EPILOGUE: THE DRILLING RESOLUTION VOTE
Council took a week off after its March 27th
meeting---the meeting during which, in front of an overflow crowd, Council
voted to reject a plan to settle the Bass Energy lawsuit by allowing frac gas
wells to be drilled in the Community Park.
It was wonderful to see residents turn out in force to oppose
the drilling plan.
Their involvement made all the difference in stopping what appeared to be a done deal, brokered by Bass Energy’s attorney and the city’s outside counsel.
Their involvement made all the difference in stopping what appeared to be a done deal, brokered by Bass Energy’s attorney and the city’s outside counsel.
One lingering, unsettled aspect of the March 27th
Council meeting was Mayor Scott Coleman’s public statement---made before
Council voted on the drilling resolution----informing residents of the vote
results. The mayor also publicly announced
how Council was going to vote during a pre-meeting, on-camera interview with a
local television station.
Ohio’s Sunshine Law bars public bodies (like Council) from deciding
issues and from voting (including informal polling) on public business behind
closed doors and outside of public view.
By law, every action that
Council takes---and every decision
that Council makes---is supposed to be taken or made in public.
That’s what makes the mayor’s premature public announcements
of the vote results so troubling.
Council President Cathy Murphy--a lawyer--is known to be a
strict, by-the-book leader when it comes to complying with the Sunshine Law.
That convinces me that the mayor probably got a sense of where
Council was headed after talking to individual Council members. Having done so,
however, he should have kept that knowledge to himself. The mayor certainly cast a Sunshine
Law cloud over the vote by publicly announcing the results before Council voted
on the drilling resolution.
It certainly appears that by disclosing the vote results before the
vote was even taken, the mayor was trying to co-opt Council and to take credit----in
front of the hundreds of residents in attendance---for Council’s decision to
reject the drilling resolution.
Ironically, in the 8 weeks leading up to the drilling vote, never
once did Mayor Coleman publicly express opposition to the drilling resolution
or urge Council to choose a different option for resolving the Bass Energy
matter. Instead the mayor sat mute, week after week, meeting after meeting, as Council moved perilously close to adopting the drilling
resolution.
Council was not the only group co-opted by the mayor’s
premature announcement of the vote results.
The mayor also took credit away from the individuals who really tipped the balance and who most influenced the outcome of that vote---the hundreds of Highland Heights residents who sent emails, attended Council meetings and spoke forcefully and passionately against the drilling resolution.
The mayor also took credit away from the individuals who really tipped the balance and who most influenced the outcome of that vote---the hundreds of Highland Heights residents who sent emails, attended Council meetings and spoke forcefully and passionately against the drilling resolution.
Hurrah for Highland Heights residents!
MEGA GET-GO/CATALANO’S UPDATES
Developer Lance Osborne’s “Leasing” Sign
A reader recently tipped me that the Planning & Zoning
Commission (P&Z) had addressed the procedural errors that led to P&Z’s
recent approval---without holding a required public hearing---of a
non-conforming “leasing” sign that developer Lance Osborne wanted to install on
the Catalano’s property.
That sign advertises retail space that that doesn’t currently exist---and that may never be built---on property that Osborne doesn’t currently own.
That sign advertises retail space that that doesn’t currently exist---and that may never be built---on property that Osborne doesn’t currently own.
I was all set to compliment P&Z for remediating their
hasty and inappropriate action, but I found nothing in the minutes from the March
26th meeting indicating that P&Z took any remedial action.
The absence of any recorded official action signifies that P&Z’s questionable motion approving the Osborne “leasing” sign still stands.
The Zoning Ballot Issue
Blog readers will recall that developer Lance Osborne wants
to put on a single issue on the ballot in connection with his proposed mega
Get-Go development plan---one that would add gas stations as a permitted use
for “Local Business” classified properties.
Since changes made to the “Local Business” classification
also apply to “General Business” properties, Osborne’s issue would essentially
gut our current zoning code by rendering the “Motor Service” classification
obsolete and by allowing gas stations to be installed on every business-zoned property
in the city.
Our current zoning code has a “Motor Service” classification
for gas stations.
Osborne could ask voters
to rezone the Catalano’s property from “Local Business” to “Motor Service” to
accommodate a proposed mega Get-Go gas station and convenience store/cafe, but under
our Charter, such a rezoning would need to be approved both city-wide and by
voters in the impacted ward.
It’s pretty clear, in his approach, that Osborne doesn’t want to give Ward 4 residents the right to veto his mega Get-Go development plan---even though their property values are most at risk and they would be most impacted by the resulting increases in traffic, noise and pollution.
It’s pretty clear, in his approach, that Osborne doesn’t want to give Ward 4 residents the right to veto his mega Get-Go development plan---even though their property values are most at risk and they would be most impacted by the resulting increases in traffic, noise and pollution.
Council has been trying to work with Osborne---even offering to put a zoning issue on the ballot as part of a development agreement for the proposed mega Get-Go project.
In return, Council has imposed only one condition---that the ballot issue must be a Charter-compliant rezoning issue, requiring both city-wide and Ward 4 voter approval.
I obtained a copy of Council’s proposed ballot language,
drafted by Law Director Tim Paluf and provided to Osborne at his request.
The law director’s approach strictly complies with the city charter.
It asks voters to approve a “lot split” that would rezone just the front (Get-Go) portion of the Catalano’s property from “Local Business” (which does not allow for gas station use under our zoning code) to Motor Service” (which does).
The law director’s approach strictly complies with the city charter.
It asks voters to approve a “lot split” that would rezone just the front (Get-Go) portion of the Catalano’s property from “Local Business” (which does not allow for gas station use under our zoning code) to Motor Service” (which does).
As drafted by the law director, the ballot language that
Council will support reads as follows:
“In accordance with Article VIII, Section 8.02.02 of the Charter of the City of Highland Heights, Ohio, which mandates that the ordinance only becomes effective upon approval by both a majority of the electors voting on the issue citywide as well as in the ward in which the land is situated, specifically Ward 4, there shall be submitted to the qualified electors of the City of Highland Heights, Ohio, at the election to be held on November 6, 2012, the following question:
“Shall Ordinance No. -2012, which revises the Zone Map Highland Heights, Ohio by rezoning (the front of the Catalano’s property along Wilson Mills Road) from Local Business District (L-B) to Motor Service District (M-S) be enacted into law? Yes/No”
So there you have it.
The ball is now in Osborne’s court.
The ball is now in Osborne’s court.
The question is no longer whether Council is willing to work
with Osborne.
The real question is whether Osborne is willing to work with Council.
The real question is whether Osborne is willing to work with Council.
To be continued…..
