GETGO VARIANCES ARE APPROVED; LET THE PR SPIN BEGIN

Developer Lance Osborne began his public relations campaign in earnest after the Highland Heights Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) approved variances in connection with his mega GetGo development project.
Osborne’s hoping to convince Highland Heights voters to approve Issue #58, the GetGo rezoning issue.


GETGO VARIANCES APPROVED
On October 10th, P&Z approved 7 variances for Osborne’s proposed mega GetGo development project.

Those variances exempt Osborne from strictly complying with the city’s green space, front/side/rear yard and property use regulations.

For example, although the Highland Heights zoning code imposes a 20% green space requirement---a restriction designed to limit development density---only 13% of the GetGo parcel and 14% of the rear parcel will be undeveloped green space.

Osborne also received an exemption from the city’s 10’ side yard setback requirement. The developed area of the GetGo parcel will end a mere 2’2” from Brainard Road.

P&Z also agreed to a 50% reduction in the city’s front yard setback requirements. Osborne will be allowed to install a huge metal GetGo gas pump canopy that will end just 53’ 6½” (versus 110’) from the center of Wilson Mills Road.  (I understand P&Z is planning to revisit and perhaps reduce that variance, while still allowing installation of the huge metal canopy).

Still to come are sign-related GetGo variance requests.

Osborne’s drawings indicate that he wants to install two 6’x18’ monument signs along Wilson Mills and Brainard Roads.

The drawings also indicate that the GetGo will sell both diesel and gasoline fuel. That caught my eye. While most family cars use gas, many commercial vehicles use diesel fuel.



GETGO PR CAMPAIGN BEGINS

Council President Cathy Murphy (who represents Ward One) offered Osborne an opportunity to give a presentation about his proposed mega GetGo development project to residents attending her September 20th Ward One meeting.


As background Murphy explained:

“Mr. Osborne agreed to work with us (the city) to create a development plan…If the rezoning issue (Issue #58) passes, the property will be developed in accordance with the plan. We worked hard on it (the plan). We worked together on it.”

“To have a gas station, the property has to be rezoned. That’s why it’s on the ballot. Only voters can rezone property in our city.”

“Council has not endorsed the GetGo development, but we worked with them. I am pleased we did. I am pleased we have a development plan. I encourage you to look at the plan before you vote.”

Here are some of the things Osborne, and his leasing agent, said at that meeting.

In explaining why a mega GetGo gas station and convenience store were part of their development plan:

“GetGo is owned by Giant Eagle, the property is owned by Giant Eagle and Giant Eagle wants a GetGo there.”

“The use (for a GetGo) is pretty important. Giant Eagle has a lot of customers. They know where they want to be.”

“Giant Eagle wants to be here and they want you to shop there.”

In describing the project:

“There are tradeoffs. This is an opportunity to create something special.”

In explaining why the GetGo was a good fit for the Catalano’s property:

“Wilson Mills is a commercial street…It will bring awareness to the market…GetGo is the catalyst to the redevelopment of that corner of Highland Heights.”

“It will be relevant and new and offer amenenities.”

“This corner is not going to be a park. Giant Eagle is not a nonprofit business. It will be developed.”

And the threat, if residents vote against Issue 58 and reject Osborne’s GetGo development plan:

“We will be gone. It will be over as far as Highland Heights developers working with the city.”

A few meeting attendees expressed enthusiasm for Osborne’s proposed mega GetGo development.
One resident ( incorrectly) opined that the traffic won’t be any different than what residents experienced in connection with the old Catalano’s grocery store.

In making that comment, the resident ignored two very important differences between Catalano’s and the proposed mega GetGo:

1. The mega GetGo will be open for business many more hours each day than Catalano’s was. The GetGo will be open for business 20 hours a day, from 5 a.m. to 1 a.m.  and
2. The GetGo won’t serve just nearby residents. Giant Eagle has a gas points program. That program will drive Giant Eagle customers for miles around into Highland Heights, to the proposed mega GetGo gas station. There was no similar incentive program bringing customers to Catalano’s.
   

In fact, developer Osborne openly admitted that his traffic study didn’t consider what effect the Giant Eagle gas points program will have on traffic flow in the city. That omission raises significant questions regarding the study’s conclusion that the mega GetGo won’t cause a “degradation” of the Wilson Mills/Brainard Road intersection.


