City Council meeting, Sept. 8, 2014

DIscussions posted in a local forum leaked unpleasantly into post-council announcements tonight. Click image to enlarge.

Michael Hallman tonight, during an informal announcement period following council adjournment, surprised spectators and those on the dais by announcing that he was sick and tired of being discussed negatively in an unnamed “blog” by an unnamed fellow council member. As the council president was asking if he could please hear the personal dispute privately, Mr. Hallman shot back that he had not gotten any response to his previous emails about the matter. He had also complained, with no satisfactory answer, about unprofessional texts from this same council member, and was tired of it, he said.

Although Mr. Hallman didn’t name the accused council member, it would appear that the blog in question is al.com’s Homewood Forum http://www.al.com/forums/homewood/index.ssf, where councilman Fred Hawkins, using his real name as a handle, is a familiar commenter and most recently criticized Mr. Hallman’s habit of abstaining from votes relating to former employers (ALDOT) or people he knows through work. Mr. Hallman ended tonight’s awkward moment by basically saying he would vote any way he wanted. The issue didn’t play out further.

In other news, also involving Mr. Hawkins, a developer has shown interest in buying the city-owned property on Oxmoor and Oak Grove roads intended as project to showcase the new West Homewood Village building designs.

Members present: Michael Hallman, Britt Thames, Fred Hawkins, Vance Moody, Patrick McClusky, Walter Jones, Barry Smith, Heather Reid, Peter Wright, and council president Bruce Limbaugh. Mayor Scott McBrayer was also absent.

Members absent: Richard Laws.

Staff present: City clerk Linda Cook, city attorney Mike Kendrick, mayor’s chief of staff J. J. Bischoff, city code enforcement officer Scott Cook, and city Building, Engineering and Zoning manager Greg Cobb.

Audience attendance: About 26.

Filled a BZA board seat: The council approved the reappointment of Lauren Gwaltney to the Ward 1 of the Board of Zoning Adjustments.

Approved minutes of the July 14, 2014 meeting. 

Old business

Passed a variance for more and larger signs at Alabama Outdoors:
The long-standing outdoor outfitter on 3054 U.S. 31, near CVS, will be remodeling the familiar building to add a tower on the south end, and more and larger signage. The business asked for four signs, including three replacements and one large sign facing the highway that spells out the name in brushed aluminum letters against a timber background. In all, the business requested nearly three times the square footage allowed, and one sign in addition to the three commonly allowed in that area. One of the fours signs will be over the entrance, which faces the back parking lot.

Dropped a request for a sign variance at a Chinese restaurant: A request for a variance at a storefront Chinese restaurant at 24 Green Springs Highway (near Pizza Hut) was dropped with no reason given. 

Allowed more time for a property owner to cut back weeds: While sometime stifling smiles, the council listened as Charles Thompson of Vestavia defended the presence of bamboo, monkey grass and privet at 708 Carr Avenue, a vacant parcel he co-owns and which acts as a back yard for a rental property, also owned by him. Mr. Thompson had cleared the offending overgrowth, he said, and read aloud the dictionary definition of “privet” as a plant affording privacy on the fence. The real issue was that he had cut back the overgrown area after the city took the most recent picture. He was given until the next meeting to clear up the property.

Postponed a public nuisance case to give time for clean up: The council carried over a pending public nuisance case at 2831 16th Place South and 2827 16th Place South, owned by the same person, to give time to finish a clean-up of overgrown weeds, in progress.

A Google Maps aerial view of Dorothy McDaniel building shows the existing parking and grassy area to be converted to parking for a new building tenant. Click image to enlarge.

Set a Sept. 22 hearing before two rezoning cases: The council and public will hear the justification for rezoning vacant property at 1728 26th Avenue South from R-7 (Attached Dwelling Unit District) to C-2 (Neighborhood Shopping District) to expand parking for a tenant of the former Dorothy McDaniel building; and to amend a Final Development Plan in the MXD (Mixed Use District) for a live/work structure being built at 1659  28th Avenue South. Both cases were approved for recommendation by the Planning Commission, although the second case had one dissenting vote.

Declared surplus police vehicles for auction on a first reading: After getting unanimous consent, the council declared a series of police vehicles surplus property to be auctioned.

Looking north to Oxmoor Road where the city owns a vacant corner lot, this section of Oak Grove Road by Patriot Park in West Homewood is slated for parking improvements. An unnamed developer has shown interest in purchasing the lot and a price will be negotiated by the city attorney. Click image to enlarge.

Approved pursuing a sales contract for property at Oak Grove Road: The city-owned property at the corner of Oxmoor Road and Oak Grove Road apparently has a buyer. The highly visible corner lot–a former gas station that was environmentally cleared from any underground tank leakage– was purchased by the city to be sold as a “catalyst development” in the new redevelopment. The motion approved allows the city attorney to negotiate a price. Meanwhile, engineering work is finally proceeding on parking improvements planned nearby on both sides of Oak Grove Road next to Patriot Park and a virtually vacant commercial building. The delay is due to the council’s conflict over the scope of work with the first firm, which led to a dispute over cost and a change of vendors.

Committee Referral Agenda

In one vote, the council referred several items to committees, as follows:

To Finance – 1) To consider funding street lights on Berry Road, 2) To consider funding longevity pay and bonuses for full-time employees, contingent on ending the year with a surplus, 3) To consider unspecified FY2014 budget amendments, and 4) To consider a transit funding project (added).

To Special Issues– To consider a sign variance at 411 Green Springs Highway.

A Google Maps image shows the location of a residence requesting annexation to Homewood. Click image to enlarge.

To Planning and Development – 1) To consider annexing a residence at 1709 Hillbrook Drive, 2) To consider vacating portions of 18th Street South between 2501, 2513 and 2517 addresses, (an unused road) and 3) To consider rezoning 4+ acres of wooded land at 2501, 2518 and 2517 18th Street South from C-2 (Commercial) to I-2 (Institutional) for the Islamic Academy, in Rosedale.

The blue outline shows the acreage recently purchased just west of the Islamic Academy and subject of a rezoning request. No development plans have been made public at this point. Click image to enlarge.

Set an Oct. 13 public hearing for the Islamic Academy rezoning request.

Set a Sept. 22 public hearing for a sign variance at 411 Green Springs Highway (Public shopping center).

Paid the bills: The council approved paying invoices presented Aug. 25-Sept. 5, 2014.

City Council meeting, Aug. 25, 2014

Newly appointed council member Barry Smith goes over the swearing in procedure with Jefferson County Probate Judge Alan King. City Clerk Linda Cook awaits, zinnias in hand.

No current employees should worry about their jobs, down-sizing, or pay cuts, the mayor told the council tonight in his annual budget presentation. And that was the good news. The bad news was that the budget is a tight one, with no COLA, longevity or annual bonuses for employees unless the year finishes with a surplus. The news got a little worse for past employees when the council later denied by a 9-1 vote an optional lump-sum bonus payment to retirees the state Legislature approved earlier this year. See more, below.

Mayor’s budgets 2014 (current) compared to 2015. The mayor’s budget is amended and adopted by the city council before the Oct. 1 start of the fiscal year.

With $9.7 million in community center expenses completed, the mayor’s overall $55,733,622 budget this year compares nearly identically to one presented last year at $63,832,344, and in which the $40,778,205 proposed General Fund spending is only slightly ahead of the $40,020,937 presented for FY 2014. The Finance Committee now has the month of September to review and amend the budget before the full council votes on the final version. The budget year begins Oct. 1.

With the budget review looming, the council took time tonight to welcome newly appointed member Barry Smith (who was appointed to the Public Safety, Special Issues and Planning & Development committees, but was excused from the Finance Committee).

Members present: Michael Hallman, Britt Thames, Fred Hawkins, Vance Moody, Patrick McClusky, Walter Jones, Barry Smith, Heather Reid, Richard Laws, and Peter Wright. Also present was mayor Scott McBrayer.

Members absent: Council president Bruce Limbaugh.

Staff present: City clerk Linda Cook, city attorney Mike Kendrick, mayor’s chief of staff J. J. Bischoff, and code enforcement officer Scott Cook.

Audience attendance: About 30.

