Birmingham City Council approves Healthy Food Ordinance

According to city officials, nearly 70 percent of Birmingham residents live in food deserts, defined as urban areas in which it is difficult to obtain affordable or good-quality fresh food, including produce.

The Birmingham City Council, at its regular meeting for Tuesday, July 9, took a step it hopes will help increase access to fresh food for residents and make it more attractive for grocers to open in the city.

The Council, by a vote of 8-0, approved a new Healthy Food Ordinance, which takes the form of a package of changes to the city’s zoning ordinance. The ordinance creates a Healthy Food Overlay District, according to the text of the agenda item.

Mayor Randall Woodfin told the Council in February that addressing food deserts in Birmingham — as designated by the U.S. Department of Agriculture — is “a major priority” for his administration.

Josh Carpenter, director of the city’s Department of Innovation & Economic Opportunity, made a presentation to the Council regarding the provisions of the ordinance, which he said his team has worked on since February.

Perhaps most important, the ordinance puts restrictions on the opening of new discount retailers, or dollar stores, within the Overlay District. New stores must be located at least one mile from an existing store.

“Research has shown that dollar stores actually pull… customers away from healthy food purchasing, which makes it a lot more difficult for grocery stores to enter into a new market,” Carpenter said.

Birmingham has lost several stores in recent years, including Western Supermarkets and Winn Dixie, according to Carpenter.

The city is also loosening parking and square footage requirements for grocery stores, according to Carpenter.

The ordinance modifies city guidelines pertaining to urban agriculture. It allows on-site sales at community gardens and increases the number of days each year that farmers markets, market stands and community markets may operate.

The ordinance also will allow community gardens to operate greenhouses and store a greater amount of compost. Mobile grocers will be allowed to operate in residential areas with some restrictions.

The item was submitted by Councilor Steven Hoyt, who serves as chair of the Council’s Planning and Zoning Committee.

It was recommended by the Birmingham Planning Commission, the Planning and Zoning Committee and the Council’s Committee of the Whole.

In May, the Council also voted to approve $500,000 in funding for a new Healthy Food Fund that will be used to incentivize grocers to locate in Birmingham.

The Healthy Foods Fund is to be used to help offset the costs of opening stores in the city, including low-income areas. For example, the money could help grocers with such up-front costs as stock, hiring and renovation or build-out.

The city is “making progress” in addressing the food situation in the city, Carpenter said.

For example, the Healthy Food Fund is “already proving useful” in recruitment of grocers, he said.

Carpenter also pointed out that the city gave provided financial incentives to support an expansion of Marino’s Market in Five Points West. 

Other short-term goals for the city include recruiting another grocer to Five Points West and helping support a “stable transition” by Village Market in East Lake, Carpenter told the Council.

Village Market, formerly owned by Western Supermarkets, was purchased in March by a group of local grocers who want to keep the market open and serve the community.

Long-term goals include recruiting a grocery chain to Birmingham, Carpenter said.

OTHER BUSINESS

The Council voted to approve an agreement between the city and Washington, D.C.-based think tank New America — in a partnership with the Partnership of Advance Youth Apprenticeship — in which the city will receive a grant of $150,000. 

The city will use the money to support the expansion of high-quality apprenticeship opportunities for high-school students in Birmingham City Schools, provide job training and coordinate economic and workforce development programs. 

The term of the grant runs through September 25, 2020, and the city is not required to pay a match for the grant, according to the text of the item.