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Commission approves May Hinton annexation and rezoning for corridor commercial uses with sidewalk bond; neighborhood supports buffer
Summary
Tuscaloosa’s Planning and Zoning Commission approved annexing and rezoning four parcels on U.S. Highway 69 South to Highway Commercial as part of a five‑lot May Hinton Subdivision, with a bonding arrangement to defer sidewalk construction until development occurs.
The Tuscaloosa Planning and Zoning Commission voted June 16 to annex roughly 4.03 acres along U.S. Highway 69 South and to rezone those parcels from SFR-1 (single-family residential) to Highway Commercial (HC) as part of the larger May Hinton Subdivision proposal.
The petition would subdivide approximately 18.4 acres into five lots. Four of the lots would be annexed and rezoned; Lot 5 would remain in unincorporated Tuscaloosa County. Staff said the rezoning conforms to the city’s Corridor Commercial designation in the future service expansion map.
Engineering and staff discussed sidewalks. Petitions to waive immediate sidewalk construction were tied to a performance bond: the developer may post a bond and defer sidewalk construction until an LDP (land disturbance permit) for the relevant lot triggers the work. Staff said sidewalk requirements apply whether property is annexed or not; constructing lots will require sidewalks when development occurs.
Traffic and access were raised: staff said the developer must submit traffic studies for proposed commercial uses to determine left-turn lanes, right-turn lanes and signal modifications as projects come online. ALDOT and the county engineer had provided letters of support for the developer’s sidewalk-waiver approach along Highway 69, the petitioner said.
Hillcrest Gardens Neighborhood Association president Bill Pate told the commission the association supports the development so long as the petitioners preserve existing mature trees and provide a privacy fence and buffer adjacent to the neighborhood. The petitioner offered a voluntary 15-foot buffer along the eastern property line and said mature trees larger than 6 inches in diameter would not be removed within that buffer.
The commission approved the annexation, rezoning and the preliminary plat with the sidewalk-deferral arrangement specified as a bonded commitment to be constructed when a triggering development occurs.
