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Planning Board unanimously recommends consultant to update Birmingham's zoning ordinance; staff favored Houseal Levine
Summary
After reviewing proposals and interviews, city planning staff recommended a single firm to lead a comprehensive zoning ordinance update; the Planning Board voted unanimously on Dec. 10, 2025, to recommend that firm to the City Commission, and the matter will go to the Commission for final selection.
The Birmingham City Planning Board voted on Dec. 10, 2025, to recommend that the City Commission select the consultant staff identified to perform a comprehensive zoning ordinance update. City planning staff said they reviewed six proposals, interviewed four firms and recommended the firm identified in the record as Houseal/Housia/Halsey Levine based on interview performance, GIS/story‑map capability and perceived fit with the city's platforms.
A city planning staff member told the board, "We felt as though Housia Levine would be best suited for this project," citing the firm's graphical approach and GIS capabilities. Staff also noted that Kendig East and others were highly rated and that the choice was difficult. Staff said the selected firm would deliver materials in formats that integrate with the city's existing GIS and ordinance platforms and offered optional add‑ons such as an engagement dashboard and Oncode/Oncode Plus migration at additional cost.
Board members debated the finalists' strengths, including written ordinance samples, public‑engagement approaches and platform compatibility. Several members emphasized that staff, which will do much of the implementation work, should have a central role in selection. After discussion, member Duncan (motion maker) moved to recommend that the City Commission select the named firm in accordance with its RFP response; Robin Boyle seconded the motion. The board proceeded to a roll‑call vote and recorded unanimous affirmative votes.
Motion and vote: the planning board passed the motion recommending the consultant; the roll‑call recorded affirmative votes from members present. The board chair and staff said this recommendation will be forwarded to the City Commission for final selection and early kickoff meetings were discussed for January, should the Commission accept the recommendation.
Next steps: if the City Commission approves the selection, staff said they would invite the consultant to initial kickoff meetings in January 2026 and begin ordinance‑update tasks, including community engagement and GIS integration.
