Council considers changes to building height ordinance

Homewood City Council is currently considering a proposed change to measurement and restrictions of roof heights in the city's Neighborhood Preservation District.

Vanessa McGrath, a senior planner in the department of engineering and zoning, said the proposed change would simplify existing rules on building height, and ideally reduce the height of homes built on small lots.

As of now, the height of a Neighborhood Preservation District home is determined by measuring from the ground floor to the roof midpoint on all four sides and taking the average of those four numbers. Homes on a 45- to 55-foot-wide lot must be 25 feet high or less. Homes on 55- to 65-foot-wide lots must be 30 feet high or less, and homes on 65-feet or wider lots must be 35 feet high or less.

The change to the zoning book would instead define a house's height by measuring from the bottom of the front door to the peak of the roof. McGrath said this would likely make new houses smaller in order to be in compliance with the rule. The change also removes one of the height categories: houses on lots under 55 feet in width would have to be 25 feet high or less, and houses on lots over 55 feet wide must be 35 feet high or less.

The proposed change also removes the minimum living area requirement for dwellings.

City council members are continuing to consider the implications of this change. Concerns brought up so far include builders using flat or shallow roofs in order to meet the new requirements, as well as the removal of minimum living area requirements making way for tiny homes.

There will be a public hearing about the ordinance change before a decision is made.

At their May 16 meeting, the council also:

• Decided to add no-parking stripes along part of Oxmoor Circle after a resident brought complaints about large trucks parking in the street and causing access and safety concerns.
• Approved Brookwood Village to close its main street from 1 to 10 p.m. on June 8. YouTube entertainer Ricky Dillon will host a book signing at the mall in partnership with Books-a-Million. Other entertainment will include live music by Raquel Lilly.
• Set a June 13 public hearing for a fence variance request at 600 Hambaugh Ave.
• Set public hearings on June 13 to rezone several properties recently annexed into the city: Circle K at 1250 Columbiana Road, from Jefferson County Commercial to Neighborhood Shopping District; Southeast Medical Homewood at 35 West Lakeshore Drive, from Jefferson County Preferred Commercial to Office Building District; and One West Associates at #1 West Lakeshore Drive, from Jefferson County Commercial to Neighborhood Shopping District.
• Set public hearings on June 27 to rezone several properties recently annexed into the city from Jefferson County Light Industrial to Light Manufacturing District: 129 Citation Court, 137 Citation Court, 159 Citation Court, 167 Citation Court and 209 Citation Court.
• Carried over discussion of a feasibility study for a new public safety building during the preceding public safety building. Police Chief Tim Ross said he has discussed a possible design with one architect and plans to visit a new police building in Anniston before bringing his recommendation to the public safety committee.