Residents, business owners hear update on zoning, sign ordinances
During a 30-minute presentation, residents and business owners in Homewood heard about the changes made to drafts of both a new zoning and a new sign ordinance.
Susan Henderson with PlaceMakers, who is being paid to help draft the new ordinances, told owners there were several changes in regards to the intensity zones proposed in the zoning ordinance, as well as sign regulations in the sign ordinance. The goal of the work is to closely tie the city’s zoning and sign ordinances in order to be more user-friendly as well as help make Homewood aesthetically pleasing.
Zoning Ordinance
Since the first public meeting in late April, Henderson said there have been some property owners on Central Avenue who asked to be included in one of the three proposed intensity zones, so that road has been included in the zones, with much of the businesses along the road placed in the low-intensity zone.
Business owners who are not already included in one of the zones, which each come with different rules and regulations, can speak with PlaceMakers to learn what the pros and cons are for their business.
There have also been some changes made to individual zones:
- Low-Intensity: Setbacks have been increased in size and have been adjusted to make them more similar to an urban format. In addition, the previous draft limited the building size to three stories with an attic or basement, but now, that has been lowered to two stories.
- Medium-Intensity: In order to address concerns about the historic nature of 18th Street along 28th Avenue and Reese Street, buildings will be limited to three stories, while the rest of the medium-intensity zone will allow for buildings with four stories.
- No changes were made to the high-intensity zones, which allow for five-story buildings, Henderson said.
Low-intensity zoning is intended to “provide a transition in building scale and use from the main street character of middle-intensity [zoning] and the city-center character of high-intensity [zoning] into the surrounding neighborhoods,” according to the draft ordinance.
Medium-intensity zoning is intended to “enhance the main street character of 18th Street and create a similar character in other areas of downtown,” and consists mainly of “mixed-use development with shop fronts along [streets] with large sidewalks.”
High-intensity zoning is the “core” of downtown Homewood and consists of mid-rise buildings.
Instead of creating the required open space in front of their buildings [5% of the gross lot area for public use], business owners in whose development is larger than one net acre can pay a fee that will go toward streetscape improvements on a-grid streets within the high-intensity district, Henderson said.
Comment on the zoning ordinance can be submitted online through July 31.
Business owner Chuck Kelly said he thought the proposed ordinances were a good step forward for the city. The regulations will help hold everyone to the same standard, he said.
The draft of the ordinance can be found at heartofhomewoodplan.com, where residents can also submit comments through Aug. 7.
Sign Ordinance
Changes to the draft of the sign ordinance include separating Brookwood Mall and Wildwood Centre from other districts, as they already have existing regulations due to being existing developments.
After the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in Reed v. Town of Gilbert, municipalities must remain “content-neutral” on sign regulations. Because of that, the content of a sign cannot be regulated by the city.
Restrictions and regulations are in the ordinance for various types of signs, including temporary signs, like political or realtor signs. No signs are allowed in the public right-of-way, meaning temporary signs must be on someone’s property, not in the street.
The full text of the ordinance can be found at homewoodsigncode.com.