Approved minutes of June 23, 2014.

Appointed an Industrial Development Board member: Jon Berkery was appointed to an at-large seat on the board.

Mayor’s school revenue budgets compared by year.

Heard the mayor’s annual budget presentation: The overview, posted on the city’s website, includes an estimated $15,146,910 for the school system, compared to $15,424,656 presented last August, in the current budget. The schools would receive $7,932,000 from dedicated sales tax and $7,214,910 from property tax, according to the estimate.

Passed the following measures in a single, “consent” vote:  Dropped a request for a pedestrian cross walk across Shades Creek Parkway following a funding denial by ALDOT; and dropped considering a traffic issue on Valley View Circle, which was resolved by prohibiting parking on both sides of the street.

Approved adding parking, lighting and sidewalks on “short” Saulter: This measure, costing $31,000 total, is meant to relieve parking congestion on Carr Avenue from GianMarco’s restaurant.

Postponed public nuisance proceeding against two properties: At the request of friends helping a homeowner clear overgrown conditions at 2831 and 2827 16th Pl. South, the council granted an extension to Sept. 22.

Sent a stop-sign request for Roseland Drive back to committee:  A traffic study didn’t warrant a 4-way stop at Roseland and East Glenwood Drive, but Mr. Thames seemed set to recommend it when it was decided to kick the matter back to the Public Safety Committee.

Approved a retail liquor license application: The council had no objection to Oak hill Bar & Grill’s state ABC Board application.

Approved hiring an investment consultant: After hearing several sales pitches, the council agreed to hire Raymond James Financial Advisors, to advise on city investments. Contract amount not discussed.

Denied 9-1 a lump-sum bonus to city retirees:  After an austere introduction to the budgeting process, words of caution from the mayor, and despite expectant retirees present in the audience, the council with just one dissension opted not to grant the payment. The bonus for 171 Homewood retirees and beneficiaries of deceased retirees vested in the Retirement System of Alabama would have amounted to $107,656 — a sum the council didn’t think it could afford. Interestingly, Homewood is a stand-out compared to other Jefferson County cities, both in terms of its high numbers of retirees and its record of denying bonuses. This information sheet shows Homewood ranking second in 21 Jefferson County municipalities, second only to Bessemer. Its estimated lump sum payout (based on $2 per every month worked) averaged about $600 per retiree.

Voting yes: Fred Hawkins voted yes, saying he was persuaded by the number of years the city had voted down a bonus (see link, above)–which is meant to help retirees keep pace with inflation. Homewood had voted yes to only three of the past 11 years that increases were allowed, compared to, say, Hoover, which voted yes in seven.

Approved vacating an alley to sell:  After granting unanimous consent for an immediate vote, the council voted to surrender possession of an alley off of Kensington Road and authorized  the city attorney to negotiate a sale price to an adjacent homeowner.

Approved more than two dozen general fund transfers: The transfers move money from various funds into various other funds to meet financial needs.

Approved a cell phone contract: The mayor was authorized to sign a contract with Verizon for an unspecified number of lines and cell phones, amounting to $18,000 for the next year.

The latest concept of parking and street improvements planned alongside Patriot Park and a small mostly-vacant strip retail building on Oak Grove Road. Most of the marked park-side spaces already exist. An engineering plan previously proposed by Walter Schoel was dropped because it was too broad in scope–and expensive.

Approved an engineering contract for work related to the first phase of the West Homewood (Village) redevelopment:  A contract with Engineering Design Technologies, Inc. was approved for professional consulting and design engineering services prior to construction. Later in the meeting, it was mentioned that a buyer may be interested in the city-owned property on Oxmoor Road at Oak Grove Road.

Abstaining: Mr. Hallman due to familiarity with company principals.

Moved the following items to committees, as follows:

To Planning and Development – Set a Sept. 22 hearing after the favorable Planning Commission recommendation to rezone vacant property  at 1728 – 26th Avenue South from R-7 (Attached Dwelling Unit District) to C-2 (Neighborhood Shopping District) by Larry Mantooth; and to consider the Planning Commission’s 6-1 favorable recommendation to amend the Final Development Plan in the MXD Zoning District at 1659 – 28th Avenue South to add a second story and other changes to a structure, by owner Abby Brock.

To Public Safety – To consider an off-premises beer license for Shell station at 2908 U.S 31; and add a two-way stop sign at Grace Street and Gainswood Road, and a third stop sign on Mecca Avenue at Frisco Street.

Who killed this oak tree? Not I, said the city. But residents at 204 Broadway want the body removed, claiming the city’s sidewalk installation damaged the trees root system.

To Finance – To consider declaring six police cruisers surplus in order to sell at auction; and to pay for a tree removal at 204 Broadway on resident’s claim that a city sidewalk installation damaged tree’s root system; to review the mayor’s budget and set a public hearing schedule for September.

To Special Issues – To consider variances to sign ordinance at 3054 U.S. 31 and a Chinese restaurant at 24 Green Springs Highway.

New business

Set Sept. 8 public hearings for the following:  For the recommended rezoning of vacant land at 1728 – 26th Avenue South from R-7 (Attached Unit Dwelling District) to C-2 (Neighborhood Shopping District) and the 6-1 vote to amend the Final Development Plan in the MXD zoning district for a building planned at 1659 – 28th Avenue South. And for For sign variances at 3054 U.S. 31 and 24 Green Springs Highway; for a public nuisance hearing for property at 708 Carr Avenue.

Made new committee assignments: Ms. Reid was assigned to Finance and removed from Special Issues and Planning and Development committees. Ms. Smith took the Public Safety, Special Issues and Planning and Development committee assignments as well as taking over as liaison to the Arts Advisory Council.

Approved filing a nuisance structure abatement lawsuit: This action is to remove or repair a structure at  1106 Irving Road, whose grounds have repeatedly been cited as a public nuisance for weeds and litter.

Paid the bills: Bills for Aug. 11- 22, 2014 were approved to be paid.

The meeting adjourned at just past 7:30 p.m.

City Council meeting, July 14, 2014

A universally admired council member tenders her resignation for a job in L.A., to almost everyone’s surprise.

From a time standpoint, tonight’s short meeting was the perfect time for Ward 4 council member Jenifer Champ Wallis to announce her resignation to take a job with a Los Angeles law firm, which she did at what seemed the close of business around 6:30. The council promptly announced the vacancy, then listened as the mayor and president read a resolution that must have been pulled together only hours earlier and which praised her for her “sensible and constructive contributions.” Wallis said later that the only people with advance word of her resignation were her ward mate and friend Heather Reid and the council president, who provided a job reference. The mayor got the heads up only today, she said.

Wallis graduated in 2005 from Cumberland School of Law and was in a downtown Birmingham practice of business law, including intellectual property rights. Her nearly two years on the council brought some polish to work that is sometimes–most of the time–tedious and unappreciated. And she and Ms. Reid appeared to work more as a team than any other two ward mates presently on the council. Council members themselves took turns expressing those very sentiments, with Fred Hawkins apologizing for having “pre-judged” Ms. Wallis and others using words like “persistence,” “boldness” and “bravery” before they got back to council business and slipped into a 10 minute closed-door session (without Ms. Wallis) to discuss “impending litigation.”

Judging by the audience presence of the America’s Best Inn & Suites owners and their lawyer, the executive session related to the legal aftermath of the city denying the business a license earlier in the year.

Members present: Michael Hallman, Britt Thames, Fred Hawkins, Jenifer Champ Wallis, Heather Reid, Richard Laws, Peter Wright, and Bruce Limbaugh, council president. Also present was Mayor Scott McBrayer.

Members absent: Patrick McClusky and Walter Jones.

Staff present:  City clerk Linda Cook, city attorney Mike Kendrick, and mayor’s chief of staff J. J. Bischoff,

Audience attendance: 17

Filled seats on the Downtown Redevelopment Authority:  The council reappointed Alex Edgeworth to the panel and appointed new members Mel McElroy, Steven Jones and Katy Lincoln.

Approve minutes: The April 14, 2014, regular meeting minutes and minutes of the rescheduled April meeting on May 5 were approved.

Looking north to Oxmoor Road where the city owns a vacant corner lot, this section of Oak Grove Road by Patriot Park in West Homewood is slated for parking improvements.

