Committee sends out possible changes for tree ordinance

The city of Homewood’s planning and development committee sent out three possible changes to the city’s tree and landscaping ordinance to be voted on by the entire council at next Monday’s meeting.

Those changes center on certain exemptions from the city’s requirement to plant trees for certain developments and renovations. Councilor Jennifer Andress said the ordinance as written unintentionally goes too far, causing those doing smaller projects to worry about tree planting and replacement.

The changes would exempt projects that involve building alterations on less than 50% of the total square footage of the area or exterior site improvements less than $5,000. It also allows those required by the city to plant trees to instead pay into the city’s tree replacement fund, a $750 payment per tree.

The changes recommended also create a definition of artificial turf and state that if a detailed engineering description is submitted to and approved by the city engineer, artificial turf will not be considered an accessory structure. There is a 30% limit to backyard accessory structures, with anything over that requiring an appearance before the Board of Zoning Adjustments, City Engineer Cale Smith said. This move would eliminate some of those cases that appear before the board each month.

The committee left the issue on the agenda to discuss possible future changes, and also left a request to amend the zoning ordinance to include the fence ordinance in committee pending the next Board of Zoning Adjustment meeting.

The committee also sent out without recommendation a request to remove a conditional planned residential district from 1116 Hollywood Manor Drive.