Parks board votes to recommend Derby Tank and Redding Well for official park designation; packet notes engineering and deed restrictions

The Birmingham Parks and Recreation Board voted unanimously on March 4 to recommend that the city commission review Derby Tank and Redding Well in addition to Baldwin Pump House and West Well and consider designating each as park property.

Why it matters: board members and staff said official park designation helps the city document park status for grant applications and makes it harder for the land to be repurposed through future zoning changes.

Staff presentation: Carrie Laird, parks and recreation manager, told the board the city had been researching six well sites for several years and that South Well had already been designated a park in October 2022. She said three of the remaining sites had been presented to the board the prior October; two sites (Derby Tank and Redding Well) required extra review because of engineering questions and deed restrictions.

Laird summarized the staff advice on improvements and constraints: certain areas around the wells are “highlighted” as preferred zones for any future improvements in order to avoid conflicts with water mains, sewer lines and other infrastructure. She also told the board that the designation does not necessarily require a rewrite of the master plan and that official paperwork would formalize the city’s treatment of those parcels as parks. “It’s kind of two parts,” Laird said. “One is by having official designation, should we ever be required to produce official designation of a park for, like, a grant. Grants. We have that information. The other part is it does in ways protect this area from zoning getting changed in the future for it to be able to be used for something else.”

Motion and vote: Anne Lipp moved that the board recommend the city commission review Derby Tank and Redding Well in addition to Baldwin Pump House and West Well and consider designating each as park property; Susan Collins seconded. The board approved the motion by roll call: Heather Carmona — Yes; Susan Collins — Yes; Pam Graham — Yes; Sarah Kupchik — Yes; Anne Lipp — Yes; Joe Roble — Yes; Narlu Castellano — Yes.

Board discussion also touched on signage and public awareness. A board member asked whether signage could be placed at those four sites so the public knows they are parks; staff said a city-wide sign standard is planned and the sites would receive signs consistent with that future program rather than ad hoc signs now. The board also discussed specific limitations on improvements: staff said the blue-highlighted areas in the packet indicate where improvements such as benches or a pavilion would be acceptable in order to avoid underground utilities and preserve existing trees.

Next steps: with the board’s recommendation, staff will forward the parcels and the engineering documentation to the city commission for consideration and formal designation.

Ending: The board approved the recommendation unanimously and closed discussion.