWAL Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 3. Make general community improvements. | Mayor's office; capital projects; city departments | Short term and ongoing | Bond funding. | 8.11 | | | | 4. Improve code-enforcement activities. | See Chapter 7, p. 7.30. | | | 8.11 | | | D. Develop a system and/or seek legislative authority to expedite procedures for site control of blighted and vacant properties and for quiet title. | 1. Enact an ordinance to allow the City to purchase properties from the state land bank. | Mayor's Office; City Council; Legal Dept.; Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 8.11 | | | | 2. Explore the potential for community land trusts as an interim or long-term mechanism for site control, management of vacant land, and provision of affordable housing. | Community Development Department; proposed Redevelopment Authority; nonprofits | Medium term | Staff time | 8.11 | | 2. An organization with professional leadership and adequate staff and funding focuses on land banking, land assembly and redevelopment. | A. Create a citywide redevelopment entity for Birmingham and a municipal land bank. | 1. Consult national experts about best options for Birmingham, identify if existing redevelopment entities enabled by state law can be bundled to act as a redevelopment authority, or seek state legislation to enable a City of Birmingham Redevelopment Authority. | Mayor's Office; Jefferson County Legislative Delegation | Short term | Staff time; Center for Community Progress | 8.14 | | | | 2. Consult national experts about best options as the city develops a Local Municipal Land Bank for Birmingham. | | | | 8.14 | | 3. Strategic and comprehensive redevelopment with critical mass creates visible self-sustaining communities and neighborhoods of choice. | A. Organize and hold a Birmingham Neighborhood Futures Conference soon after adoption of the Comprehensive Plan. | 1. Identify a lead organizer and create a committee to organize and fund the conference. | City of Birmingham, BBA, Community Foundation, the United Way, the Housing Authority, UAB, other colleges, universities, major institutions & corporations | Short term | Staff time; seek sponsorships for conference expenses; see Appendix for potential speakers | 8.15 | 15.35 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 8—COMMUNITY RENEWAL Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | B. Develop and implement a set of public criteria to evaluate potential Strategic Opportunity Areas. | 1. Review the preliminary identification of potential urban villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas in the comprehensive plan. | Planning/PEP; RCPGB; Transit Authority | Short term | Staff time | 8.15 | | | C. Establish an arts and culture revitalization strategy at selected locations. | 1. Establish incentives for artists and developers to rehabilitate buildings for artist live/work space in defined areas. | REV Birmingham; Cultural Alliance; Planning/PEP; Mayor’s Office; Office of Economic Development; City Council | Short term | Staff time; tax incentives; low-cost housing for rehab | 8.16 | | | D. Coordinate public, nonprofit and for-profit investments with social services and workforce development in Strategic Opportunity Areas. | 1. For every urban village or Strategic Opportunity Area, convene a group representing service providers, the public school or schools in the area, and workforce development providers. | Planning/PEP; Community Development Dept; Office of Economic Development; United Way | Short term | Staff time | 8.18 | | | E. Develop and implement neighborhood-based green systems interventions to transform vacant land into community assets. | 1. Identify opportunities for vacant land greening, first in Strategic Opportunity Neighborhoods as an example and incorporate them into the implementation of plans for these neighborhoods. | Planning/PEP; City Engineer; proposed Redevelopment Authority | Medium term | Staff time; acquisition of vacant tax delinquent properties | 8.18 | | | | 2. Create a Birmingham-focused pattern book on green systems in vacant lands, similar to the one created in Cleveland, for use by neighborhood and community groups. | Planning/ PEP; proposed Redevelopment Authority; Grant Office | Short term | Staff time; Community Foundation; Surdna Foundation | 8.18 | | | F. Create a welcoming environment for urban agriculture. | 1. Amend zoning, as necessary, to allow urban agriculture. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 8.19 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 8—COMMUNITY RENEWAL Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Provide for permanent neighborhood community garden spaces. | Jefferson County Health Action Partnership; Proposed Redevelopment Authority; nonprofit sponsors | Medium term | Donation of government-agency controlled lots; seed grants for acquisition by nonprofit sponsors | 8.19 | | | | 3. Explore the idea of creating an Urban Agriculture Pilot District in Ensley. | Office of Economic Development; Grants Office; UAB Sustainable Smart Cities Research Center; Birmingham-Jefferson County Food Policy Council | Short term | Surdna Foundation-Strong Local Economies Program | 8.19 | | | G. Ensure that regulations allow for a variety of new housing configurations while conforming to appropriate urban design standards. | 1. Amend regulations to provide for the creation of cottage neighborhoods | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 8.19 | | | | 2. Provide for conservation subdivisions in the zoning ordinance. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 8.20 | 15.37 # CHAPTER 9—GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. Birminham has a diversified, knowledge-driven economy, anchored by established and emerging industry sectors, built on the city's competitive strengths, and providing job opportunities in a range of occupations and skill levels.** | A. Maintain and enhance Birmingham's position as a regional medical center with select top-tier specializations. | 1. Incorporate the health care industry into local and regional marketing programs. | Office of Economic Development; BBA; UAB medical school and hospitals; private sector hospitals | Short term | BBA marketing; UAB recruitment; NIH and other research funding | 9.6 | | | | 2. Support increases in local life sciences research. | UAB: SRI: University Hospital | Short term and ongoing | NIH and other research funding | 9.6 | | | | 3. Ensure timely local review and approval of health care facility Master Plans. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 9.7 | | | B. Promote the growth of advanced manufacturing, particularly related to specialty fabricated metals, composites, and automotive products. | 1. Promote expansion of UAB's School of Engineering with a focus on specialties aligned with local and regional manufacturing industry needs. | UAB School of Engineering: local and regional economic development professionals: manufacturing community; other higher ed institutions with engineering disciplines and worker training | Medium term | Grants; fund raising; business support | 9.8 | | | | 2. Support the development of collaborative engineering projects between Alabama's automotive manufacturers and UAB. | UAB School of Engineering; major automakers and automotive suppliers | Medium term | Grants; fund raising; business support | 9.8 | | | | 3. Explore the establishment of a center for automotive research at UAB. | UAB School of Engineering | Medium term | Grants; fund raising | 9.8 | | | | 4. Develop additional industrial parks and other sites suitable for small and mid-size manufacturing operations. | Jefferson County Development Authority; proposed city Redevelopment Authority; Office of Economic Development | Medium term | General fund; bond financing for extending infrastructure | 9.9 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 9—GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | C. Expand tourism by targeting segments in which Birmingham has demonstrated an historically strong position or significant growth potential. | 1. Capitalize on development of new sports facilities to expand the sports tourism market. | Convention & Visitors’ Bureau; Office of Economic Development; individual sports venues | Short term and ongoing | Sponsorships and advertising | 9.11 | | | | 2. Continue to develop established markets, including civil rights and other heritage tourism, event tourism, and conventions (e.g., religious, medical, education). | Convention & Visitors’ Bureau; Office of Economic Development; individual institutions | Short term and ongoing | Grants; sponsorships and advertising | 9.11 | | | | 3. Develop additional cultural and entertainment amenities. | Cultural Alliance; Convention & Visitors’ Bureau; restauranteurs; theater owners | Medium term | Grants; sponsorships and advertising | 9.11 | | | | 4. Improve wayfinding and transit services between the convention center, historic sites, cultural amenities and entertainment venues. | See Chapter 11. p. 11.24. | | | 9.11 | | | D. Position Birmingham as a regional distribution center, leveraging transportation infrastructure improvements and multimodal options. | 1. Ensure timely completion of transportation infrastructure that supports regional distribution. | See Chapter 12, p. 12.50. | | | 9.13 | | | | 2. Promote the development of international air cargo service at Birmingham-Shuttlesworth Airport. | BBA | Short term | BBA advocacy | 9.13 | | | | 3. Prepare and market sites with close proximity to transportation infrastructure. | Jefferson County Development Authority; Office of Economic Development | Medium term | Grants; bond financing for infrastructure and site preparation | 9.13 | 15.39 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 9—GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | E. Make the financial services industry a target of recruitment, retention and expansion efforts, in collaboration with the BBA's regional efforts. | 1. Create a tailored program to support continued location of the financial industry in the City of Birmingham. | Office of Economic Development; BBA | Medium term | General fund; business sponsorship | 9.14 | | | F. Solidify and expand Birmingham's role as a major life sciences