Future of Homewood property sparks debate at City Council meeting

A house on Oxmoor Road across the street from The Exceptional Foundation faces an uncertain future.

Leigh and Kevin Misso approached the Homewood City Council on Monday — after a 7-0 unfavorable recommendation from the planning commission — in hopes to rezone the property at 1619 Oxmoor Road from R-5 residential to C-1(c) commercial. This rezoning would allow them to renovate the house into an office space for their business, Riverbrook Design & Construction.

Their remodeling plan leaves the existing structure as it is but would add eight to 10 parking spaces in the back. At a committee meeting Feb. 3, Kevin Misso said he and his wife currently operate their business out of an 800-square-foot office on U.S. 31 and would like to work in a larger space. They subcontract everything, he added, so materials would not be kept on-site.

“These folks live in the neighborhood,” said Trip Galloway, an attorney representing the construction business. “And they’re committed to doing it in a way that will not be intrusive to the neighbors.” 

No change in construction, other than what is depicted in the plans sent to the council, can be done without the property being rezoned, Galloway added. Even a change like screening in the front porch would require a rezoning request.

People who live in the neighborhood have mixed feelings about the rezoning. Some nearby residents who spoke at the Feb. 3 committee meeting highlighted the possibilities of increased traffic flow and a drop in property values.

“We’re all against this,” said Keat Litton, whose backyard faces the property under consideration, at Monday’s meeting. “We bought our properties not part of any commercial zoning.”

Michael Tucker, who is Litton’s next-door neighbor, voiced his concerns about the distant future of the property.

“What’s going to happen to the property if they decide to move or, God forbid, if something happens to him?” he said at the meeting. 

Mike Kendrick, the Homewood city attorney, said the property could only house an office space in the future if this passed.

Other residents spoke in favor of the rezoning. Under the property’s current zoning, a future developer could potentially turn it into a multifamily unit.

Craig Lawrence, who lives about a mile from the property, said the property will likely be flipped in the future if the City Council doesn’t approve this rezoning.

“If it were flipped to multifamily, then we would see a good deal of construction,” he said. “I take my son over there to Hero Doughnuts, and just in that general vicinity can get quite congested.” 

The current zoning would potentially allow for up to three condominium units on the property, Lawrence said.

“If we want to preserve the way the property currently is, I think it would be best to go with Riverbrook,” he said. “I think they’ve taken a lot of effort to go through all of the various steps, accommodation after accommodation, to try to make the property work as best as possible.”

Lauren Steele, who also lives in the neighborhood, said she would much rather the structure on the property look like a house than an apartment building.

The property was originally on Monday’s City Council agenda for consideration to rezone it to C-1, but the owners sent in a revised plan hours before the meeting in hopes to rezone it to C-1(c). Another public hearing has been set for March 9 to give nearby residents a chance to speak on the revised plan.

“We really need to hear from the adjacent property owners,” Ward 5 Councilwoman Jennifer Andress said. “That’s really who’s affected. … I know it’s part of our community and a very visible location, but we are very concerned about the people who live around that property.”