The Birmingham Planning Board voted unanimously Oct. 22 to approve a special land use permit and the final site plan and design review for a three‑story office building proposed at 36977 Woodward Ave., with five conditions attached and two variances identified for separate review by the Board of Zoning Appeals.

Planning department staff presented the project and the recommended conditions. Summer Aldred, planning department staff, told the board the project's size triggers a special land‑use review in the TZ‑3 district: “one of the weird TZ3 rules that once the office building…exceeds 4,000 square feet in TZ‑3, it triggers a special land use.” The board voted 7‑0 on the permit and again 7‑0 on the final site plan.

The project, submitted by InvestoWise, calls for a three‑story office building with about 19 parking spaces on the corner of Woodward and Horton. Architect Jeff Clatt of Krieger Clatt Architects and members of the InvestoWise team described design changes since preliminary review, including a new main entry on Woodward and added windows to break up blank walls.

Why it matters: the site sits in a TZ‑3 zoning district whose standards aim to shape street frontage, building height and pedestrian connections in this corridor. Staff flagged two elements that do not meet the ordinance: the building now occupies 61.2% of the Woodward street frontage but the ordinance requires 75%, and the visible peak of a glass conservatory reaches about 45 feet while the maximum for most of the site is 42 feet.

Board action and conditions
- The board adopted the planning department’s findings and recommended approval of the special land use permit and final site plan with five conditions: modify the site plan so at least 75% of the street frontage is building facade (or obtain a variance of 21.675 feet from the Board of Zoning Appeals); reduce the overall building height to no more than 42 feet (or obtain a 3‑foot variance for the peak); provide two bike racks; grant a waiver for non‑full‑cutoff architectural wall sconces per Article 4, Section 4.21(d)(1); and comply with all city‑department requests.

Staff noted other design elements that were addressed in the final submittal: dumpster screening that matches the building facade, a three‑foot brick site wall on two edges, a raised 7‑foot Woodward sidewalk to meet city standard, and a rooftop mechanical screen. The parking layout remains unchanged at 19 spaces. Lighting and photometrics were presented to staff as meeting the city’s ratio and foot‑candle requirements, and the planning board granted the requested waiver for a specific non‑cutoff fixture.

Applicant comments and variance rationale
Applicant architect Jeff Clatt told the board the project team worked to accommodate earlier recommendations but said the site circulation requires the Horton driveway: “we need that driveway — the driveway from Horton is just too challenging” to relocate. Clatt said the glass conservatory peak occupies a small percentage of the roof and argued reducing its height would create structural and floor‑to‑ceiling challenges.

Board discussion and votes
Board members discussed both the 75% frontage requirement and the limited height variance. Multiple members said they were comfortable forwarding the variances to the Board of Zoning Appeals with language limiting any variance to the submitted plan. Mr. Scherer moved the planning board adopt the planning department report and conditions; Mr. Williams seconded. The motion passed unanimously. The board later moved and approved the final site plan and design review on the same conditions, also by unanimous vote.

Next steps
The applicant may either revise the design to meet the ordinance’s 75% frontage and 42‑foot height limits or pursue variances at the Board of Zoning Appeals. With approvals complete, the applicant and board anticipated permitting and construction steps to follow; a board member closed by saying they hoped to see construction begin in weeks.