City Council approves rezoning, roadway amendment, ATF data-sharing agreement and emergency mowing contracts

The Birmingham City Council held a series of votes July 29 approving a rezoning, several operational ordinances and short-term emergency contracts. The actions below were taken during the meeting and were announced on the record.

• Rezoning (ZAC2025-5): The council approved a zoning change to reclassify property at 2542 Queenstown Road from D-3 (single-family) to I-1 (light manufacturing) to permit a contractor storage yard and attached office/warehouse. The item was presented by Kim Spurwell, zoning administrator, and the applicant’s representative Robert Sprain said the proposal includes a Type C landscape buffer along the rear of the property. The item was approved by the council.

• Ordinance repeal — Twentieth Avenue South: The council repealed ordinance 25-99 to restore vehicle access at a portion of Twentieth Avenue South near Richard Arrington Jr. Boulevard South; the council approved the repeal by unanimous consent.

• Interlocal amendment with Jefferson County (Shady Grove Road): The council approved an amendment to an interlocal cooperation agreement that increases the city’s share to cover additional construction costs for a cross drain replacement on Shady Grove Road. The amendment adds an estimated $36,147.05 to raise the city’s total payment to $138,481.11 (from $102,334.06), as explained by the administration. The item was passed by unanimous consent.

• ATF NESS agreement for Birmingham Police Department: The council approved an agreement to permit the department to use the ATF’s National Enforcement Support System (NESS) at no cost to the city for the installation, operation and administration of crime-gun data-sharing tools, with the police chief authorized to execute related documents. The council passed the item.

• Emergency mowing contracts (45-day emergency period): Under an emergency declaration for weed abatements, the council approved five short-term contracts for overgrowth cutting and nuisance-lot mowing to support the Public Works and Code Enforcement response during the high-growth season. Chief Mitchell explained the contracts were awarded after an emergency solicitation; council members discussed timelines for complaint processing and the minimum eight-week window between complaint and city action for standard (non-emergency) processes. The emergency awards were approved.

Consent agenda: The council approved a multi-item consent agenda covering routine public-hearing and administrative items; two items (30 and 29) were withdrawn by the administration and one parcel (item 91 under item 18) was removed from the consent agenda for a property owner question and will be heard separately.

All listed items were approved by the council during the meeting; where votes were taken the presiding officer announced approval and no recorded roll-call tallies were read into the record beyond members saying “aye” during unanimous consent votes. Where the agenda text cited specific statute references (for example, certain interlocal and contract authorizations), the city noted the applicable Code of Alabama sections when presenting the item.