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r <br />whatever might be constructed. Ms. Kulikowski advised that there would be about <br />40 acres after the right of way is taken out; the size would be similar to the <br />Christ-The-King property, but would be adjacent to a heavily travelled road <br />instead-of an internal roado The area closer to Lorain might be suitable for <br />senior housing, cluster.homes would need buffering along Stearns Road, there is <br />no specific R.P.O. Zoning in the present zoning codes. The members are concerned <br />that the R.P.O. zoning could cause problems since developers could ask for zoning <br />changes later on. The members agreed that a specific overall plan for future <br />development would be best, rather than a piecemeal development, and also agreed <br />that cluster homes would be the least objectionable use, not only for the <br />surrounding areas, but for the residents of Stearns Road who did not want to <br />leave. It was noted that to rezone for garden apartments would require a <br />referendum. If, at a later date, the market changes a developer could always ask <br />for a rezoning. Mr. Schultz suggested that an overlay zoning which would govern a <br />home being converted to a business use would give the property owners more <br />flexibility. This area could always be left open and noted as a transitional zone <br />on the ma.ster plan tmtil City officials ha.d a chance to meet with the home owners <br />for their input. The members agreed that retail or 5 story office buildings would <br />be undesirable. Councilwoman Bahas asked if any study ha.d been done on how large <br />tracts of land are acquired by a developer. Mr. Schultz responded that, in this <br />type of case, frequently a developer or a group of developers acquire options on <br />the properties at whatever cost the market would d.ictate. Mr. Cummings, resident <br />of Stearns, is concerned that changing to cluster homes would not be feasible <br />since the cost of buying their properties would be prohibitive. He has not been <br />approached by any developers yet, but his home had been appraised 3 years ago for <br />about 90,000. Before discussing the next area, Mr. Tressler advised that they <br />have presented a duplicate of the colored map to the Engineering Department and <br />other copies could be purchased. He then went on to discuss focus area "D", the <br />western end of the City, and the Lorain Road corridor in particular, from the <br />western end of Stearns Road to the Corporate li.nee He presented slides of what is <br />existing: some large home, a condemned home, homes converted to business use <br />(statistics on table 1), shopping centers, new office buildings, churches, and <br />the Industrial Park which is mostly not developedo He presented the facts stated <br />in the report titled CITY OF NORTFi OLMSTED NIASTER PLAN FOCUS AREA "D" and <br />explained Maps 1 and 2 showing the existing land use and Maps 3 and 4 showing the <br />existing zoning. He pointed out that there are 4.7 million square feet of <br />connnercial space in North Olmsted, with a 2.4 percent vacancy rate as of February <br />which is extremely low. North Olmsted has more commercial space (excluding office <br />areas) than all of downtown Cleveland. Approximately half of the comnercial space <br />is along LOrain Road and 20% of this Lorain Road commercial area is in Focus Area <br />"D". There are 123 acres zoned for General Retail which are not being used for <br />General Retail (95 acres are in Focus Area "D"). Based.an those figures they have <br />calculated (using a moderate standaxd, not the max;m,m) that approximately 1 <br />million square feet of additional commercial development could be built on Lorain <br />Road in Focus Area "D" wYiich could generate 33,400 additional vehicle trips per <br />day. Also there are 80 acres.of Industrially zoned land which is not being used. <br />Several recommendation were listed to improve the aesthetics of the area and <br />others to enconrage the development of the North Ol.msted Industrial Park (page <br />15). He mentioned the Plain Dealer proposal heard at the beginnin_g of the meeting <br />and questioned if this was the ki.nd of construction and business that was needed <br />in the park. When tax incentives are offered, it would not be unreasonable to <br />demand quality building materials. If, as proposed, the Uus gaxage is re-located <br />to the rear of the park, an alternate road should be considered since. this <br />traffic could inhibit future development. Along with.these main points other <br />suggestions for the construction and ma.intenance of the Industrial Park were <br />7