Proposed road assessment district approved

By Grace Lovins

During the Monday, February 23, meeting, Birmingham City Commissioners voted to declare necessity and approve the formation of a special assessment district for this year’s cape seal program.

City engineer Melissa Coatta told commissioners that the city’s 2026 cape seal program includes streets located between Oak Avenue and Maple Road, west of Old Woodward Avenue, and Northlawn Boulevard between the Rouge River and Southfield Road. She said that the current unimproved streets will be fixed with new cape seal treatment as part of the unimproved street maintenance program.

According to a memorandum Coatta wrote, included in the meeting packet, the selected streets were last treated in 2008, 2010 or 2014, and the cape seal has a life expectancy of about 10 years. The specific streets listed in the program include specific sections of Oak Avenue, Lakeside Drive, North Glenhurst Drive, and Northlawn Boulevard.

As part of the cape seal program, the city would establish a special assessment district to split the cost between the city and residents living on the streets where work is being done.

The city’s general formula for determining the assessment for each homeowner is 85 percent of the front-foot costs for residences fronting the improvement, 25 percent of the side-foot costs for residences siding the improvement, 85 percent of the side-foot costs for businesses siding the improvement and 25 percent of the side-foot costs for vacant businesses siding the improvement.

The commission voted 5-1 to declare necessity and approve a special assessment district for the cape seal program. Commissioner Brad Host voted against the motion, and mayor pro tem Anthony Long was absent from the meeting. A public hearing for the confirmation of the roll was set for Monday, March 9, during the commission’s next regular meeting.