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chance to have a rebuttal to what the residents had said. He has not heard a rebuttal, yet tonight, they
<br />just gave their dog and pony show again.
<br />Mr. Barnett, 25021 Linda Drive, and his home abuts the property in question and proposal will be in the
<br />rear of his back yard. He wanted to talk briefly about the impact since one gentleman stated that this
<br />retail will have very little inapact on property values in the city. North Olmsted homes have not kept
<br />pace with the values of homes in the neighboring communities. In Northem Ohio Live Magazine, 1996
<br />community guide, listed the following home comparisons, and the statistic were gathered by the
<br />Cleveland Growth Association. He listed several surrounding communities. When one compares the
<br />average sale price of single `family dwellings in North Olmsted, the only one that compares, dollar to
<br />dollar, is Fairview Park, roughly $118, 977 in North Olmsted; $118,229 in Fairview Park. The relative
<br />value of a single family dwelling is roughly the same, although Fairview Park pays a higher property tax
<br />than North Olmsted. In Bay Village the average sale price is $147,802. or $28,825. more value for the
<br />same type dwelling. In Olmsted Falls, $122,402 that is $3,425 more value for a comparable home. In
<br />Rocky River, $169,995 that is more than $51,000 more for the same home. In Strongsville, $147,809
<br />which is $28,832 more for the same comparative home. In Westlake, $189,308 which is a difference
<br />of $70,331 more for comparable housing. He maintained that the d.ifference in those communities from
<br />North Olmsted and Fairview Park is the amount of excessive retail compared to these other upscale
<br />communities with less retaiL He wondered what the figures will reflect later on for Strongsville when
<br />the effects of South Park Mall are included. Regarding property tax rates, he advised that with the
<br />exception of Bay Village, and Fairview Park, North Olmsted property tax rate is higher than Olmsted
<br />Falls, Rocky River, Strongsville, and Westlake. In other words our property is worth less and we pay
<br />more taxes on the same property. Biskind Development asked for this property to be rezoned for office
<br />several years ago, and they got it, and they are stuck with it, but it is not the city's problem. That's what
<br />they asked for, that is what has been approved, and now they want a better deaL The Westlake
<br />residents made several comments when defeating their rezoning: more tax revenues are generated from
<br />office development than'from-retail development; let us use our land wisely; Westlake residents can only
<br />support so much retail business; new shopping strips can actually put retailers out of old centers which
<br />leave vacancies (he pointed out that there are a number of vacancies along Lorain Road); more retail
<br />leads to traffic congestion, crime, and unattractive vacancies. He quoted comments made by Westlake
<br />about North Olmsted: what will affect the quality of your life more, additional retail or Crocker Road
<br />becoming a Great Northern Boulevard, don't take.the chance; more retail may bring on North
<br />Olmsted's type big box retailers; Westlake residents need to ask themselves whether they want Crocker
<br />Road to become another Great Northern Boulevard; more retail on Crocker Road would mean more
<br />traffic, more crime like on Lorain Road. He asked how residents feel when North Olmsted is snubbed by
<br />our neighbors because of excessive retaiL He noted that one thing that was pointed out is that the
<br />developers are talking about 200,000 square feet of additional retail to what there is now which is
<br />excessive at present. He doubts anyone appreciates being the butt of jokes, that is not why he moved to
<br />this community. He believed that this community needed more balance;, balance between retail,
<br />residential, and o?'ice facilities. He asked that the city stop the madness of greedy developers and "oig
<br />box" retailers; stop the reduction of property values because of excessive retail; stop property taxes
<br />getting higher because of excessive retail; stop the uunecessary building of more retail stores and fill the
<br />cunent vacancies; lets improve the quality of life for our children and our children's children. He asked
<br />that the commission vote "5no" on this rezoning. ,
<br />Councilman D. McKay, 5197 Columbia Road, stated that they have heard that this area is not suitable
<br />for office space because there is no demand for office in North Olmsted. He advised what has happened
<br />over the last two or three years: Moen built their intemational headquarters on Great Northern
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