Birmingham residents left out of airport relocation plan want to move ...

BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- "Distressed" is what sections of Birmingham's Airport Hills Community have become since their neighbors moved away, thanks to a federal buyout and relocation program in neighborhoods surrounding the Birmingham-Shuttlesworth International Airport, remaining residents complain.

"It was nice" before the buyout came and people left, said Barbara Walker, who lives with her grown son, Matthew Brock, on Ninth Avenue North. "Kids could play and parents didn't worry about them."

Walker's home, like her friend Lori Blackmon's house on 90th Street North, wasn't included in the Federal Aviation Administration's buyout for airport expansion and noise mitigation. When neighbors left and dozens of their houses were demolished or moved, deterioration set in as vacant lots became overgrown or sites for illegal dumping, Walker said.

At the very least, those left behind want the City of Birmingham and the Birmingham Airport Authority to cut the lots and clean up the community.

"They're not keeping up" with property maintenance, Blackmon said. "They need to come back and check things."

A spokeswoman for the airport authority said the organization does tend to property upkeep on a regular basis in the buyout area. That includes mowing and cleaning up dumping in their neighborhood, said Toni Herrera-Bast, the authority's public relations and marketing manager.

Herrera-Bast also noted that the airport authority has a redevelopment plan for the property acquired. Proposed land use includes light industrial, walking trails and commercial development parks.

Birmingham city Councilwomen Kim Rafferty, whose district covers portions of the buyout area, said she will notify the city's Public Works Department about the environmental concerns and advised residents to call 311, Birmingham call center, to report such problems. She also urged residents to bring their concerns to a City Council meeting and to write to Mayor William Bell.

Grendel Gaines, administrative assistant to city Councilwoman Maxine Herring Parker, said in an email that public works has agreed to keep the area clean. The councilwoman's district also includes portions of the buyout area.

Walker and Blackmon said they'd like the federal government, the airport authority or the city to buy their properties and relocate them. But officials have said there are no plans to acquire more property than what is slated in the 11-phase project, which is scheduled to end in 2016.

Source: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2012/09/birmingham_residents_left_out.html

kid cudi breedlove florida state football florida state football ben breedlove kid cudi ben breedlove matt barnes