NEW COUNCIL TERM BRINGS BOTH CHANGE AND MORE OF THE SAME

Highland Heights Council got organized and listened to Lance Osborne’s newest Get-Go presentation on Jan. 3^rd

LANCE OSBORNE’S MOST RECENT GET-GO PITCH

Some Things Change

As 2011 drew to a close, developer Lance Osborne insisted---both in the press and at a December 15^th Economic Development Committee (EDC) meeting---that Council could act on January 3^rd to put a Get-Go related zoning issue on the March 2012 primary ballot.  His claim prompted Highland Heights’ Finance Director, Anthony Ianiro, to “suggest and encourage” that EDC members attend the January 3^rd Council meeting to pressure Council to do just that.

As explained in my last blog, Council couldn’t put a Get-Go-related zoning issue on the March primary ballot, even if it wanted to. 
Osborne and his supporters apparently embraced that reality after singing Auld Lang Syne.  

Osborne certainly hummed an entirely different tune when he appeared before Council on January 3^rd.
Gone was any talk about getting on the March ballot.  Instead he declared that he was there,

“to work with Council about placing it (a Get-Go zoning issue) on the November 2012 ballot.”

A surprise new element of Osborne’s development plan: an outdoor patio located next to the Get-Go convenience store/café---a perfect venue for customers who enjoy breathing in auto exhaust while eating their coffee and subs…

Osborne also revealed that Giant Eagle’s demands had altered. He said that in mid-December,

“We sent a letter to the Law Director (Tim Paluf ) agreeing that the city can…remove the language (in Osborne’s zoning initiative) regarding the size (of allowed businesses)…limit(ing) the hours of operation, and…exclud(ing) the car wash. We’d also be happy to enter into a development agreement to further protect the city.”

Osborne made clear, however, that any

“development agreement would be contingent on a successful (zoning) ballot issue and our acquiring the property (from Giant Eagle). “

The second contingency is a potential minefield. The development agreement—at least as discussed last week---would be between Osborne and the city only. That means Giant Eagle could get around it simply be waiting until after residents approve a zoning issue allowing a mega Get-Go to operate on the Catalano’s property and then refuse to sell the property to Osborne.
 

The reality is that any development agreement between the city and Osborne may be nothing more than an illusion and a public relations stunt ....unless Giant Eagle and Echo (the Giant Eagle-related company that holds title to the Catalano’s property) agree to bind themselves, in writing, to its provisions.

And Some Things Remain the Same

While making some concessions, Osborne made clear that he wasn’t willing to budge on one very important issue:

He doesn’t want any ballot issue that would give Ward 4 residents a special say with regard to using the Catalano’s property as a mega Get-Go gas station.

In 1990, Highland Heights voters amended the Charter to give added protection to the residents most affected by a proposed zoning change.
Section 8.02.02 states that, with regard to any ordinance or resolution that changes how a piece of property is zoned (i.e., changes it from one zoning classification to another), not only must there be city-wide approval, but residents in the ward(s) where the property is located must also approve the change.

Charter 8.02.02 protection was provided to Ward 3 residents a couple of years ago, when an issue pertaining to the business area at the corner of Highland and Miner Roads (where Mulligan’s is located) was put on the ballot.

That protection should also apply to the rezoning of the Catalano’s property---or at least that portion that Osborne wants to use as a mega Get-Go gas station.

 Osborne’s zoning initiative petition was drafted to deprive Ward 4 residents their special protection rights under Charter 8.02.02. 
He did that by framing his zoning law changes to affect all business-zoned properties in the city, not just the Catalano’s parcel.

Council President Cathy Murphy was clearly troubled by Osborne’s approach. She commented,

“Our Charter calls for an independent vote of the (impacted) ward. The way it’s (Osborne’s proposed zoning issue) structured now, that’s being bypassed. A lot of (Council) people went on record saying this was an important component---to put the zoning issue on the ballot so the ward (Ward 4 voters) would have approval.”

When Murphy asked for Osborne’s current position on that issue, he replied,

“We’d like the city to amend the ordinance that we basically put in front of them.”

In other words, Osborne still wants to deprive  Ward 4 voters of their rights under Charter 8.02.02.

He doesn’t want to let Ward 4 voters---the city’s most impacted residents---have the last word on whether or not a mega-Get-Go can be operated on the Catalano’s property.