Dropped an earlier proposal for West Homewood Village work:  At a committee’s insistence, Walter Schoel Engineering agreed to drop revise a costly proposal that included preliminary engineering studies for the entire 24-parcel West Homewood (Village) Redevelopment and replace it with an estimate for an isolated street-scaping and parking project on Raleigh Avenue and Oak Grove Road around Patriot Park. However, Ward 2 councilman Fred Hawkins said the council agreed to drop consideration of Walter Schoel and seek other proposals after the company’s revised estimate came in even higher than the first estimate. No figures were made public

Approved beer and wine sales for a new grocery: The measure passed showed no objection to Mi Pueblo Mexican grocery to apply for an off-premises license for wine and beer sales.

Approved a contract for credit card payments in city court: The mayor was authorized to enter a contract with GOVT PORTAL, with fees paid by offenders, not the city, allowing basic court and traffic fines to be paid by credit card, over the phone or in person.

Committee Referral Agenda

In one vote the council moved various new issues to committees, as follows:

To Finance– 1) Amend the current year’s budget; 2) Consider a lump sum retirement pay-out to retirees and beneficiaries of the Retirement Systems of Alabama; 3) Consider a contract for ClasTran services; 4) Consider hiring Walter Schoel Engineering services for storm sewer culvert repair at 1717 27th Court South; and 5) Consider inviting proposals for city property, liability, auto liability, etc. insurance coverage.

To Special Issues – consider a sign variance at 1830 29th Avenue South before July 28 public hearing.

To Public Safety – Consider beer/wine on-or-off premises sale from Seeds coffee shop at 174 Oxmoor Road (a business of The Common Thread Community nonprofit); Consider ways to curb speeding on Valley Avenue near Vulcan; and consider parking alternatives to ease congestion on city streets.

Set a July 28, 2014, public hearing for a sign ordinance:  A variance has been requested at 1830 29th Avenue South. (for PT’s Sports Bar & Grill.)

Approved two Brookwood Village events:  The mall was approved to close Village Lane on July 31, from noon-9 p.m. for a radio-station sponsored music event, with two bands scheduled from 6-8 p.m.; and to close the street again Monday, Aug. 4 from 6-9 p.m. to accommodate a Paul Finebaum book signing at Books-a-Million.

Approved a liquor license for PT’s, at the SoHo Lovoy’s location: The vacant Lovoy’s, once looking like it would become the new Dupont Public House, will now be a resurrected PT’s Grill and Pub, owned by Charles Matsos, of Michael’s  fame, which now leases space in the Aloft hotel. The original PT’s was just across U.S. 280 from the end of Homewood’s Hollywood Boulevard.

Is that the Sims Ecoscape we keep hearing about? No, this overgrown property on Irving Road is a repeat offender on the city’s
“excessive growth” list. A July 28 hearing is set to see if this and several other overgrown properties should be declared public nuisances.

Set several July 28 public nuisance hearings: For high weeds and litter at 1106 Irving Road; 1425 Ardsley Place, 2827 16th Place South, and 3406 Avalon Road.

Paid the bills: Bills were paid without comment for the June 23-July 11, 2014, period.

Passed a resolution commending resigning council member Jenifer Champ Wallis:  

Voted to go into executive session: For the fifth time this year, the council voted to go into a closed-door, private session. The reason given is to discuss “impending litigation,” which is one of several exceptions allowed by law to the state’s requirement to keep meetings open to the public. The council returned approximately 10 minutes later, to adjourn until July 28.

FYI, Finance Committee, June 16, 2014

Oxmoor between Palisades and Barber Court will undergo major changes 2015-2017. Patriot Park, just off Oxmoor, is also set for major redevelopment.

The Finance Committee tonight took care of a lot of important business, of which just a few items are detailed here because they reflect issues brought up at previous meetings or carry a high price tag. Two of those projects affect West Homewood in particular–the Oxmoor Road improvement project–by Gonzalez-Strength & Associates, which includes major road changes from Palisades to Barber Court–and the West Homewood Village project, handled by Walter Schoel Engineering.

Due to continued public concerns about the Oxmoor Road project, James Brown of Gonzalez-Strength & Associates said an additional public input session has been scheduled for Thursday, June 26, from 4-7 p.m. at the Homewood Senior Center. The project involves changes to the Oxmoor/Green Springs intersection, both ramps of Interstate 65, de-signaling some intersections, and taking down one lane of the “turkey foot” split of Oxmoor at Cobb Street, among other improvements. As people in charge of large publicly-financed projects often do, Mr. Brown seemed to take a dim view of this latest interruption* from the public itself, and described other changes that had arisen in the long lead-up to this project:  The round-about intersection has been dropped, Cobb Street is to remain open, several buildings on Scott Street, the current Purple Onion building and the vacant Lovoy’s property (and cemetery) have been deemed historic and therefore untouchable during the construction, he said. The business at hand tonight–recommending the signing of a utilities agreement and $300,000+ right-of-way acquisition agreement–both passed. Details, below.

*To be fair, the first public input session was in May 2012.

Members present: Walter Jones, chairman, Vance Moody, Peter Wright, and Britt Thames. Also present were Heather Reid, Fred Hawkins and Bruce Limbaugh, council president.

Absent: Jenifer Champ Wallis

Audience attendance: several

Major business covered:

• The committee heard a pitch to provide investment services from the last in a series of firms that have made presentations in hopes of winning a city contract. Tonight they heard from Kassouf & Co. CPAs, with Jerry Callahan doing most of the talking. The city is interested in improving its return on investments–not an easy task in the post-recession world and with municipal policies in place to reduce risk and safeguard principal. The group suggested amending one city fiscal policy that limits the allowed investment period.
• Carried over discussing a proposed $6,500 contract with a staffing firm Mr. Thames recommended to study the city work force and make recommendations on benefits, wages, etc.
• Dropped, for now, an emergency storm water pipe and road repair bid opening due to the discovery of a Jefferson County-controlled sanitary sewer in the same area. No one wants to get tangled in the Jeffco’s sewer system. The bids will be issued later.
• The committee voted not to recommend footing the bill for extra police duty during a Nov. 1 “Homewood Rib Run/Fall BBQ Race. The event itself has already been approved, but the committee denied the special request to pay for additional security–which is  apparently routinely supplied by all other groups holding special events in city limits. Also receiving a negative recommendation was the organizers’ request for the city to provide a $1,000 sponsorship for the event.
• Voted to recommend–with the proviso that to do otherwise would kill the project–a $300,000+ estimated expenditure to buy right-of-way on the route of the Oxmoor Boulevard improvements. The measure, when passed by the council, will authorize the mayor to enter into the agreement for this, and for utilities, for the project that will make significant changes to the industrial end of Oxmoor extending west from Palisades to Barber Court. Mr. Brown, a principal with Gonzalez-Strength engineering firm, announced an additional public input session has been set for Thursday, June 26, from 4-7 p.m. at the Homewood Senior Center, due to continued concerns from residents, particularly about noise, he said. Mr. Brown said construction would begin in 2015 and last about two years, during which traffic will be pretty much a nightmare.
• Carried over the West Homewood Village kick-off project due to a substantial misunderstanding between Ward 2 representative Fred Hawkins and other council members, engineer Walter Schoel, and the city’s Engineering and Planning department. In brief, Mr. Hawkins and council members thought the $400,000 they had budgeted for the project this year was to construct street-scaping improvements around a little strip shop across Oak Grove Road from Patriot Park. Mr. Schoel, on the other hand, had presented plans for completing a master engineering plan for the entire 24-parcel West Homewood District, which also extended a good way down Oxmoor Road. Mr. Schoel explained he had followed instructions from the city’s planning department and Regional Planning Commission–who prepared the plan. In any case, it was decided he would bring a revised proposal for the specific construction project to the next committee meeting. The council was more interested in getting something built than in preparing a comprehensive plan that wouldn’t leave much money for construction this year, they said. Mr. Hawkins said most of the area on Oxmoor has already been studied and engineered; there was no need to duplicate that work.

