The City of Homewood Planning and Development Committee met on Monday to consider four agenda items related to Samford University's proposed Creekside Development.
Ultimately, the committee forwarded the project to the entire council without making a recommendation. A public hearing on the issue will be held on June 9 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.
The development has caused outrage from residents since the first Homewood Planning Commission meeting in March. At that meeting, residents spoke for nearly two hours in opposition to the project before the commission tabled the vote until their April meeting, with it ultimately passing on April Fool's Day.
Landmark Development president Bob Dunn attempted to address some of the residents’ concerns, including the project's size. He emphasized that the project would be a “significant driver of the tax base” and discussed its positive impact on Homewood City Schools.
Mayor Alex Wyatt described the tax incentive package which he inititally called tax abatements before correcting himself to say it was a way for the city share tax revenue from the development would Samford and Landmark 100% of the ad valorem lodging and sales tax from the property, except for what goes to schools, for 20 years with a cap of $26 million.
The Homewood Star reported that Councilman Nick Sims asked if the project would still be viable without the incentive, to which Dunn responded, "Don't believe so."
The development would be located directly next to Homewood High School, which has raised considerable concerns among parents.
Homewood High School was ranked the third-best public high school in Alabama, according to 2024 rankings released by U.S. News & World Report—the best in the Birmingham metro area.
In his presentation, Dunn noted that if the project is approved, the Creekside West project would likely be built over the next seven to 10 years.
According to the Homewood Star, Dunn “also clarified that the soccer and track stadium originally planned for Creekside East is no longer set to be built on that space, but that their suggestion of a partnership with the city to build the facility on city land used by the Homewood Soccer Club was not a formal development proposal, merely an idea. Both the city and Dunn then clarified at the end of the meeting that that idea does not have a viable path forward and developers are exploring other options for placement of those facilities that do not involve city property.”
The public comment period resembled that of previous meetings, with residents expressing incredulity over the plans and feeling that Samford and the developer are indifferent to their concerns.
Lant Davis was the first resident to speak; he pointed out that while the developer touted the phased approach as a positive, it would mean construction traffic for residents for those seven to 10 years. He also questioned the impact years of construction would have on emergency response times for first responders who rely on Lakeshore Drive.
He said, “What we would like is for Homewood, for our government, our elected representatives, to stop this. Stop it."
He asked that if they didn’t stop it then “please figure out a way to retain jurisdiction over the project so that you haven't signed all of your approval rights away at this point leaving everyone to the mercies of Samford and Landmark about how much they're willing to do to ameliorate the harm that their project will cause.”
John Manzelli, a Homewood resident who lives directly across from the proposed development site, is circulating a petition calling on the city to stop the development.
RELATED: Homewood residents start petition opposing Samford University's planned Creekside development
He started his remarks by asking the following four questions: "Is there public support and trust for the project? Is the project really viable? Do the benefits outweigh the harm? Does Homewood really need this?"
As for public support and trust, Manzelli said, "They pulled a PR nightmare by claiming to have worked with the city on a plan to repurpose Homewood Soccer and save the Salamanders. The next day, our own little soccer club had to come out and actually oppose them in an email. That is the public trust that we're working under right now; that's what the public thinks of this plan. They have not been good actors in this process."
Several council members spoke or asked questions during the meeting, with Councilman Andrew Wolverton saying that he has not heard from a single community member supporting the project.
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