When blasting began to take place to pave the way for a new subdivision on Monte Sano Mountain, Huntsville residents voiced concerns about a scar that was visible from Interstate 565.

When another subdivision was proposed on Green Mountain, other residents complained the developers were clear cutting trees off the mountain.

The city has an ordinance officials said is designed to help preserve the character of the mountains in the Rocket City. Most developers follow the rules, but city officials acknowledge there are a few bad actors.

City Manager of Planning and Zoning Services Thomas Nunez said the city has cited developers who violated Huntsville’s slope development ordinance.

The repercussions for not following the rules can range from a hefty penalty plus court costs to an appearance before the Zoning Board of Adjustments to come up with a remediation plan.

Developers can be charged $500 according to state law for each ordinance violation, and each day the violation occurs counts as a separate offense.

The ordinance provides greater leverage for the totality of violations. In the past, each violation constitutes a separate offense. For example, the removal of a single tree could involve multiple violations for size, girth, species, age, location, value of wood, etc. There is also potential for additional penalties until the property is determined to be restored.

One developer had to pay a six-figure penalty.

There’s even a provision in state law that includes up to six months jail time, but city officials are not aware of anyone receiving that punishment.

Land Trust of North Alabama Executive Director Marie Bostick, whose organization works with the city on preservation of places like the mountains, said she has heard from residents that “there have been tree cuttings on properties in certain areas.”

“But I don’t have any first-hand knowledge,” she said. “But I have talked to several neighbors and a community group up there (on Green Mountain) about tree removal that shouldn’t have occurred.”

Huntsville has a slope development ordinance that spells out just how much property can be “disturbed” for the clearing of the land for homes depending on the elevation of the mountains within the city limits. Developers are not supposed to do geological harm to the terrain.

Lot sizes are required to be larger – 40,000 square feet in the upper slope, 25,000 in the lower slope.

Developers not following the ordinance were among complaints at a Huntsville Planning Commission meeting about a proposed development on Green Mountain in 2023.

See story: Developers are endangering the character of Green Mountain, Huntsville residents say – al.com

Monte Vedra resident Anita Reck – who frequently spoke out at the commission’s meetings about Green Mountain issues – was one of the residents voicing concerns.

“Twenty acres, not one tree left,” she added. “Please go up there and look, not one tree. It’s clear cut. Total destruction.”

Reck provided AL.com with photos at the time backing up her concerns.

Nunez said there are exceptions to the slope development ordinance. There are property owners who were grandfathered in who are allowed a significant amount of tree cutting.

And Summit at Monte Sano – which faced stiff opposition from residents of an adjacent subdivision – is zoned as a planned development, which allows for smaller lot sizes than the others on the mountain.

Nunez said updates to the slope development ordinance could contain a different approach to addressing violations, as well as contain clearer language making developers aware of the native vegetation, including trees, on the mountains.

Where development is occurring

Bostick said development on Monte Sano dates as far back as 100 years. She said many people purchased land on both mountains in the 1960s, although some of that land has not been developed.

Development has been more frequent in recent years on Green Mountain.

According to City Communication Director Kelly Schrimsher, who is also a member of the Planning Commission, there are 568 housing units on Green Mountain as of April 1. She said there were approximately 25 homes under construction.

“Green Mountain has seen consistent development over the last 15 years,” Nunez added. “… , We’ve seen on average 60 lots or homes or more created a year. Some years have been more aggressive than others.”

Currently on Green Mountain, there are three active subdivisions, according to Nunez, Inspiration on Green Mountain, the Bluffs at Green Mountain and Mountainside Cove – formerly The Cove at Green Mountain – which received re-preliminary approval in January of this year for 38 lots, but those lots have not received final approval.

Green Mountain is in one of the parts of the city that is seeing tremendous growth. According to Huntsville’s 2024 Development Review, 204 building permits were issued on the mountain last year, ranking it fourth among census tracts in the city. More homes (208) were sold on Green Mountain last year than any other part of the city.