Another resident opined that she was tired of seeing the Catalano’s property sit empty. That prompted a rebuttal by another resident, who pointed the finger at Giant Eagle.

“They said No to the library. We could have had the library there.”

Among the comments shared by other concerned residents at the meeting:

“I have talked to others who have seen similar GetGos and they call them glorified truck stops. This is a small community, a family community. It doesn’t seem that we would want that kind of development in our community.”

“How is it written as far as the number of gas pumps (16) and store hours (5 am to 1am). Does GetGo have you by the short hairs?”

“You can’t build a gas station that’s clean, quiet or attractive enough for the surrounding area. You can’t build or operate a gas station that will enhance the property values in Highland Heights. We need to overwhelmingly vote no so that Giant Eagle sells the property. …We should send a message to Giant Eagle that they don’t want the property because we don’t want a gas station there.”

“That is a lovely picture (the artistic rendering of proposed retail spaces in the back of the Catalano’s property), but it doesn’t show the gas stations in front of it. It’s a little deceptive don’t you think?... You are selling something that doesn’t exist. In front of those lovely stores is a gas station.”

As for me, I thought most interesting was Osborne’s attempts to disassociate himself from the GetGo part of the project. The message he seemed to want to get across was:

We’re good guys. We’re residents. It’s all Giant Eagle’s fault!

In reality, Osborne has worked out a pretty sweet deal with Giant Eagle involving the mega GetGo.

Osborne told the city’s volunteer economic development committee last December that Giant Eagle has agreed to sell him the entire Catalano’s property and that he intends to lease back the front, GetGo portion to the GetGo operator (a Giant Eagle-affiliated company).

In other words, Osborne plans to make a lot of money from the GetGo.

Which raises this question:

Given the deal he’s worked out, why is Osborne pretending that he has nothing to do with the GetGo?

Why wouldn’t he be just as excited as Giant Eagle to have a mega GetGo as the crown jewel of his proposed development project?

PUBLIC HEARING ON MEGA GETGO TO BE HELD ON SEPTEMBER 10TH

Once again, has developer Lance Osborne received special treatment from the City of Highland Heights?

In my last blog posting I described developer Lance Osborne’s appearance before the Highland Heights Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) on August 27^th and wondered whether Osborne thought he was entitled to special treatment.

I now know the answer to that question.
The answer is yes, he does----and apparently with good reason.

Do you suppose he has friends in high places?

Although 3 of the 4 P&Z members in attendance on August 27th seemingly decided to postpone scheduling a public hearing on Osborne’s mega GetGo-related variance requests because Osborne hadn’t specified the specific variances he was requesting---which everyone else must do when filling out P&Z variance request forms---that decision was apparently overruled.

A public hearing on Osborne’s variance requests has been scheduled for this Monday, September 10^th. Required notices (to nearby property owners only) were sent out late last week.

The public hearing on Osborne’s variance requests will be held on Monday September 10^th, 8 pm, in the City Hall Council Chambers.

Was the very quiet scheduling of the GetGo public hearing---despite opposition of a majority of P&Z members---an attempt to avoid publicity and minimize attendance at the hearing?
It surely could be interpreted that way.

Although the development agreement that the city signed anticipates that variances will be granted to Osborne if rezoning for the proposed mega GetGo is approved by voters in November, the agreement doesn’t state exactly what those variances will be, and the specifics have---so far at least---not been made public.

That lack of information is what caused concern on the part of P&Z committee members last week---and that should cause concern to Highland Heights residents who, unlike Osborne, are required to follow the rules. 

One bone of contention is likely to be the huge 18’x6’ monument signs that Osborne wants to install along Wilson Mills and Brainard Roads.
In addition to variances from the city’s sign rules, Osborne is also seeking variances from the city’s front and side yard and green space requirements.

The September 10th hearing is open to the public.
Interested residents will be allowed to comment on Osborne’s variance requests.

Proposed Mega GetGo signs. This drawing was attached as an exhibit to the development agreement signed by the city and developer Lance Osborne

MORE HIGHLAND HEIGHTS ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS

Although Council was able to take a month-long recess, the Planning & Zoning Commission (P&Z) wasn’t so lucky. Commission members remained hard at work in August. 

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT NEWS

There was more positive economic development news at the August 27^th P&Z meeting.

