City zoning ordinance overhaul moves ahead

By Grace Lovins

Chicago-based planning and urban design firm Houseal Lavigne has been selected to lead a comprehensive update of Birmingham’s zoning ordinance.

City commissioners approved the agreement during the Monday, January 12, meeting, marking a big step in implementing the key actions laid out in the 2040 master plan.

Planning director Nick Dupuis said the zoning ordinance overhaul and review of the city’s land use map is one of the next steps identified after the city adopted its 2040 plan in May of 2023. The search for a firm to assist with the ordinance updates began in 2025.

The selection of Houseal Lavigne follows a months-long process that involved multiple planning board study sessions to draft the request for proposals (RFP) and in-depth interviews with four of the six firms that submitted proposals. After planning board members interviewed four firms for the project, the board unanimously recommended Houseal Lavigne for the job.

Members of the planning board noted several factors in their decision to recommend Houseal Lavigne, including the firm’s national experience, high quality graphic and analysis style with high-power Geographic Information Systems (GIS), explained Dupuis. The firm’s bid also came in just under the city’s budget at $199,855.

John Houseal, partner and co-founder of Houseal Lavigne, told commissioners the zoning code updates are a natural next step in setting the table for success after the adoption of the master plan. As part of the firm’s proposal, the city will also end the process with a revamped sign code.

Project manager Kari Papelbon added that after initial feedback gathered during the community engagement portion, the firm will take all the information they gathered and synthesize it down to form a preliminary recommendations report. From there, they will tackle district and use standards before moving to development and sign standards, and subdivision standards and decision making procedures.

The proposed project timeline sets the city up to have an updated zoning and sign code in 18 months.

Commissioners voted unanimously in a 6-0 vote to approve the agreement with Houseal Lavigne and begin the process of updating the zoning code. Mayor pro tem Anthony Long was absent from the meeting.