Life, according to my great uncle John---a crusty New
Englander who lived to a ripe old age---boiled down to this: “Hurry Up and Wait.” Supporters of Lance Osborne’s mega Get-Go
project no doubt agree.
GET-GO UPDATE
Developer Lance
Osborne and his supporters worked feverishly late last year, hoping to put
a Get-Go related zoning issue on the
March primary ballot. That effort came to an abrupt halt on January 3rd,
when Osborne conceded that the zoning issue would have to wait until the November
2012 general election.
Although he’s carefully avoided taking a public position on
the project, Mayor Scott Coleman has
been very involved behind the scenes. He
told Council on January 10th that he’s been talking with Osborne
“and his group” “for a period of time, ” and that his involvement resulted in
some concessions---including dropping the car wash which, the mayor said, “was
a huge concern of mine.” (Apparently the mega gas station is not).
Coleman showed his activism again on January 3rd,
when he recommended to Council that the city pursue a development agreement with Osborne.
The mayor said that such an agreement,
“…could be part of the issue going to the voters, so the voters know what they are voting on specifically...The project, on its face, has some merit and I think we should undertake a good effort to try to come to an agreement.”
Following Coleman’s lead, Council President Cathy Murphy asked council members to share their
questions and concerns about the project with Law Director Tim Paluf, who has been tasked with negotiating on the
city’s behalf.
Paluf confirmed on January 10th that he had
received Council’s submissions and that he would be meeting with Osborne and/or
his attorney in the next few weeks to discuss a possible development agreement.
It’s not clear at
this point just how comprehensive the development agreement will be.
While the city and Osborne might agree on some details--such as the mega Get-Go’s appearance and lighting--it’s still up in the air whether they will agree on the most crucial issue: the nature and wording of the zoning issue that will appear on the November ballot.
As explained in my previous blog, Charter 8.02.02 requires
both city-wide and Ward 4 voter
approval if the ballot issue submitted
to the voters is a rezoning issue, i.e. if it asks voters to approve rezoning the
Catalano’s property (or a lot-split portion thereof) to allow for the proposed
mega Get-Go gas station.
Ward 4 voters will not
be provided any special protection, however, if Osborne’s preferred approach is
followed, i.e., if the issue submitted to the voters focuses on changing the
city’s zoning laws to allow gas stations as an accepted use on all business-zoned
properties in the city.
According to last week’s Sun
Messenger, Ward 4 Councilwoman Lisa
Stickan holds a pretty firm view on which approach should be taken. She is
quoted saying:
“Allowing the residents of Ward 4 to have the final say is very important.”
Although he was interviewed for the same story, the mayor
didn’t disclose his own position on this “very important” matter to the Sun Messenger reporter. However he has
discussed the issue, on the record, in the past. Coleman stated at a June 12, 2011 Committee of the Whole meeting that:
“…he would be concerned with any proposal that takes this proposal out of the vote of the people. That is something they have talked about from the start and he thought it is pretty critical that it remains that way. They have told the people in Ward 4 that they would have a say in addition to the City as a whole.”
Thus, according to
the mayor, a very important promise has already been made to Ward 4 voters: their Charter 8.02.02 voting rights will be
protected when a Get-Go zoning issue appears on the ballot.
That should bring some comfort to those residents, whose neighborhoods and residential property values are likely to be the ones most impacted by Lance Osborne’s proposed mega Get-Go development.
BASS ENERGY
LAWSUIT: DRILL OR ARBITRATE?
Rumor has it that Council may hold another executive session
to discuss the Bass Energy lawsuit when
it reconvenes on January 24th . That’s the second executive session on
that topic this month.
A similar flurry of discussions occurred in January last year.
It’s not hard to know why. If it’s going to drill gas wells in the park, Bass would prefer to do it in the winter, when the park is little used and residents’ windows are closed. (The site-clearing and drilling/rock fracturing operations are conducted around the clock, 24/7, using heavy equipment. It is a lengthy and far from peaceful process.)
A similar flurry of discussions occurred in January last year.
It’s not hard to know why. If it’s going to drill gas wells in the park, Bass would prefer to do it in the winter, when the park is little used and residents’ windows are closed. (The site-clearing and drilling/rock fracturing operations are conducted around the clock, 24/7, using heavy equipment. It is a lengthy and far from peaceful process.)
Council continues to face the same 3 choices with regard to
the lawsuit: 1) proceed to arbitration and fight Bass’s breach of contract claim;
2) pay money to make Bass go away; or 3) throw in the towel and let Bass drill
in the park, thereby forever changing the character of the park and potentially
endangering Highland Heights residents and the environment.
Mounting scientific evidence has connected frac drilling operations
to earthquakes, explosions, underground water contamination and toxic gas
releases. Despite that evidence---and voters’ overwhelming approval of a
Charter amendment to protect the park from gas wells---some council members
apparently still believe that allowing Bass to drill in the park is the easiest
and best choice.
If you feel
otherwise, now would be a good time to make your voice heard.
Council members’ emails and phone numbers are listed online
at the city’s website.
Contacting Mayor Coleman wouldn’t be a bad idea either, since he’s the one who rushed to sign the drilling lease that got us into this breach
of contract mess.
QUICK HITS
- Jefferson Drive relining project
- Energy Saving Lighting.
Council approved a contract to replace and/or update
lighting in the Community Center and other Municipal Complex buildings. Grant
money will be used to pay part of the cost.
Evans noted that the Fire Department was not included in the project because “they received a grant several years ago to update their lighting.” Kudos to Fire Chief Bill Turner and his department for being ahead of the curve and proactively saving taxpayers money. Read more:
Evans noted that the Fire Department was not included in the project because “they received a grant several years ago to update their lighting.” Kudos to Fire Chief Bill Turner and his department for being ahead of the curve and proactively saving taxpayers money. Read more:
- FEMA Flood Maps
Last year Council authorized the city engineer’s office to
conduct several flood delineation studies in the city after December 2010 FEMA flood maps inexplicably designated several areas as high-risk,
100 year flood zones. Many residents were forced to buy pricey flood insurance as
a result of that designation.
The engineer’s work reaped quick benefits for the
Williamsburg neighborhood. Last spring FEMA amended their map to restore that
neighborhood’s previous low-risk flood designation.
On January 10th, Engineer Brian Mader reported that his office was about to submit
additional data to FEMA concerning several other areas. Hopefully that will lead to more map
amendments in the near future.
Mader’s been pretty tight-lipped about what his office found
and which properties are likely to be remapped out of the flood zone. No doubt
some residents will still have to buy flood insurance. But if that’s the case, at
least they’ll know that the FEMA maps prompting that coverage are accurate.