COUNCIL AND CITY ADMINISTRATION

Some Things Change

In addition to listening to Lance Osborne’s presentation, Council held a special organizational meeting on January 3^rd .

Not surprisingly, the departure of Scott Mills and the arrival of Chuck Brunello meant that there would be some changes on Council.

Ward 1 Councilwoman Cathy Murphy was elected Council President. It’s a familiar role for Murphy; she has served in that capacity in the past.

Councilwoman Lisa Stickan and Councilman Ed Hargate apparently chose to switch committee seats. Hargate decided to serve on the Legislative & Finance Committee with Murphy and Councilman Leo Lombardo this year.
Stickan will serve on the Safety Services (SS) Committee with Brunello and Councilman Bob Mastrangelo.
Mastrangelo will continue serving on the Planning & Zoning Commission.  Brunello will continue to serve on the city’s Park & Recreation Commission (P&R), but change from being a P&R member to Council’s P&R rep.

Councilman Frank Legan was appointed as Council rep to the EDC. That should be a good fit given Legan’s background and interests.

And Some Things Remain the Same

In addition to its own appointments, Council approved Mayor Coleman’s 2012 appointments.

Coleman, who keeps a tight circle and apparently has no problem with nepotism, made no changes to his administrative staff. The brothers Ianiro continue in their roles as the city’s Finance and Recreation Directors.

The mayor also appointed the wife of EDC member Dan Greve (“We are not a lifestyle city”) to a paid position on the city’s Park & Recreation Commission.

The Get-Go Question: Are We (Or Are We Not) A “Lifestyle” City?

An Economic Development Committee member recently justified his support of Lance Osborne’s mega Get-Go development plan by proclaiming that Highland Heights is “not a lifestyle city.” His comment goes to the heart of the Get-Go issue.

The Backstory

The four-meetings-a-year Highland Heights Economic Development Committee (EDC) has met 3 times since September to discuss Lance Osborne’s $8 million development proposal for the former Catalano’s grocery store property.
The centerpiece of that project: a mega Giant Eagle/Get-Go gas station, which Osborne plans to install along Wilson Mills Road, near the Bishop/Brainard Road intersection.

Osborne faces a major obstacle: the Catalano’s property is zoned for “local business.” Since gas stations aren’t a permitted use, the Get-Go can’t go in unless Highland Heights voters approve a zoning code change to allow it.

Osborne, who told the EDC that he’d like the Get-Go to be operational within a year, seems to be looking to Council to carry the water for him after his own flawed and untimely initiative petition drive failed to get a zoning issue on the ballot last November.

Osborne told the EDC on December 15^th that a Get-Go zoning issue could appear on the March 6, 2012 primary ballot if Council took appropriate action during its January 3^rd organizational meeting.

That explains the recent flurry of EDC meetings.

Supporters of Osborne’s mega Get-Go development plan apparently hoped to obtain the EDC’s endorsement of the project by year’s end and then use it to pressure Council to take immediate action to push the project forward on January 3^rd.

Finance Director Anthony Ianiro, who heads the EDC, not only backed up Osborne’s primary ballot claim, he told EDC members:  

“I encourage and suggest that you come and that you speak to Council“ on January 3^rd.

Mayor Scott Coleman expressed pessimism but didn’t throw water on the idea that Council could act on January 3^rd to put a Get-Go zoning issue on the March primary ballot:

“For March, an ordinance would have to be passed at the 1^st (Council) meeting in January. I don’t see that as a practical thing. The whole concept of amending the zoning ordinance has not been discussed by council… The 1^st Council meeting on January 3^rd is more an organizational meeting. It’s possible that Council could discuss it if they are willing to do it…They know it’s pending.  They have discussed meaty things at organizational meetings in the past. There’s precedent for doing that.”

Reality Check
Council could theoretically vote on January 3^rd to put an ordinance amending the Highland Heights zoning code on the March 6th primary ballot, but it wouldn’t be legal.

Council would have to ignore state filing deadlines, city ordinances and the Highland Heights Charter to do that.

Council would have to present the new zoning ordinance for a first reading at a January 3^rd special meeting (during which public comment is not allowed), immediately suspend two additional required readings of the ordinance, and then pass it the same night. Council would also have to include language instructing the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections to put the ordinance on the March primary ballot---in violation of state filing deadlines.

