Council to vote on new stormwater management ordinances

The City Council will vote at its June 25 meeting on whether to adopt a set of new ordinances regarding stormwater and erosion control and monitoring.

The Council's public works committee discussed the three proposed ordinances at tonight's meeting. The ordinances – which govern erosion and sediment, illicit discharge and post-construction runoff – are modeled on the City of Vestavia Hills' policies, which city attorney Mike Kendrick said have been endorsed as the ideal for Jefferson County municipalities.

The city began discussing new stormwater ordinances in February after the Stormwater Management Authority (SWMA) informed Homewood of changes to regulations. Homewood must now serve as the liable party to ensure that the city meets all regulations through the Alabama Department of Environmental Management (ADEM) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and an employee in the Building, Engineering and Zoning Department will be responsible for inspections and filing reports with the state.

The ordinances must be approved by July 1, according to ADEM. They include rules about sediment and runoff control methods, inspections, permits for land disturbances and penalties for violating any of the stormwater regulations. If a landowner is found to be in violation of the stormwater ordinances, they can appeal to the City Council.

Amy Milam from the Homewood Environmental Commission and Randall Haddock from the Cahaba River Society both attended the public works committee's meeting with requested amendments to the ordinances. Milam asked that the committee consider amending the ordinance to include all properties under the one-acre minimum the state set, due to the small size of most Homewood properties.

She and Haddock also requested that the city consider a technical memorandum provided by SWMA as a guide for enforcing the regulations, rather than approving it as an official part of the city ordinance. Their primary concern, Milam and Haddock said, was that the technical memorandum encourages the use of retention ponds to control stormwater runoff, and they feel these could be less effective than methods such as trees acting as rain canopies or bioswales, which slow down water flow to absorb it into the ground.

The city council will discuss and vote on the ordinances, including any changes, next Monday. The full text of the ordinances can be read on the city website.

The planning and development committee also heard from Kessler Homes and KADCO Homes ahead of the July 23 public hearing for their proposed Edgewood Manor development at Carr Avenue and "short" Saulter Road. The development went before the Planning Commission in April and June, with approval for a preliminary development plan that included several proffers from the developers, but a tied vote on whether to rezone the properties from Neighborhood Preservation District to Planned Residential District.

Most of the discussion from Kessler and attending residents was a revisiting of issues from the June Planning Commission meeting, with major concerns from neighbors including the size and appearance of the 12 proposed homes, the potential traffic and stormwater runoff effect and the desire to keep zoning consistent in the area.

Jason Kessler listed the proffers they had made to closer align with Neighborhood Preservation District rules, including in roof height and side property line setbacks, but he noted that if they did not receive the rezoning, Kessler had an alternate plan for eight homes, each with accessory structures and likely a larger building footprint on the properties.

If Kessler receives the requested rezoning, they will include in the neighborhood covenants that accessory structures are not allowed and the private road, which Kessler will build to city standards and the Edgewood Manor HOA will maintain, cannot be gated.

Kessler mentioned the plans under the PRD rezoning include extensive stormwater runoff management on the property, but under the current NPD zoning they would only provide a more scaled-back version that would just manage runoff for the Edgewood Manor properties, not the surrounding area.

Kessler and residents will be able to express their opinions to the Council on July 23. The Council makes the final decision on the rezoning request, but the Planning Commission will hear and vote on Kessler's final development plan, which must not substantially change from the preliminary development plan currently under construction, if the development moves forward.

Also tonight, the finance committee considered changing an administrative role in the city's finance department to a revenue examiner, who would be responsible for ensuring businesses are complying with business license rules and fees.

City Finance Director Robert Burgett requested the change because he said it was a role he feels the city needs, and there is an interested applicant who could transfer to Homewood from another city. There are three roles currently unfilled in the city clerk's office and finance department, and this role would replace one of them.

After the meeting, Burgett said most Homewood businesses are in compliance with business license rules and pay fees, but there are some that are not properly licensed and the finance department does not currently have the available staff to address these issues.

“We’re missing a lot of revenue,” Burgett said, adding that they also have to bring in additional staff each spring to manage business license renewals.

The new role would cost about $5,000 extra in salary costs, Burgett said.

The request, which the full City Council will consider, came at the same time that the finance committee plans to consider changes to the business license ordinance as a whole. While the committee didn't discuss that issue tonight, Burgett said they will evaluate how they assess fees compared to other municipalities.

Burgett said there were not specific amendments to the business license ordinance on the table, but gave the example of charging a set fee for a particular type of license while other cities charge based on gross revenue.

The business license ordinance may be discussed at the July 2 finance committee meeting.