Mid-year budget review summary, May 19, 2014

Actual General Fund revenues (blue, or left bars) collected at midyear compared to the annual budget. Bars should hit 50% mark or higher. Nearly all property taxes–98%–are collected by March of each year.

Half-way there, and more — Mid-year budget review presented to the Finance Committee

The Finance Committee last week got a look at where the city stands (or should we say “stood”) at the fiscal year’s March 31 mid-point, with emphasis on the General Fund’s $40 million annual budget and the $5 million Capital Project Fund budget. Several interesting charts reproduced here show historic trends to lend some perspective.

The 85-page report calculates 50% of departmental and fund annual budgets, then notes variations in actual spending as of March 31. The 50% mark, however, is only a guide, as most property taxes are collected by March, but sales taxes come in all year and can fluctuate. On the expense side, there are emergencies that don’t follow the calendar, and a department may spend all its yearly capital budget at the beginning of the year, for instance, without ever going over its annual budget.

The ups and downs of The Homewood sales tax collections over the last few years. How will this year compare?

There were no unpleasant surprises; in fact, important tax revenues are well ahead of projections and over $1 million ahead of where the city stood last year at the same period. However, with the 5-member Finance Committee all present, the mayor made cautionary statements about entertaining any further capital fund projects. None of the year’s high-profile projects (listed at the bottom of this report) are in danger of a budgetary ax, although some seem to be idling.

As a reference point to the review, here are the six largest departments and their annual operating budgets, according to the city’s mid-year review.

2014 Annual Budgets for the City’s Six Largest Departments
General Government    $10.7 million
Police $9.4 million
Fire $6.7 million
Park & Rec $3.8 million
Sanitation $2.3 million
Library $2.3 million

City-provided chart showing General Fund Revenue over the past six years. The 2014 budget anticipates $40 million in GF revenues for the year.

GENERAL FUND REPORT – The General Fund is the city’s source of operating money for staff salaries, contract work, supplies, utilities, travel, etc. Depending overwhelmingly on tax revenues for operations, the city draws three-quarters of its $40 million annual GF budget from retail sales, lodging, property and other levies. The rest comes from business and other licenses and permits, with less than 5% of city revenues coming from fines, services and other sources, according to the review document.

GF revenue summary – Overall, collected revenues from every source as of March 31 stood at $24.8 million, or ahead of the mid-year projection by over $4 million and more than $1 million over the $23.4 million recorded at the mid-point of FY2013. Property tax collections accounted for half the excess with notable boosts coming from sales tax and business and utility license fees.

A five-year history of city spending from the General Fund. The current year’s budget is $40 million.

GF spending summary – According to the report, only three of 16 departments tracked were spending beyond their mid-year projection–General Government, Fire, and Streets.  However, actual total spending for all departments fell neatly at the half-year projection mark, or $20,146,140 out of a theoretical $20,219,639 anticipated at mid-year.

Departments whose spending exceeded the 50% mark on March 31:

GOVERNMENT – $5.9M spent/$5.4M anticipated
FIRE – $3.4M spent/ $3.3M anticipated
STREETS – $732,413 spent/$691,276 anticipated

CAPITAL PROJECTS FUND REPORT – The city council this year budgeted $5 million for capital projects across 10 departments, drawing about 40% of revenues from taxes, another 40% from “other revenue” (interest, borrowing), and the rest from grants and other sources. So far, according to the report, the city has collected just $1 million of the $2.6 million expected at mid-year. And, while some departments have exceeded the mid-year projections*, spending overall has stayed inside the 50% mark.

The city may spend up to $75,000 repairing sections of the channelized Griffin Creek that collapsed during recent heavy rains.

Detail of departmental capital project spending at mid-year

Annual Capital budget/ Spent at mid-year

General Government $2.6M/$211,288
Inspection Svs. $176,800/$9,253
Police $1.1M/$458,178
Fire $315,881/$118,714
Sanitation* $350,000/$337,478
Library* $33,536/$16,447
Park & Rec* $210,436/$178,305
Fleet Maintenance* $54,500/$49,421
Traffic Light Maintenance* $83,530/$6,328
Finance Dept. $50,450/$3,201
TOTAL $5 M/$1.4 M

*Departments spending more than half their capital budgets at mid-year. Sanitation bought vehicles, for instance, and the library bought computers. Traffic Light maintenance has earmarked money over budget, despite low spending. P&R spent $$ on the new center, furniture, and vehicles.

Notable 2014 capital project annual budgets

Greenway II & III Design — $170,000;
Griffin Creek cleaning — $20,000
I-65 Lakeshore interchange/Engineering — $50,000
Creek Wall maintenance — $75,000
Sidewalk repairs — $81,302
Oxmoor Road Engineering/Design — $299,891
Pedestrian Bridge — $912,950
Sidewalk construction — $450,402
West Oxmoor Project Phase I — $400,000 (West Homewood “Village” public improvements)
City Traffic Plan (not budgeted) — $4,915 spent
Building Improvements — $1,500

Certain projects are federally subsidized at 80%.

 

 

 

Homewood City Council Meeting May 12, 2014

A request to rezone and redevelop as Mixed Use two vacant duplexes on B. M. Montgomery Street (right) has created a furor among Rosedale residents. The nonprofit Simon of Cyrene group plans also to build an office on the adjacent vacant lot, shown here, which is already zoned commercial.

A public hearing and proposed rezone of two duplexes in Rosedale apparently drove the night’s meeting to two hours and drew 60+ people to the proceedings, many in opposition. But a vote on the sensitive issue–which the planning commission forwarded with an unfavorable recommendation–was ultimately postponed to June, avoiding a threatened no vote for “unanimous consent” that would have postponed it anyway. Also drawing spectators–perhaps–was the final vote passing into zoning law the West Homewood (Village) District. The council adopted again this year a back-to-schools sales tax holiday for later this summer.

Members present:  Michael Hallman, Britt Thames, Fred Hawkins, Vance Moody, Walter Jones, Heather Reid, Richard Laws, Peter Wright and council president Bruce Limbaugh. Also present was Mayor Scott McBrayer

Members absent: Patrick McClusky, Jenifer Champ Wallis.

Staff present:  Linda Cook, city clerk, Mike Kendrick, city attorney, J. J. Bischoff, mayor’s chief of staff, and Greg Cobb and Vanessa McGrath, Building, Engineering, and Zoning Department staff.

Audience attendance:  70+

Approved minutes of the March 3, 2014 meeting.

Announced board vacancies/interviews: Five Ward 2 residents will be interviewed for a school board position on May 13, beginning at 5 p.m. Jill Kimbrell, Don Little, Bernard Mays, Jr., Kirk Mills and Gina Squires. Mr. Limbaugh said four applicants need to be interviewed for the Economic Development Board, to be scheduled in June.

Carried over once again:  The council carried over until June 9 the terms of a lease it will strike with the Exceptional Foundation. The Foundation will close by the end of May on two adjacent residential properties on Oxmoor Road, which it will demolish for a building expansion after a fundraising drive. The Foundation will eventually transfer ownership of the property to the city, which owns the ground the current building occupies. By law, the facility can’t be expanding across a parcel under different ownership.

Dropped a request to remove two trees for a resident: Two trees on a city alley behind 1411 Primrose Place were deemed not in danger of falling on the property, as a homeowner claimed. The request to have the city remove them was dropped.

A concept sketch of a duplex after remodeling. The Simon of Cyrene group wants to remodel two duplexes on B. M. Montgomery Street to house students interested in working on the Rosedale redevelopment project.

Delayed a motion to rezone Rosedale residential property after an hour’s public hearing: The Rosedale request to rezone residential (Neighborhood Preservation District) property at 2756 B. M. Montgomery Street to MXD (Mixed Use District) was sent to the council on an unfavorable recommendation from a Planning Commission split vote 3-3 to approve the request last month. Opposition to the request has focused on halting the encroachment of a zoning conversion of residential property, rather than problems with the redevelopment plan itself.  Monday’s hearing brought eight residents to the podium to speak against the measure and also chide developers for moving forward with their plans before involving the community residents. The opposition engaged the council for an hour before the city attorney gave a first reading of the proposed rezoning ordinance. Mr. Hawkins’ immediate motion to approve (with Ms. Reid seconding) was interrupted by Mr. Moody, who suggested carrying over the measure to June 9 to allow more conversation with the neighborhood. (It was apparent that the required unanimous consent vote would not have passed the first councilman on the roll call, Michael Hallman.)

