Photo courtesy of Samford University.
Samford University
Samford University and the Homewood City Council are discussing a new agreement that would limit the university's purchase and rezone of neighboring residential properties for five years.
The agreement, introduced in the council's planning and development committee on July 1, is a followup to the seven-year moratorium on buying and rezoning residences, which Samford agreed to after a controversial residence hall project in 2011.
Ward 4 Councilor Alex Wyatt, who is the city's liaison with Samford, said the new agreement would include a geographic restriction, so the university could only attempt to purchase homes contiguous to its north boundary (along Saulter Road and Windsor Boulevard), Cornelius Drive, Currie Way and along Lakeshore Drive between the western end of the campus and 330 Lakeshore Drive.
The new agreement would also limit students living in the houses and would prevent Samford from seeking rezoning of any of these properties away from residential use for five years.
Buck Brock, Samford's executive vice president, told the planning and development committee that Samford has been purchasing nearby homes for many years. Most of those are used to house faculty or staff, and he said the campus has reduced the number of students living on those properties in recent years.
Brock said the university has no plans included in its 20-year master plan to change the use of those houses and said they act as a buffer for the neighborhood from the rest of campus. He said the university administration has no plans for a public entrance on the north side of campus.
“We have absolutely no plan beyond that at this point,” he said.
Samford has increased enrollment regularly, with 5,600 students currently enrolled and a future goal of 6,000, but Brock said that growth can be contained within the university's current footprint and with changes to housing policy to allow older students to live off-campus.
However, several councilors at the meeting questioned the purpose of buying so many properties if Samford did not have future plans to incorporate them more fully into the campus.
Ward 3 Councilor Walter Jones, who voted against Samford's rezoning for new dorms in 2011, said he had heard the same arguments about providing a buffer at that time, as well. He said the council has recently heard complaints about the buffer being adequate on the north side of the university, especially with bare trees in winter.
Ward 1 Councilor Andy Gwaltney doubted whether the university's plans for its residential properties would stay the same with its long-term growth and whether they might make rezoning requests as soon as the end of their 20-year master plan.
“My main concern is just protection of the NPD [Neighborhood Preservation District zoning]” from encroachment, Gwaltney said.
Brock said Samford's acquisition of the Southern Progress building and an office building on Lakeshore Drive in 2014 give it adequate room to accommodate its current plans, but he said he could not speak on behalf of future administrators or boards of trustees.
However, he noted that after the five-year agreement expires, the council would still have control of approving rezoning requests.
Planning and development committee members received copies of the proposed agreement to read and make recommendations for the next meeting's discussion in two weeks.
Several new ordinances were also brought up during the July 1 committee meetings, including:
- An ordinance regulating the aesthetics of new small cell antennae installed in the city. The small cell technology is used by phone companies for 5G and for supporting their existing networks. Ward 1 Councilor Britt Thames said he has seen other cities make the poles lower or incorporate them into decorative streetlights to be less intrusive and conceal the equipment, and he would like Homewood to have standards in place. Representatives from AT&T and Verizon both told the planning and development committee that they were willing to work with the city on appearance and have matched other city's standards. The committee planned to look at sample ordinances and begin drafting one for Homewood.
- An ordinance preventing people from blocking driveways with vehicles or debris. Wyatt said the city does not have such an ordinance in place and therefore has no way to prevent that from happening. The public safety committee will determine limits on the ordinance, including how far on either side of a driveway parking will be prohibited, and bring a draft to its next meeting.
- Possible changes to city codes to address noise, parking and other complaints caused by large numbers of unrelated people living in houses. While the city cannot reduce the limit of unrelated people allowed to live together — currently limited to three or less — because of the Fair Housing Act, the special issues committee is looking at ways to better police landlords who exceed that limit. Committee members said enforcement would be difficult, but they carried over the discussion to consider their options.
