Pelham City Council: unanimous moratorium on hemp/vape shops; liquor license, annexation and garbage rate approved

The Pelham City Council voted unanimously July 21 on a slate of items including a temporary moratorium on new businesses defined under the city's zoning code as CBD and vape shops, a retail liquor license for Waldo's Chicken and Beer, consent to a neighboring annexation, a memorandum of understanding with the Pelham Commercial Development Authority about an ALDOT permit, and the annual garbage rate increase tied to the Cahaba Solid Waste Authority contract.

City staff framed the moratorium as a temporary measure to allow the city to observe recently passed state legislation and adjust local ordinances and licensing. "We wanted to give some time for things to play out and observe and to see if we needed to adjust any of our ordinances or licensing regulations," staff member Justin said, explaining the proposed expiration date of Dec. 31, 2026. Resident Christine Carr told the council she supported the moratorium as "the first step in a positive journey to rid Pelham of substances that have caused too many problems for our children and families."

The council approved the moratorium by voice vote; the meeting record indicates the vote was unanimous among the five council members present (Mercer, Quorum, Leverett, Walsh and Harris).

Other approved items - Waldo's Chicken and Beer (2812 Pelham Parkway): The council granted a retail liquor license for the applicant WCB Pelham LLC, after a favorable recommendation from the police department. Casey Atherton, the local operating partner, spoke about operations and the chain's existing locations in the Birmingham area. The measure passed by voice vote, recorded as unanimous.

- Memorandum of understanding with the Pelham Commercial Development Authority (CDA): The city described having an ALDOT permit to remove asphalt in the ALDOT right-of-way along Highway 31 in front of the former MetroPCS parcels (1908 and 1910 Montgomery Highway). Under the MOU, the CDA will remove the asphalt at its expense using its demolition contractor after required tank closures. The council approved the MOU unanimously.

- Consent to annexation into Alabaster: The council consented to the annexation of one residential property (104 Meadow Creek Lane) into the city of Alabaster after staff said the parcel is unincorporated, surrounded on three sides by Alabaster, and the property owner requested annexation. The council passed the consent unanimously.

- Garbage rate increase tied to Cahaba Solid Waste Authority contract: City Manager Gretchen explained the annual contract adjustment uses the U.S. CPI index for waste and is capped at 5%. Because the contractual calculation exceeded the cap this year, the city will apply the 5% cap. She said the current monthly residential rate is $26.08; with the city's planned supplement the new rate would be $27.39 (a $1.31 monthly increase, about $15.72 annually). Without the city supplement the increase would be $1.86 per month (about $22.32 annually). The council approved the rate resolution, which includes the city's supplement, by unanimous vote.

Votes at a glance (council members recorded in earlier roll call) - Consent agenda: approved, unanimous (Mercer, Quorum, Leverett, Walsh, Harris). - Resolution: temporary moratorium on CBD/vape shops (expires 12/31/2026): approved, unanimous. - Resolution: ABC license (Waldo's Chicken and Beer, 2812 Pelham Parkway): approved, unanimous. - Resolution/MOU: ALDOT right-of-way asphalt removal with Pelham CDA (1908/1910 Montgomery Hwy): approved, unanimous. - Resolution: consent to annexation (104 Meadow Creek Lane to City of Alabaster): approved, unanimous. - Resolution: annual garbage rate adjustment (Cahaba Solid Waste Authority contract; city supplement included): approved, unanimous.

What the actions mean - The moratorium pauses new CBD and vape retail uses defined by Pelham's zoning code through Dec. 31, 2026, to allow staff and council time to assess state law changes that take fuller effect Jan. 1, 2026. - The garbage rate action implements the contractually allowed CPI adjustment subject to the city's 5% cap and continues a city subsidy so the monthly bill rise is smaller than the uncapped amount.

Public comment and next steps - During public comment Christine Carr thanked the council for the moratorium and offered to work with the city on analyzing state bills (HB 8 and HB 445 were mentioned by a public speaker) during the moratorium period. - Staff indicated they will monitor state implementation of the recent legislation and return with any ordinance or licensing changes staff recommends.

Reporting note: motions were made and approved by voice vote; the council recorded unanimous "ayes" for the measures listed above.