A business partnership of developers Terry Slaughter and Tim Coker have bought up 10 lots in Rosedale for a “new urbanism” neighborhood housing and community redevelopment on behalf of the Simon of Cyrene nonprofit. This vacant lot on B. M. Montgomery Street was recently planted with blueberry bushes for community cultivation.

Preceding the decision, Mr. Limbaugh passed out drawings of the development plan, asking co-owners Tim Coker and Terry Slaughter of Vestavia to elaborate. Coker and Slaughter are partners in a venture to buy-up and rehabilitate/redevelop properties in the historically black neighborhood of Rosedale, with Mr. Slaughter working also on behalf of  the Simon of Cyrene faith-based nonprofit (a helping mWesinistry so named after the Bible figure who helped Christ carry the cross). In an interview before the meeting, Mr. Slaughter said the partnership has so far bought about 10 Rosedale properties which it hoped to redevelop one day into affordable housing in the spirit of “new urbanism” or mixing work and living spaces in neighborhoods built to promote diverse people, income levels and building types.  The property in question on Monday includes rezoning two dilapidated duplexes into a Mixed Use District, to be used as housing for students of urban planning, seminary, architecture, etc., who want to study the nonprofit’s Rosedale experiment. The MXD would accommodate converting one of the four living units into a studio workspace for the students. The partnership also plans to build a one-story office on an adjacent lot, which is already zoned commercial.

A sketch of an office planned adjacent to two duplexes for the Simon of Cyrene nonprofit. The building will be only one story, said developer Terry Slaughter, who divides his time between a marketing business and the Rosedale redevelopment project.

Mr. Coker noted the development plans were approved by the Planning Commission and cited two benefits of his proposed project:  1)  Traffic will go to the back of the street, reducing traffic on B.M. Montgomery, and 2) Placing an MXD property there will halt commercial development creeping north from Central Avenue, as commercial cannot cross MXD, he said.

Mr. Slaughter said his intent is to move his headquarters to Rosedale and spend two days a week there working in the public gardens and conducting Bible study.  He said there are other investors beside the two partners, and the partnership had invested $600,000 already in the Rosedale area. Slaughter spoke about his desire to continue to pursue his dream of a mixed-use urban renewal in the community, including a previous plan called “Moving Forward” published years ago with input from residents. One resident acknowledged she had worked with Slaughter on this. At one point, however, responded angrily to hearing continued opposition to the plan, first voiced at the Planning Commission meeting, saying he was trying to improve “crappy” structures in the area.

The opposition:  A resident at 1705 West Terrace presented 65 signatures on a petition saying residents want that street to remain residential. He cited traffic and parking problems, having limited space for the six employees at the Slaughter office.

Others felt the development showed a lack of concern for Rosedale residents. A resident of Court South expressed concern about the fate of the remaining NPD zone, saying houses should not be compromised (with mixed commercial use). Two residents asked Mr. Slaughter to work with the community first before taking plans to the council. Several talked about the encroachment of commercial development; a man spoke about the “chipping away” of Rosedale neighborhoods from 900 black families on 110 acres to now 25 acres of a remaining home community. An 81 year-old-woman raised in Rosedale said elderly residents opposed the proposed changes that she thought would put them out of their houses. Finally, a former council member of twelve years, Mr. Thomas Hamner, spoke about previous city promises to not develop any further commercial property in Rosedale.

Mr. Limbaugh said there would be restrictions on height and any future changes to a rezoned property would have to be approved again. Mr. Jones and Mr. Wright seemed to approve the plan, saying that mixed use blocks the neighborhood from full commercial zoning expansion.

At the end of the hearing, and following a first reading of the ordinance, Mr. Hawkins moved to approve the rezone, seconded by Ms. Reid. However, Mr. Moody suggested a delay and the first motion was rescinded. It was decided to carry the item over until the June 9th meeting to give developers more time to work with residents on the project.

Approved rezoning a downtown building: The council approved on the first reading a rezoning of an office building at 1628 29th Court South, from C-1, office property, to C-4, Central Business District use.  The public hearing elicited no comment. The change was to allow a Pilates class to be taught in one of the suites.

 

The council passed the West Homewood village concept on Monday, May 12, 2014. The new building codes go into effect immediately, but with existing properties grandfathered to former zoning, the transformation may take decades to fully develop.

Approved the West Homewood District rezoning. The council passed the rezoning of 24 commercial properties (some previously mis-zoned and including at least one house being used as a residence) to create the West Homewood District. Mr. Hawkins asked Ms. McGrath to clarify that: 1) No roadway changes by ALDOT were in consideration within this plan; 2) That so-called “form-based” building codes were meant to unify the look and placement of buildings to resemble a walkable village, and 3) A grandfather clause would allow buildings to be remodeled up to 50% of their value or allow up to seven years of accumulated improvements before falling under the WHD. However, adding any square footage would bring the property under the WHD regulations.

Public comment: Three residents from the same family on Gillon Drive asked about the intent of the city to develop at a cul-de-sac created where Gillon formerly exited onto Oxmoor Road. One person asked about keeping the trees on the property, and parking off her street. Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Moody stated that there was no agenda to make the cul-de-sac a through road (although this had been discussed previously). Mr. Kendrick said it was unlikely it would be opened again, although that was a possibility.

Committee Referral Agenda approved:  To come.

Set two June 9 public hearings for rezoning requests: The council will consider rezoning a vacant house at 3006 Cook Street from C-1 (Office) to C-2 (Neighborhood Shopping District), and will consider a 15-foot set-back variance for a fence at 1619 Roseland Drive.

Approved an Aug. 1-3 sales tax holiday: The sales tax holiday exempts certain items from the municipal 3-cent sales tax.

Paid the bills: The council authorized payment of invoices May 5-May 9, 2014.

City Council meeting, May 5, 2014, rescheduled from April

SETTLED: The council voted to settle a legal dispute with the America’s Best Value hotel on Oxmoor Road for an as-yet undisclosed amount and other terms. The hotel has been operating on a temporary restraining order after the council voted 6-3 not to renew its business license, citing excessive police calls to the site over the years.

The meeting’s most important decision followed a 13-minute closed-door executive session to discuss litigation, after which members unanimously voted to settle a legal dispute with America’s Best Value Inn & Suites, a West Homewood hotel which sued to have its business license restored after the council denied the renewal due to what it called excessive criminal activity. The owners have been operating under a temporary restraining order granted by a Jefferson County Circuit Court Judge.

However, the greatest drama unfolded over a more mundane issue–also in West Homewood–in which the council unanimously rejected a front-yard fence variance requested by Simply Ponds and Gardens, at 173 Oxmoor Road. The request had already been kicked back to a Special Issues Committee in April — where it was approved 4-0. However, with the exception of chairman Fred Hawkin’s absence, those committee members returned with the full council on Monday to say no to the variance. Business owners Frank and Ruth Davis expressed their shock at the turnaround, with Mr. Davis saying the council should be embarrassed and threatening that the decision might drive the garden art and pond business out of the city. Council members said they didn’t want to set a precedent in the area, which is slated to be rezoned as an improvement district, as other local businesses already had and likely would in the future seek the same type of fence variance. The council did approve an amended version of the variance, which didn’t mollify the Davises. For more details, see below.

(This 90 minute meeting was called to order at 6:17 p.m. following a long-running presentation by the Homewood Board of Education, which also started a bit late.)

Members present: Michael Hallman, Britt Thames, Vance. Moody, Patrick McClusky, Walter Jones, Jenifer Champ Wallis, Heather Reid, Peter Wright and council president Bruce Limbaugh. Also present was Mayor Scott McBrayer.

Members absent: Fred Hawkins and Richard Laws.

Staff present: City clerk Linda Cook, city attorney Mike Kendrick, and Mayor’s chief of staff J. J. Bischoff.

Audience attendance:  Approximately 15 to start.

All votes were unanimous unless otherwise designated.

Approved:  The council approved minutes from the February 24, 2014, meeting.

