Birmingham City Board of Zoning Appeals postpones Brookwood variance after appellant no‑show

The Birmingham City Board of Zoning Appeals postponed an appeal for a dimensional variance concerning 1263 Brookwood on the grounds that the appellant did not appear for the hearing.

At the start of the meeting the chair outlined the board’s procedures and the standards for dimensional variances, noting such appeals require four affirmative votes. After calling the roll, the board reviewed public correspondence and approved the minutes from its prior meeting by voice vote.

The board moved on to the Brookwood appeal but determined the appellant was not present in the room or on Zoom. A board member said staff had attempted to contact the applicant. Neighbor Amy Baron identified herself and said she was listening in: “This is Amy Baron. I’m a neighbor. Just wanted to listen in to the appeal.”

A board member then moved to postpone the appeal “to the next available date,” and the motion was seconded and approved by voice vote. The chair summarized why the postponement was necessary: “The appellant didn’t show up to the meeting. He texted that he forgot, and so you have to come in and reschedule.” The chair added that the item will be re‑noticed for a future regularly scheduled meeting rather than set to a date certain.

Earlier in the meeting the board also approved a request in correspondence to postpone case 34952 Woodward; that item was placed on the next regularly scheduled agenda. With no additional public comments, members moved to adjourn.

What happens next: the appellant for 1263 Brookwood must appear in person to present the case and the item will be placed on a future BZA agenda. The board did not take any substantive action on the merits of either variance at this meeting.