research center. | 1. Advocate for increased state investments in the state's research universities. | Mayor's Office; BBA; UAB; SRI; local civic and business leaders; Jefferson County Legislative Delegation | Short term | Advocacy on the state level | 9.16 | | | | 2. Promote increased local philanthropic investment in local life sciences research. | Mayor's Office; UAB; SRI; | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 9.16 | | | | 3. Establish an innovation fund to support researchers developing technologies with commercialization potential. | Mayor's Office; City Council; BBA; UAB; SRI; local civic and business leaders | Short term | Reactivation of the Alabama Innovation Fund; local fund with government and business contributions | 9.16 | | | | 4. Work toward timely implementation of the UAB Master Plan consistent with city planning objectives. | Planning/PEP; UAB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 9.17 | | | | 5. Market the city as a location for other research centers. | Office of Economic Development; BBA | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 9.17 | | | G. Capitalize on Birmingham's research base to develop a life sciences industry cluster. | 1. Develop a public-private partnership to fund technology commercialization. | Mayor's Office; City Council; BBA; UAB; SRI; local civic and business leaders | Short term | Alabama Innovation Fund (reactivation); local fund with government and business contribution | 9.18 | | | | 2. Create incentives designed to foster the development of multitenant facilities suitable for early-stage firms, with an initial focus on the Entrepreneurial District. | REV Birmingham; Planning/ PEP; proposed Redevelopment Authority | Short term | Staff time; tax abatements | 9.18 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 9—GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES [Short-term action (2013–2016)] [Medium-term action (2017–2023)] [Long-term action (2023–2033)] | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 3. Develop initiatives to attract entrepreneurs in the life sciences to Birmingham to form new companies. | REV Birmingham; Office of Economic Development; BBA | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; conferences with sponsorships; tax abatements | 9.19 | | | H. Develop targeted niches in digital information and media, particularly in bioinformatics and other technologies related to the medical field. | | See Strategy G Actions above. | See Strategy G Actions above. | See Strategy G Actions above. | 9.20 | | 2. The city and its government that are focused on economic development. | A. Create and maintain an award-winning educational system, both in the pre-K to 12 system and in higher education. | 1. The city must provide leadership for the City School System. | | | | 9.20 | | | | 2. Work with higher education to deliver an education to the City's adults. | | | | 9.20 | | | B. Ensure that the City's workforce development programs meet the needs of its citizens as well as current and future employees. | 1. For more see Chapter 10, pp. 10.9–10.13 | | | | 9.20 | | | C. Catalogue available sites for expanding and new businesses. | 1. Develop a database of sites for new businesses. | | | | 9.20 | | | | 2. Assist with obtaining EPA grants for development sites with some level of pollution that must be remediated. | | | | 9.20 | | | D. Be active in State economic development efforts. | 1. Advocate for economic development policies that will help Birmingham. | | | | 9.21 | | | | 2. Participate in the economic development process. | | | | 9.21 | 15.41 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 9—GROWING ECONOMIC BASE INDUSTRIES Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | E. Work collaboratively to increase employment. | 1. Build networks of pre-existing resources to increase economic development successes. | BBA, Economic Development Partnership of Alabama, UAB, JCEIDA, APCO, Alabama Department of Commerce | | | 9.21 | 15.42 ### CHAPTER 10—REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. All students graduate from high school prepared for post-secondary education.** | A. Support the preschool and P–12 school system to ensure that all students graduate from high school with the basic skills and competencies needed to obtain a post-secondary credential. | 1. Complete the initiatives developed by the Birmingham Education Foundation in collaboration with the Birmingham City Schools. | School Superintendent, Education Foundation, the business and higher education communities | Medium term | Private fund-raising. | 10.7 | | | | 2. Develop an early childhood education initiative that serves all pre-K students with public, philanthropic, and business support. | Community Foundation; United Way Success by Six; business community; Alabama School Readiness Alliance | Short term | Local business and foundation funds to leverage national foundation (e.g. Kellogg Foundation) and/or federal funding. | 10.8 | | | | 3. Develop a program to train parents on enhancing the education of their children. | | | | 10.8 | | | B. Support high-quality career education and work experience programs for every student through engagement with the P–12 school system. | 1. Establish a business-school partnership that fully engages the skills and capacities of the business community in providing career exploration opportunities, contributing to curriculum development, and advising on management practices. | Education Foundation; business community; Partners in Education; BCS | Short term | Private fund-raising. | 10.8 | | | | 2. Strengthen public school-higher education partnerships. | Lawson State; Jefferson State; UAB’s Center for Community Outreach Development, Center for Urban Education, and Center for Educational Accountability; BCS | Medium term | foundation and federal funds for innovative programs | 10.8 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 10—REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **2. A workforce development system that is well-coordinated, user-friendly, adaptable, and responsive to both job seekers and employer.** | A. Strengthen post-secondary education and adult workforce development systems and more closely align and coordinate elements of the system to enable workers to develop and update career skills to obtain living-wage jobs and meet employer needs for high-quality workers. | 1. Establish a workforce development collaborative that brings the business community, local community colleges and other workforce development service providers together to improve coordination, provide more efficient and accessible services, and identify and fill service gaps. | Region 4 Workforce Development Council; Jefferson Country WIB; Career Centers-Community Colleges; adult basic education providers; employers; Office of Economic Development. | Short term | Staff time | 10.11 | | | | 2. Integrate adult basic education and career training services. | Community colleges; career training providers; adult education providers | Medium term | Staff time | 10.12 | | | | 3. Develop sector-focused training initiatives. | Employers; career training providers | Short term | Employer sponsorship | 10.12 | | | | 4. Develop local funding initiatives to compensate for significant cuts in federal workforce development funding. | Proposed Jefferson County Workforce Development Collaborative | Short term | Foundation grants; local employer funding. | 10.13 | | **3. Supportive services are in place to assist workers in achieving career success.** | A. Expand and improve services essential to supporting employment, notably transportation and child care. | 1. Develop initiatives to reverse the decline in licensed child care providers and improve the quality of pre-school programs. | Alabama School Readiness Alliance; United Way Success by Six; Community Foundation; business community | Short term | Business community; foundation funding | 10.14 | | | | 2. Develop transit services that serve the commuting corridors most heavily utilized by Birmingham residents. | See Chapter 12, pp.12.33–12.33. | | | 10.14 | | **4. A strong entrepreneurial environment supports new business ventures and small business growth.** | A. Strategically invest in initiatives to strengthen the entrepreneurial “ecosystem” that attracts and retains talented entrepreneurs. | 1. Develop initiatives to attract entrepreneurs to Birmingham to form new companies. | Office of Economic Development; BBA; Innovation Depot; UAB | Short term | Staff time; business organizations | 10.16 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 10—REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Develop a master plan for the downtown Entrepreneurial District. | REV Birmingham; PEP | | | 10.16 | | | | 3. Include City participation in the public-private partnerships to support local technology commercialization. | See Chapter 9, pp. 9.20. | | | 10.161 | | 5. Opportunities exist for all residents with entrepreneurial skills and talents to develop successful businesses. | A. Strengthen the network of entrepreneurial education and business assistance programs. | 1. Increase university engagement with the Birmingham Small Business Development Center, under the auspices of the Alabama SBDC Network. | Alabama Small Business Development Center Network; higher education institutions | Short term | Higher education supports | 10.18 | | | | 2. Establish a micro-business program to provide small-scale financing and technical assistance to businesses with 0-5 employees. | Office of Economic Development | Short term | ACCION Texas Alabama; Seedco Financial | 10.19 | | | | 3. Implement the Birmingham Business Alliance Blueprint Birmingham plan to improve coordination of regional small business services. | Birmingham Regional Enterprise Council | Short term | BBA | 10.19 | | | B. Strengthen and more effectively coordinate assistance for minority, woman, and disadvantaged businesses seeking access to government and corporate procurement opportunities. | 1. Establish a minority business accelerator | Office of Economic Development; Birmingham Construction Industry Authority; BBA | Short term | Alabama Minority Business Opportunity Center; South Regions Minority Suppliers Development Council; Seedco Financial; BBA | 10.19 | | | | 2. Capitalize a public-private working capital fund to provide short-term contract financing. | Mayor’s Office; Seedco Financial | Short term | Revolving loan fund | 10.20 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 10—REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | *6. The City of Birmingham is a community of choice for highly-skilled entrepreneurs and professional workers.