Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Andy Virciglio, owner of the Piggly Wiggly grocery store in Homewood, Alabama, speaks to the Homewood City Council about plans for constructing a new store on Courtney Drive on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.
The Homewood City Council on Monday night voted 10-0 to rezone property on Courtney Drive from an office district to a neighborhood shopping district to accommodate a new Piggly Wiggly store, but the store’s development plan narrowly passed with a 6-4 vote.
Nearly every seat in the council chambers was full, but most of the people who got up to speak were there were for a different topic — the rezoning of the Second Presbyterian Church on Columbiana Road to make way for a medical office building.
On the split vote for the Piggly Wiggly project, the lone bone of contention was the location of the grocery’s loading dock. Neighbors near or along Courtney Drive wanted the loading dock on the north end of the building; the developer said the best location is the south end of the new 27,650-square-foot building.
Image courtesy of city of Homewood.
This is the development plan approved for the new Piggly Wiggly store in Homewood, Alabama. The Piggly Wiggly store is in purple, and the loading dock will be on the south side of the building along Courtney Drive.
Store owner Andy Virciglio repeated his plan to hire a flagman to direct traffic as delivery trucks arrive. Councilwoman Melanie Geer called that plan “unsustainable,” adding that too much was being placed in a tight corner. Developer Murray Legg said putting the loading dock on the south end of the building is best, considering that the CVS drugstore refused to move from its current spot.
Legg added that the current Piggly Wiggly is much smaller and lacks storage space. The new store will have storage, thus allowing for fewer deliveries.
Council members voting in favor of the development plan (with the loading dock to the south) were Andy Gwaltney, John Hardin, Walter Jones, Barry Smith, Andrew Wolverton and Alex Wyatt. Council members opposed were Geer, Nick Sims, Jalete Nelms and Jennifer Andress. Carlos Aleman was absent.
But the topic that dominated the meeting was the rezoning of Second Presbyterian Church at 1300 Columbiana Road, with more than 25 people voicing opinions.
The line of speakers stretched to the back of the room and stretched the meeting beyond three hours.
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
People line up to speak about the proposed rezoning of Second Presbyterian Church in Homewood, Alabama, to accommodate a medical office building during a Homewood City Council meeting on Monday, Nov. 6, 2023.
“If anyone wants to come speak, we let them speak,” Council President Alex Wyatt said after the session. “We try to be respectful of everyone's time, and this is when we do time limits. But, yes, anyone who wants to come speak, we let them speak.”
The congregation of Second Presbyterian has dropped to nine members who say they can no longer afford to operate the church, opting to merge with Edgewood Presbyterian. Parishioners are selling the property, and the highest bid came from developer Eric Rogers of Progressive Properties, whose plan is to build a 20,125-square-foot single-story medical office building.
Most who spoke endorsed ABC Child Care, which operates in the building, continuing to serve its clientele, even though that wasn’t on the table for consideration.
“The tricky part, for lack of a better word, is that the city can't be involved in who the owner should sell to, who the property should go to or what tenants should be on a property,” Wyatt said. “That's not within our purview. Our purview is simply about zoning and use. We were trying to keep the discussion to those topics that were relevant to the zoning issue.”
Photo by Solomon Crenshaw Jr.
Second Presbyterian Church in Homewood, Alabama
When the final speaker had her say, the lawyer representing the applicant asked that the matter be held over until the next council meeting. Many in the audience – some with young children – were disappointed the lengthy public discourse didn’t result in a conclusion.
“It shows that the applicant cares about what they heard tonight,” Wyatt said. “We've had occasions where we have done this sort of thing and continue things so that people who have differing views can talk and see if they can come up with some resolution to the issues that were brought up. Certainly, if that can happen, the council is always interested and hopeful that it can.”
The council president said the panel doesn’t want to jump ahead and do something that would prevent an agreement, or prevent a better resolution.
“It doesn't always happen, but we want to at least give them that opportunity,” Wyatt said. “I think that the fact that they requested that means that they were listening carefully to what was going on and want to at least explore those options.”
In other action, the council:
- Accepted the bid of $689,115 from Central Alabama Asphalt for revised paving projects.
- Accepted the bid of $9,500 from Video Industrial Services for as-needed drainage pipe rehabilitation.
- Approved changes to the city’s credit card purchasing policies.
- Set 4:30 p.m. on Dec. 11 as the date to accept bids for the second phase of the Delcris Drive sidewalk project.
- Approved a one-time offer for retiree health insurance.
- Set new criteria for approving events that will impact normal street flow and access, such as road races.
- Approved the amended development plan at 202 State Farm Parkway for the construction of Fast Pace Urgent Care, a new 3,726-square-foot single- story urgent care medical clinic.
- Set a public hearing for 6 p.m. on Dec. 11 to consider vacating Drake Street and adjacent alley rights of way for the Piggly Wiggly development.
- Authorized the mayor to sign a facilities use agreement for a movie production company.
