File photo
A house under construction in Homewood, Alabama.
The Homewood City Council on Monday is scheduled to consider a proposal to increase building permit fees for detached single-family homes by $20 to help fund the Alabama Construction Trade Academy.
The new fee, if approved, would only apply to permits associated with construction of new detached single-family homes and would not apply to permits related to multi-family or commercial projects or permits for additions, renovations or accessory structures.
The Alabama Construction Trade Academy is a new academy established to help address a shortage of skilled workers in the residential construction industry. It provides training for high school students and adults interested in home construction. The academy is asking cities in central Alabama to help fund the initiative.
Some cities in the Birmingham area, including Hoover and Vestavia Hills, already have approved the new building permit fee.
The Homewood City Council also on Monday is scheduled to consider whether to:
- Support Jefferson County’s application for a Safe Streets and Roads grant for a project that includes improvements on Oxmoor Road in Homewood. The county is asking for Homewood to commit to pay 10% of the costs of the Oxmoor Road part of the project.
- Give the city manager authority to transfer up to $50,000 from one city department to another as needed and give department heads authority to transfer up to $10,000 from one project in their department to another project in their department as needed.
- Give Donna Dowling, a resident on Pamona Avenue, permission to extend a private residential fence slightly onto city-owned property
- Set a public hearing for June 8 on a request to rezone property at 2773 and 2777 BM Montgomery St. from a C-2 neighborhood shopping district to a C-4 central business district to permit the renovation and reuse of existing buildings for the development of a health fitness center
- Set a public hearing for June 22 to consider a request to vacate a portion of an unnamed alley next to 200 Virginia Drive
Monday’s City Council meeting is scheduled for 6 p.m. at Homewood City Hall. See the full action meeting agenda.
A work session is set to begin at 5 p.m. and include a mid-year budget review and a request for the council to consider approving an early retirement incentive. See the full work session agenda here. Some work session items could be added to the action meeting agenda.