* | A. Develop new initiatives that focus on retention of local college graduates. | 1. Expand contacts between the business community and local college students through internship, mentoring, and networking opportunities. | Office of Economic Development; BBA; local higher education institutions | Short term | Business and higher education funding | 10.20 | | | | 2. Develop an incentive program to encourage graduating students to stay in the City of Birmingham | Mayor’s Office; City Council | Medium term | Partial tuition rebates; student loan deferrals; urban homesteading grants or tax abatements | 10.21 | | | B. Target marketing of Birmingham’s assets and positive qualities to young adults. | 1. Develop a marketing campaign targeted to young professionals using frequently updated social media and internet-based platforms, highlighting the City of Birmingham’s employment, cultural, social, entertainment, and service opportunities. | REV; Young Professionals Organization | Short term | Staff time; business sponsorships and advertising | 10.21 | | | C. Create downtown and neighborhood environments that are attractive places to live, work, and play. | 1. Consider the lifestyle preferences of young professionals in housing, urban design, transportation, and recreation planning, particularly with respect to downtown and adjacent neighborhoods. | See Chapter 11, pp.11.16–11.18. | | | 10.21 | | | | 2. Improve quality of life through investments in education, arts and culture, and recreation. | See Chapter 11, pp.11.18–11.20. | | | 10.21 | 15.46 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN CHAPTER 10—REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **7. Government policies, programs and processes related to business are efficient, fair and transparent.** | A. Streamline, simplify, and make more transparent business regulatory, development permitting and procurement processes. | 1. Establish procedures to make city interactions with businesses, including licensing, permitting and procurement, more user-friendly. | Mayor’s Office | Short term | Staff time: Interdepartmental task force | 10.22 | | | | 2. Improve the City’s website to make business-related information more accessible and user-friendly. | Office of Public Information; Office of Economic Development | Short term | Staff time | 10.23 | | | B. Develop clearer criteria for city assistance to businesses through incentives and financing, with a focus on supporting catalytic investments. | 1. Develop a more targeted incentive program with clearer criteria for incentive award. | Mayor’s Office; Office of Economic Development | Short term | Staff time | 10.23 | | | C. Improve responsiveness of local government to business issues and concerns. | 1. Expand the city’s business retention and expansion program. | Office of Economic Development; BBA; REV | Medium term | Staff time | 10.23 | | | | 2. Conduct a business environment study. | Office of Economic Development; consultant | Short term | General fund | 10.24 | | **8. Vacant industrial sites and buildings are prepared for new uses consistent with shifts in the city’s economic base.** | A. Work in partnership with private landowners to develop reuse plans and secure needed funding for site preparation and property investments. | 1. Develop an inventory of vacant and underutilized commercial and industrial buildings and sites, including brownfields sites. | Office of Economic Development; Information Services and GIS; consultant | Medium term | General fund | 10.25 | | | | 2. Conduct a market study to assess the level and nature of demand for commercial and industrial property within the city. | Office of Economic Development; consultant | Short term | General fund | 10.25 | | | | 3. Establish a citywide redevelopment authority, and land bank, or similar entity | See Chapter 8, pp. 8.12–8.13. | | | 10.25 | | | | 4. Target priority sites for public infrastructure improvements. | Mayor’s Office; Office of Economic Development; REV; Planning/PEP; | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; bond financing | 10.25 | 15.47 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 10—REINFORCING THE BUILDING BLOCKS OF THE ECONOMY Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 9. Modern infrastructure meets business needs at a competitive cost. | A. Promote needed investments by public utilities in energy and tele-communications infrastructure. | 1. Continue relationships with public utilities, telecommunications providers and industry representatives to identify emerging needs. | Mayor's Office; utilities | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 10.26 | | | B. Complete transportation improvements that position the Birmingham region as a Southeast regional distribution center. | 1. Develop transportation infrastructure to support the expansion of the distribution sector. | See Chapter 12, pp. 12.43–12.44. | | | 10.26 | | | | 2. Collaborate with the RPCGB/MPO to develop a freight transportation improvement plan | See Chapter 12, p. 12.44. | | | 10.26 | | | C. Improve transit options for local commuters, particularly those in low-income neighborhoods. | 1. Develop a dedicated transit funding source to support improved public transit services between city neighborhoods and local and regional employment centers. | See Chapter 12, pp. 12.38–12.42. | | | 10.26 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. Downtown is a thriving, mixed-use center of business, employment, institutions, and government.** | A. Develop a marketing program targeted to industries for which downtown is already well positioned or which have demonstrated growth potential. | 1. Target marketing and recruitment efforts to industries such as health care, life sciences, digital information and media, professional services (particularly legal), and tourism/ hospitality. | REV; Office of Economic Development | Short term and ongoing | General fund | 11.11 | | | | 2. Make improvements in the Entrepreneurial District to support new business uses in that area. | REV; Mayor’s Office; City Council; PEP | Short term | Bond financing | 11.11 | | | | 3. Continue and enhance regular surveys of Innovation Depot and other startup firms’ needs to encourage them to stay in downtown Birmingham. | REV; Office of Economic Development; Innovation Depot | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 11.11 | | | B. Create a plan for the Entrepreneurial District. | 1. Create a vision for a mixed use district. | REV; businesses; property owners; Innovation Depot; other stakeholders | Short term | Staff time; business funding | 11.15 | | | | 2. Create a program to prepare existing buildings and sites for new uses. | REV; proposed Redevelopment Authority; property owners | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; acquisition of properties; tax abatements for improvements; marketing assistance to owners | 11.15 | | | | 3. Create a database of properties and owners, and provide assistance in creating ready sites that are affordable to start up and early stage companies. | REV; Information Services and GIS Departments; Office of Economic Development; Innovation Depot | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; tax incentives | 11.15 | | | | 4. Improve pedestrian and bicycle connections to Railroad Park. | REV; Planning/PEP; Traffic Engineer | Short term and ongoing | Bond financing | 11.15 | | | | 5. Improve the pedestrian environment in the district. | REV; Planning/PEP; Traffic Engineer | Short term and ongoing | Bond financing | 11.15 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 6. Develop a new branding strategy. | Innovation Depot; REV | Medium term | Private fund-raising | 11.15 | | | C. Continue to promote rehabilitation of distinctive historic structures that contribute to the character of downtown. | 1. Continue to market the use of tax credits and other incentives for adaptive reuse. | See Chapter 7, pp. 7.20–7.21. | | | 11.16 | | | D. Develop a program to address concerns about panhandling and similar issues working with CAP, the Police Department, and social services agencies. | | REV; CAP; social service agencies; One Roof; Police Department | Short term | Staff time | 11.16 | | 2. Downtown is also a neighborhood that people in the city and the region experience as a safe, fun, and exciting place to live. | A. Continue promoting the construction of new housing and adaptive reuse of older buildings for residential use, in order to strengthen downtown as a neighborhood. | 1. Survey downtown employees about interest in living downtown and their housing needs. | REV | Short term | REV funds | 11.16 | | | | 2. Update the downtown residential market study prepared in 2004 by Zimmerman/Volk Associates for the Center City Plan. | Mayor’s Office; REV | Short term | City funds; developer contributions | 11.16 | | | | 3. Work with UAB and the Medical Center on developing housing for faculty and graduate students, employees and other affiliates downtown. | Mayor’s Office; REV; Planning/PEP; UAB | Short term | Staff time; university financing | 11.17 | | | | 4. Complete all phases of the Park Place HOPE VI development. | HABD and development partners | Medium term | Low Income Housing Tax Credits (LIHTC) | 11.17 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 5. Provide gap financing, tax abatements for a specified period, or other incentives to help produce workforce housing and create housing in areas such as the Entrepreneurial District and the Civil Rights District. | Mayor's Office; City Council; | Medium term | CDBG funds; LIHTC; tax abatements | 11.17 | | | | 6. Promote simple renovation of warehouse and light industrial space into live-work units. | REV; Planning/ PEP; Design Review Committee | Medium term | Staff time; developer financing | 11.17 | | | B. Pursue aggressive code enforcement to ensure code compliance. | 1. See Chapter 7, p. 7.30 on coordinated