Homewood board approves small backyard therapy pool for family'centered accessibility need

The Homewood City Board of Zoning Adjustments voted July 9 to grant a variance allowing a homeowner to install a 15-by-15 (225-square-foot) therapy pool to serve a child with cerebral palsy.

The applicant's landscape architect, David Lorberbaum, said the request seeks an additional roughly 105 square feet beyond what the accessory-structure rules allow because an existing detached garage consumes the property's allowable accessory square footage. "The existing garage on the property is kind of the immediate hardship for that accessory structure," Lorberbaum told the board, and he said the project would still meet the city's impervious-surface standards (about 44.6 percent under the proposed plan).

Homeowner John 5 Ash described his son Nicholas's medical history and the role aquatic therapy plays in his care. "This is one of the few activities that bring him great joy," Ash said, explaining that the pool size requested is the minimum needed for a caregiver or therapist to work safely with his son. The family provided a physician'signed letter documenting the medical need and said neighbors had voiced support.

Board members asked routine clarifying questions but raised no objection to the medical justification or the code findings presented. A board member moved to approve the variance and participating members voted in favor; the board recorded the variance as approved. Staff reminded applicants that variances lapse if construction has not begun within one year.

The decision allows the homeowner to pursue permits and construction under the conditions discussed; the record shows the petitioner carried the burden of proof under the city's variance standards.