Birmingham Pushes for Blight Remediation Laws

Mayor Woodfin and state legislators seek new tools to address neglected properties.

Mar. 17, 2026 at 1:10am

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Birmingham Mayor Randall Woodfin and a coalition of local and state officials are advocating for the Alabama Legislature to pass new laws that would give the city more tools to address blight and neglected properties. The proposed legislation includes changes to the state's land bank laws, creating a vacant property registry, and establishing a housing trust fund.

Why it matters

Blight and neglected properties have been an ongoing issue in Birmingham, with the city spending millions annually to remove blighted structures and maintain overgrown lots. The proposed laws aim to shift more responsibility for addressing blight onto negligent property owners rather than relying on taxpayer funds.

The details

The legislative agenda includes several key components: changing the Alabama Land Bank Act to allow the city's land bank to more quickly acquire tax-delinquent properties, creating a vacant property registry and maintenance standards, establishing a Birmingham Housing Trust Fund, and potentially allowing the city to impose blight remediation assessments on certain properties.

  • The Alabama Legislature has 8 meeting days left in its current session, which must end by April 20.
  • The Land Registration Bill has already come out of committee and could go to the House floor this week.

The players

Randall Woodfin

The mayor of Birmingham who is leading the push for the new blight remediation laws.

Steve Ammons

The CEO of the Birmingham Business Alliance, which is supporting the legislative agenda.

Linda Coleman-Madison

A Democratic state senator representing parts of Jefferson County.

Mary Moore

A Democratic state representative who says progress has been made on the legislative bills.

Merika Coleman

A Democratic state senator who says addressing blight is a non-partisan issue.

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What they’re saying

“What we've done is spend, literally now right at $25 million in blight removal and weed abatement. We don't want to be in the continued business of spending public tax dollars for removing blighted properties of private property and cutting private lots because that's not what the purpose of city tax dollars is for.”

— Randall Woodfin, Mayor of Birmingham

“What affects one impacts all. We are here united and because we are one Jefferson County. We can get this done.”

— Linda Coleman-Madison, State Senator

What’s next

The Land Registration Bill could go to the Alabama House floor for a vote this week if it continues to move through the legislative process.

The takeaway

Birmingham's push for new blight remediation laws highlights the ongoing challenge of addressing neglected properties, with the city seeking to shift more responsibility to negligent owners rather than relying on taxpayer funds. The bipartisan support for the legislative agenda suggests these issues transcend political divides in the effort to revitalize Birmingham neighborhoods.