Homewood voters will choose their next mayor and city council on Aug. 26. Candidates JJ Thomas and Nick Sims are running to represent Ward 2.
The candidates shared why they're running with The Homewood Star. Look for more question-and-answers with all candidates for office as the election season continues.
Q: How do you plan to guide development and manage growth — especially in areas adjacent to Samford University?
JJ Thomas: There are smart-growth principles we can follow that have worked well in other college towns in balancing a nearby university’s growth with community concerns. I am of the opinion most of Homewood is proud to have Samford as part of our city and wants to see it flourish. Future proposed development needs to be patient and purposeful and might be best if phased out to ensure each part involves a more detailed analysis, explanation, and public participation process.
Nick Sims: The future of Samford will be implemented by the University and not the City directly, and the Samford Horizons Master Plan indicates their future proposed land use (Samford’s plan is available online). The City’s comprehensive plan will in turn provide insight to Samford as to what the Homewood community would like to see as properties are considered for redevelopment. It’s important that Homewood residents engage in this vision building and that Homewood’s elected officials listen to its residents by incorporating their feedback into any actions taken with Samford.
To read Thomas’ full Q&A, click here. See Sims’ full Q&A here.
