Developers withdraw Firefighter Lane condo plans
A proposed 28-unit condominium development on Firefighter Lane has been withdrawn from consideration at the Board of Zoning Adjustments.
The developers, Eyester Legg Development, presented plans at the September BZA meeting for the two-story building, which included a number of exemption requests for the building's setbacks from property lines. Residents at that meeting and members of the BZA had concerns about the condo development's impact on traffic, building density and existing stormwater runoff problems in the area.
The BZA carried over discussion from that meeting to get answers to some of those questions and consider whether the developers had demonstrated sufficient reasons to grant the zoning exemptions.
Prior to the Oct. 4 BZA meeting, however, Eyester Legg withdrew their plans. Board Secretary Donna Bridges said the developers plan to redesign the condo and have been meeting with city officials to talk about Homewood's zoning requirements.
As of the Oct. 4 BZA meeting, Bridges said the city does not know if the developers will file a new application.
The BZA also approved another case held over from its September meeting, this time for the owner of 131 East Hawthorne Road to build a new home. The owner had requested a 1-foot setback variance on the left side of the property and a 5-foot setback variance on the right, citing the way the lot narrows from 65 feet wide at the front to about 45 feet wide at the back.
Since the September presentation, the owners changed the positioning and layout of the house to reduce the amount of the house that exceeded the city's setback requirements. They also removed the accessory structure variances from the request.
The house, according to the owners, will be around 3,200-3,500 square feet and will have five bedrooms.
The four BZA members present at the Oct. 4 meeting — Chair Lauren Gwaltney, Beverly LeBoeuf, Ty Cole and Vice Chair Brian Jarmon — approved the variance only for the portions of the house shown in the plans to exceed the setback requirements, not the full setbacks requested. This was done to prevent a later design change that might put more of the house out of compliance with zoning rules.
The BZA also approved:
- A 3.4-foot setback variance on the right side of the property at 1604 28th Ave. S., for an addition that extends part of the house already nonconforming to zoning rules.
- A setback variance for an accessory structure at 323 Gran Avenue to tear down and rebuild the home's garage, which currently doesn't meet setback rules. The variance is 3.33 feet on the right side and 2 feet on the rear.
- A 10-foot setback variance on the left side of 1610 Roseland Drive to build a carport, which the owner said is needed because of damage to vehicles caused by nuts falling from a nearby hickory tree. The variance was approved with the conditions that the carport cannot project further forward on the property than the rest of the house, and any runoff from its roof cannot flow onto the neighbor's property.
The BZA changed its next meeting date to be Thursday, Nov. 1, at 6 p.m.