Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Homewood Councilwoman Jennifer Andress talks during a committee meeting on Monday, Dec. 18, 2023, as Councilman Nick Sims listens.
The word is out about the Homewood City Council and requests for variances to the city’s sign ordinance, Councilwoman Jennifer Andress said Monday night.
“I won't tell you where I got this information, but somebody that has been before us within the last few weeks [said], ‘Everybody knows when you go to Homewood, you ask for 12 variances, and they'll give you six,’” Andress said during a Homewood council Planning and Development Committee meeting.
Council President Alex Wyatt said it’s not hard to notice that people requesting sign variances start with a long list of requested variances.
“Magically, during the request, they're able to tell us which signs they're willing to cut back on to get to what they wanted originally,” Wyatt said. “They didn't want to start there because we would have cut that down.
“The point is until we start just saying [that] we're not giving variances, none of this stuff really matters a whole lot,” he said. “The real thing is we’ve got to stop giving variances.”
A meeting of the full City Council followed committee meetings, and when the evening of meetings was done, Wyatt said sign ordinances should be set in stone. But a large number of variances makes the resulting ordinances less concrete.
“They [sign ordinances] are cast in stone, but they allow for variances, which is not unlike any other ordinance,” the council president said. “The issue is because we give so many variances, it makes the enforcement of the ordinance difficult. Instead of looking at the ordinance and saying this is what's important for signs, you have to sort of look at the ordinance and then you have to look at what else has been approved to try to be consistent and those sorts of things. It becomes less certain and predictable.”
The council on Monday night set a public hearing for Jan. 29 to consider amendments to the city’s sign ordinance. Earlier, the council heard a request for multiple sign variances for Hero Restaurant at 1726 28th Ave. S.
“I can live with the second Hero sign,” Wyatt said. “I’m getting to the point now where I just want to say no to all sign variances. Three extra wall signs, I personally don’t see the need for them.”
The council approved a variance for one additional wall sign.
In other business, the council:
- Set a public hearing for Jan. 8 to consider approval of the amended development plan at 800 Lakeshore Drive for Samford University to be permitted to build a five-story, 515-bed freshman residence hall.
- Agreed to amend the 2022-23 budget. City Clerk Melody Salter said the approved action cleans up the recently completed fiscal year. The adjustment was required because sales tax was greater than what was budgeted.
- Agreed to pay Southeastern Seal Coating $166,415 to build the second phase of a sidewalk on Delcris Drive
- Set 4:30 p.m. on Jan. 8 as the deadline for submitting bids for the Reese Street sidewalk project.
- Authorized the mayor to write a letter to the Alabama Department of Transportation for additional exterior lighting at the Greenway Phase II parking lot. The bid total is $138,652, and Homewood's share is 20% (about $27,730).
- Created and filled the position of information and technology director.
- Created a position for a personal computer network technician.
- Added the position of administrative supervisor to the Homewood Inspections and Permits Department. Wyatt Pugh, who leads the department, said Stephanie Suttles will be promoted to fill that position.
- Set a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Jan. 8 for requested sign variances at South Point Bank.
- Set a public hearing for 6 p.m. Jan. 29 for amendments to the city zoning ordinance.
The next Homewood City Council meeting is Jan. 8. The meeting will follow a series of council committee meetings with the first of those meetings, for the Finance Committee, scheduled for 4:30 p.m.
