Planning and development committee to discuss changes to Neighborhood Preservation District zoning ordinance

The city council has decided further discussion is needed for a set of proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance for the city's Neighborhood Preservation District (NPD).

The changes have been under discussion since May. After a work session was held on July 19, the proposed changes are as follows:

• Vertical height would be measured from the first floor at the front door to the building's highest parapet or ridge on the roof. This does not include chimneys or elevator bulkheads. Currently, building height is determined by measuring from the ground floor to the roof midpoint on all four sides and taking the average.
• On lots under 55 feet in width, the minimum side setback for a building would be five feet on one side and nine feet on the other, depending on setbacks of adjacent lots. On lots over 55 feet wide, the proposed side setbacks are 10 feet on each side. The current ordinance has a middle category of a nine-foot setback on each side of houses on lots 56 to 65 feet wide, and the 10-foot setbacks only apply to houses on lots wider than 66 feet.
• Remove the restriction that upper floors must have a 10-foot minimum side setback.
• Change maximum building height to 29 feet for buildings on lots 55 feet wide or less, and 35 feet for buildings on lots over 55 feet. This increases the height allowance for lots 55 feet wide or less, which is currently 25 feet high, and replaces the 56-65 feet, 66-75 feet and 75 feet or wider categories that are currently in place with the single 55 feet or wider category.
• Keep the minimum dwelling living area requirements. These are in the existing ordinance, but a prior draft of the proposed changes had removed them. A concern the council had previously discussed was that getting rid of these requirements would make it possible to build "tiny homes" on Homewood lots.

The planning and development committee will take up the issue for further discussion at its Aug. 1 meeting. The agenda will be posted at homewoodal.net.

At the July 25 council meeting, the council also voted to terminate a previous resolution giving a resident access to work in the alleys near Ridgewood Place, Lakewood Drive and Sunset Drive. The resolution had previously been granted so a homeowner could take his trash to the street through the alley rather than his steep driveway.

However, Ward 3 Representative Walter Jones said he received calls from neighbors concerned that buffer trees and bamboo are being removed in the alley. The council wanted more time to find a good solution for the residents, so they voted to terminate the agreement and send the issue to the public works department.

While the homeowner has 10 days before the termination goes into effect and could choose to continue removing the vegetation, the council is hoping he will stop while they talk through possible solutions. The homeowner will have to restore the alleyway to a similar condition to its state prior to being granted access, and Jones said he hopes this will encourage the homeowner not to cut down more trees that he may have to replace later.

The council also:

• Approved funding $38,160 for phase 2 of odor testing in West Homewood.
• Approved an easement at 2908 18th St. S. for the owners of Scoops and Jersey Mike's to build a level area on the sidewalk for easier access.
• Approved a sign variance for Mayfair Apartments, 3450 Manor Drive, to construct two six-foot, internally lit signs to replace their current single sign.
• Approved the appointment, notification and payment of poll workers for the 2016 municipal elections.
• Approved a fence ordinance variance for 1717 Shades Park Drive, pending approval by the city that the fence won't impact sight distance for drivers.
• Approved $10,800 to place two flashing speed limit signs on Saulter Road.
• Approved a change to employee and retiree 457 Plans with Nationwide, allowing them to borrow from their accounts and repay them.
• Approved a three-year copier lease with Konica Minolta.
• Approved the mayor to enter a settlement with Alabama Furniture Market for roughly $900. Homewood was one of several cities to sue for taxes owed after it was determined that the business did need to pay sales tax in the city.
• Approved an extra $2,500 in spending on downtown signage, now totaling up to $6,000, due to a new vendor being chosen after the former one went out of business.
• Amended the budget to reflect emergency purchases the mayor made for the police and fire department. Mayor Scott McBrayer said the purchases were for additional protection equipment he felt was needed after recent police deaths in other cities.
• Amended an ordinance regarding street and sidewalk excavation so that money issues are handled through the city clerk's office.
• Amended the current city budget to account for extra chlorine needed at the city pools.
• Set an Aug. 15 bid opening date for purchasing license plate readers.
• Set an Aug. 22 public hearing for a rezoning application at 822 Columbiana Road. The owner wants to zone from Office Building District to Attached Dwelling Unit District to construct four townhouse units.
• Set a bid opening date for city paving projects on Sept. 19.
• Elected Bruce Limbaugh, Mike Higginbotham, Patrick McClusky and Alex Wyatt to their 2016-2020 city council positions, as all four ran unopposed.