Birmingham City Council sets public hearing to discuss potential closure of Ensley Shell Station

Councilor Steven Hoyt. Photo by Sam Prickett.

The Birmingham City Council has scheduled a public hearing to discuss potentially closing an Ensley gas station where three homicides have taken place. The hearing will take place during the council’s regularly scheduled meeting on Tuesday, September 11, BirminghamWatch reports.

The Shell station in question, located at the 800 block of Third Avenue West, has been the subject of controversy after the council’s public safety committee, headed by District 2 Councilor Hunter Williams, voted to keep the station on probation for one year after being presented with a safety plan by representatives of business owner Mohamed Nasher.

District 8 Councilor Steven Hoyt, whose district includes the Shell station in question, has argued that this violates protocol by not allowing the full council to vote on the matter directly. The public hearing will address Hoyt’s concerns; after citizens are given the opportunity to speak, the council will vote to either uphold the public safety committee’s decision or to proceed with a different action.

Read the full article at BirminghamWatch.