Homewood Planning Commission sends changes for West Homewood District to City Council for approval

The Homewood Planning Commission on Tuesday night recommended the City Council approve proposed changes to the special zoning district in west Homewood to further restrict what can be built there.

The West Homewood District includes what appear to be 27 properties along Oxmoor Road, Oak Grove Road and Scott Street.

After the Planning Commission in June approved six townhouses at the corner of Oak Grove Road and Raleigh Avenue over some residents’ objections, some City Council members say it’s time to rewrite the rules for that zoning district to prohibit townhouses, light industry and funeral homes.

Councilman Mike Higginbotham led the rewrite effort and said the only type of housing that would be permitted under the new rules would be in a mixed-use situation with a residential unit above a non-residential usage, such as a retail store or restaurant.

Also, the council wants to have the final say on approval of development plans in the West Homewood District instead of the Planning Commission. The council also recommends that requests for sign variances in the district be handled the same as any other sign variance request and that a definitive map of the zoning district boundaries be established. There are currently some conflicting maps, Higginbotham said.

The Planning Commission agreed with the proposed changes and is sending them back to the City Council for final approval in August.

Darlene Batchelor, who lives on Raleigh Avenue, said the proposed changes sound good to her. She definitely is not in favor of more townhouses in that area because that would mean more dense development and more cars.

One additional change she would make is to prohibit any more new businesses on Oak Grove Road. She’s OK with the ones that are there now, but everything else needs to stay single-family detached residential, she said.

Mildred Berryhill, who has lived in Edgecrest Estates off Oxmoor Road since 1951, said she also doesn’t want to see any more townhouses. “They don’t need to be over here,” she said. “It’d be a traffic jam there every day.”

She also likes the idea of prohibiting light industrial businesses in the district. She’d rather see more neighborhood-friendly businesses, like restaurants, she said. But she doesn’t want any more businesses creeping further into existing neighborhoods, she said. She already has seen too many houses converted into businesses, she said.

Bob Barker, who owns the Big Color banner and sign business and Barker Advertising business on Oxmoor Road, said he also likes the direction the city is going with the West Homewood District.

The transformation of the neighborhood to include new, trendy businesses such as Nexus Fitness, Pizzeria GM and Seeds Coffee Co. was happening organically without city involvement, but the city has stepped in with some regulations to complement that development and aid in the transformation rather than let the growth run rampant, Barker said.

Everything the city has done so far seems aimed at improving the appearance of the district, softening some of the hard edges and making the property there more marketable, he said.

“It’s hard to not like what’s happening around here when I see my property value going up,” he said. “This property is worth a lot more now than when I bought it 10 years ago. … I don’t see how anybody could be unhappy with that.”

Regarding townhouses in the district, Barker said people have to live somewhere, but he understands why the city would want businesses on the ground floor of any new residential development. They add more to the tax base of the city, he said.

Councilman Britt Thames said Tuesday night that some city officials have started discussions with a consultant about possibly giving the West Homewood District a wholesale overhaul or perhaps even scrapping it altogether.

Liz Ellaby, who lives on Cobb Street near the district, said she likes having the special zoning district and would like to see the city give it a chance to do what it was designed to do.

Regardless, Higginbotham said the council wants to move quickly with the proposed changes already on the table to get the new limitations in place before a 120-day moratorium on new construction in the West Homewood District expires on Oct. 14.

The proposed changes to the West Homewood District now likely will be heard by the council’s Planning and Development Committee on Aug. 5 and the full City Council on Aug. 12, unless the committee decides a delay is needed for more review or revisions, Higginbotham said.