The owner of Security Self Storage on Bishop Road discussed plans to add an additional 8,800 square foot storage unit, and the owner of Kemper House, which specializes in providing care to dementia/Alzheimer’s patients, announced plans to open a new residential care facility in Aberdeen Office Park. The facility would serve 82 residents and create 60-70 full & part-time jobs.

Fire Chief Bill Turner---not a usual attendee---came to the P&Z meeting to share several concerns about the Kemper House plans.
Turner wanted to ensure that the facility had sufficient access drives for emergency vehicles.  He also worried about the demands that the facility might place on the emergency services provided by his department:

“We are a small dept. We are taxed. I am concerned about what impact it (Kemper House) will have on the rest of the community.”

Kemper House’s response was both realistic and reassuring:

“Our population is different (than the assisted living facility on Bishop Road, which Turner indicated has added to the city’s emergency services workload). They (our residents) can’t dial 911. They don’t have phones in their room.  We are not a skilled nursing facility…The average age of our residents is 86. They have DNRs (do not resuscitate orders).”

The owner of Kemper House told P&Z:

“Our market study showed a huge need for residential dementia care in this area. We like to think we can be a huge resource for the community.”

RESIDENTS ASK FOR VARIANCES FROM THE WORK-RELATED VEHICLES PARKING ORDINANCE.

In 2004, Highland Heights Council enacted an Ordinance 1141.08, which restricts the parking of commercial and work vehicles in residential areas. The ordinance has teeth---violations constitute a “minor misdemeanor” enforceable in court, and residents face a $100 fine for “each day or fraction thereof, during which noncompliance or a violation continues…”  
The ordinance differentiates between commercial vehicles based on their weight.
There are no additional requirements placed on the owners of very large (one ton and over) commercial vehicles, but the ordinance requires owners of vehicles under 1 ton to cover up all “lettering, signage or other commercial indicia…in a manner acceptable to the Building Department” and to remove all “equipment, tools, ladders and similar items… from the vehicle” each night.

I find the ordinance troubling from a legal standpoint.
Any ordinance that results in prosecution and the imposition of hefty penalties should notify residents in a clear and nondiscretionary manner just what the city expects them to do to stay out of trouble.

And while Council is certainly allowed to delegate responsibility to the Building Commissioner to enforce the ordinance, it should provide clear parameters that limit and define the exercise of that authority, so that everyone---residents, Council and the Commissioner alike---know, upfront, just what those limits are.

Stating that residents must act “in a manner acceptable to the Building Department” just doesn’t cut it in my book.

Also troubling is the fact that the ordinance ---which presumably was enacted to address the aesthetic challenges presented by commercial vehicles parked in residential driveways----appears to give a total pass to larger (1 ton+) commercial vehicles; it seemingly doesn't require owners of those vehicles to cover up commercial signs and lettering or remove exterior equipment. Only owners of smaller commercial vehicles are required to do that. The ordinance doesn’t provide any rationale or reason for that discriminatory treatment.

There’s another basic problem with the ordinance, though.
The reality is that times have changed and more residents drive business-related vehicles now than 20 years ago.

That reality is reflected in the growing number of residents, who are coming to P&Z asking for “variances” from (i.e. to be legally relieved from complying with) the parking ordinance. 

Three such individuals were listed on P&Z’s August 27^th agenda.
One resident explained,

“I am on 24/7 call. I have to have my (commercial) vehicle at my residence to keep my job….I just want to work and go home, that’s it.“

Another resident told P&Z:

"I operate a business out of my home. I have a ½ ton van with ladders and signage. I moved here in June 1981. No one said anything until now. I have had the same type of vehicle since that time. My vehicle will not fit into the garage. It is not financially feasible for me to alter the garage…I am on 24 hour call. I leave at 5:30 am. Putting up ladders (on top of the van) at 5:15am would be noisy and a nuisance…To my knowledge there have been no complaints about my vehicle since I moved in. It hasn’t caused a change to the environment. It does not impede fire or safety.”

In a dramatic illustration of just how ambiguous and confusing the ordinance really is---even to P&Z---the commission members decided to postpone taking any action on the residents’ variance requests. They decided, instead, to ask Council for clarification regarding the ordinance’s intent and language.

Council’s representative to P&Z, Bob Mastrangelo, seemed to sum up P&Z’s concerns:

“There should be reason to compromise here. I understand that people do not want big commercial vehicles, but there should be way to accommodate people who need vehicles for work as well. “

Residents can only hope that Council takes a second, hard look at the ordinance---and does so quickly. According to Building Commissioner Dale Grabfelder, 4 residents are currently awaiting court hearings after the city filed misdemeanor complaints against them for violating the ordinance.

