Birmingham City Council tweaks Healthy Food Program

The Birmingham City Council voted 8-0 to approve two changes in the city’s recently enacted Healthy Food Incentive Program at its regular meeting for Tuesday, April 25.

The council passed an ordinance to amend the dates of the program's annual application period, as well as the income requirements for Birmingham residents to quality for assistance.

The council voted unanimously at their regular meeting on Feb. 28 to establish the program  in order to help poor people in Birmingham buy their groceries, an item proposed by Council President Johnathan Austin.

The ordinance is an attempt by the council to partially compensate for the burden created on the poor by the sales tax on groceries in Alabama — one of only four states to have such a tax.

The dates to apply — formerly April 15 to June 30 of each year — were changed to to May 15 to June 30 annually, according to a council spokesperson.

The income requirements formerly established eligibility for applicants with income at or below the current federal poverty level, as defined by the U.S. Census Bureau.

And with today’s changes, applicants can apply if they have income at or below 130 percent of the current federal poverty guidelines as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, according to the spokesperson.

The program, set to begin Aug. 1 – the first day of the city’s 2018 fiscal year – will cost up to $2 million per year, including the costs of hiring an administrator, according to Austin.

“This is a great day in Birmingham,” Austin said at a press conference immediately following the Feb. 28 vote. “We have an opportunity to do something for the people who need it most, and that’s a great day for us historically.”

Settling claims

In other business on a fairly light agenda, the council voted 9-0 to approve a resolution authorizing the city attorney to pay up to $137,500 to settle claims against the city and Birmingham police officer Patrick Rhodes stemming from a car wreck in November 2015 at 11th Court West and Center Street.

Zoning rules

Members voted 8-0 to adopt several amendments the city’s zoning ordinance. The changes — according to the text of the ordinance — are designed “to provide clarity, make corrections as needed and increase fees associated with Zoning Board of Adjustment applications and zoning letters, among other miscellaneous changes.”

The changes “are just some areas that need to be clarified” after the passing of a “major update” to Birmingham’s zoning ordinance in 2015, said Katrina Thomas, the city’s zoning administrator.

One of the changes involved clarifying zoning rules governing residential driveways and parking.

Setting a hearing

The council set a public hearing for June 6, 2017, to consider a resolution assenting to the vacation of 8,086 square feet of alleyway perpendicular to and between 16th and 17th streets south and parallel to and between Third and Fourth avenues south on behalf of The Children’s Hospital of Alabama so the hospital can “consolidate their property and eliminate current encroachments in the alley,” according to the text of the resolution.