When Thomas Moore purchased his lot along Alabama 21 to build Quizno’s and space for other businesses, he really wanted the land next door. He wasn’t able to get the small corner lot, bordering Mountain Street and Alabama 21, however, mostly because he knew the city would never approve his plans if he did.Now, because of Moore’s impending construction, and his willingness to be a good neighbor, Steven Landers has purchased that corner lot and plans to build an Italian restaurant named after his grandmother, Effino’s.
At last Tuesday’s Planning Commission meeting, Landers, Moore and Guy Herb of Herb Surveying presented their plans for making the construction of the new restaurant work.
Moore proposed the removal of a few planned parking spaces along the southern border of his lot and a pass through to its neighbor, allowing patrons of Effino’s to enter and exit through the Quizno’s property.
Effino’s will also have an entrance on Mountain Street almost directly across from the post office exit, a source of concern for the commission and the reason Chief Tommy Thompson voted against the construction plan.
There will be a dip where the properties meet and speed bumps along the straight stretch behind Quizno’s to encourage drivers to watch their speed and discourage cars from cutting over to Alabama 21 from Mountain Street through the parking lots.
To help ease traffic congestion, the planning commission requested the city also make the post office exit a right turn only. According to Mayor Johnny Smith, the issue has been turned over to the city attorney to determine the legality of the change.
The commission also approved plans for the new skateboard park. The plan is simple — a 70-foot by 100-foot slab of concrete four-inches thick on top of which the modular skate boarding equipment will be mounted.
The city is hoping to purchase as many as 15 pieces of equipment, but will not know the exact number until they are ready to bid and purchase for the project. The park’s planned location is directly atop the old city swimming pool at 271 Coffee St.
“I don’t know if they’re going to have to adjust the exact location. I know there has been some concern about compaction, whether we will get good compaction, because some of the stuff that may have been tossed into the pool to level it may not hold,” said Lynn Causey, city planner.
According to Causey, when the pool was shut down the surrounding equipment and structures were placed in the pool, then covered with dirt. The major concern is with the decomposing wooden structures that, as they further degrade, they can cause support problems.
Mark Stephens with Jones, Blair, Waldrup and Tucker, assured the commission members that several bore holes will be sampled throughout the project area to determine the ground’s stability.
