While most so-called progressive cities in Michigan are struggling with capping building height, Birmingham is looking at ways to make them taller.
The city's planning commission is looking at reforming its ordinances to allow additional floors on its downtown buildings for residential space. It's also looking at setting a minimum height for structures in the downtown area. That's an about face in conventional wisdom in local planning, where public officials regularly bend to the whims of people who want to freeze their one- and two-story city centers in amber.
The first ordinance change calls for allowing downtown construction projects to build one story higher than rules allow. However, the catch is that extra story must be for residential purposes and have a 10-foot setback.
The other ordinance change would mandate that all buildings must be at least two stories tall. The idea is to make the downtown more dense and urban, steering it away from the suburban-style planning habits of the mid-to-late 20th Century.
Source: City of Birmingham
Writer: Jon Zemke
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