By Nathan Prewett
LEEDS — On Tuesday, July 6, the Leeds City Council denied a request by High Tide Oil Company to rezone a property located at Dunnavant Road after hearing from multiple residents who opposed the resolution.
A public hearing was held for the resolution, which would have rezoned the property at 8417 Dunnavant Road from R-2 Single Family District to I-2 Heavy Industrial District.
Prior to last night’s meeting, the request was brought up but tabled when it was found that notifications had not been sent out to residents living on Dunnavant Road. At the June 9 meeting, several residents spoke against the resolution then, citing potential issues with noise and pollution.
Similarly, residents took to the lectern to voice their opposition after the first speaker, Bert Boykin speaking on behalf of High Tide Oil Company, spoke in favor of the request. He passed out a package to the council that depicted arial pictures of the area around Dunnavant Road.
Boykin cited the Leeds Master Plan that details the business and industry interests of the city. He said that the Dunnavant Road property and those on the north side of the area are identified as industrial within the plan, making the potential rezoning consistent.
“We simply want to rezone this property and go about it the right way,” he said as he finished speaking.
Among those opposed to the resolution was Bill Morris from the Leeds Water Works Board, who voiced his concerns about the water quality being affected by the company’s vicinity. Others complained of the potential for trucks to be a nuisance and causing potholes to occur on roads, as well as decreasing the property value of homes.
After the discussion on the rezoning, a public hearing was held to award the bid for solid waste collection during which no one spoke for or against. In the regular meeting, a bid from Eco Corporation was accepted.
During the regular meeting, the discussion returned to the rezoning where Councilman Kenneth Washington suggested denying the request, saying that despite a wish to see the city’s industry grow he had concerns about the impact on nearby residents.
“It means a lot to them and I don’t think we should approve this,” he said. “We should protect these citizens.”
Afterward, the council voted unanimously to deny the request, which was met with applause.
The last action that the council took during the meeting was to declare a state of emergency for a city ambulance bid.
“The situation is not just Leeds,” said Leeds Mayor David Miller. “And it’s not just this part of Alabama, it’s widespread where we have a lack of responsive ambulance service and this resolution will correct that.”
The resolution was supported by Fire Chief Chuck Parsons. It will allow for Leeds to have its own ambulance services that is entirely owned and operated by the city itself. The action was approved unanimously by the council.
Among the public comments was Jerry Thomas, who spoke on solicitors on Georgia Avenue, where he lives.
“Most of our citizens are seniors and they’re being inundated by solicitors,” he said. “And we have the type that don’t take ‘no’ for an answer.”
He cited an incident with an elderly neighbor who unintentionally let a solicitor inside of her home, as well as another one who was on his own property without his permission. In response to incidents like these, he asked the council to consider installing a “No Solicitors” sign in the neighborhood.
In other business, the council:
- Announced that an opening for the Leeds Jane Culbreth Library’s board of trustees had an opening and set the deadline for applications for July 15.
Meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of every month. Agenda packets can be seen online at the City of Leeds website.