June 2024 Newsletter
It was a very busy month on the Mountain – these are the headlines:
The MSCA will be having a Ladies’ Salad Supper on Sunday, July 21 at 4:30PM at the MNSO Baptist Church Building
Monte Sano dodges yet another tornado – trees were down and damage ‘light’ - but it could have been much much worse – like the April 1974 storm that destroyed 7 mountain homes
The ‘Tale of Two Towers’ continues:
The TVA tower is nearing completion – happily there will be no perimeter fence, no guy wires, and no bright FAA warning lights
The Channel 19 perimeter fence will have no concertina wire and landscaping to hide the fence is underway (but it ‘won’t win any Beautification Awards.’)
Threats to the Mountain:
The Civic Associations Mission is to “Protect, Preserve, and Enhance the Quantity of Life on Monte Sano.” In our current term we are going to focus especially on ‘Protect and Preserve.’
These threats include natural disasters (tornadoes, fires, catastrophic rains, and slides)...
But also man-made threats: ill-conceived infrastructure projects. In the past we have fought projects like:
Turning the Boulevard into 4 lanes to connect 72 and 431
Connecting High Mountain Road to Bankhead
Dynamiting 18 foot deep sewers around Panorama
Connecting Governor’s Bend to Bankhead across the west slope of the mountain
Landslides caused by development
The issue of man-made threats has taken on a new sense of urgency due to the ‘Gashblight Strip Mine’ on the north slope of Bankhead.
A Deeper Dive into the Headlines
Monte Sano dodges yet another tornado – trees were down and ‘light’ damage - but it could have been much much worse.
The tornado’s track ran parallel to the southern section of Panorama Drive with peak winds of 122 mph and a track 975 yards wide – see yellow line
It knocked down hundreds of trees in the uninhabited Park – but ‘only’ dozens of trees in the residential areas, and some ‘minor’ damage. Had the track been a few hundred yards north it may have been dozens of homes destroyed instead – as happened during the April 1974 tornadoes below (which killed dozens in Huntsville, but thankfully no one on Monte Sano).
A Tale of Two Towers – Part 2
The TVA tower upgrade is nearing completion. TVA is being a good neighbor:
The federally required unscalable fence to protect infrastructure will only be around the new tower and building
There will be NO perimeter fence (the current plastic orange mesh fence is temporary)
TVA will take down the smaller building on the right
The new tower is almost twice the height of the old tower, but it will have NEITHER guy wires nor FAA warning lights
The TVA contractors and the managers in Tennessee have been excellent partners
Channel 19 Fences:
Recall from the last month’s newsletter that Channel 19 has two fences: one federally required around the vital infrastructure (towers, dishes, and guy wires), but also a second ‘optional’ fence around the perimeter requested by Channel 19’s corporate owners Nexstar Media in Dallas.
After talking with MCSA and hearing our concerns, Channel 19 agreed to remove the planned concertina wire at the top of the Perimeter Fence, and to install attractive arborvitae trees to help hide the chain-link fence.
While this is an improvement – it still is not appropriate for ‘Huntsville’s Yosemite.’ Our Councilman David Little sent a letter last week to Channel 19 urging them to modify this “eyesore” and reconsider their fence design.
Threats to the Mountain
Whether these threats are from Mother Nature, developers, or local government agencies, we need to be especially vigilant – especially with changes in climate and ever-increasing demand for land near downtown.
We will be visiting with Monte Sano State Park, Land Trust, City officials, emergency officials, and conservationists to help improve our community’s resilience to natural events. If you have any ideas or expertise – please let us know!
In addition to the recent tornado we dodged, we also dodged a November 2016 tornado that ‘brushed’ the residential areas but ‘crushed’ a 250 yard swath through the Park. It could have just as easily been homes crushed - instead of trees.
There have been several significant landslides on the mountain slopes the past three decades, and no less than 4 house fires on Panorama Drive alone just in the last 6 years! Monte Sano almost burned to the ground in the 1950s during a long dry spell that could well return again. We have seen a half dozen ‘ten-year storms’ in the last 50 years – but a ‘100 year storm’ could be catastrophic. We need to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature sends our way.
