Photo by Jon Anderson
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A porition of Paulette Drive in Hoover, Alabama, is closed to traffic on Tuesday, Oct. 12, 2021, due to flooding damage to the road from heavy rainfall on Oct. 6, 2021.
Two Hoover residents last week filed a lawsuit against the city of Hoover over the city’s stormwater management practices and asked a Jefferson County judge to void the city’s stormwater regulations, claiming they were never actually approved by the City Council.
Residents Katie Thomas and Sheree Beavers filed the lawsuit in Jefferson County Circuit Court on Thursday.
The lawsuit claims Hoover’s Planning and Zoning Commission took action to amend the city’s stormwater regulations in 2019, including language that allows certain developments to request waivers from stormwater management requirements and allows the city to grant variances from those requirements.
But the Planning and Zoning Commission lacks the authority to amend ordinances adopted by the City Council, and thus the revised ordinance the city has been using since 2019 — and the variances the city has issued as a result of that ordinance — should be declared null and void, the lawsuit argues.
Thomas, who has been among numerous residents repeatedly asking the City Council to do a better job with addressing stormwater problems in the city, on Monday night told the council that many more residents are concerned about the problems but can’t come or won’t come to all the meetings.
“They don’t have the time nor energy; others feel it’s pointless, perhaps because they feel the city doesn’t really care,” Thomas said. “The city’s priorities are elsewhere.”
Hoover’s city attorney, Philip Corley, has been seeking weaker and fewer stormwater management requirements from the Alabama Department of Environmental Management, Thomas said.
But “as storms intensify and become more frequent, municipalities must prepare for future floods,” Thomas said. “This will protect the health, safety and welfare of citizens. What has worked in the past is not going to work in the future.
“Why do we have a city?” Thomas asked. “We have a city to protect residents. We have excellent police and fire departments who protect us. We need excellent infrastructure to protect residents.”
Hoover could be a leader in stormwater management, Thomas said. She asked the council to invest their thoughts, energy and the city’s money into stormwater management.
Corley, after Monday night’s council meeting, said he just received a copy of the lawsuit filed by Thomas and Beavers a few days ago and had not had time to read it carefully. He declined to comment about it until he has had time to do so, he said.
Hoover Council President John Lyda said Monday night was the first he had heard of the lawsuit and also declined to comment about it or Thomas’ remarks to the council Monday night.
The Hoover City Council took numerous actions Monday night, including voting to:
- Approve a license for Burrito Bros. Bham to sell alcoholic beverages at 5363 U.S. 280, Suite 101B.
- Approve an agreement with the owner of the Riverchase Galleria that will allow the city of Hoover to conduct a social at BumperNets on July 12 for athletes taking part in The Hartford Nationals games for people with physical, visual or intellectual disabilities, as well as the athletes’ families.
- Pay for 10 rooms at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham — The Wynfrey Hotel for organizers of the U.S. National Firefighter Challenge the week of the event.
- Approve a renewal agreement for insurance for the Hoover Police Department’s drones. The policy will cover 20 drones, including six new ones this year, adding $5,200 to the annual cost, police Chief Nick Derzis said.
- Approve an agreement with Alabama Power Co. by which Alabama Power will provide the city with 10 Flock camera systems to read license plates at different areas around the city. The cameras will be installed on Alabama Power poles.
- Nominate Peggy Palmer for the Jefferson County Board of Equalization.
- Rezone property at 2671 Swiss Lane from an E-2 single-family estate district to a legacy single-family district to allow the resident there to add onto their house.
- Declare properties at 2054 Woodmeadow Drive, 2161 Kelly Lane, 2337 Tyler Road and 3575 Lorna Ridge Drive as public nuisances due to high weeds and/or grass.
