35-home subdivision proposed for Bluff Park

A plan to put a Wal-Mart Neighborhood Market in Bluff Park two years sparked a firestorm of opposition and was withdrawn, and now the property owners are asking the city to rezone the land to accommodate 35 houses on nine acres.

The property sits near the corner of Alford Avenue and Tyler Road, and drawings submitted to the city show entrances on both roads.

The property owners are asking the city to rezone the land from agricultural use to a planned residential development district. There would be 3.9 homes per acre, and lots would be 75 feet wide at the building line, developer Zac Parrish of Parrish Building Co. said.

“We feel like a residential setting there is more appropriate,” Parrish said.

The property is surrounded by Bluff Park United Methodist Church and St. Luke Korean Catholic Church to the west, estate zoning to the north, townhomes and agricultural zoning to the east and Bluff Park Village and R-1 single-family residential zoning to the south.

The proposed development is expected to generate 140 vehicle trips per day once fully built out, according to Joey Miller, an engineer representing the developer. The two streets would have sidewalks on both sides of the roads, Miller said.

There would be no mass grading, and at least two trees will be planted per lot, Miller said. The developer will save as many existing trees as possible, Miller said. The area at the intersection of Tyler and Alford would be improved with additional landscaping, Parrish said.

Paperwork submitted to the city lists Hoover resident Patricia Clark as one of the property owners and R.W. Carleton of Cropwell as an agent for the other.

The rezoning request is scheduled to go to the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission on Sept. 12. The commission’s action meeting is set for 5:30 p.m. A work session typically is held at 5 p.m. in the conference room behind the City Council chambers, and sometimes a second work session is held the previous Thursday at 5 p.m. Both work sessions and action meetings are open to the public, but public comment typically is reserved for the action meetings.

The planning commission in August gave its approval for:

► Final plans for Phase 1-A of the Brock Point subdivision off Shelby County 41 next The Cove at Greystone and across from Shoal Creek. Phase 1-A includes 16 of the 97 houses planned for Brock Point. The developer is Signature Homes.

► A request to allow a SkyZone Sports trampoline park at 1694 Montgomery Highway in the former Staples store at The Centre at Riverchase shopping center.

► A request to allow construction of a road through Lot 7 of International Park off Acton Road to provide access to a park being developed by Vestavia Hills on the former site of the Altadena Valley Country Club.

► The requests for the trampoline park and access road to the Vestavia Hills park now go before the Hoover City Council on Sept. 6 for final approval.