Hoover council committee favors 235-acre annexation next to Trace Crossings
The Hoover City Council’s annexation committee tonight voted to recommend the annexation of 235 acres between the new city sports complex at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium and the Cahaba River.
The proposal from U. S. Steel and Signature Homes would put 421 houses on the newly annexed land, including 141 houses originally slated to go in the nearby Blackridge development and 280 houses already allocated for U.S. Steel elsewhere in the city, said Richard Johnson, a representative for Signature Homes.
The Blackridge development would be reduced from 1,150 houses to 1,009 houses, and the number of houses U.S. Steel has allocated on land south of Shelby County 52 would be reduced from 2,318 houses to 2,038 houses, according to documents submitted to the city.
The annexation plan is part of a more-involved proposed amendment to the Trace Crossings development plan, which will go to the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission for consideration.
That amendment includes the donation of about 170 acres along the Cahaba River for a linear park, the donation of additional land to the city to improve the layout of the sports fields at the new $80 million sports complex being developed next to Hoover Metropolitan Stadium, and road improvements designed to give multiple access points for Hoover High School, Trace Crossings Elementary School and Bumpus Middle School, Signature Homes President Jonathan Belcher said.
See more about those proposals here.
The Trace Crossings amendment also includes plans for a housing development on property now zoned for industrial use next to the Chestnut Ridge community, That sector of Trace Crossings would help serve as a buffer between Chestnut Ridge and land along Stadium Trace Parkway that U.S. Steel wants to rezone from industrial use to commercial use.
Signature Homes and city officials plan to explain the proposed amendment to the Trace Crossings development plan in more detail at a community meeting scheduled for this Thursday, Feb. 9, at Hoover Metropolitan Stadium. The meeting is set for 6:30 p.m. in the Michael Jordan Banquet Room.
The council’s annexation committee recommended approval of the 235-acre annexation with a 5-0 vote. The proposed annexation now goes to the full seven-member City Council for consideration at a later date.
The annexation committee also recommended annexation of:
- Seven vacant acres owned by Blackridge Partners that Johnson said will not contain any houses.
- Two single-family homes at 2313 Teton Road (owned by Brenda Long) and 2829 Monte D’Este Drive (owned by Yung Pin Huang and Yueh Ying Hsu). Both are completely surrounded by the Hoover city limits, said Councilman Curt Posey, chairman of the annexation committee.
A request to annex a residential property at 4241 South Shades Road owned by city employee David Buchanan failed for lack of a motion. Buchanan’s house recently was destroyed by fire. He plans to rebuild and wants to come into the city, Posey said.
Fire Chief Chuck Wingate said while land across the street from Buchanan’s property is in the city, other property on his side of the street is not. If the city annexes Buchanan’s property, other nearby property owners likely will want to come into the city as well, Wingate said.
Also, while there is a 12-inch-wide water main along South Shades Crest Road, there is no fire hydrant in that area, Wingate said.