Planning commission forwards Hughes Circle senior-housing rezoning, development plan to City Council after 5-2 negative recommendation

At its February 2025 meeting, the Homewood Planning Commission voted 5-2 to forward to City Council a rezoning application (RZ25‑02‑01) and a final development plan (FD25‑02‑02) from Cadre Engineering and Ferris Properties for 101–109 Hughes Circle, a project that would combine nine existing residential lots into one parcel and build a three‑story assisted‑living/memory‑care building plus 24 independent‑living cottages.

The vote came after presentations by the applicant team and about an hour of public comment in which nearby residents raised concerns about tree canopy loss, traffic and safety on Old Montgomery Highway and Lakeshore, stormwater runoff, parking, potential increases in emergency medical calls and the precedent that rezoning could set for other Neighborhood Preservation District (NPD) parcels. Commissioners Henninger and Roberts voted in favor; Commissioners Gulas, Andress, Armstead, Rispinto and Wilcutt voted against. Commissioners expressed that the Planning Commission is advisory and the City Council is the ultimate decision maker.

Why it matters: the site sits inside a Neighborhood Preservation District surrounded on several sides by higher‑intensity uses along Lakeshore. Neighbors and the applicant disagree over whether the proposed PR‑2 zoning and the planned development would be compatible with the NPD’s stated goal to preserve historic neighborhood patterns. Because the Planning Commission is advisory, the council will hold a second public hearing and make the final zoning decision.

Project and developer claims The applicant described the plan as a locally designed and operated senior community. Bridal Hatcher of Cadre Engineering identified the project scope: combining 101–109 Hughes Circle into one lot, vacating Hughes Circle by future resurvey, constructing a three‑story assisted‑living/memory‑care building and a cluster of single‑story cottages that the applicant described as independent living for mostly couples.

John Chapman of Ferris Properties, the…