Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Home Business Variance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves home‑based online auto‑sales variance with strict conditions in Jefferson County
Summary
The Jefferson County Board of Zoning Adjustment approved a use variance allowing an online automotive dealer to operate from an existing metal building subject to seven conditions including a five-vehicle limit, residency requirement and resurvey within two years.
The Jefferson County Board of Zoning Adjustment approved a use variance to allow an online automotive sales business to operate from a 45-by-90-foot metal building on a rural property, subject to seven staff‑recommended stipulations.
Staff told the board the state now requires automotive dealers — including online-only dealers — to have a building and a sign; that requirement conflicted with county rules for home-based businesses. The property consists of two lots totaling roughly 11.2–11.3 acres, and staff recommended approval provided the board attach limits on vehicles, employees and residency. Staff said the variance is intended to allow the applicant to comply with the state dealer-license requirements while keeping the operation residential in character.
Applicant Corey Hameen (transcript shows an alternate spelling earlier in staff materials) said he owns the lot and an adjacent 26 acres. Hameen told the board most sales are online, that he currently stores four or five vehicles on the property and that the 40-by-90 building would allow him to keep inventory indoors. He also said the property is heavily screened by trees and not visible from the road.
Neighbors spoke during the public hearing. Marla Townsend, a nearby resident who helped organize a neighborhood watch, expressed safety concerns about Jackson Road and questioned whether earlier private events on the property had generated roadside parking. Hameen said those events had occurred about a year earlier, that he no longer hosts them and that he does not sell alcohol or rent the property as an event center.
The board approved the variance with seven stipulations read into the record. The conditions include: no more than five vehicles visible for business purposes on the property; no more than two non-family employees on site at any time; employment limited to family members living in the residence on Lot 1 of the Justice Family Lot 2 Subdivision (recorded in map book 247, page 70 in the office of the Jefferson County Probate Judge, Birmingham Division); the variance expires when the business license expires; the business may not operate if the owner does not reside on the same lot of record or Lot 1 of the recorded subdivision; the property must be resurveyed so the shed on Lot 2 and the residence on Lot 1 are on the same lot of record within two years; and county staff will monitor the operation and the board may reconsider the variance if public or staff concerns arise.
Why it matters: The board’s conditions attempt to balance the state’s licensing requirements for automotive dealers with neighborhood character and traffic concerns by limiting visible inventory, outside employees and requiring owner residency and a resurvey within two years.
Next steps: The applicant must complete the resurvey and comply with the conditions; staff will monitor the operation and may return the case to the board if violations or new concerns arise.
