08/03/1999 Meeting Minutes - Laserfiche WebLink

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Council Minutes of 8/3/99 Fred Carson, 24969 Sunset Oval, said he had suggested at the public meeting that the ~"' Park-n-Ride be placed at the west end of the city as it would pick up new ridership from Avon, Ridgeville, Olmsted Township and Eaton Township. On another matter, he wondered why (especially since North Olmsted is a Tree City) three trees were taken down on Lorain Road today near O'Henry's restaurant. Mr. Gareau said he heard about it also and feels that what was done on that property is a crime. It was done without any notice to the city. Somebody is going to be held accountable for it. They are redeveloping part of the shopping strip and will have to come before Council at some time. He looks forward to asking them exactly why they did this. Bill Brake, 24881 Kennedy Ridge Road, said he is getting an uneasy feeling about the Park-n-Ride. He would like to have an official position on the current proposal from the city. What is the city's take on this? What benefits will RTA bring to the area? What does the city think is the best use for that site? What options do the residents have? He does not want hearsay, rumors, innuendo or suggestions that the Supreme Court will take land away. He would like the city to give the residents some true, straight, up-front options on what they can do. What influence do the citizens, the Council and the Mayor have for that area, if any? As other options for the area are brought to the city, he would like those to be communicated to the residents in an up-front and factual manner. Mrs. Saringer thanked Mr. Brake for his comments and said that this was why she requested the Transportation Committee conduct a meeting. Hopefully, he and his neighbors will be able to attend. Mr. Gareau said that Mr. Brake's comments were well taken. He does not think Mr. Brake is asking for too much from Council or the administration by requesting an official position. The residents will need information in order to make a decision which is in their best interests. He feels the issue of courts rezoning property has been overstated-it does not happen that often. However, when you have property that can sell for between $250,000 to $450,000 an acre as retail, such as the property around Great Northern, then you can see why people may fight for it. That doesn't mean they will win and that doesn't mean the city will back down. Parcel E is proof that the city doesn't just lay down when a developer says he wants to build a strip mall. From the standpoint of planning, we do need to look at this realistically and it is one of the options that needs to be taken into consideration when we look at any development in the city. Law Director Gareau noted that the court process is always changing. In the last year or so there have been decisions from the Ohio and U. S. Supreme Courts dealing with takings where zoning is inappropriate and there is a request for rezoning and where the city can be tagged for appropriating property without due process of law. North Olmsted needs to guard against this by having the Planning Commission review the Master Plan, which they are mandated by the Charter to do and are in the process of doing so. If we feel strongly about vacant parcels that abut residential land, then we should have the opinion of a professional city planner. It is likely that there would be some problems in saying that the greenhouse property is appropriate for single family residential. He was faced with that identical problem on the property where Moen now sits. A lawsuit was filed, and he immediately hired two experts to give him an opinion with respect to whether or not that property was appropriately zoned for single family. When they came back and said that it wasn't, he negotiated an agreement with the property owners to have it used for something other than single family. The city Zone Map still lists that property '~~ 9