Because development dates back much longer on Monte Sano, there is not as much new development there. Summit at Monte Sano is the lone active subdivision where 56 lots are proposed, with 26 receiving final approval earlier this year.

Much of the development there, Nunez said, is in the redevelopment of existing property and homes. According to the development review, Monte Sano tied Hampton Cove for the most permits issued within the city limits last year for additions and alterations with 49.

Monte Sano is prime real estate in the city. Homes there sold for an average price of more than $652,000 last year, ranking fifth among census tracts in the city.

Collaboration with Land Trust

While the slope development ordinance is one of the ways the city is trying to preserve the natural parts and character of both Monte Sano and Green Mountain, collaboration with the Land Trust of North Alabama is another.

Nunez said the city works with the Land Trust to improve trails. He also said the city helps the Land Trust in efforts to purchase land or have land deeded to it to keep it in its natural state.

Bostick said the Land Trust works with the city on its greenway system. She said the city also tries to keep the organization in the loop on where development is occurring and what the trends are.

“We contact property owners when we can,” she said. “We talk with them about opportunities for preservation. Quite often, we actually work with the developers who are developing their properties.”

She said the Land Trust will work with developers on what can be done to preserve land that isn’t appropriate for housing or other development “either because of slope or hydrology.”

“It could be just difficult to access,” she said. “Then it could be appropriate for both the Land Trust as a preservation organization and the developer from a tax incentives standpoint to work together so that the development can occur on the more appropriate properties and then preservation can occur on the inappropriate development of the properties.”

Bostick calls that a “win-win situation.”

“We’ve been able to do that on Monte Sano a good bit,” she said. “We’ve done a little bit of it on Green Mountain, but not quite as much in the developer realm. We’ve done more of it on Green Mountain with individual property owners, people who have held property for many, many years.”

One developer the Land Trust has worked with is Colorado-based See Forever, which is developing the Summit at Monte Sano. See Forever pledged during Planning Commission meetings to donate the undevelopable property around the proposed subdivision to the Land Trust.

See Forever has donated about six acres south of Bankhead Parkway to the Land Trust just ahead of the Bankhead Trailhead that has helped Monte Sano Nature Preserve keep continuity for its trail network.

“They have not donated anything on the opposite side of the Bankhead Parkway yet,” Bostick said. “We are in discussions of what that might look like once they actually get the footprint of the development area completed. None of that has taken place yet.”

The Land Trust owns 1,120 acres in the main part of the preserve on Monte Sano but also has property on the east side of the mountain that is not contiguous. It also has 630 acres at its Green Mountain South preserve and another 187 at Green Mountain North.

Bostick said the Land Trust also has 800 acres on the north side of Green Mountain all of the way to Blevins Gap that most people don’t think of as part of the mountain. The acreage is part of the Land Trust’s River to Gap Project that seeks to connect Blevins Gap with the Tennessee River.

But the Land Trust’s preservation effort isn’t just limited to the mountains. It has 10 nature reserves open to the public, nine of which are in Madison County. The other is in Colbert County. They have trails people can access by hiking or biking but are not for motorized vehicle use.

“Some property we get, we just leave it in its natural state,” Bostick said. “We don’t open it to the public. It’s just conserved as habitat for certain species. Sometimes, that’s because it has very sensitive species on it and sometimes because of capacity and just not being able to open another preserve, and sometimes it is just the remoteness of the property and inaccessibility for people to be able to get there safely.”

Bostick said the Land Trust has never been anti-growth, anti-development.

“It’s just not in our DNA,” she said. “But we’re very much in favor of making sure that the development occurs correctly. So that wherever that development occurs, it’s the right place, it’s the right way. And if there is an ability to develop a portion of the property and conserve a portion of the property, then that’s obviously the best thing that can happen for both conservation and the city’s growth.”