Closed the Ward 2 Board of Education vacancy: Applicant interviews will begin on May 13. Applications for the Ward 3 spot on the Environmental Commission will close on July 11.
Consent Agenda
Approved the Consent Agenda — Details to come.

Carried over again a request to remove two trees on public property. The trees are in a city alley behind 1411 Primrose Place. The trees have been examined to see if they are in danger of falling.

With some exceptions, the iron security fence erected without permission in front of the Simply Ponds business on Oxmoor Road must come down.

Denied, with some concessions, a front fence variance for a business: Three of four Special Issues Committee members who voted earlier to allow a front fence to remain at a newly opened garden pond business on Oxmoor Road reversed themselves and joined the council in a unanimous denial. The 9-0 vote, with committee chairman Fred Hawkins absent, denied Simply Ponds permission to keep the iron security fence, which the business erected without permission in a West Homewood area slated to be rezoned to regulate and improve building appearance and pedestrian accessibility. The council followed a motion from Ward 2 (West Homewood) councilman Moody, however, to allow a 16-foot variance on the northeast side, which includes a portion of the fence. The rest must be removed.

Approved: The council approved plans to synchronize the traffic signals on Oxmoor Road, which a consulting group had recommended doing after removing three of the lights. The council agreed to the mayor’s appeal not to remove any signals, which will be synchronized to smooth traffic flow. To read the consultant’s entire plan for Oxmoor Road, follow this Google Drive link https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B9mr4DV1ZTbfUkh4WlkzSlMxcjQ/edit?usp=sharing.

Declared library materials surplus for public auction: No details.

The city may spend up to $75,000 repairing sections of the channelized Griffin Creek that collapsed during recent heavy rains.

Awarded a bid for emergency repairs to channeled portions of Griffin Creek: The council awarded American Concrete Foundation & Walls a contract to repair sections of a channeled creek that collapsed after heavy rains a few weeks ago. The accepted bid pays $48.20/square foot.  The bid of Stevens Contractors was also considered, but was not the low bid. Building, Engineering and Zoning employee Greg Cobb said the total cost would be approximately $75,000, to be funded through the already-budgeted “creek walls” maintenance budget, with any additional funding to be paid from the Small Infrastructure fund.

Re-set a bid opening to repair stormwater facilities: A new bid date was set for June 16 to adjust contract criteria for facility repair at 1717 27th Court South.

Surrendered a city easement: The original request to “vacate” a city easement at 1380 Kendall Place was not allowed. Instead, the council voted to achieve the same result by declaring the property surplus. The mayor was authorized to sign the documents transferring the easement for $1.

Declared no parking on Crest Drive and Columbiana Road: In two separate votes on Public Safety Committee recommendations, the council agreed to post no parking signs on an alley adjacent to 21 Crest Drive and at 905 Columbiana Road.

Approved a downtown liquor license application: Support was approved for a state liquor license application by new management company for the ALOFT hotel.

Agreed to replace a tree buffer removed from Columbiana Road: The council agreed to replace some trees and vegetation removed for parking at 811 Columbiana Road which exposed the residential street to Green Springs Highway. The decision was made with the caveat that willing property owners provide an easement to allow the city to work on the property.

Set May 12 public hearings: Hearings were set before the council votes on two rezoning cases, 1) Whether to rezone from Neighborhood Preservation District to Mixed Use District a group of duplexes at 2756 B. M. Montgomery Street, which the Planning Commission referred with an unfavorable recommendation (3-3 tie vote); and 2) A request to rezone an office building at 1628 29th Court South from C-1 (Office usue) to C-4 (Central Business District), to allow a Pilates class to be taught in one of the suites. This measure received 6-0 approval by the commission. Both measures first go to the council’s Planning and Development Committee.

Set a May 12 hearing to rezone 24 properties in West Homewood: This matter involves the substantial rezoning by city decree and following a Regional Planning Commission plan that would create a retail “village” atmosphere by regulating the appearance, setbacks and other features of commercial properties along Oxmoor Road, Oak Grove Road and Raleigh Avenue near Patriot Park. The plan has received Planning Commission approval, but the city council has a final say. Owners of affected properties, which are grandfathered under existing zoning, may still request to opt out of the rezoning. The Planning and Development Committee will deliberate further on this rezoning at its next meeting.

Referred the following issues to committees:  To come.

Paid the bills: The council approved payment of invoices from April 14-25, 2014.

Approved ad valorem (property) tax rates an homestead exemption: These routine measures set property tax rates at the same level as last year and authorize their collection.

Approved a crawfish boil event: JoJo’s Restaurant on Broadway was given permission for an outdoor crawfish boil on May 31. 

City Council work session, April 14, 2014-Sidewalks, trails and roads

The flood damaged the Griffin Creek channel through Homewood, calling for emergency repairs.

The council held a 50-minute work session tonight to receive updates on engineering and sidewalk projects and to approve several expenditures. The topic attracting the most interest was the failure of a portion of the retaining wall along Griffin Creek, which runs between Broadway and South Forest Drive. As a result of the downpour Sunday night a week ago, a substantial section of the concrete wall fell over into the creek, taking with it walls and fences owned by several property owners. The council determined that money was available from a $75,000 emergency fund and a $163,000 “small infrastructure” fund to replace the retaining wall, but they would need to expedite the bidding and approval process, possibly by holding an emergency City Council meeting after next Monday’s Finance Committee meeting.

Members present: Michael Hallman, Britt Thames, Fred Hawkins, Vance Moody, Patrick McClusky, Walter Jones, Jenifer Champ Wallis, Heather Reid, Richard Laws, Peter Wright and council president Bruce Limbaugh. Mayor?

Members absent: Patrick McClusky

Staff present: City clerk Linda Cook, city attorney Michael Kendrick, mayor’s chief of staff J. J. Bischoff, Building, Engineering and Zoning staff Jim Wyatt, Vanessa McGrath and Greg Cobb.

Audience attendance:  2

Status of engineering projects: Jim Wyatt reported on the following projects:

Greenway Trail Project, Phase II (Goodwyn Mills & Cawood Engineering): Total project estimate: $3.5 million, with federal funding covering $2.8 million, and local funding of $708,000. The 2013-14 budget had a balance of $146,000 for this project, which will be applied towards a balance owed of $119,000 for preliminary engineering.

Oxmoor Road Project (Gonzales Strength Engineering): The total project estimate: $6 million, with federal funding covering $4.8 million, and local funding of $1.2 million. The 2013-14 budget had a balance of $231,000 for this project, which will be applied towards a balance owed of $231,000 for preliminary engineering.

Lakeshore Interchange Project – Additional lanes (Volkert Engineering): Total project estimate (subject to change because it is based on 2002 ALDOT approvals): $4.7 million, with federal funding covering $3.8 million, and local funding of $947,000. Funds available from 2013-14 budget are $50,000.

ALDOT Grant – Valley and West Valley Avenue Resurfacing (Goodwin, Mills & Cawood Engineering): Total project estimate: $1.6 million, with federal funding covering $1.28 million, and local funding of $320,000. The city’s portion will come from gasoline tax proceeds, and the current fund balance is $412,000. The project probably won’t be put out to bid for at least 9 months, as it is still in the ALDOT approval process.

An artist’s view of a redeveloped corner of Oak Grove Road and Raleigh Avenue under the West Homewood Village redevelopment plan. Streetscaping and angled parking costs of $400,000 — less than half the total price tag–are in the current budget.

West Homewood Commercial Revitalization Project (Walter Schoel Engineering): The engineering firm is still putting together its proposal, but a working project cost estimate is $874,000, with $400,000 allocated in the 2013-14 budget.

Highway 280 pedestrian bridge (Gresham Smith Engineering): Total project estimate: $1 million, with federal funding covering $613k, and local funding to be split 50/50 between Homewood and Mountain Brook. Homewood’s share is estimated at $150,000, with the same amount allocated in the 2013-14 budget. [This project’s feasibility is the subject of much debate.]

A multi-year campaign to install sidewalks across Homewood made the city one of the most walkable communities in Alabama. This new sidewalk is on Sterrett Avenue.

