The Government Street Collaborative is now over a year old, born in July, 2017, on the heels of a fight to stop an inappropriately designed fast food restaurant on Government Street, then was immediately faced with sorting through the drafting stage for the first total rewrite of Mobile’s Zoning Ordinance since the 1960’s, which we still await.
The Collaborative’s mission is the preservation of the Government Street corridor in such a way that it continues to draw and serve RESIDENTIAL use, as well as the types of “9-5, low impact” business, or B2 retail that specifically serves midtown district neighbors. The goal is down-zoning where reasonable, and maintenance of the current, approximat 50-50 balance between residential and commercial, with commerce clustered into nodes, leaving residential blocks for residences.
Our mission: ONE VOICE: PRESERVE THE PAST, ENDOW THE FUTURE frames our advocacy.
The Collaborative does not seek to freeze Government Street in its past, but rather seeks a mixed use corridor that maintains low impact commerce appropriate in intensity, purpose and design for a well-balanced roadway supporting private family residences. Our purpose is not to oppose all development, but rather to work with developers ad realtors to insure that the development coming to Government Street between Broad and Pinehill is that which our neighbors don’t mind sharing their neighborhood with. In addition, the Collaborative supports historic preservation in all member group neighborhoods and districts.
GSC SUPPORTS NEW DEVELOPMENT: GARDEN CENTER ON GOVERNMENT
With that background, the Collaborative first engaged and then embraced the proposed Stokley Garden Center at the old KMB Recycle Center site at Stocking. This is a crucial area, as the Government Street frontage from Dexter to Stocking has been vacated for years, and faces an undeveloped, vacant block across the street from the Shoppes of Midtown to Lafayette Street. Vacant lots are often thought to be a degradation, but the Collaborative position is that a vacant lot represents potential for a neighborhood, while an inappropriate design, use, and up-zoning for a new development can actively degrade. The Collaborative arranged a meet-up at Serda’s to bring together neighborhood district leaders from Leinkauf, Church Street East, Government Street frontage, and the Porch Society to meet with the Stokley family, Weavil Realtor, and the architect, Steve Stone of Dakinstreet Architects, to hear the plans for the Garden Center and voice our concerns and goals. We found all parties to be willing to talk, cooperate, and assure the neighborhood that the resulting development will be clean, aesthetically pleasing, preserving all heritage trees on the property, focused on serving the neighborhood with largely locally produced plants from Semmes, as well as gardening giftshop items, and an attractive and appropriate redesign for and use of the old mid-century tire center building on the property. Midtown was once home to a number of memorable old Mobile garden centers, all now lost to time with the exception of midtown’s beloved Zimlich. Stokley’s Garden Express will be a bookend on Government Street’s south side to Zimlich on Dauphin. Midtown can and will support both of these wonderful local centers. The Collaborative is planning to join our member groups to host an official Welcome to Stokley’s when they are ready to open in spring of 2019. In the meantime, enjoy their “pop-up truck sales” on the property this fall through the holiday season.
THE GSC ANNOUNCES THAT THE DATE OF THE UPCOMING BOARD OF ADJUSTMENT MEETING FOR STOKLEY’S GARDEN EXPRESS IS MONDAY, NOV. 5. WE HOPE THAT OUR MEMBER GROUP LEADERSHIP WILL BE ABLE TO ATTEND IN SUPPORT OF STOKLEY GARDEN EXPRESS, OR SEND OTHER REPRESENTATIVES. WITHOUT OUR SUPPORT, THE PROCESS COULD SLOW AND PROGRESS DELAYED.
FIVE WINS FOR SUMMER 2018
In late spring 2018 and through summer, the Collaborative engaged with other historic districts on five big issues, and on July 4, 2018, the Collaborative posted a website blog about those 5 upcoming zoning cases impacting midtown’s historic districts or Government Street specifically. We are pleased to report that the position supported by the Collaborative has PREVAILED IN ALL 5 OF THESE CASES:
24/7 Shelter services at 1805 Government Street. Opposition led by GSC - APPROVAL DENIED
2 properties on Conti Street, application to UPzone properties to more intense zone, from R1 to B2. GSC wrote letters and posted information as received. WITHDRAWN
137 Tuscaloosa St home on National Registry of Historic Buildings set to be demolished. MOVED AND SAVED (Thanks for RESTORE Mobile, Syndney Betbeze, MHDC, GSC, and all other supporting preservationists voicing support for saving this structure, posting information and writing letters.)
Application for a 36 stall car wash at Dauphin and Sage (Graf Dairy property) first stage APPROVAL DENIED (owners have not reapplied.) GSC wrote letters, posted information for member groups, and provided membership present for the vote.
Proposed SURFACE parking lot that began without permitting at 255 & 257 St Joseph Street. GSC provided research upon request for our DeTonti member district and provided speakers to the Board of Adjustment hearing. APPROVAL DENIED
On other issues:
LADD: Administration’s plan to fund support for a new campus stadium at USA and repurpose LADD. The GSC did not take a position as an organization because member groups preferred to provide and post information received so that our member groups and individuals could stay informed and advocate as they chose. Council voted No on the funding to USA, then budgeted $750,000 in the 2019 budget for work at Ladd. The Ladd Authority has met over the summer and is committed to improving Ladd marketing. The Council having made its decision, the GSC will now seek input from its member groups to take a position and have a voice in the operation of Ladd going forward, since Ladd is closely associated with, and physically near to, Collaborative member districts.
ZONING ORDINANCE: GSC is assured the rewrite continues and that when the first draft is published, the City will meet with GSC membership to present and answer questions about the new ordinance.
AIRPORT: Airport move from west Mobile to Brookley, a move that so far seems to have the support of a vast majority (polls show citizen support at over 80%) but little information is yet available about issues such as Where are the air lanes to approach and take off? What do studies show noise levels will be? How will the move impact surrounding residential areas? How will the move impact existing urban traffic patterns, especially in light of the delay in the bridge development? The airport authority promises a study so the GSC encourages citizens to get the details. At a summer community meeting of the Airport Authority, citizens heard of plans to improve and beautify roadways leading to a new Airport site with added bicycle lanes, followed by retail development and hotels. Stay tuned.
RAIL - The Mobile-New Orleans rail line fell through when Gov. Ivey refused her support BUT local citizen groups continue to advocate for the rail service. GSC posted a citizen survey on the rail service in September which the nonprofit Coastal Alabama will use as part of its advocacy.
GSC WEBSITE - An anonymous benefactor has offered to fund the Collaborative’s second year of website fees so it will not be necessary to ask member groups to contribute.