Bill to give Homewood right to create West Homewood entertainment district pulled from committee

A bill that would give the city of Homewood the right to create an entertainment district in West Homewood will not be passed this legislative session.

Homewood City Council President Alex Wyatt confirmed the bill, which was in the state House of Representatives’ Jefferson County Legislation committee, by its sponsor, Sen. Rodger Smitherman, D-Birmingham. The bill had passed the state Senate unanimously but did not make it out of committee in the House.

The committee chairperson, Rep. Jim Carns, R-Vestavia Hills, told Wyatt there would not be time for a vote as the session is coming to a close, and votes are not held the same day as a public hearing, Wyatt said. With a vote not being possible, Wyatt said he told Carns to not hold the public hearing.

The Homewood Star has reached out to Carns to confirm this. 

Homewood currently has one existing entertainment district in the downtown area, and has the authority to create one more. The council previously expressed interest in creating districts in both Edgewood and West Homewood, but needed the state legislature’s approval to create a third district.

An entertainment district allows retailers to obtain an off-premise alcohol license, which would in turn allow patrons to consume alcohol outside within the boundaries of the district.

The bill can be found here. Had it been approved, the council would have had the right to implement rules and regulations for the district in West Homewood along with creating rules and regulations for the other entertainment district to which they were already entitled, possibly in Edgewood.

The possibility of a district in Edgewood drew numerous complaints from residents in the area, who expressed concern over the number of children that spend time in the business district.

While the council can still create a second district, Wyatt said it is unknown at this time what, if anything, the council will choose to do.