•  According to the Cuyahoga County Board of Elections’ 2012 elections calendar, the filing deadline for getting “local issues” (such as a zoning ordinance) on the March 6, 2012 primary ballot expired several weeks ago, on December 7^th. http://www.boe.cuyahogacounty.us/en-US/election-calendar.aspx

•             Highland Heights law requires 3 separate readings before ordinances are adopted (117.01), it prohibits zoning measures from being passed as emergency measures (117.02), and it also mandates that Council provide 30 days notice and hold a public hearing prior to adopting any ordinance amending the city’s zoning code (1115.04). http://www.conwaygreene.com/Hlandhts.htm
  
  
•         Highland Heights Charter 802.02 imposes a waiting period after zoning ordinances are approved, before they can be voted on.  A 60-day waiting period applies to general elections (a primary is not a general election); otherwise a 90-day waiting period applies. http://www.conwaygreene.com/Hlandhts.htm

Osborne, Mayor Coleman, and Finance Director Tony Ianiro clearly misspoke when they told EDC members on December 15^th that Council could act on January 3^rd to put a Get-Go zoning issue on the March primary ballot.
Council can’t do that----not legally, anyway.

While it is expected that developers might, on occasion, spin facts or present a version of reality that serves their own self-interest, it’s disappointing that, rather than setting the record straight, Mayor Coleman and Finance Director Ianiro not only backed up Osborne’s claim, but also “encourage(d) and suggest(ed)” to  EDC members that they should come and pressure Council to do something on January 3^rd which---as the mayor and finance director should know---Council is not legally authorized to do.

 “We Are Not A Lifestyle City”

 Although no formal vote was taken on December 15^th, 7 of the 10 EDC members expressed support for Osborne’s mega Get-Go project. (Maurice Helou abstained, Mayor Scott Coleman didn’t offer an opinion, and Scott Mills was absent).

Their endorsement might have more weight if the EDC’s review of the project hadn’t been so limited.
Members pretty much just listened to Osborne, looked at his conceptual drawings and accepted, without significant analysis, Osborne’s claims regarding traffic impact (“no degradation” of the Wilson Mills/Bishop/Brainard intersection”), job creation (120 mostly part-time, minimum wage jobs) and new tax revenue (approximately $47,000).  

At the December 15^th meeting Osborne again described his traffic study as a “trip generation” traffic study whose projections are based on (generic) use and the square footage of the proposed project. When asked by EDC member Helou whether the traffic study took  into account “the value of the (Giant Eagle/Get-Go) brand and what it might draw in as far as customers,” Osborne replied, "No."

In other words Osborne’s traffic study doesn't consider the effect of Giant Eagle’s gas points program, which will funnel traffic to the Get-Go from surrounding communities. (Mayor Coleman seemingly confirmed this reality when he commented, “They (Giant Eagle) are desperately in need of a location in this corridor.”) Presumably the traffic study also doesn't count traffic that will be diverted as a result of Giant Eagle’s installation of Get-Go exit signs along I-90 and I-271.

Significantly, the EDC did not consider or discuss:  1) the negative impact (including job losses) that the mega Get-Go project could have on currently operating local businesses; 2) zoning issues; or 3) the impact that the proposed mega Get-Go facility will have on residential neighborhoods and residential property values.

No matter. Most of the EDC members still enthusiastically support the project.  Among their comments:

“The project is above what I expected to see. Every day is a day without tax revenue.” Michael DeStefano.(He’s not quite right.  Giant Eagle pays property tax on the $1+ million assessed value of the Catalano’s property each year.)

 “I lived on Millridge. I remember Catalano’s at Christmastime. It was a mess. That’s the way it was. No one complained.” Janet Schiciano.
(It’s interesting that, after having suffered through it herself, Schiciano so easily dismisses the effect that the Get-Go---which will have far worse traffic than “Catalano’s at Christmastime”---will have on her former neighborhood.)

“We are not a lifestyle city.” Dan Greve.
(So, what does that make us, a low-rent, shabby-town?)

I think Greve’s comment cuts to the heart of the Get-Go issue.  

Are we a “lifestyle city”---one that puts high quality residential life at the top of its priority list and is committed to preserving high residential property values, even during times of economic downturn? Or are we some other kind of city---a “non-lifestyle city”----one that is willing to support commercial development at all costs, no matter how it effects our residential neighborhoods?