We need to be equally vigilant on man-made threats – as the ‘Strip Mine’ across from the Bankhead Lant Trust parking lot shows. Board Member Sandy McAnally sent us this alarming op-ed in AL.com from Mark Judge - a resident adjacent to the ‘Strip Mine.’ It’s worth reading the whole thing. It could happen here too.
Guest opinion: Beware Huntsvillians, this could happen in your neighborhood
Published: Apr. 12, 2023, 4:44 p.m.
By Mark Judge
This is a guest opinion column
Although not born in Huntsville, I consider myself a Huntsville native as I moved here in the late 60s, I have seen Huntsville grow to be the largest city in Alabama as well as receive the distinction of being the 2022-2023 #1 in Best Places to Live by U.S. Ne
I want to disclose a few of the key ‘lessons learned’ I garnered when an out-of-state developer purchased land and wanted to change the zoning classification to maximize their profit. I do not have an issue with people making money but not when the city ignores its own ordinances that were passed to protect the residents that live here and our taxpayer dollars.
The land I’m referring to is on the northwest side of Monte Sano Mountain off Bankhead Parkway in Huntsville, AL. It was originally Phase 2 of the Heritage of Monte Sano Subdivision of which Phase 1 began development in the late 1980s but still has several vacant lots available because of the cost associated with developing them. Building homes on the side of the mountain became increasingly more difficult and costly with the passing of Slope Development City Ordinances in the mid-90s. Thus, Phase 2 has sat in its natural mountainous state until recently when an out-of-state developer bought the land and proposed to have it rezoned from the original zoning plan of the city.
The disregard of our city leaders to not uphold our City Ordinances was and is still the primary concern causing many citizens to pursue legal action from the judicial branch of government that is responsible for enforcing the laws. How can the City of Huntsville not abide by their own ordinances developed by Subject Matter Experts by the City of Huntsville and passed by previous and current administrations? There are multiple ordinances being violated both in Zoning and Slope Development. No formal documentation or analysis (e.g., meeting minutes) has been provided by the City Departments to support the decisions made by our city leaders regarding why these ordinances are being ignored. Also, the Circuit Court of Madison County AL agreed to dismiss the motion filed by the Defendants without any explanation to the Plaintiffs or citizens.
The conduct of city meetings is my second lesson learned and something I would like to see changed to allow more transparency in the city’s processes. Certain agenda items are opened for public comment but after the last public person speaks, the public is no longer allowed to speak. After the public session, the city boards and committees ask questions to the applicable City Departments. In our case, the city referred to the developer and their contractors to answer their questions, many of whom are ‘strategic partners’ with the developer and prepared the critical documents justifying the development. I don’t see how this can be seen as an independent assessment of the impacts (e.g., environmental, erosion, traffic, drainage, etc.) or how our city leaders could use these sources to make informed decisions.
Thirdly, this came as a shock but maybe not a complete surprise to me, so I thought it was worth mentioning. In our communication with the city’s five City Council members, most City Council members outside of City District 2, indicated they would more than likely cast their vote the same as City District 2 person because the development was in their district. IMO, our City Council members should be looking out for the entire city, not just the district they represent to ensure pseudo checks and balances within our city government officials.
In summary, as you drive on Bankhead Parkway, look toward the north across from the Land Trust Parking Lot and you can observe what ‘progress’ looks like in the City of Huntsville. Huntsvillians, you have been warned, including our neighbors in Southeast Huntsville, that are now experiencing the ‘process’. My advice:
Don’t Wait Until It Happens in Your Neighborhood
Get Involved Now, Support Your Neighbors & Neighborhoods
Do What’s Right
Let Your Voice Be Heard
Initiate Change
Vote
This opinion is in memory of Jackie Reed, a longtime Huntsville government watchdog.
Mark Judge is a Huntsville resident
If land ‘protected’ by the Slope Ordinance could be rezoned on the northern slope of the mountain – where else could this happen? This is a precedent we do not want to see repeated elsewhere. We must ensure it doesn’t ‘happen here’ – we are making a special effort to better assess these threats – many of which are only become public when it is too late.
Thank you for your continued support.
And please, if you haven’t renewed your membership, please sign up!
Your Monte Sano neighbors,
Ralph Petroff, Rebekah Sanders, Anna Gail Joyce, Joe Pinnix, Sandy McAnally, Stephen Norris, Jeff McCracken, Cam Scales, Mary Tally Watson, Don Masterson