code enforcement | | | | 11.17 | | | C. Create a vision and a plan for a mixed-use district in the southeast quadrant of downtown.” | 1. Create a committee of stakeholders, led by REV, to identify issues and overall goals for an area plan. | REV; property owners; businesses; HABD; residents; UAB; St. Vincent’s | Short term | Staff time; Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant | 11.17 | | | | 2. Prepare a Request for Proposals (RFP) for assistance in preparing the plan. | REV; Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time; Choice Neighborhood Planning Grant | 11.17 | | | D. Develop a marketing plan for downtown living that focuses on realtors and downtown employers, with specific strategies that target young professionals, new hires by downtown employers, and empty nesters. | 1. See Chapter 11, pp. 11.11. | REV; Realtors’ Association; major downtown employers | Short term | Sponsorships and advertising | 11.17 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 3. Downtown has a diverse and contemporary mix of cultural, arts and entertainment venues to make Birmingham a center of southern culture and lifestyle. | A. Extend the mission and accomplishments of the Civil Rights District and Institute to expand tourism, events, and conferences. | 1. Make the Civil Rights Institute a center for conferences and events around national and international human rights. | Civil Rights’ Institute; Mayor’s Office | Medium term | Private fundraising; foundation grants | 11.18 | | | | 2. Consider new ways to bring Birmingham’s civil rights history to life by updating and expanding digital and interactive resources and programs. | Civil Rights’ Institute; | Medium term | Private fundraising; foundation grants | 11.18 | | | | 3. Create a strategic plan for the 4th Avenue historic commercial district and Urban Impact, the nonprofit organization that manages it. | REV; Urban Impact; stakeholders; consultant | Short term | Staff time; general fund | 11.18 | | | B. Establish a Contemporary Culture Furnace District in what is today designated by REV Birmingham as the “Parkside/Railroad Park Extension” Focus Area. | 1. Convene stakeholders to develop the district concept. | Cultural Alliance; Sloss Furnace: Birmingham Art Museum: Alabama School of Fine Arts: Alabama Jazz Museum: Railroad Park Foundation; businesses and property owners | Medium term | Staff time; grant funding; private sponsorships | 11.19 | | | C. Expedite the revitalization of the Theater District and develop a plan to coordinate events and offerings in the district for maximum impact. | 1. Convene a Theater District Working Group to identify opportunities for coordination. | Cultural Alliance; Alabama Theater; Lyric Theater; property owners | Short term | Staff time; private funding | 11.19 | | | D. Develop a marketing plan and events that target existing downtown employees and regional residents to participate in downtown activities after work and on weekends. | 1. Launch a program of events and promotions to attract downtown employees and regional residents to downtown. | REV; Cultural Alliance; downtown merchants and restauranteurs | Short term and ongoing | Business sponsorships; advertising | 11.20 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **4. Downtown is made up of connected and mutually reinforcing districts.** | A. Review and revise downtown zoning to tailor it to the desired results in each district in order to shorten the development approval process. | 1. As an example of more targeted zoning, promote redevelopment of the high-value sites with frontage on Railroad Park with relatively dense, high value mixed use projects. | REV; Planning/PEP; property owners; developers | Short term | Staff time; developer financing for projects | 11.21 | | | | 2. Establish design standards for properties fronting on Railroad Park and within two full blocks of the park on all sides through a new zoning district or a Parkside Overlay District. | REV; Planning and Urban Design/PEP; RR Park Foundation; Property owners | Short term | Staff time | 11.21 | | | B. Create and implement an enhancement and management plan for Five Points South. | 1. Repair and maintain the public realm and provide new signage and wayfinding. | REV; stakeholders; City Engineer; Public Works Dept.; consultant for signage/wayfinding | Short term | Bond financing | 11.23 | | | | 2. Work with property owners and brokers to recruit new businesses to empty storefronts and restaurants. | REV; property owners; brokers; Five Points Merchants Association | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 11.23 | | | | 3. Market the Five Points South attractions to convention goers and baseball fans, and provide transportation options. | Convention and Visitor’s Bureau | Short term and ongoing | Bureau funding; advertisements | 11.23 | | | | 4. Explore expansion of CAP to Five Points South. | REV; CAP; Five Points South Merchant Association | Short term | CAP district funding | 11.23 | | | C. Work closely with UAB to ensure coordinated action to accelerate downtown revitalization, especially in the Parkside and Entrepreneurial Districts. | 1. Create a regular meeting process for UAB and the City’s Planning Division. | Planning/PEP; UAB Planning | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 11.23 | 15.53 # CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Establish a system for an annual presentation by UAB on its physical planning and implementation activities to the Birmingham City Planning Commission. | Planning/PEP; UAB Planning; Planning Commission | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 11.23 | | | D. Create and implement a Downtown Connections Plan that includes a combination of streetscape improvements, street tree planting, recruitment of businesses for ground floor vacancies, wayfinding, activities to mitigate vacancies, and improvements to enhance the perception of safety. | 1. Identify connectivity needs and focus improvements on these segments. | REV; stakeholders; Urban Design/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 11.24 | | | | 2. Pursue implementation of the Park to Sloss connection to extend the greenway. | REV; Birmingham Rotary Club | Short term | Private fundraising | 11.24 | | | | 3. Design and implement a branding and wayfinding program for downtown and its subdistricts. | REV; consultants | Short term | City resource; business contributions; Convention & Visitors’ Bureau | 11.24 | | | | 4. Design and construct streetscape improvements for important linkage segments. | Urban Design/PEP; REV | Medium term | Bond financing | 11.24 | | | | 5. Organize temporary uses, artist displays and performances to activate vacant ground floor uses in important linkage areas. | REV; Cultural Alliance | Short term and ongoing | Grant funding | 11.24 | | | | 6. Consider a One Percent for Art program for downtown improvements to the public realm. | REV; Cultural Alliance; Mayor’s Office; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 11.24 | # CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) | Medium-term action (2017–2023) | Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | E. Develop alternatives to the car as the preferred method to travel in downtown. | 1. Implement the proposed transit circulator to serve residents, commuters, and visitors or explore the potential of a downtown transportation management association supported by the university, major employers, and entertainment district business associations to provide shuttle transit around downtown, with service available to the public. | Mayor’s Office; BJCTA; UAB; Convention & Vistor’s Bureau | Short term | Staff time; potential federal funds for equipment; private funds for operations | 11.25 | | | | 2. Create well-marked bicycle routes and provision for secure bike parking. | REV; Traffic Engineer; Planning/ PEP; bicycle advocates | Medium term | Federal transportation funds for appropriate streets; bond financing | 11.25 | | | | 3. Make pedestrian conditions comfortable and safe in all seasons of the year. | REV; Traffic Engineer; Planning/ PEP | Short term | Bond financing for sidewalk and streetscape improvements | 11.25 | | | | 4. Extend the CAP program to Five Points South and additional parts of downtown as revitalization takes hold and add street beats or a presence of police for enhanced pedestrian safety. | REV; CAP; Police | Short term and ongoing | CAP funding | 11.25 | | | F. Implement the plan for selected two-way streets downtown. | 1. See Chapter 12, p. 12.35. | | | | 11.26 | # CHAPTER 11—SUSTAINING DOWNTOWN Short-term action (2013–2016) Medium-term action (2017–2023) Long-term action (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | G. Ensure that new public buildings, such as a potential police headquarters, or public offices moving to existing buildings are located to promote connectivity and to serve as anchors in downtown districts. | 1. See Chapter 7 p. 7.14. | | | | 11.26 | | | H. Advocate with state transportation officials for the rerouting of I-59/I-20 to better link the convention center and new entertainment district with the rest of downtown. | 1. See Chapter 12, p. 12.32. | | | | 11.26 | | 5. Downtown has a strong leadership organization active in planning, promotion, recruitment, development, and public realm. | A. Develop a financing plan for REV that provides a consistent level of support and ensure that REV can continue to lead downtown if it adds more responsibilities. | | REV; Mayor's Office; City Council; Parking Authority | Short term | Parking Authority fees; downtown assessment; catalyst fund with corporate investment | 11.26 | | | B. Change neighborhood association boundaries to reflect residents' identification with downtown as a place. | | REV; downtown residents; Citizen Participation Program; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 11.27 | CITY OF BIRMINGMAN COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY [ ] Short-term actions (2013–2016) [ ] Medium-term actions (2017–2023) [ ] Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. Birmingham’s transportation systems help to build the City’s 21st century economy and a livable urban center of the region.