Board approves sewer, electric and hens for Newtown community garden with building-code conditions

The Montgomery City Board of Adjustment approved a request from Help A Brother Out Foundation on a motion that included conditions requiring any restroom to be built to meet city building codes and accessibility requirements.

Help A Brother Out founder and representative Sam Yu told the board the nonprofit runs a community garden and monthly mobile food pantries that feed “anywhere from 600 to 800 people every month” and provides gardening and cooking education for neighborhood children. He requested permission to keep multiple storage sheds without a main dwelling, to allow hens (but no roosters), and to connect sewer and electrical service so one shed could be converted to a permanent restroom.

The board said it supported the garden’s neighborhood benefits but emphasized that a restroom and utility connections must meet the city’s building- and permitting requirements. A staff representative noted the structure would require a permit and be reviewed by the building department. A board member said the restroom would need “a foundation, stud walls” and other features of a permanent building rather than a temporary shed. The board also told the applicant to follow ADA accessibility requirements for sanitary facilities.

Sam Yu provided a site layout and described the garden’s uses: a greenhouse, tool shed, clothing closet for emergency distribution, a chicken coop and a proposed restroom. He said volunteers and partners supply labor and materials and listed partnerships in his presentation, including the Heart of Alabama Food Bank, the American Red Cross (community adaptation program), the extension office and local schools.

A representative of the Red Cross said the organization had donated some of the sheds and that adding a proper foundation would address the board’s concerns. Candace Clark, who identified herself as a PhD student and employee working with an urban agriculture innovation center, spoke in support of Sam Yu and the foundation’s work.

A motion to approve the foundation’s requests passed unanimously. The motion, as recorded by the board, tied approval to the conditions that the sanitary structure be built to meet all city codes, that only hens (no roosters) be kept, and that any coop comply with city requirements. The board also noted that permits would be required for sewer and electrical service and that the building department would determine specific code compliance.

The board and applicants agreed the group should consult the building department for a checklist of required permits and specifications. The foundation said it would “abide by all the requirements.”

The approval allows the garden group to move forward with plans so long as the permanent restroom and other improvements are constructed to code and permitted by the city. The foundation will proceed to secure the required permits and to meet the coop and sanitary-structure standards specified by staff and the board.