Birmingham mayor Larry Langford should have his picture in the dictionary beside these two words. He wants to screw over the residents of Glen Iris because city councilor Valerie Abbott made him mad:
Saying he no longer trusts the City Council member who represents the Glen Iris neighborhood, Birmingham Mayor Larry Langford says he will allow a developer to build apartments instead of the single-family homes neighborhood residents wanted.
Langford said he will allow the developer, Formation Methods, to return $350,000 in city incentives to build homes on the former Knights of Columbus site and clear the way for the company to develop an apartment complex – already allowed by city zoning but which homeowners in Glen Iris oppose as harmful to the neighborhood’s ongoing turnaround.
“I’m going to get $350,000 back and get out of the contract,” Langford said. “The beauty about this is it does not require a vote of the City Council.”
At the heart of Langford’s decision is a spat that erupted last week with City Councilwoman Valerie Abbott, whose district includes Glen Iris.
Abbott, a vocal critic of Langford, raised concerns last week about whether Councilman Joel Montgomery, a Langford supporter, is improperly using a city vehicle for personal needs. Montgomery denied any wrongdoing, but the council is seeking an attorney general’s opinion.
I hope Joel Montgomery gets a driver to go along with that city vehicle. It makes the roads much safer for the rest of us.
(The Birmingham News breaking news update reports that Larry got the $350,000 back, but he hasn’t yet succeeded in his effort to unilaterally allow apartments. The city council voted today to look into rezoning the property for single family houses.)
h/t Blues reader Peggy
He’s been having a staffer drive him around all along to get around the “councilors shouldn’t drive city cars but staffers can drive them on city business” ambiguity.
As long as driving him for “city business” includes driving him home from the bar, we’re all safer.