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Homewood's City Council will have final say on whether a restaurant and parking deck will be part of a planned hotel development at the old City Hall site.
The request from developer Scott Bryant was rejected 6-3 by the Planning Commission on Tuesday night during a meeting where residents had many questions and felt they got few answers.
A Birmingham-based developer's letter to Homewood City Council President Ginger Busby had residents abuzz with questions recently about how the city handled the sale of the former city hall complex.
Inkana Development has frozen plans for the $50 million Montelena luxury condominium development off U.S. 280 between Mountain Brook and Homewood. Signs have been removed from the site for the seven-story condo building, and the sales office has been relocated.
The magic that made Homewood into a jewel of Jefferson County suburbs - with soaring property prices, schools in the state's top tier and neighborhoods that wear their history with pride - could be lost in unchecked development that changes the city's character, some residents say.
Charm. Community. Schools. History. Parks. Walkability.
Those characteristics set Homewood apart, called out residents at a Tuesday town hall meeting.
The KPS Group held the first of a series of public discussions to help the city update its master plan for growth.
In case you are not familiar with the Festival, it's intent is to educate people specifically about the spotted Salamander found on The Homewood Forest Preserve and generally about clean water and other environmental issues. The festival is sponsored by Friends of Shades Creek (a 501 c3) whose mission is to protect the creek and the environment upon which its health depends.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Shades Valley Community Church
(formerly the Oxmoor Alpine Ice Lodge)
160 West Oxmoor Rd.
3:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.
3:00 - Begins with music, childrens crafts, real Salamanders,
Mike Bolton gives small stream fishing demonstration, so kids bring your fishing rods.
See the "Creekwalker display",
Homewood Forest Preserve display,
real fossilized amphibian and reptile tracks,
and learn about the Fish in Shades Creek from biologists.
4:30 - The program begins with the Mayors welcome, then awards,
music performed by "Menewa" then a story about going to the
Salamander Migration by Bill Mathews,
and more music by "Carter's Little Pills"
After the program, there will be more crafts,
displays, and salamanders!
1/20 to 1/27 - Visit Homewood Library or SoHo Sweets for the Salamander Scavenger Hunt
Food and soft drinks may be purchased from Shades Valley CC youth at the festival
T- shirts and novelty items will be for sale at the festival
The magic that made Homewood into a jewel of Jefferson County suburbs - with soaring property prices, schools in the state's top tier and neighborhoods that wear their history with pride - could be lost in unchecked development that changes the city's character, some residents say.
January 23, 2007 at 6:00 pm
Council Chamber City Hall
2850 19th Street South
Homewood, Alabama 35209
Another neighborhood is under the gun by an institutional "neighbor". We are seeking the support of the community by requesting your presence at the 6:00 P.M. January 22nd City Council meeting for a public hearing which will give residents an opportunity to stop a precedent-setting rezoning request.
The First Baptist Church of Birmingham on Lakeshore Drive (at Hwy 31) has over the last 10 years or so quietly bought up the entire inventory of houses on Hugh Circle and used them as rental properties while they formulated their master plan for growth. The church's proposal has now been finalized and was recently presented to the Homewood Planning Commission for their recommendation. The scope of the project included a new daycare center, a recreational facility and a larger parking lot. In order to accommodate this expansion, the houses and mature trees on Hugh Circle will be bulldozed and in their place will be a parking lot.
Most of the opponents to this plan who attended the meeting were residents of the adjacent neighborhood who spoke passionately to the commission requesting they not approve it. The reasons for opposition included the desire to not have a commercial size parking lot in their backyard, the concern of increased water runoff into Shades Creek from the bigger parking lot, increased traffic on Old Montgomery Highway (where a new exit will be added), and the loss of city tax revenue from the existing residential properties and occupants. Hugh Circle is currently zoned as an "NPD" area. For those who don't know, this stands for Neighborhood Preservation District. The church needs to have this rezoned to Institutional (I-2) before they can proceed. The Planning Commission approved the development plan and proposed rezoning, despite no compelling testimony to support it other than that the church wanted it. The matter has now been forwarded to City Council. This public hearing is the last opportunity for citizens to express their opinions before a decision is made.
Please lend your support, either by your comments or just your presence, to show that this disregard for neighborhood sanctity and green spaces is an unacceptable way of doing business in Homewood. Your neighborhood, it would seem, could be next.
If you have questions or want more information, feel free to contact any of the names listed below. Thanks.
Randy Mayor Doug Atkinson Maureen McCorkle
309 Clermont Drive 3500 Ashley Circle 3516 Ashley Road
871-8915 870-3629 879-4714
randy_mayor@bellsouth.net datkinson02@charter.net l
January 5th, 1928 was a historic day for our City. Almost a full year after officially becoming "Homewood", our newly constructed City Hall was complete. The Council had been doing business at the Edgewood town hall, located at what is now Dawson church.
I wonder if the citizens at the time could have possibly imagined what would become of their $85,000 investment. Were they thinking, "Great, we'll get about 80 years out of it and then we'll just tear it down".
How about the new city hall? How many years before we tear it down?
The truth is, our first City council probably had the same thoughts as our current, in relation to building the new City Hall. They were making an investment on behalf of the community. Just because we've outgrown a building for one use doesn't mean that it's "outlived it's usefulness". According to measuringworth.com that $85,000 investment is equivalent to $970,000 today. The city is selling the property for $1.1 million is that a good return on our investment?
On February 6th, the Planning Commission is set to discuss the rezoning of the City Hall property from Institutional to Mixed Use. This is the first step down the path for destruction of this historical building. I urge you to contact your City Council representative and ask them for their support in saving Homewood's history. Ask them to put a moratorium on all rezoning until while the Master Plan process is underway.
That will equate to a "stay of execution" for the property. Beyond that, I believe that the R.F.P. (request for proposals) process should be reopened, with serious consideration given only to proposals that guarantee preservation of the building.
Sincerely,
Larry Owen
P.S. All comments are welcomed.