Sidewalks: Vanessa McGrath reported that sidewalks on Central Avenue (25th Court South to 27th Avenue South and 27th Avenue South to 18th Street) and in Rosedale (from end of sidewalk on 26th Avenue South to end of sidewalk on Rosedale Drive) would be funded by outside grants. The Rosedale project is awaiting grant of an easement from a property owner.

The Council has approved $10k for engineering on the Rumson Road blind spot/hill sidewalk project. It’s been suggested that the necessary retaining walls be made of poured concrete, with a stamped-on texture to resemble stone block. Mr. Limbaugh encouraged Ward 5 representatives to seek input from property owners regarding heights of retaining walls.

Greg Cobb stated that he will seek approval for up to $5,000 of funding for a sidewalk to connect Oak Grove Road with the Eagle Scout-built flag stand and rock memorial at the Senior Center.

Approved funding for these sidewalks: Funding of $29,000 for sidewalks on Mecca Avenue from the Middle School to Highland Road, and on Highland, from Mecca to Peerless Avenue. The sidewalks will be built into the street (like the new sidewalks on Roseland Drive, but without the strip of green). One block of this stretch is two-way, and lanes in that area will be about 10 feet wide.

Also approved: 1. Funding of up to $5,000 is approved to complete the sidewalk on Edgewood Boulevard and connect it to the Roseland sidewalk. 2. Funding of up to $5,000 for two wheelchair ramps at Hall Kent School.

The meeting adjourned around 5:50 pm.

City Council meeting, April 14, 2014

The yellow segment on this early view of the new Rec Center shows the approximate size of a proposed Exceptional Foundation expansion. The agency’s architect had repeatedly said the expansion would “square up the neighborhood activity area.” Tonight the council agreed, 9-1.

It took two separate votes, but the council finally approved the rezoning of two residential properties on Oxmoor Road that will be cleared to allow a second expansion of the Exceptional Foundation.  Two seemed to be the magic number on this request, which had been before the Planning Commission twice, the Planning & Development Committee twice, and tonight was making its second appearance in front of a council hesitant about approving an expansion without multiple conditions to appease neighbors and themselves. Although many residents had predicted the outcome going in, they had not foreseen such a one-sided result.

After a motion and a second to approve from Fred Hawkins and Vance Moody of Ward 2, Walter Jones asked members to offer “creative” solutions to the traffic problems he foresaw from the Foundation’s planned new entrance on Oxmoor. Traffic stacking up behind cars turning left and traffic using the drive to cut into the rec center were his concerns. Following discussion, Jones made an amended motion to approve the rezoning conditioned on prohibiting any left turn from Oxmoor into the facility. Jenifer Champ Wallis seconded the conditional motion, which failed in a 5-5 tie, sending the next vote back to the no-strings-attached motion still on the floor. Here the vote passed 9-1 with Mr. Hallman dissenting.

This wasn’t the only news in a two-hour meeting with an unexpected 30-minute executive session called at 7:15 to discuss impending litigation. But by appearances, it was by far the most painful.

Members present: Michael Hallman, Britt Thames, Fred Hawkins, Vance Moody, Walter Jones, Jenifer Champ Wallis, Heather Reid, Richard Laws, Peter Wright and council president Bruce Limbaugh. Also present was Homewood Mayor Scott McBrayer.

Members absent: Patrick McClusky

Staff present: City clerk Linda Cook, city attorney Michael Kendrick, mayor’s chief of staff J. J. Bischoff, Building, Engineering and Zoning staff Vanessa McGrath and Greg Cobb.

Audience attendance: About 25 to start.

Approved February 10, 2014 meeting minutes.

Appointed three members to vacancies on the Homewood Environmental Commission, as follows: Hans Paul was reappointed, for Ward 5; Arnold Rutkis was appointed for Ward 1 and Erin Clark was appointed for Ward 1.

Approved 9-1 a rezoning for the Exceptional Foundation Expansion: The two residential properties at 1610 and 1612 Oxmoor Road were rezoned from the current zoning of NPD (Neighborhood Preservation District) to I-2 (Institution District). The Exceptional Foundation will close on purchasing the adjacent properties, which will be bulldozed to allow a facility expansion and separate drive and drop-off point off Oxmoor Road, opposite West Glenwood Drive. Traffic congestion was by far the most prominent concern of those who sent emails opposing it, said Ms. Wallis. A vote for a conditional approval based on prohibiting a left turn into the new building from Oxmoor Road failed in a 5-5 tie. Mr. Hawkins and Mr. Moody were staunch in their motion to pass the rezoning with no strings attached and in the first balloting voted no to the amendment, followed by Ms. Reid, Mr. Wright and Mr. Hallman–who was against the rezoning at any cost. Voting in favor of conditional rezoning were Mr. Jones, Ms. Wallis, Mr. Thames, Mr. Laws and Mr. Limbaugh, who said he opposed having any second entrance built to the new facility. All four council members favoring an amended motion, however, voted in favor of the rezoning without any conditions, making the final vote 9-1.

Voting no: Mr. Hallman has maintained his final no vote was in favor of preserving the surrounding neighborhood from institutional encroachment. Although he had planned to abstain, he followed Mr. Jones’ advice to make his vote a clear yes or no.

Simply Ponds, a business about to open on Oxmoor Road in an area slated for a new pedestrian-friendly building codes, wants to keep a non-regulation front fence. The matter was kicked back to committee.

Sent a front fence variance request back to committee:  Owners of a garden pond and statuary business being moved to 173 Oxmoor Road apologized profusely for building a high iron security fence in front of their property without getting a variance first, but insisted they were ignorant of the regulations and that it was necessary to protect valuable fountains and concrete figures–which they planned to display outside the business when it opened. Mr. Moody said he saw no justifiable hardship to allow the fence. A resident (reporting) opposed the fence, which is in the Green Springs Urban Renewal District (GURD) and subject to rezoning into the more stringent West Homewood District–a new improvement area. The council will deliberate further in a Special Issues Committee meeting.

Agreed to allow a resident to remove–and replant–a public tree – A homeowner at 205 East Edgewood Drive was allowed to remove an evergreen tree from the city right of way if it was replaced, per the Tree Ordinance, with a same-size or larger street tree. Mr. Hallman added to his motion a stipulation that the replanting occur within 60 days. A similar request to remove two public trees behind 1411 Primrose Place and deemed to be in danger of falling was referred to an arborist before a decision is made.

Correction–Sent back to Public Safety Committee —Approved taking three Oxmoor Road traffic lights temporarily out of service – The council was just about to approve removing three signals at Edgeview Avenue, St. Charles Street, and East Hawthorne Road prior to synchronizing the remaining lights, when the mayor asked that they consider covering them or turning them off for a period of time before going to the expense of removing them. The mayor, noting that he wasn’t a traffic expert, said he didn’t think any of the signals should be removed. After some discussion, it was discussed whether to cover the signals for a period of time, then hold a public hearing before making any  decision to remove the lights. Any synchronization of the lights on Oxmoor will await such a hearing. The cost of removing the signals is in the $50,000 range and is unbudgeted for this year, he pointed out.

Approved on a split 8-1 vote:  – With Ms. Wallis temporarily out of the room, the council voted to renew for three years an audit contract with RiverTree Systems, Inc., a tax auditing service.

Voting no: Mr. Hallman voted no, saying after the meeting that he preferred to let the state provide the service.

Approved a reduced rate for AT&T Business Local Calling – The city’s IT director alerted the council that a promotion for a long-term contract would save monthly fees.

Approved a grant-funded road project on Valley Avenue and West Valley Avenue. The council authorized the mayor to enter a contract with Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc. for engineering services required for  resurfacing Valley and West Valley avenues in city limits. The project is to be funded by an ALDOT grant for road improvement. No dollar amount given.

Approved a combined package of sidewalk projects and related expenses: Sidewalks and other paving and road projects were addressed in a council work session that preceded this meeting.  Here’s the link. http://wp.me/p2FKt1-Hv

Dropped, at the mayor’s request, an intersection improvement grant: At the mayor’s request and with an air of mystery, the council agreed to drop a request allowing Goodwyn, Mills & Cawood, Inc. to apply for a TAP grant related to services at 18th Street South and Rosedale Drive.
The mayor referenced “missing documents.”

