just off Grants Mill Road, a new subdivision under construction right behind many of us by Price Hightower and Tower Homes
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If you want to
buy a home in the new Grants Mill Valley subdivision because of the beautiful nearby woods,
the rolling hills, and the tranquility, do not bet on any of those things being there long. Mr. Hightower wants to develop much in Irondale, particularly in this area, and the Irondale city government and planning and zoning board encourage that and do not offer much protection to existing homeowners apart from the minimal required by law. They do not even notify affected homeowners of Planning and Zoning Board meetings to discuss changes to the area unless you happen to be on the rolls from which they notify people -- which they openly admit are not up to date and use that as either excuse or attempted justification for not notifying you if they don't, even if your property is adjacent to that proposed for their development. You and your neighbors have to be vigilant and help each other, and you have to organize. Even then their decision may be in favor of development. And one more thing to look out for -- the greater risk of fire from lint collecting in dryer duct vents that are long and angled that go up through the attic and roof, if the laundry room is not a room with an exterior wall and a short straight vent to the outside -- is at www.akat.com/DryerDuctFireDanger.html. Lint can collect even in a short, straight vent, but not as bad, and it is easier to clean periodically if necessary. Long, angled vents apparently are not against code, but they probably should be. |
Loss of the woods was disappointing enough but more importantly, much worse was the loss of the gentle slope, which was excavated fairly steeply down 30 feet or so deep (including more than two weeks of daily house-rattling blasting), right from the backyard property edges of the homes Tower Homes sold us, as you will see in the series of pictures here. I thought you might want to see the construction process and what it started from. We would guess that there is a good chance if you buy a home in Grants Mill Valley (or what we call Grants Mill Gulch or Gully), you will be faced with equally disappointing and frustrating, perhaps even equally hazardous, development around you.
Our backyards in Grants Mill Crossing and the woods adjacent to them as they were when we bought our
homes. Scroll down to see the sequence of
construction.
Losing the woods was disappointing, but they were not ours, though many of us were told they would not likely be developed.
The excavation and the manner of development are the more important concerns, as you will see in the following:
Losing the woods was disappointing, but they were not ours, though many of us were told they would not likely be developed.
The excavation and the manner of development are the more important concerns, as you will see in the following:
Winter
After I Cleared Part of My Yard and Planted Roses
From Property Line Toward Grants Mill Valley after Initial Tree Clearing
Much of the Work Was During the Height of the 2016 Drought; Dust Abatement Measures Were Not Put Into Place Until Complaints To ADEM and to Public Health
But Still There Was a Gentle Slope
Then Serious Excavation Began
Leading To This Chasm Right at Our Property Lines -- with No Safety Fence to Protect Against Children's (or Adults') Falls Along the Entire Ridge, Though Repeated Requests For One Were Made
From Grants Mill Valley Looking Up Toward Our Homes In Grants Mill Crossing
And As of June 22
And the Sights and Sounds of I-20 Are Clearer Now
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