Illustration by Melanie Veiring
Photo courtesy of Chris Lane for Homewood
Chris Lane is running to represent Ward 3 on Homewood City Council in the 2025 municipal election.
Chris Lane, a longtime Homewood resident and local business owner, is running for the Ward 3 seat on the Homewood City Council. Lane is the founder of C Lane Company, a Homewood-based business recognized as one of the Southeast’s leading produce distributors.
His campaign emphasizes increasing transparency, expanding public involvement, and pursuing reforms in how the city operates. Lane also prioritizes protecting Homewood’s nationally recognized school system and working collaboratively with fellow council members to help restore public trust. With a background in business leadership and a deep connection to the community, Lane aims to bring a results-driven, accountable approach to city governance. He advocates for inclusive dialogue, strategic planning, and a city government that reflects the values and voices of its residents.
Ahead of this year’s election, Lane shared his views on key issues with The Homewood Star.
Q: What motivated you to run for office in Homewood’s 2025 election?
Homewood is a city full of good people who want the same thing — a community that works, leadership they can trust, and a future that feels steady. But over the past few years, that trust has been tested. Too often, important decisions are made behind closed doors — and by the time citizens realize they should care, it’s already too late. When I ran for mayor in 2020, we pushed for meaningful changes including — more transparency, more accountability, and a better way of doing business. Those things were promised during the campaign but other than a new website there has been little visible change. And we still have work to do. After a lot of thought and conversation, I decided to run to represent my neighbors in Ward 3. My priorities are to stay grounded in what’s best for the people who live here and that includes protecting the heart of our community: our businesses, our neighborhoods, and most importantly our schools.
Q: How do you plan to improve communication between city leadership and residents?
I would proactively communicate with residents about city projects, early in the process, to help shape initiatives that may affect their neighborhoods. I would host regular public forums and listening sessions. I am motivated to engage with anyone at any time about any topic. That philosophy has paid rich dividends in my business throughout the years, and it can in city government as well. I believe in co-creating solutions with input from residents, businesses, city management and employees, and sometimes neighboring cities.
Q: You would be taking office during a period of significant transition. How do you view that responsibility?
Many know that I was opposed to the change of Homewood’s government, primarily because of the reduction in representation and the potential for a consolidation of power in the hands of too few elected officials. However, the voters have made a choice, and I vow to work with the City Manager, mayor and councilors to make this transition as seamless as possible. I have spoken to leaders in neighboring communities with the same Council-Manager government, and I will seek their advice for best practices with this new form of government for the benefit of Homewood.
Q: What is your vision for Homewood’s long-term future, particularly as the city approaches its 100-year anniversary?
A strong future depends on protecting what makes Homewood special today—our neighborhoods, schools and small businesses. That will be my focus. We need to address the financial issues that have been identified by the recent state audit and create a pathway to responsibly reducing our debt. These initiatives as well as plans for sensible, thoughtful and organic development will set Homewood up to flourish into the next 100 years.
Q: How do you plan to guide development and manage growth — especially in areas adjacent to Samford University?
Samford is an outstanding asset to Homewood. Their Georgian architecture makes it one of the most beautiful college campuses in the country. Samford’s developer presented some recent development plans that many residents had concerns about, including me. One of the biggest issues was the lack of full transparency from the City that these plans were being refined well before getting community input. Fortunately, the community rallied to let the City know of their concerns, but not without damage to the trust in city leadership. I believe the City and Samford can and will work cooperatively, again with community input early in the process, to do what is best for Homewood and benefits Samford. This approach also applies to development throughout the city.
Q: What is your vision for Brookwood Village, and what role should the city council play in shaping its future?
Brookwood Village was a vital part of our community for many years. Having it sit vacant for as long as it has is a liability that needs to be turned into an opportunity. Andrews Sports Medicine presented plans earlier this year to develop their facility in the space occupied by Belk. This is a good start to begin revitalizing the property. It is the job of the City to guide any proposals by developers through the proper process for vetting compliance with ordinances, such as zoning, etc. The Council should collaborate with developers and the community throughout the process. I would like to see vibrant shops and restaurants back in that space, with the possibility of some residences, but without a negative impact on our schools.
Q: How closely should Homewood collaborate with neighboring cities on regional challenges like infrastructure and business development?
Homewood is not an island. We are closely tied to our neighboring communities of Mountain Brook, Vestavia and Birmingham. I believe collaboration and coordination with our adjoining communities is healthy for Homewood, and those communities as well, to share ideas and information regarding infrastructure and development. However, I believe solutions for Homewood must fit Homewood. We have taken some steps in the recent past that involved the Regional Planning Commission which led to a rezoning plan that completely ignored input from our citizens about what they wanted for our unique downtown. The proposed plans would have been devastating to downtown. I, along with hundreds of our citizens, opposed that plan, because it didn’t protect our historic downtown. In the future, another plan, but properly scaled, could be considered. I will always get the residents’ and businesses’ input for any major projects in our City.
Q: What are your priorities for addressing stormwater management and local flooding concerns?
Homewood has an aging infrastructure that affects our residents’ daily lives. There are areas where residents have dealt with flooding for years, with the City and county falling short on some promised repairs. I will meet with residents and businesses who have been impacted by stormwater issues along with city services to coordinate solutions. I will bring those needs and ideas to the City Manager and City Council to request funding in the budget to address the near term and long term solutions needed for our community.
Q: How do you plan to support Homewood City Schools during your term?
Our schools are vital to the success of our City. I am committed to keeping Homewood schools the top-ranked in Alabama—by giving them the resources they need to continue thriving and planning for the future. I believe my role as a councilor is to get out of their way so they can keep doing what they do best. Strong schools and help create strong neighborhoods and a thriving city.
Q: In light of the recent police shooting that resulted in the death of 18-year-old Jabari Peoples, how would you approach issues of public safety and community trust?
I can’t imagine the grief Jabari Peoples’ family and friends are experiencing, and the lack of knowing exactly what occurred without knowledge of the bodycam footage only adds to their frustration and sadness. I can only say that the timely release of information such as this is the only real way to maintain trust in the community when a tragic event like this occurs. Complete transparency is the cornerstone of trust.
Lane is facing Greg Cobb, John Manzelli and Keith Young in the race to represent Ward 3 on City Council, and elections are Aug. 26 To see Cobb's views on key issues, click here. Manzelli’s comments are here, and read Young’s thoughts here.