Approved various amendments to the current budget: No details.

In one vote the council refers many questions each meeting to committees. Here is this meeting’s Committee Referral Agenda:

To Finance-A request to declare surplus property; To consider emergency repairs to Griffin Creek; To set a bid date for emergency Storm Water Drainage Pipe and Road repair at 1717 – 27th Court South; and to consider a crosswalk across Shades Creek Parkway to Brookwood Mall.

To Planning & Development-Prior to public hearings, the committee will consider 1)The Planning Commission’s tie vote on rezoning from NPD (Neighborhood Preservation District) to MXD (Mixed Use District) a property of duplexes at 2756 B. M. Montgomery Street, in which one duplex would contain a graphics studio; 2) A favorable Planning Commission recommendation to rezone  a downtown office building from C-1 (office) to C-4 (central business district) to allow a Pilates class to be taught in an office suite; and 3) The rezoning of 24 separate and variously zoned commercial properties in West Homewood to WHD–a district based on a more uniform and aesthetically regulated codes than traditional zoning based on use.

To Public Safety – To review the Homewood APPLE Traffic Study, part 2 (see part 1, above) about upgrading traffic signal systems on Oxmoor Road; To review street/road closure procedures for neighborhood events; To request a liquor license application for Crescent Hotels and Resorts LLC d/b/a ALOFT at 1903 29th Avenue South due to business changing management companies; and To consider a no parking ordinance at or near 905 Columbiana Road.

To Special Issues – To consider unspecified special issues in Rosedale; and the fence variance request from the Simply Ponds business at 173 Oxmoor Road.

To Public Works – The committee will meet to consider giving up possession of a city easement next to 1380 Kendall Place.

Set the following May 12 public hearings on rezonings cited above: 1) On the proposed rezoning at 2756 B. M. Montgomery Street; 2) The proposed rezoning at 1628 29th Court South; and 3) The proposed West Homewood Village (West Homewood District) rezonings.

Paid the bills, with two exceptions: Mr. Thames reviewed the invoices for March 31-April 11, 2014, with a motion to approve all except two, awaiting documentation.

Went into an executive session:  The city council voted unanimously to enter a closed-door executive session to discuss “impending litigation,” one of many exceptions to the state’s laws prohibiting private deliberations by public councils and boards. The council, attorney and city clerk were in session approximately 30 minutes before returning to adjourn the meeting. The city is in at least one lawsuit, with America’s Best Value Inn and Suites, which is contesting the council’s decision not to renew its business license. The city’s chief of police appeared to be in the private session as well.

Planning Commission April 1, 2014

An artist’s rendering of a redeveloped corner of Oak Grove Road and Raleigh Avenue under the West Homewood Village redevelopment plan. Portions of the streetscape and other improvements may be put in the upcoming city budget.

A meeting of the Planning Commission Tuesday, at 6 p.m., included 4 requests for zoning changes.  Two requests of note were 1) a rezone from NPD (Neighborhood Preservation District) to MXD (Mixed Use District), which was  hotly contested by three Rosedale residents, and passed to the City Council without favorable recommendation, and 2) The city’s successful bid to rezone 24 properties  in West Homewood from various zonings to WHD (West Homewood District), which received lots of questioning but little opposition by residents.  This passed with unanimous approval by the Commission.

Members present:  Billy Higginbotham, chairman, Mike Brandt, vice-chairman, James Ponseti, James Riddle, Fred Hawkins (member and council liaison), and Fred Azbik.

Members absent: Mark Woods.  NOTE:  Joe Falconer resigned without notice from the Planning Commission, effective the day of this meeting, and before a term expiration. Falconer’s vacancy is added to the vacancy created by the recent retirement of Fire Marshal Rusty McCombs.

Staff attendance: Donna Bridges, board secretary, Greg Cobb and Vanessa McGrath, building, engineering and zoning department.

Audience attendance:  100

The Planning Commission hears zoning and rezoning cases, develops the city’s master plan and oversees development plans. Rezoning cases such as those discussed below are all subject to final approval by the City Council.

Sent to council on a 3-3 tie vote with an unfavorable recommendation: The request from Tim Coker of Coker Holdings to add a business use to one of units in two duplexes in Rosedale and therefore rezone the entire property from NPD (Neighborhood Preservation District) to MXD (mixed use district) at 2756 B.M. Montgomery Street in Rosedale was contested by three neighbors and ultimately divided the commission. The final development plan, however, was approved 4-2 when Mr. Higginbotham switched his vote. The plan includes remodeling one of the duplexes for a graphic design studio.

Google Maps street view of duplexes considered for remodeling and rezoning to accommodate a graphic arts studio.

Three area residents asked questions about potential raised taxes, value of land after improvements, use of property to be developed, and expressed concern about adding business near their homes, and preserving their historical home neighborhood. After much discussion about the exterior and interior changes and the city code, it was determined that the developer would adjust the plan to allow the current siding to remain, making sure there were 10 parking spaces required by city code, and requiring a resurvey on the lot before obtaining a building permit. Any other changes to the exterior or interior would require an amendment to the development plan and a revisit for approval by the Commission.

One neighbor was called out of order by asking if the Planning Commission was intent on approving the development or if he needed to get a petition to stop it. Mr. Brandt explained the Commission’s vote decides whether to send the zoning to the City Council with or without a favorable recommendation. It is the City Council, not the Planning Commission that has the final say following a public hearing. The members then voted 3-3 to send to council with an unfavorable recommendation.

Voting against a motion to send with a favorable recommendation: Higginbotham, Azbik, and Brandt.

Approved on a 4-2 vote a final development plan on the same property:  Again, Tim Coker of Coker Holdings received a divided but approving vote for the plan at Montgomery Street. After lots of discussion about exterior and interior changes to the property as noted on the plan submitted, changes were made or required for the design as noted above.

Voting no:  Azbik and Brandt.

Approved a minor commercial rezoning change for a Pilates class: Twin Construction asked for an office building at 1628 29th Court South downtown to be rezoned from C-1 (Office Building District) to C-4 (Central Business District), basically to accommodate with proper zoning a Pilates class taught in one of the office suites. The lot had been resurveyed from two separate lots with a C-4 earlier and to change zoning again, the lot will also need to be resurveyed again. No one commented at the hearing and the Commission voted unanimously to recommend the rezoning.

Approved, with some fuss, the West Homewood District (Village) rezonings on 24 properties: With one objection on file from the Waffle House at 185 Oxmoor Road, the Commission approved a city of Homewood request to rezone it and 23 properties on Scott Street, Oxmoor Road and Oak Grove Road to West Homewood (Village) District from various current designations ranging from C-1 to GURD (Green Springs Renewal District) to R-7. (A couple of properties were mis-zoned for their use; the request met with no real disapproval from the large audience.)

We say goodbye to an advertising mural for a long-gone business at the “Jericho Corners” building on Raleigh Avenue and Oak Grove Road. This site is slated for city streetscape and parking improvements as part of the village plan.

These properties are proposed to constitute the initial Village area, one in which city leaders and planners hope can be transformed into a pedestrian-friendly complex of small-scale retail and other businesses. The rezoning, if approved by the city council, will substantially dictate –and hopefully improve–the appearance of new or remodeled businesses and buildings. It is for this reason that the Waffle House earlier filed an objection, saying that the design restrictions were incompatible with the restaurant chain’s prototype and plans to substantially remodel the building. Company representatives were not on hand at the hearing however. They or any other affected property may choose fight the rezoning when it reaches the city council.

This Oxmoor Road house is part of the 24 commercial properties being rezoned and grandfathered into the new village district. The iron security fence was erected against existing zoning code and cannot remain without a zoning variance.

A resident contested that his property on Scott Street was included in road changes designated on an ALDOT plan, which is scheduled for construction soon.  But, this was unrelated to the zoning issue at hand. About 10 residents spoke out about traffic and other issues on their streets, including several from Cobb Street, with some asking that their specific concerns be taken into account as the village concept takes shape. Ms. McGrath mentioned the future appointment of a “Community Development Review Committee,” including the mayor and Fire Chief, which would help guide the area’s development under the new zoning, which seemed to appease the commenters.

The meeting was adjourned at 7:45.