Jack’s to receive sign variance for renovation project

The Jack’s on 19th Street South has plans for a complete renovation of its building. After some initial confusion and a narrow vote on May 13, the Homewood City Council will have to pass a resolution approving the sign variance request at its next meeting.

The vote on May 13 was five for the variance, four against it and two abstained. City attorney Mike Kendrick said at the meeting that the council needed “a majority of those present,” or six votes, to approve the variance.

However, on May 14, Kendrick said he had reviewed the sign code and found the variance needed a simple majority of “yes” votes to be approved.

Council President Bruce Limbaugh said since the council had thought the variance did not pass during the meeting, they did not approve a resolution for it. This will have to be continued at the May 20 meeting for approval.

In April, Jack’s representatives had brought plans to the council’s special issues committee to remove its existing pole sign and replace it with signs on the front and both sides of the new building, as well as a mural of the logo on each side.

While getting rid of the pole sign would bring the property into compliance with the city’s sign code, committee members were concerned about the total square footage and number of signs on the building. Murals are considered a sign if they include the company’s branding and must comply with sign codes.

Jack’s heeded committee members’ request for a smaller sign variance request by removing the murals when they first came before the full City Council on April 22. However, council members noted that sign code meetings were underway to change some of the regulations, and they carried over the request to await the outcome of the sign code meetings that same week.

The firm working with the city on the sign code, PlaceMakers, planned to accept public comment through May 27 before drafting and refining the new code over the summer.

At the May 13 council meeting, Jack’s brought plans that removed one attached sign, which had read “All About the South,” leaving three with the company logo.

Councilors Patrick McClusky (Ward 3), Walter Jones (Ward 3), Alex Wyatt (Ward 4), Jennifer Andress (Ward 5) and Limbaugh voted in favor of granting the variance, while Ward 1 Councilors Andy Gwaltney and Britt Thames and Ward 2 Councilors Mike Higginbotham and Andrew Wolverton voted against it.

Ward 4 Councilor Barry Smith and Ward 5 Councilor Peter Wright both abstained. Wright said he abstained because his law firm, Sirote & Permutt, represents Jack’s. Smith’s husband is a partner at the same firm, she said.

As part of the planned renovations, Jack’s also received a variance to put landscaping in the alleyway between the restaurant and Demetri’s in order to meet city landscaping requirements, as the new building would take up more parking and landscaping space than the current building. That variance also passed narrowly, in a 4-3-1 vote.

On May 13, the council also:

• Approved a contract with Volkert Engineering for a citywide traffic study. It will cost $100,000, 20% of which will be paid by the city.
• Voted to join the League of Municipalities in opposing a bill currently in the state Legislature that Smith said would remove the city’s ability to control the types and locations of wireless and utility poles in the city’s right-of-way, putting that power in the state’s hands instead.
• Approved a sampling survey of the city’s trees, to be conducted by the Homewood Environmental Commission with volunteer help.
• Approved a drainage pipe from 501 Woodland Drive to Griffin Creek due to flooding issues at the property.
• Approved crosswalks at the intersection of Oxmoore Road with Edgeknoll Drive and Edgeknoll Lane.
• Approved a stop sign at the intersection of Gainswood Road and Grace Street.
• Approved closure of Oak Grove Road from Raleigh Avenue to Hall Avenue on June 1 and Aug. 24, from 4 to 9 p.m., for the West Homewood Streetfest and the Back to School Bash.
• Approved a retail beer and wine license for Greenhouse, opening at 1017 Oxmoor Road Suite 111.
• Approved revisions to the city’s employee drug policy to keep up with changes in federal law.
• Referred a change in the city’s codes, which would limit hotel stays to 180 days or less, back to the special issues committee. The change had previously been voted out of the committee and recommended by the Planning Commission on May 7, but the council decided to hold further discussion.
• Set June 10 public hearings for a number of issues: a fence variance at 3 Ventura Drive, a driveway variance at 416 Devon Drive and sign variances at 251 Lakeshore Parkway Suite 101, 3500 Independence Drive and 190 West Oxmoor Road.
• Dropped a request for financial incentives for Samford University’s new football stadium, as the school decided to seek the funds through private donations instead.
• Dropped a request for a fence variance at 1575 Valley View Circle, as the owners decided to keep the fence within its allowed area.
• Dropped a fence variance request at 612 Hambaugh Ave., as the new homeowners decided to take down the existing 6-foot fence and replace it with a 4-foot picket fence that matches the variance the council had granted to the previous owners.
• Set interviews on Wednesday, May 15, for the four applicants to the Ward 2 Board of Education seat.
• Appointed Abraham Odrezin to the Ward 3 Homewood Enviromental Commission seat.
• Re-appointed Donna Burgess and Cindy Smith and appointed Kenyatta Hardy to at-large seats on the city’s Health Board.
• Re-opened the application period for the Education Building Redevelopment Authority Board at-large seat until June 10, due to lack of applicants.

The council’s next meeting is on May 20.