Hoover planning commission approves new sidewalk regulations

Most new developments in Hoover now will have to build sidewalks on both sides of the streets and make them at least 5 feet wide, according to new sidewalk regulations put in place by the Hoover Planning and Zoning Commission tonight.

Hoover Mayor Frank Brocato’s administration has been pushing to make the city more walkable, and this change was a direct result of that effort.

Previously, new developments were required to put sidewalks on only one side of the street, and they only had to be 4 feet wide and on interior roads, City Planner Mac Martin said.

The new regulations approved tonight also require developers to put sidewalks on perimeter roads abutting new subdivisions.

This is to help alleviate the problem of having sidewalks within subdivisions but nothing connecting those sidewalks to other subdivisions or other parts of the city, City Administrator Allan Rice said.

In most cases, sidewalks on perimeter roads would only be required on the side of the street that abuts the new development, but if the perimeter road is a major street with a lot of traffic, sidewalks would have to be built on both sides of the street, Martin said.

Exceptions

There are some exceptions to the new rules. Low-density residential subdivisions with lots averaging at least 100 feet wide still would only have to build sidewalks on one side of the road and make them only 4 feet wide. Also, subdivisions with four or fewer lots, no proposed public improvements and no sidewalks on adjacent lots would not have to install sidewalks.

The new regulations also allow exceptions due to physical site limitations, difficult topography or where infill construction is limited to one side of the street, but only if the city engineer and planning commission approve the exception.

Planning Commission Chairman Mike Wood said during the commission’s work session that he believed subdivisions with 20 or fewer lots should be exempt from sidewalk requirements, but no one else voiced support for that idea, and no effort was made to alter the new requirements again before they were approved tonight.

The new regulations apply not only to single-family residential developments, but also to multi-family, townhouse, mixed use and commercial developments. However, commercial developments already had a requirement for 6-foot-wide sidewalks, and that requirement stays in place, Martin said.

Hoover Councilman Mike Shaw, who is the council’s representative on the planning commission, said he appreciated the collaborative effort to develop the new sidewalk regulations. That effort included representatives from developers, he said.

Rice said some builders already have been meeting the new regulations voluntarily because they believe they create higher home values and are better for the housing market.

The new regulations do not require approval by the Hoover City Council because the planning commission has authority to change subdivision regulations by itself, Martin said.