Council approves new construction hours, West Homewood crosswalks

The Homewood City Council approved new working hours for construction permits and a set of new crosswalks around Hall-Kent Elementary at tonight's meeting.

Construction can now only occur between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday and by Building, Engineering and Zoning Department permit only on Sunday. 

The new crosswalk locations include: at the intersection of Kent Drive and Cobb Street; across Cobb to connect to existing sidewalks leading to South Wood Road; at the intersection of Grove Street and Allen Avenue; and across Kent Lane near the Chastain Park apartments. These locations were suggested by city planner Vanessa McGrath after reviewing existing sidewalks and crosswalks in the area.

Discussion of pedestrian safety around the school began after a young boy was struck by a car on Kent Drive. His family and neighbors have shown up to council and committee meetings to share their concerns about the safety of children traveling to and from school.

The council is also planning a meeting with school officials about additional measures during pickup and drop-off times, as well as a traffic flow study around the school to find alternatives. The issue remains in the public safety committee's agenda for continuing discussion.

The council also:

• Approved $5,500 to acquire one of the right-of-way agreements on Phase II of the Shades Creek Greenway.
• Carried over a request to reimburse Homewood City Schools building expenditures from the $110 million bond issue, as city officials will be meeting with the school system to talk about the expenses and whether they qualify to be repaid from the bond.
• Declared 1801 Kensington Road and 1602 Ridge Road public nuisances due to excessive growth, enabling the city to enter the property for purposes of cleanup. Since the Ridge Road property has come up as a public nuisance issue previously and has other issues that may make it uninhabitable, the council also discussed whether they were responsible for taking further steps.
• Approved a sign variance for a Pilates studio at 1745 Oxmoor Road, which amended its sign size and came to an agreement with neighbors who were concerned about visibility for drivers passing by the sign.
• Approved a retail beer and table wine license for M and A International Market, 250 Green Springs Highway.
• Approved a contract with the Homewood Chamber of Commerce to provide partial funding of a city contract with Daniel Communities for economic development services.
• Approved a website and social media services contract with JettyTrip Media.
• Set Oct. 23 public hearings for a sign ordinance variance at 1760 Oxmoor Road and a fence ordinance variance at 112 Hollywood Blvd.
• Set an Oct. 23 public hearing to consider declaring 2900 16th Place South a public nuisance due to excessive growth.
• Set a Nov. 13 public hearing for Sain Associates' proposed ADA transition plan.
• Dropped a request to declare 1000 Forest Brook Drive a public nuisance since the new owner of the home has begun cleanup work.