** | A. Enhance knowledge among Birmingham’s public, private and non-profit sector leadership to achieve Comprehensive Plan goals with supportive transportation-related investment, management, planning and funding decisions. | 1. Prepare and document a Peer City Tour by a diverse group of community, advocacy, business and government leaders. | Mayor’s Office; BJCTA | Short-term | Business and foundation support | 12.24 | | | | 2. Create and staff multimodal transportation planning and design competency within City government | Mayor’s Office; Traffic Engineer; PEP | Short term and ongoing | General fund | 12.25 | | | | 3. Support staff participation, training and leadership in national urban transportation research and peer group organizations. | Mayor’s Office; Traffic Engineer; Transportation Planner | Short term and ongoing | General fund | 12.25 | | | B. Establish and implement fully integrated systems plans informed by local neighborhood and district experience. | 1. Adopt a plan establishing Mode Priority Streets for truck, transit and bicycle routing to guide public and private improvements to City streets as a means to implement the Planning Commission’s Complete Streets Policy Resolution. | Traffic Engineer; Planning/PEP; Transportation Planner; Planning Commission | Medium term | Staff time | 12.26 | | | | 2. Prepare a Citywide Transportation Plan that updates the Mode Priority Streets Plan to fully integrate current plans for transit, greenways and bicycling routes, and freight routes. | Mayor’s Office; Traffic Engineer; PEP; MPO; BJCTA | Medium term | Staff time | 12.26 | 15.57 # CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY Short-term actions (2013–2016) | Medium-term actions (2017–2023) | Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 3. Fine-tune and coordinate separately planned general traffic, truck, bicycle, transit and pedestrian routing needs as part of the Framework Plans for each of Birmingham's 23 Communities. | Planning/PEP; Traffic Engineer; Communities | Medium term | Staff time | 12.29 | | | | 4. Review existing approved and funded transportation projects for consistency with the Comprehensive Plan, City Transportation Plan, incorporating the Mode Priority Plan and Sidewalk Plan, and strategic needs. | PEP; MPO | Medium term | Staff time | 12.29 | | | C. Continue to expand and support the introduction of state-of-the-practice transportation analysis and planning compatible with successful cities. | 1. Develop and use Multi-Modal Level of Service (MMLOS) standards for all improvements under consideration. | Traffic Engineer; PEP; RPCGB | Short term | Staff time | 12.31 | | | | 2. Establish performance measures and track progress on key indicators of plan progress. | Planning/PEP; Traffic Engineer | Short term | Staff time | 12.31 | | | D. Leverage agency partnerships to advance Birmingham's transportation priorities with program and technical support. | 1. Partner with ALDOT during the planning and design of interstate and state highway projects to reduce interstate highway impacts and improve local street connectivity, especially downtown. | Mayor's Office; Transportation Engineer; Planning/ PEP; MPO | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.32 | > **[page 507 could not be transcribed: google/gemini-3.1-flash-lite: incomplete response (finish_reason=error); google/gemini-3-flash-preview: incomplete response (finish_reason=error)]** ### CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Improve BJCTA accountability for efficient, high quality transit service for city residents with a hands-on approach to Board of Directors decision-making. | Mayor’s Office; BJCTA Board | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.33 | | | | 3. Establish a Mayor’s Task Force on Transit. | Mayor’s Office; BBA; riders’ representative; local higher education institutions; RCPGB; small business representative; PEP | Short term | Staff time | 12.33 | | | | 4. Expand the region’s Commute Smart Program | BBA; MPO | Short term | Staff time; federal funding | 12.33 | | **2. Bicycling and walking in Birmingham are comfortable, safe, and convenient modes of transportation and recreation.** | A. Ensure that public and private projects, the City’s capital improvement program, and new real estate development add to and complete the street CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 4. Establish transportation project development guidelines for land use contexts in order to build complete networks of streets and paths for active transportation connectivity. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; Traffic Engineer | Medium-term | Staff time | 12.35 | | | | 5. Establish network-building procedures to increase the reach of transit service into neighborhoods by identifying bicycle and pedestrian route gaps. | Planning/PEP; Traffic Engineer; BJCTA | Medium-term | Staff time | 12.35 | | | | 6. Amend development regulations to include guidelines and require consideration of active and public transportation modes in impact studies, access and circulation designs, and parking. | Traffic Engineer; Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission | Medium-term | Staff time | 12.35 | | | B. Promote pedestrian and bicycle safety and provide cues for drivers to anticipate the use of road space by pedestrians and bicyclists. | 1. Promote “pedestrian first” policies for all planning, design and construction decisions. | Traffic Engineer; PEP | Short term | Staff time | 12.36 | | | | 2. Promote street design for greater visibility of pedestrians by motorists and reduced pedestrian crossing distances at intersections and conflict points. | Traffic Engineer; PEP | Short term | Staff time | 12.36 | | | | 3. Provide regular enforcement of pedestrian safety laws and provide “No turn on red” and “Yield to pedestrians in the crosswalk” signage. | Traffic Engineer; Police | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; bond funds | 12.36 | PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 4. Conduct pedestrian (and bicycle) safety awareness campaigns through news media and in partnership with schools and public safety officers. | RPCGB; Health Action Partnership; United Way; BCS | Medium-term | Grant funds | 12.36 | | | | 5. Integrate the National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO) Urban Bikeway Design Guide into roadway design guidance to allow for emerging bicycle facility types (e.g., cycle tracks, bike boxes) and provide separated space for bicyclists on medium and high traffic streets. | Traffic Engineer; Planning/PEP | Medium term | Staff time | 12.36 | | | | 6. Promote bicycle parking in commercial and mixed use areas of public and private infrastructure projects. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 12.36 | | | | 7. Partner with local advocates on a variety of programs, including "bike-to-work" day, organized rides, and other promotional events. | Mayor's Office; RPCGB; Health Action Partnership | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.37 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY [ ] Short-term actions (2013–2016) [ ] Medium-term actions (2017–2023) [ ] Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | C Adapt, adopt and create an implementation plan for the city's portion of the Red Rock Ridge and Valley Trail System Plan (RRRVTSP), including ensuring that the City's network of low-volume streets and abandoned rail corridors are used to increase routes parallel to major traffic and transit corridors. | 1. Identify important transportation corridors for bicycle transportation, locating specific low-volume streets, intersections for special conflict management treatments, segments for enhanced lighting, etc. | Traffic Engineer; Planning/PEP | Medium term | Staff time | 12.37 | | | | 2. Provide guidance to road resurfacing and major street construction to include bicycle accommodation. | Traffic Engineer | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.37 | | | | 3. Identify opportunities to improve active transportation links to nearby neighborhoods and ensure that design of new buildings or renovations improves the public realm. | Planning and Urban Design/PEP; Design Review Committee; Planning Commission | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.37 | | | D. Ensure that the parking supply is appropriately sized, located and managed to support walking, bicycling and transit access. | 1. Explore parking solutions with design and location criteria to reduce the impacts of parking and parking access on area character and walkability. | Planning and Urban Design/PEP; Design Review Committee; Planning Commission | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.37 | | | | 2. Ensure parking management strategies are in place for downtown and are extended to neighboring communities to reduce overflow parking on neighborhood streets. | REV; Parking Authority | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.37 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY [ ] Short-term actions (2013–2016) [ ] Medium-term actions (2017–2023) [ ] Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **3. Transit in Birmingham is fast, reliable, well-connected, and invited for daily as well as occasional use by residents and visitors alike.** | A. Work with partners in business, institutions and transportation agencies to investigate and weigh the value of public transportation to the City's economic health, including access to opportunity for its citizens and attractiveness as a business location. | 1. In partnership with institution and business leaders, investigate the experience of other cities that have successfully harnessed transit investment in support of economic growth. | Mayor's Office; BBA; UAB and other institutions; Community Foundation; RPCGB | Short term | Staff time and foundation grants | 12.38 | | | | 2. Develop a robust public education campaign featuring news stories from other US cities and testimonies from employers and employees who support transit investment and participate in the region's CommuteSmart Program. | Office of Public Information; RPCGB; BBA | Short term and ongoing | Staff time and grant funds | 12.38 | | | | 3. Continue to work with UAB on specific transit- and community-enhancement initiatives. | Mayor's Office; PEP; UAB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.38 | | | | 4. Establish zoning and regulatory policies to allow and incentivize compact, transit-ready development at potential transit stop locations. