Photo by Jesse Chambers
bham city council 7-6-17
Some of the 200 attendees during a break in a Birmingham City Council meeting in an event space at Regions Field July 6, 2017
After a weeks of discussion, the Birmingham City Council – at its community meeting at Regions Field on Thursday, July 6 – voted 6-1 to revoke the business and off-premise beer and wine licenses for the South West Supermarket in Titusville.
The market, located on First Avenue SW near the Loveman Village housing project, has been a flashpoint in the area for months due to complaints by many residents that the store draws young people engaged in gunplay and drug activity.
Council President Johnathan Austin, Council President Pro Tem Steven Hoyt and councilors Lashunda Scales, Sheila Tyson, William Parker and Marcus Lundy voted to revoke the licenses.
Councilor Kim Rafferty was the lone dissenter.
At that time, several residents told the council they wanted the market to remain open because it is a badly needed amenity -- especially for older people without reliable transportation. Some of the residents said it was not the owner’s fault that the market seems to be a magnet for criminal activity.
However, some residents and council members, including Sheila Tyson, felt that the market should be closed as a public safety issue.
The hearing was subsequently delayed several times, giving city officials time to talk to the owner about possible solutions.
Julie Bernard of the city’s law department told the council that officials had met with the owner of the market and done further investigation.
The business “has committed to working with police” and has posted no trespassing signs, Bernard said.
She suggested that the council send the issue back to the public safety committee and review the issue in six months.
However, Council President Pro Tem Steven Hoyt, the chairman of that committee, resisted having the issue sent back to him.
"There are many police reports that this is not a good place for the neighborhood,” he said. “I think we need to consider the issue at this juncture.”
Hoyt also wanted to hear more from area residents, several of who addressed the council.
Virgil Studdard, who lives near the store, complained about the young people who hang around the store engaged in criminal activity.
Studdard said that his house has been shot into 8-10 times. “I feel like I live in Vietnam,” he said.
The store’s attorney, Ferris Ritchey, said the owner had met with Mayor Bell and Police Chief A.C. Roper and was “committed to doing whatever needs to be done to keep the area around the store clean.”
John Harris, the neighborhood president, said that “a lot of progress has taken place at the store since the last (city council) hearing” and that many of the people engaged in criminal activity were not loitering on store property.
“It’s a police problem,” Harris said.
Another area resident said that the store should be allowed to remain open based on the owner’s willingness to work with the community. “They really are trying, and I think they should have a chance,” he said.
Several council members were skeptical, however.
Tyson said the market was typical of establishments in lower-income neighborhoods that sell substandard food at inflated prices, thereby exploiting the residents.
She also argued that residents have to take a stand for change.
“It’s easy to say leave the store open and give them a change if you live four blocks away, but if you live right across the street, you want to see a change,” Tyson said.
Hoyt agreed. “I think it’s a management issue,” he said. “Based on police reports, based on (the store) being a nuisance, this has been a nuisance in the community for 15 years.”
The council want into an executive session for about 20 minutes to hear advice on the issue from the city’s lawyers, then returned to hold the vote.
Other business
--The council also voted 7-0 to set a public hearing for August 1, to consider an ordinance that would reduce the number of members of the Storm Water Appeals Board from seven to five and to further provide for the operation of the board.
--As part of its consent agenda, the council voted to spend up to $2.1 million over a period of three years to provide better body cameras for the Birmingham Police Department. The vendor is AXON Enterprise of Scottsdale, Ariz. The contract also includes such support services as software upgrades and data storage.
--The regular council meeting, normally held on Tuesdays, was preempted this week by the July 4 holiday. Councilors Valerie Abbott and Jay Roberson did not attend the meeting at Regions.
