Alabama Supreme Court hears dispute over mailed notice for Birmingham subdivision plat

The Supreme Court of Alabama on Tuesday heard argument over whether the City of Birmingham Planning Commission’s approval of a subdivision plat in November 2020 must be invalidated because an adjoining landowner, 790 Montclair LLC, was not mailed notice of the hearing.

The question matters because, counsel for the appellant argued, state precedent requires strict compliance with mandatory notice provisions and the failure to mail notice to adjoining landowners renders the planning commission’s action invalid regardless of whether the landowner showed prejudice. Appellees countered that subdivision regulations differ from zoning rules honored in precedent and that the record does not show a cognizable injury that would warrant undoing an approved and recorded plat.

Diane Maughn, counsel for appellant Montclair LLC, told the court: "Following this court's precedent, the answer to that question is undeniably yes, and the approval of the subdivision plat is due to be invalidated." Maughn said Jefferson County tax-assessor records show 790…