These are excerpts from Ordinance 111.08:

No person shall keep, park, store… overnight any commercial vehicle or truck…in a U-1, U-2, U-3 (residential) use district, except... not more than one commercial vehicle or one truck, not exceeding one ton… may be parked in a covered and closed garage or otherwise entirely out of sight of any adjacent property … provided the trucks or commercial vehicles are used solely by the owner(s) or occupant(s) of the premises. 1141.08(a)(6).

Commercial vehicles shall.. include any pick up truck with a rated capacity of one ton or less, van, or sport utility vehicle that is used for commercial, business, or manufacturing purposes and bears any one or more of the following: mounted equipment, signs, racks carrying equipment, tools, ladders, lettering, building material and/or similar items.  …(Such) vehicles… may be parked in a U-1, U-2, or U-3 use district …if the owner or occupant covers the lettering, signage or other commercial indicia in a manner acceptable to the Building Department and/or removes any and all equipment, tools, ladders and similar items from the vehicle while parking overnight. 1141.08(d)

DOES DEVELOPER LANCE OSBORNE REALLY THINK THE RULES DON’T APPLY TO HIM?

At the beginning of the P&Z meeting, P&Z Chair Vince Adamus explained the variance process, which begins by the filling out of a variance request form.
In that form residents are asked to list both the zoning code at issue and the exact type of variance requested (i.e., “a 4 foot, 8” variance from the rear setback requirements found in Highland Heights Ordinance xxx.”).
P&Z uses the information in the form to have a detailed, preliminary discussion with the applicant.  After having that discussion, P&Z will usually schedule a public hearing and notify nearby neighbors of the variance request.  P&Z can’t vote on the variance request until after a public hearing is held. 

Once again I have to wonder if developer Lance Osborne thinks that the P&Z rules apply to everyone else.

Osborne appeared at the August 27th P&Z meeting to discuss his variance requests for his proposed mega GetGo development on the former Catalano’s grocery store property.
It appeared from the conversation that Osborne expected a public hearing to be held on his variance requests at the next (September 10^th) P&Z meeting. He seemed to have that expectation even though he hadn’t fully filled out the required variance request forms.
Osborne spoke in vague generalities about the variances he was requesting without providing specifics to P&Z---either as to the applicable zoning code sections or as to the precise variances that he was seeking.

This time around Osborne didn’t get any special treatment from P&Z---despite the best efforts of Law Director Tim Paluf.
Paluf-- -who rarely attends P&Z meetings---tried to help Osborne out, suggesting that a public hearing could still be held in on September 10th if Osborne provided the missing information to the P&Z clerk by August 31st, the deadline for mailing required hearing notices.

That suggestion didn’t sit well with P&Z.

Chairman Vince Adamus pointed out:

“When we get one of these (a variance request form), all of the (variance) amounts are supposed to be filled in so we (P&Z) can ask questions."

Commission member Don McFadden explained,

“It is difficult to review (a variance request) when we don’t have the code sections.”

Even Councilman Bob Mastrangelo---a supporter of Osborne’s mega GetGo project---was reluctant to forge ahead. He said,

“I think the (variance) application should be complete. Holding a public hearing next time doesn’t give us any time. It’s not like you (Osborne) are planning to break ground tomorrow. He (Osborne) can come back in two weeks with all the numbers in there…I’d back it (the public hearing) off. Typically when someone comes in, the form should be filled out. They should not plan to come back with more information. If we don’t have a (public) hearing next time we’re not holding up anything.”

Osborne is expected to return to P&Z---will fully completed variance request forms---on September 10th.

$250 FOR A BRICK?

The Mayfield Schools are planning to celebrate the “inaugural opening of Wildcat Park” (i.e. the renovated High School football stadium) beginning at 9 am on September 8th.

The Wildcat Community Foundation, the group behind the project, is still working to meet its multi-million dollar fundraising goal.

For a $250 donation, you can have your name or message engraved on a paver installed at the football field entrance.

If you have a little more money to spare---say $200,000 or more---you will be named a “Platinum Cat” and be recognized with a plaque on a donor wall.

For more information: www.MayfieldWildcatPark.com.