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 12.38 | | | B. Actively work with the BJCTA to improve transit service and establish greater accountability for effective and efficient use of City transit funds. | 1. Advocate for more cost- and time-efficient transit service driven by transit demand analysis through the establishment of SuperStop transfer stations. | Mayor's Office; Task Force on Transit; BJCTA | Medium term | Staff time | 12.38 | 15.63 # CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Establish staff responsibility and a transit working group to regularly attend BJCTA board meetings and track progress on implementation of recommended cost savings and enhanced service improvements. | Mayor’s Office; Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 12.39 | | | | 3. Establish a City/BJCTA collaboration to implement roadway improvements to improve the comfort and convenience of transit service, including shelters, bus stop curb extensions and transit signal priority. | Mayor’s Office; PEP | Medium term | Staff time; bond funds | 12.39 | | | | 4. Investigate and target funding options to make investments to improve and expand transit service. | Mayor’s Office; BJCTA; BBA; Jefferson County Legislative Delegation | Short term | Staff time | 12.39 | | **4. Streets and sidewalks are maintained in good repair.** | A. Establish criteria for City funding priorities on street and sidewalk maintenance and improvement projects and allocation of resources. | 1. Identify and fund needs based on investment strategies, including the Urban Villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas, and from plans such as the Red Rock Trail System Plan and the Sidewalk Master Plan. | Mayor’s Office; PEP | Short term | Staff time; federal funds; bond funds | 12.42 | ### CHAPTER 12—GETTING FROM HERE TO THERE: TRANSPORTATION AND MOBILITY Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | B. Establish a pavement management system so that, over the long term, maintenance costs will be reduced. | 1. Evaluate and document the cost of deferred maintenance in Birmingham to establish a baseline standard for a regular, cost-efficient maintenance program. | Traffic engineer; RPCGB; consultant | Medium term | Staff time; general fund | 12.43 | | | | 2. Establish and publicize a program to engage residents in the identification of needed repairs to streets. | Planning/PEP; Citizen Participation Plan | Short term | Staff time; volunteers | 12.43 | | | | 3. Establish and fund a schedule for pavement condition inspection and assessment. | Traffic Engineer; PEP | Medium term | General fund | 12.43 | | | | 4. Engage building inspectors to investigate all utility and other construction activity within the right-of-way to ensure that permits were purchased and require the City Engineer to inspect repairs for compliance. | PEP; City Engineer | Medium term | General fund | 12.43 | | **5. Birmingham has state-of-the-art inter-city passenger travel and freight transportation systems.** | A. Continue to establish and seek regional and state support for Birmingham’s transportation priorities that will advance progress towards achieving the goals of the Comprehensive Plan. | 1. Continue to actively participate in regional policy making and project identification for high quality inter-city freight and passenger service and infrastructure. | Mayor’s Office; PEP; RPCGB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.44 | | | | 2. Work with the freight industry to confirm major truck routes for priority designation to connect industrial areas to interstate access points for enhanced efficiency and safety. | PEP; Office of Economic Development; RPCGB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 12.44 | # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. The City has state-of-the-art data and information resources and programs to support decision-making, facilities, services, and performance management across city departments.** | A. Enhance the City of Birmingham's information system for the public through a website improvements, a data inventory and warehouse, and smartphone apps and to support City performance management systems. | 1. Improve the City's website to offer more information and e-government services. | Mayor's Office; Office of Public Information | Short term | General fund | 13.6 | | | | 2. Inventory city data and work toward creation of a publicly-accessible online data warehouse. | Mayor's Office; Information Services and GIS Departments | Medium term | Grant funding | 13.6 | | | | 3. Establish a performance management system for city departments and agencies. | Mayor's Office | Short term | General fund | 13.7 | | | | 4. Create a comprehensive property management system. | PEP; Information Services and GIS Department | Short term | General fund | 13.7 | | **2. Public safety departments meet best practices performance standards.** | A. Support the Birmingham Police Department planning, facility and equipment priority needs and enhanced collaboration with other agencies | 1. Create and implement a long-term strategic plan for the Police Department and establish a five-year strategic planning cycle thereafter. | Police Department | Short term | Grant funding | 13.7 | | | | 2. Create a separate Downtown precinct, make improvements or replace precinct buildings and the downtown headquarters, locating any new facilities to anchor and contribute to revitalization goals. | Police Department; PEP; REV | Long term | General fund; bond financing | 13.7 | | | | 3. Seek a solution for a new municipal jail and locate it appropriately. | Mayor's Office; Police Department; PEP | Short term | Bond funding | 13.8 | | | | 4. Implement a technology strategy so that police data can be collected and reported easily and quickly. | Mayor's Office; Police Department; Information Services | Medium Term | Grant funds | 13.8 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE [ ] Short-term actions (2013–2016) [ ] Medium-term actions (2017–2023) [ ] Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 5. Continue and enhance community-based and collaborative programs and explore establishing a Cease Fire Program in Birmingham. | Mayor's Office; Police Department | Short term and ongoing | Grant funds | 13.8 | | | | 6. Organize relevant governmental systems/ services to garner support from other agencies to promote and support community policing efforts, such as more effective code enforcement, including ticketing/ citations for “quality of life” offenses. | Mayor's Office; Police Department; Information Systems; Code Enforcement | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.8 | | | | 7. Continue aggressive efforts to secure grants for needed improvements to the police and fire systems. | Mayor's Office; Police and Fire Departments | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.9 | | | B. Support needed improvements in Fire Department facilities, equipment and programs. | 1. Prepare and update Fire Department strategic plans on a five-year cycle to continue to ensure that the Fire Department has the stations, equipment, training and resources to respond to fire, hazards, and medical emergencies. | Mayor's Office; Fire Department | Short term | General fund | 13.9 | | | | 2. Update and expand the fire station study to identify facility needs in light of changing demographics, sources of fire danger, and the planning and land use strategy of the Comprehensive Plan. | Fire Department; consultant | Medium Term | General fund | 13.9 | 15.67 # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 3. Provide newer vehicles and apparatus to keep equipment up to date. | Equipment Manager; Fire Department | Medium Term | General fund | 13.9 | | | | 4. Continue and expand training opportunities for Fire Department personnel. | Mayor's Office; Fire Department | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.9 | | **3. Water and sewer service meets the long-term needs of the city.** | A. Work closely with water and sewer service providers to ensure adequate service to the city. | 1. Support efforts to add additional drinking water sources to the supply. | Mayor's Office; BWWB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.10 | | | | 2. Support continuation of the Replacement and Renewal Program to maintain the system. | Mayor's Office; BWWB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.10 | | | | 3. Support the efforts of Jefferson County Environmental Services in stabilizing the costs of operation and maintenance of the wastewater collection and treatment facilities as they work to meet the requirements of the Federal Consent Decree. | Mayor's Office; Jefferson County | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.10 | | | B. Establish water-conservation programs. | 1. Identify potential water-conservation programs. | BWWB; City Engineer | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.10 | | | C. Prepare an annual report for public distribution on the water and sewer service as it affects the city. | | BWWB; City Engineer | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.10 | # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Short-term actions (2013–2016) | Medium-term actions (2017–2023) | Long-term actions (2023–2033) ---|---|--- | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **4. _Stormwater management and floodplain management systems incorporate best management practices._** | A. Adopt strategies to reduce the amount and improve the quality of stormwater runoff entering the city drainage system. | 1. Revise regulations to consider incentives to promote best management practices and include default language that reflects a preference for natural drainage and natural channel design. | City Engineer; Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.12 | | | | 2. Require by ordinance that development and significant redevelopment comply with the City's NPDES permit for run-off.. | Stormwater Manager; PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.12 | | | | 3. Develop mechanisms, such as maintenance bonds, to ensure maintenance of detention ponds by developers and property owners. | City