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Homewood council adopts new zoning code, folds sign rules into zoning
Summary
The Homewood City Council voted 11-0 to repeal earlier ordinances and adopt a revised zoning ordinance that incorporates the sign code and adds new requirements such as boundary/topographic surveys and revised drive‑thru and temporary sign standards.
The Homewood City Council voted 11-0 on April 28 to adopt a comprehensive amendment to the city's zoning ordinance, repealing earlier ordinances and folding the sign rules into the new zoning code.
The ordinance amends Appendix A of the city code and replaces previously adopted ordinances 28-86 and 28-87. The council's planning committee had unanimously recommended the measure with specific edits, including reducing required stacking spaces per drive-through window from five to four and changing temporary sign limits to 4-by-4 feet with a maximum height of 6 feet.
Kale Smith, who presented the item for Planning and Development, said the rewrite includes several technical changes to how building height will be measured and will require a boundary or topographic survey for most improvements, including fences and driveways. "We will require an existing topography of the site to determine where the existing grade is at the front foundation wall of the proposed house," Smith told the council.
The ordinance also clarifies that courtyard swimming pools will be allowed when they are within a property's boundaries, updates definitions for personal service uses, modifies rules for artificial turf and vehicle sales lots, and incorporates the former sign ordinance into the zoning ordinance.
Council President Jones asked for unanimous consent to consider and adopt the ordinance at the same meeting; that motion passed on a roll call vote, and final passage was recorded 11-0. The ordinance was assigned number 29-33 and becomes effective immediately upon the mayor's approval or otherwise becoming law.
A Ward 1 resident submitted a letter supporting the topographic survey requirement; Councilor Qualton asked that the letter be entered into the record. The council placed a public hearing on the amended zoning ordinance for April 28 at 6 p.m. during earlier committee action before adopting the ordinance.
The new code is extensive (the published exhibit ran to more than 200 pages in redline). City staff said later that specific provisions such as sign dimensions and drive-through stacking were adjusted after committee review to reflect concerns raised during the public vetting process.
