Poppleton Park: The City Answers Hot Button Concept Site Plan Questions

BIRMINGHAM, MI — A lot of information and potentially misinformation has been swirling around Birmingham from the moment the Poppleton Park concept site plan was released, which includes extra parking, a covered picnic area, bathrooms, a bigger play area and a new walking trail. There have been concerns that Poppleton Park could become a Regional Transit Authority stop, allegations that neighbors weren't notified about the plan, and debate over whether the park is a neighborhood park or a community park.

Lauren Wood, Director of Public Service for the city of Birmingham, separated fact from fiction about these hot button issues in an exclusive interview with Patch.

Patch: Some residents reportedly have not received any notification about the park's development. How is Birmingham notifying residents about the Poppleton Park concept plan?

LW: "Parks and Recreation Board meetings are always public meetings and noticed at the meeting location, on our website and we email notifications directly to individuals that sign up for our electronic notification system. Plus, we go the extra step to mail out notice announcements to all Neighborhood Association Presidents about the meeting dates. One other item we are very mindful of is trying to reach the person not on electronic media. All agendas are posted at all public buildings, too. We use print media in these cases as well to promote the meetings."

Patch: A resident voiced concern that the proposed parking lot in Poppleton Park could become a parking lot for a future Regional Transit Authority stop. Is that a possibility?

LW: "This item has not been raised nor introduced during any of the concept plan process and was not contemplated as part of the plan. This was initiated by individual members of the public only after the concept plan was presented to the Parks and Recreation Board."

Patch: Who created the concept plan? Was it a mix of architects/officials?

LW: "M. C. Smith Associates and Architectural Group, Inc. provided professional services in connection with the preparation of the site concept plan for Poppleton Park. The outcome for the preliminary concept plan was generated based on the Public Workshop held in February, public communications, neighborhood requests, review of parking options and the Parks and Recreation Master Plan were all part of the review to establish a concept site plan for Poppleton Park. A concept site plan is the first step to establish a “wish list” for a particular city park. This then becomes a tool to assist with planning efforts and more public discussions going forward."

Patch: Technically, is Poppleton Park classified as a "community" park and not a "neighborhood" park?

LW: "Poppleton Park is one of our ten parks under this classification. Community parks contain a wide variety of recreation facilities to meet the diverse needs of residents from the community. They may include areas of active recreation as well as passive recreation opportunities not commonly found in neighborhood parks. Community parks can be either large in size, but also include smaller parks meant to serve the entire community."

The next meeting regarding Poppleton Park is Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. in the Birmingham City Hall Commission Room (151 Martin St., Birmingham). Patch will keep you posted on the latest developments.

Photo by Mera McKenna/Patch