The Echo Highlands neighborhood was approached by Mr. Bernard Buggs, who wanted to discuss his plan to bring a funeral home and crematory to a lot within our neighborhood's boundary that had previously been a gas station. The former gas station was closed due to leaking tanks. 

Mr. Buggs had the opportunity to present his plan for this lot and after multiple opportunities was not able to convince our neighborhood to support his re-zoning case. His case was voted down for a number or reasons. The first was the spot zoning that went directly against our Northeast Framework Plan. We had just recently finished our plan which included cleaning up zoning for our area. The city said that this plan would be used to resolve these zoning issues that were the result of spot zoning, yet and still it did not. Then, there was the issue of the location not being suitable for that type of business and the lack of parking, which would lead to future traffic congestion. This lot does not have the parking needed for this type of business and neither do the plans for the project we have seen. There were also the bigger concerns from a neighborhood health perspective around the funeral home and specifically the crematory.

Our neighborhood has a number of creeks running through it that feed into our water supply, and residents weren't happy with the possibility of additional ground and air pollution. On top of that, during the height of the global pandemic, our city council held an in-person public hearing (March 24, 2020) for this item where they voted against the wishes of the neighborhood in favor of this. We never expected to have to defend our neighborhood's decision to not approve this rezoning request at a public meeting in the middle of a pandemic. We need your help to stop this project once and for all, for the sake of our neighborhood.

We are asking anybody who is willing to stand with our neighborhood, including other neighborhoods in our East Pinson Valley Community as well as any and all citizens of Birmingham and any person who would feel so inclined, to support the will of the people and the will of the neighborhood that would be directly impacted to help in this fight for us! 

Thank you in advance for your support!

Echo Highlands Neighborhood

Birmingham, AL 35215