12/03/1996 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 12/3/96 AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION Angelo Skoulis, 24732 Mitchell Drive, president of the Parkwest Homeowners' Association, spoke about a proposal from Biskind Development to rezone Parcel E, 24 acres of land adjacent to the development. Mr. Skoulis explained that this is the fourth attempt in the last ten years on the part of Biskind Development to have that land rezoned. In 1988, a request was made to rezone the land from residential to office use. On the advice of members of the Planning Commission, the residents entered into negotiations with Biskind Development and finally came to an agreement satisfactory to both sides. The residents then withdrew their objection to the rezoning, and the land was rezoned to office use. Since that time, the city has adopted a Master Plan which indicates that the land should not be rezoned again. Now, however, Biskind Development wants to sell the land to Forest City Enterprises who would then develop another retail shopping center. Included in this shopping center would be Home Depot, a Home Place and several. other stores. The proposed rezoning was submitted to Planning Commission during a 2 1/2 hour presentation at the meeting of September 24. Despite the fact that Biskind Development literally filled the first two rows of seats with lawyers and various experts, the residents presented enough arguments that they were literally stopped in their tracks. At the request of Biskind Development, and over the protests of the residents, the proposal was tabled until October 22. Since that time, they have been granted two other delays and the rezoning is now tentatively scheduled to be heard on January 28 or February 11, 1997. Recently, it has come to the attention of the residents that Biskind Development is conducting a telephone survey of voters regarding Parcel E. The residents believe the purpose of the survey is to identify enough people who voted in the last election who are willing to sign a petition asking for the land to be rezoned. This would then be presented to City Council as an initiative. Through research, the homeowners have identified two other instances where this identical situation has arisen: Tallmadge, Ohio, Developer's Diversified tried to get a rezoning and was defeated by 77%; Westlake, Ohio, Robert Stark attempted to rezone more land to expand the Promenade but was not successful. Mr. Skoulis said that the homeowners will need Council's help and support to fight this rezoning. The people of this city need to be educated as to the amount of retail that we already have, the traffic problems resulting from the retail stores, the crime problems associated with retail establishments and the impact more retail will have on our city and its development. Maureen Diver, 24711 Mitchell Drive, secretary of the Parkwest Homeowners' Association, spoke on the rezoning of Parcel E. Mrs. Diver is concerned about the telephone survey which is currently being conducted regarding the rezoning. She has received a number of phone calls expressing concern about the survey. Neighbors and people throughout the city have been making comments such as: "Well, our home is just not worth what other homes the same size are in other suburbs;" or, "I can't afford to move out of North Olmsted. I like this city. What's going to happen to us?" Mrs. Diver wondered how this issue would affect residents who live at the far west end of North Olmsted near the turnpike. Is this a growing trend that they will also have to face? It seems that this is not a problem for one set of neighbors--this is the whole city. The homeowners will need Council's help if this does come down to a "fight." The residents 7