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Homewood Community Church seeks approval for new 30,797-sq-ft building; neighbors raise traffic, buffering and stormwater concerns
Summary
An amended development plan for Homewood Community Church would add a two-story, 30,797-square-foot building with associated parking; project team described buffers, culverting a ditch for parking, and an underground detention system while neighbors asked about traffic, buffering heights and stormwater impacts.
Representatives for Homewood Community Church presented an amended development plan at the City of Homewood pre-council meeting and the council set a public hearing on the proposal.
Brian Hatcher of Cottier Engineering said the church proposes a two-story building totaling 30,797 square feet behind the Edge complex, with the bulk of parking on a subdivided parcel to the north. The team plans to culvert and box-cover a concrete ditch so parking can cross it, accept maintenance responsibilities for the culverted section and install an underground detention system to maintain pre-development drainage patterns. Hatcher told the council the site does not encroach into the floodway or floodplain but that ordinances for pre/post stormwater controls and water-quality measures will be sought.
Hatcher described existing and proposed buffers: an existing 15-foot buffer between townhomes and the church that will remain plus an undisturbed landscape buffer and building-setback lines. He said the project will plant shrubs intended to reach code-required heights (discussed as 6 feet by year three in the meeting) to screen sight lines from Columbiana Road. He said the design team agreed to no construction access from Columbiana.
Neighbors who spoke said their main concerns are additional traffic, buffering adequacy and stormwater management. Hatcher said a traffic report by Skipper R* (name as spoken) found no significant impacts and that proposed landscaping and the building’s orientation would block headlights and sight lines from adjacent lots.
The council and staff confirmed there will be a public hearing; the transcript records the hearing logistics with a possibly inconsistent date (the item was introduced with Jan. 26 listed and later the chair mentioned 'July 6' for the next hearing in the record), which will be clarified in the formal meeting notice.
No vote was recorded at the pre-council meeting; the item will proceed to the public hearing for formal consideration and public comment.
