By William C. Singleton III
Journal contributor
The Homewood City Council gave the go-ahead for the Exceptional Foundation to add more parking and expand its facilities.
The Council at a meeting on Oct. 16 approved an Estoppel Certificate and a landlord’s agreement with the foundation. The agreements are necessary because the foundation sits on city property and can’t borrow money to renovate its facility without city approval, Councilman Britt Thames said.
The city also gave its blessing to the foundation’s plans to build about 15 additional parking spaces it will share with the nearby Homewood Parks and Recreation Community Center.
Foundation and parks and recreation officials were expected to sign off on the agreement after the meeting.
In April, the Council voted to rezone two lots at 1610 and 1612 Oxmoor Road from Neighborhood Preservation District to institutional zoning. The rezoning will allow the foundation to expand its facility. The foundation, located at 1616 Oxmoor Road, plans to add 13,500 square feet to its existing facility to serve its current clients.
The foundation has served mentally challenged youth and adults from its present facilities in Homewood since 1999. Tricia Kirk, Exceptional Foundation director, said the expanded facility will allow foundation workers to accommodate much smaller groups than they presently serve. Currently, the foundation has to accommodate about 40 people per group. The foundation would like to reduce that to 15-20 per group.
At a March council meeting, Kirk said the proposed new facility “gives us the opportunity not to increase the number of people that we serve. It is so we can enhance the programs and maintain the quality that the rest of the nation knows we’re doing in Homewood.”
The foundation has launched a capital campaign to raise the money. According to its website, it will take about $3 million to acquire the two lots and build onto its existing facility.
One concern neighbors had about the project–voiced at the March council meeting–involved an additional access road foundation officials had purposed to accommodate traffic into the facility.
Initial plans called for another entrance from Oxmoor Road into the property. Neighbors expressed concern that an additional entrance would funnel more traffic onto neighborhood streets. That proposal has been eliminated, Thames said. The only road into the facility will be the existing one at Bridge Lane.
The plans also call for a 15-foot buffer between the facility and the neighborhood. Neighbors also complained about having to see an institutional building as opposed to homes, which now occupy the two lots.
Thames said the current changes seem to have satisfied neighbors. ϖ