Engineer; Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.12 | | | | 4. Consider incentives to use natural drainage systems, where feasible, to manage stormwater. | City Engineer; Planning/PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.12 | | | | 5. Consider, through incentives or regulations, best management practices in limiting impervious surfaces adjacent to streams. | City Engineer; Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.13 | | | | 6. Consider incentives to incorporate floodplain and natural drainage systems into greenways and similar open space amenities. | Planning/PEP; Freshwater Land Trust | Short term and ongoing | Bond funding; federal funding | 13.13 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE [ ] Short-term actions (2013–2016) [ ] Medium-term actions (2017–2023) [ ] Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 7. Promote best management practices, in accordance with the City’s NPDES permit, through development of Stormwater Pollution Control Prevention Plan (SP3) for the operation and maintenance activities of all City Departments. | Stormwater Manager; DPW | Short term | Staff time | 13.13 | | | | 8. Consider creating a Stormwater Advisory Board to work with city departments to ensure best practices in all city activities relating to stormwater management. | Mayor’s Office; | Short term | Staff time | 13.13 | | | B. Supplement existing stormwater-management regulations with incentives that promote best management practices which may include on-site management and infiltration of stormwater. | 1. Use “Green Streets” approaches to stormwater management. | City Engineer; Planning/PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; bond funding for streets | 13.13 | | | | 2. Seek collaboration with UAB’s sustainable engineering program in developing greener city standards. | City Engineer; Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time | 13.14 | | | | 3. Add City staff and equipment to handle stormwater infrastructure and maintenance and runoff monitoring in both construction and industrial operations. | Mayor’s Office; PEP; Stormwater Manager | Short term | General fund | 13.14 | 15.70 CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 5. *City resilience is supported by effective measures to mitigate hazards presented by tornadoes, floods and other environmental hazards.* | A. Create a plan for locating and funding public safe rooms around the city. | 1. Study and evaluate the availability and suitability of existing public safe rooms. | Mayor’s Office; PEP; Emergency Management | Medium Term | Grant funding | 13.16 | | | | 2. Develop a needs list based on the travel time from all areas to safe rooms. | Mayor’s Office; PEP; Emergency Management | Medium Term | Staff time | 13.16 | | | B. Continue to submit applications to FEMA to participate in buyout programs as funds become available. | 1. Continue to maintain a list of properties that would benefit from the buyout program. | Floodplain Manager | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.16 | | | | 2. Prepare and submit applications to FEMA as funds are available. | Floodplain Manager | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.16 | | | | 3. Integrate these properties into open-space programs such as greenways, community land trusts, side-lot sales, community gardens and similar programs. | Parks and Recreation Dept; Public Works Dept; PEP; Freshwater Land Trust | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.16 | | | C. Continue localized drainage projects. | 1. Develop a list of areas that would benefit from minor drainage projects. | PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.16 | | | | 2. Develop a shovel ready project list of drainage improvement projects for construction should federal funds become available. | Mayor’s Office; PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.16 | | 6. *City facilities are models of energy and resource efficiency and maintained for long-term use.* | A. Acquire and implement a municipal asset management system. | 1. Make it a high priority to establish and begin implementing an asset-management system within the next three years. | Mayor’s Office; Finance Department; PEP; Information Services; GIS | Short term | General fund or bond funding | 13.17 | CITY OF BİRMİNGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Determine specific and detailed asset management needs of each municipal department incrementally. | Mayor’s Office; Finance Department; PEP working with city departments | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.17 | | | B. Develop and showcase City facilities, buildings, and operations as models of resource efficiency by establishing a set of policies for facility operations, maintenance, renovation and new construction. | 1. Re-use existing buildings before building new, if possible, and use recycled and locally-sourced content in municipal construction where practical. | Mayor’s Office; city departments | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; bond funding | 13.18 | | | | 2. Design municipal buildings to maximize energy efficiency by attention to ventilation, windows, site orientation, use of trees on the south and west sides of buildings for shading, “green” roof construction where feasible, painting flat roofs white, and similar energy-efficient construction methods. | Mayor’s Office; PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; bond funding | 13.18 | | | | 3. Identify and implement water conservation measures for all public buildings and services, including re-use of non-potable water. | Mayor’s Office; PEP | Medium Term | Staff time | 13.19 | | | | 4. When repaving municipal parking areas, explore permeable surface construction. | Mayor’s Office; PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.19 | | | | 5. Implement a municipal procurement policy that minimizes use of toxic materials. | Public Works Dept; Finance Dept. | Short term | Staff time | 13.19 | # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | C. Continue funding to remedy existing ADA deficiencies in public buildings and ADA needs in new public construction, as well as PROWAG for public rights-of-way. | 1. Keep the City's ADA Transition Plan updated to document ADA compliance and deficiencies and request funding. | Mayor's Office; PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.19 | | | | 2. Establish a policy for using "universal design" criteria in the design of any new government buildings. | Mayor's Office; PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.19 | | | | 3. Complete outstanding ADA deficiencies identified in public buildings. | Mayor's Office; PEP | Short term and ongoing | Bind funding | 13.19 | | | | 4. Continue to update ADA information available to the public and to private sector developers. | PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.19 | | | | 5. Dedicate a small portion of ticket sales, rental fees, etc., received at public facilities to underwriting ADA needs at public buildings. | Mayor's Office; City Council | Short term | Staff time; ticket contributions | 13.19 | | | D. Develop a capital improvements program with public criteria to prioritize needed capital improvements. | 1. Develop a capital planning process that meets best practices. | Mayor's Office; Finance Department | Short term | Staff time | 13.20 | | 7. Minimized city funding for operational and capital costs for city-owned cultural and entertainment facilities. | A. Evaluate the City's role and costs in ownership and operation of cultural, entertainment and similar facilities. | 1. Commission a study to identify and evaluate City support for operating and capital costs, review models from other cities, propose criteria for City support, and make recommendations on the city role. | Mayor's Office | Short term | Staff time; general funds | 13.22 | # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Contract with the Cultural Alliance to act as the City's Cultural Commission | Mayor's Office | Short term | | 13.22 | | **8. Solid waste is reduced at least 20 percent below 2011 levels by 2030.** | A. Establish programs that consider incentives to reduce the solid waste stream. | 1. Expand the City's capacity to move toward the expansion of recycling. | Mayor's Office; Public Works Dept | Medium Term | Staff time | 13.22 | | | | 2. Provide appropriate equipment to the Department of Public Works for recycling. | Mayor's Office; Public Works Dept | Medium Term | Bind funding | 13.23 | | | | 3. Allow composting on residential properties and create a municipal compost program. | Mayor's Office; Public Works Dept | Short term | Staff time | 13.23 | | | | 4. Establish practices in collaboration with multifamily and commercial property owners and businesses to reduce solid waste, including restaurant waste. | Public Works Dept; BBA | Medium term | Staff time; property owners; Alabama Environmental Council | 13.23 | | | | 5. Continue capital programs to get maximum long-term use from the city's two landfills. | Public Works Dept; Finance Dept. | Medium Term and ongoing | Bond funding | 13.23 | | | B. Evaluate opportunities to cover the operational and capital needs of the solid-waste operation, while promoting recycling. | 1. Explore the possibility of weekly rather than twice-weekly trash and garbage collection. | Mayor's Office; City Council; Public Works Dept. | Short term | Staff time | 13.23 | | | | 2. Explore an equitable system of charges for residential trash and garbage collection. | Mayor's Office; City Council; Public Works Dept. | Short term | Staff time | 13.23 | | | | 3. Evaluate the educational and enforcement programs that would be needed to implement actions 1 and 2. | Public Works Dept. | Short term | Staff time | 13.23 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 13—SUPPORTING PUBLIC FACILITY, SERVICES AND INFRASTRUCTURE Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 4. As current vehicles wear out and current employees retire, phase in more automated collection vehicles requiring less manpower. | Mayor's Office | Medium Term and ongoing | Bond funding | 13.23 | | **9. An effective and well-regarded public school system.