Central Avenue brewery zoning, parking discussed

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Red Hills Brewing Company is one step closer to its full business plan for a Central Avenue location.

At its Dec. 15 meeting, the City Council held a public hearing to consider rezoning the building from Central Business District to Light Manufacturing District, which would allow the brewery to bottle and can its beer onsite.

The property would not need the zoning to brew beer and operate a tap room, but brewery owner Joe Pilleteri said the change in zoning would allow his business to be more viable with option to can and brew. He also noted that he has always wanted the business to be in Homewood.

“I don’t want to be a hindrance on Homeowod,” Pilleteri said. “I want to be a part of Homewood. The city of Homewood is the spot for this.”

Pilleteri said he has talked with the owners of neighboring businesses Steel City Pops, Little Donkey and Octane and received their approval for him to open a brewery in the space.

During the hearing, business owners on Crescent Avenue expressed their concerns about the limited parking available for a new brewery.

“We can’t get deliveries, we are constantly picking up trash, the postman has to double park,” said Mark Ballard, whose family owns 2813 and 2817 Crescent Avenue. “There is no parking in the area. It’s a great idea, but I think they need to build another parking deck.”

Joe Fuller, who owns Stead & Fuller at 2904 Crescent Ave., said he was concerned about the parking as well the nature of the business.

“Our area was originally zoned for small businesses, but if you keep putting these beer joints in there it’s not going to be the same,” he said.

In response, Pilleteri said that if he were to make the tap room as large as the space allow, he would be required to have 40 parking spaces as regulations call for one parking space per 100 square feet and his tap room would be a maximum of 4,000 square feet. Currently the property owner, Ken Williams, has 20 spaces behind the brewery and 13 in front that can be used for the brewery, and Pilleteri is talking with the Fresh Hospitality group, who owns the adjacent gravel parking lot, about leasing the remaining seven spaces.

Following the discussion, the council carried a decision over to a specially called meeting on Dec. 18. Council member Michael Hallman voted against approving it with unanimous consent.

During the meeting, the council also:

  • Heard a presentation from Stephen Preston, a vice president at Brookwood Medical Center, about renovating their visitor parking deck and a recent announcement about Brookwood and Baptist Health System merging under Tenet Healthcare to become the largest health care system in central Alabama.
  • Approved a transfer of monies from the 2014 General Fund Surplus to Capital Projects Fund.
  • Declared computer equipment items from the IT Department as surplus property for disposal.
  • Approved funding to purchase a one-time ad in the Business Alabama Magazine for an upcoming article on Jefferson County and surrounding municipalities.
  • Approved final budget amendments to 2013-2014 General and Special Revenue Funds Budget.
  • Approved funding an additional street light on Highland Road.
  • Approved funding of up to $8,000 for full BJCTA transit service through Jan. 31, 2015 as discussed in a specially called meeting earlier in the evening. This will provide funding while the city looks at different transit options going forward.
  • Referred to the Homewood Planning Commission consideration of amending the Zoning Ordinance for High Rise Office/Commercial to permit the use of a hotel and a fast-food restaurant located in an office building with total floor area greater than 20,000 square feet.
  • Authorized payment of invoices for Dec. 1-12.
  • Approved 8-2 a contact with ClasTran for paratransit that its board will consider at a January meeting.
  • Set upcoming council meetings for Jan. 5 and Jan. 26.