** | A. Support the academic improvement programs of the public school system and the Birmingham Education Foundation. | | Board of Education | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.23 | | | B. Explore opportunities to create “community schools” by using excess school building capacity for social service agencies and programs, adult education, fitness and other services for neighborhood children, youth and adults. | | Board of Education | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; nonprofit organizations; Community Schools Alliance | 13.24 | | | C. Incorporate school system disposition of excess properties into community/ neighborhood planning initiatives, if feasible. | | Board of Education; Planning/PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 13.24 | | | D. Work with the school system to make existing and future school facilities accessible by pedestrians and bicyclists as well as motorized vehicles. | | Board of Education; Transportation Engineer; Transportation Planner | Long Term | | 13.24 | 15.75 ### CHAPTER 14—FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS, AND URBAN DESIGN Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. A development pattern composed of high-intensity, mixed-use downtown; mixed-use urban village centers to serve and revitalize neighborhoods; and strong green networks.** | A. Use the Strategic Policy Map and the Future Land Use Map to guide land use decision making. | 1. Consult the Future Land Use Plan when considering zoning amendments or other land use changes. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 14.22 | | **2. Zoning and development regulations and procedures that reflect the comprehensive plan.** | A. Implement the Comprehensive Plan by rewriting the zoning ordinance, as needed, and consider consolidating a new zoning code with other development standards in a Unified Development Code (UDC). | 1. Use a set of principles to guide the rewrite of zoning and development regulations | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 14.24 | | | | 2. Use form-based zoning or place-based zoning for mixed-use districts or subdistricts, working with property owners and others to find appropriate standards. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 14.27 | | | | 3. Update the design review system and process in new zoning regulations | Design Review Committee; Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission | Short term | Staff time | 14.28 | | | B. Ensure that subdivision regulations allow for alternatives to standard subdivision designs. | 1. Incorporate conservation/ open space subdivisions options into the subdivision regulations. | Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term | Staff time | 14.29 | | | C. Develop integrated plans for Urban Villages and Strategic Opportunity Areas that create environments where the whole becomes more than the sum of the parts. | | Planning/PEP; RPCGB | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 14.29 | PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN CHAPTER 14—FUTURE LAND USE, REGULATIONS, AND URBAN DESIGN Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **3. Excellent urban design quality to enhance city livability and competitiveness.** | A. Continue to promote urban design guidelines and standards that emphasize human scaled, walkable environments. | 1. Adhere to a few basic interrelated urban design principles and add design standards to zoning districts. | Design Review Committee; Planning/ PEP; Planning Commission | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 14.37 | # CHAPTER 15—STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **1. Regular review of comprehensive plan implementation progress is part of the City’s annual calendar.** | A. Make regular review of the Comprehensive Plan a public process. | 1. Create a Comprehensive Plan Implementation Committee made up of planning commissioners, residents and representatives of business and institutional interests to serve as continuing advocates, stewards and monitors of the Comprehensive Plan. | Planning/PEP; Comprehensive Plan Advisory Committee; Long-Range Planner | Short term | Staff time | 15.5 | | | | 2. Review implementation progress in a joint annual public hearing before the Planning Commission and City Council. | Planning/PEP; Planning Commission; City Council | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.5 | | | | 3. Schedule a public process every five years to confirm or revise the Vision, Principles and Goals and review progress on implementation. | Planning/PEP; Long Range Planner | Medium term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.5 | | | | 4. Update the Comprehensive Plan thoroughly at least every 20 years. | Mayor’s Office; Planning/PEP | Long term | Staff time | 15.5 | | **2. The Comprehensive Plan is incorporated in decision making at multiple levels.** | A. Deploy staff, resources and training to support implementation of the Comprehensive Plan | 1. Designate an existing or additional staff planner as the Long-Range Planner in the Planning Division to serve as the City’s expert on the plan and coordinator of implementation. | Planning/PEP | Short term | Staff time and/or new hire with funds from general fund | 15.6 | CITY OF BIRMINGHAM COMPREHENSIVE PLAN PART VI | CHAPTER 15 STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PLAN # CHAPTER 15—STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | | 2. Use the Plan annually in preparing and approving departmental work plans, operational budgets and capital improvement plans. | Mayor's Office; Finance Department | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.6 | | | | 3. Use the Plan in preparing and approving One-Year and Five-Year HUD Consolidated Plan documents, redevelopment grant proposals, and similar documents. | Community Development Department | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.7 | | | | 4. Use the Plan in working with the Greater Birmingham Regional Planning Commission/ Birmingham Metropolitan Planning Organization on the Long-Range Transportation Plan and other transportation planning documents, as well as in working with the Birmingham Jefferson County Transit Authority. | Mayor's Office; Traffic Engineer; Transportation Planner; PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.7 | | | | 5. Identify Comprehensive Plan-related actions on agendas of the City Council and the Planning Commission. | Planning/PEP; City Council staff | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.7 | | | | 6. Publicize actions and activities that implement the Comprehensive Plan. | Mayor's Office; Office of Public Information; Planning/PEP | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.7 | 15.79 # CHAPTER 15—STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | | B. Incorporate the Comprehensive Plan into the Capital Improvement Planning process, as well as other best practices. | 1. See Chapter 13, pp. 13.20–13.22. | | | | 15.7 | | | C. Organize and lead an alliance of Alabama’s major cities to obtain state legislation friendly to urban concerns and issues. | 1. Lead creation of an “Alabama City Alliance” based on a short list of desired legislation. | Mayor’s Office | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 15.7 | | 3. Internal and external accountability is effective. | A. Measure government performance and make information available to the public. | 1. Create a performance measurement system and share the results with the public. | Mayor’s Office | Short term | Staff time | 15.8 | | | | 2. Create an online information warehouse open to the public and enhance the E-government capacity of Birmingham City government. | Mayor’s Office; Information Services; GIS; Office of Public Information | Medium term | Staff time; grants | 15.8 | | | | 3. Conduct a customer service survey for city services and make changes in procedures and training based on the results. | Mayor’s Office; consultant | Short term | Staff time; general fund | 15.8 | | | B. Focus on more consistent and effective enforcement of municipal laws and regulations. | 1. Provide the tools, training and funding needed for effective enforcement of the City’s laws and regulations. | Mayor’s office | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; grant funding; general fund | 15.8 | | | | 2. Publicize and take full advantage of online utilities to aid city government. | Mayor’s office; Information Services | Short term and ongoing | Staff time; grant funding | 15.9 | # CHAPTER 15—STEWARDSHIP AND IMPLEMENTATION Short-term actions (2013–2016) Medium-term actions (2017–2023) Long-term actions (2023–2033) | GOAL | WHAT | HOW | WHO | WHEN | RESOURCES | SEE PAGE | | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | :--- | | **4. There are sufficient local and other resources to provide cost effective services and support innovative programs and revitalization.** | A. Review options to ensure that local resources are deployed in the most cost-effective manner to help achieve the community's vision and goals for the future. | 1. Commission a study of the cost of services in relation to benefits. | Mayor's Office | Short term | Staff time; general fund | 15.9 | | | | 2. Review the full range of funding options for implementing the Comprehensive Plan to identify the most effective funding strategies to meet Plan goals. | Mayor's Office | Short term | Staff time | 15.9 | | | | 3. Explore the use of fees, rather than general tax revenues, for measurable services. | Mayor's Office | Short term | Staff time | 5.11 | | | | 4. Develop a strategy to fund match requirements for grants and federal funding. | Mayor's Office | Short term | Staff time | 5.12 | | | B. Promote engagement with national organizations and funders. | 1. Organize a conference in 2013 on the future of Birmingham neighborhoods with speakers from national funders, technical experts, and governmental and grassroots practitioners. | Mayor's Office; Planning/PEP; business and nonprofit partners | Short term | Staff time; business and nonprofit partner sponsorships | 5.12 | | | | 2. Designate a person in City government to develop ongoing relationships with national funders, keep up with funding opportunities, and organize preparation of proposals for grants. | Mayor's Office; Grant Office | Short term and ongoing | Staff time | 5.12 |