Fortunately it is Highland Heights residents---not Lance Osborne, Giant Eagle, or the EDC--- who will get to decide that question, once a Get-Go zoning issue finally gets on the ballot.

It just won’t be in March.

The Return of Common Sense

The election is over, which means that there’s a better chance that Highland Heights residents will see common sense prevailing over politics.

FINANCIAL MATTERS

• Item One: Paying for the new rescue squad

Highland Heights Fire Chief Bill Turner waited patiently for several years before getting the green light to replace the city’s oldest rescue squad vehicle (RSV).
It’s great that the city is willing to invest in modern, well-functioning emergency equipment, and it makes financial sense too. Because insurance companies are charged for it, the fire department’s emergency rescue service is actually a moneymaker for the city.

Mayor Scott Coleman included only part of the cost of the new RSV in the 2011 capital improvements budget. Instead of paying for it upfront, he proposed using a five year, rent-to-own arrangement---one that upped the RSV’s total cost (due to interest payments) and encumbered future capital improvement funds through 2015.

Councilman Bob Mastrangelo questioned that decision. He argued that the city had sufficient funds to buy the RSV outright and that there wasn’t a good justification for adding interest costs to the purchase price. 

So why would Coleman want to go the rent-to-own route? 

While Coleman claimed at the time that he wasn’t sure there was enough money in the budget to pay the full purchase price this year, it’s pretty hard to ignore the fact that Coleman used the city’s finances--including the city’s reserve (savings/rainy day) fund balance---as a key part of his recent reelection campaign.  The rent-to-own approach reduced the impact that the RSV purchase had on the 2011 budget---and on the reserve fund balance.

Mastrangelo raised the financing issue again a couple of weeks ago, after the RSV was delivered and the bill came due.

During last week’s Legislative & Finance Committee (L&F) meeting, Coleman conceded that the city could afford to buy the RSV outright and that doing that will save $12,000 in interest costs and free up an additional $44,000 in capital improvement funds for each of the next four years.

No doubt that was music to Mastrangelo’s ears.

• Item Two: Insurance Costs

During the L&F meeting Finance Director Anthony Ianiro reported on the bids submitted for the city’s 2012 medical and dental coverage.
It looks like the dental premiums will remain the same, but the city’s current medical insurance provider proposed a 20% premium increase. Ouch.
 A different company (Signa) is offering a comparable medical insurance plan for only a 5% premium increase. Although the city is still waiting to hear from a couple more insurers, it looks like Signa’s bid might be the winner.

• Item Three: The 2012 Budget

Mayor Scott Coleman told Council last week that he had already met with his department heads, as a kickoff to the 2012 budgeting process.

While it is still too early to know what the 2012 budget will look like, it is likely to include significant capital improvement spending.

During his campaign Coleman promised that he would come up with a plan to address the city’s infastructure needs within 100 days of starting his new term. One of the most pressing needs is the Highland Road water main. The city has been on notice for several years that the water main is failing and must be replaced.

One budget category that is guaranteed to increase across the board next year: salaries.  The labor contracts approved last year call for a 3% pay increase for union employees in 2012. Traditionally city administrators and other exempt employees receive matching pay increases.

• Item Four: Green Task Force Grant Applications

The city’s newest organization---the Highland Heights Green Task Force (GTF)---has already had a positive impact on the city. 

A few months ago the city received a grant to buy recycling bins for the Community Center, thanks to the efforts of the GTF.  

At last week’s Council meeting GTF head Judy Dearden described the latest grant that the group is pursuing. The money (a $5,000 grant from the Fiskars Corporation) would be used to enhance the city’s new green space. 

Good luck and thanks, GTF!

GET-GO UPDATE

Law Director Tim Paluf finally answered the question on many minds: when Lance Osborne’s Get-Go zoning initiative petition issues will be placed on the ballot.

Osborne has been pushing to have the issues put before voters at the earliest opportunity, i.e., during the first special or primary election in 2012.

Although Paluf previously told a Sun Messenger reporter that the issues might be voted on during a spring special election, he changed his mind after looking more closely at the Highland Heights Charter.  Paluf told Council that, pursuant to the Charter, Osborne’s zoning issues could only be voted on during a general or regular municipal election. The next one of those won’t be held until November 2012.

If he’s unwilling to wait that long Osborne could circulate a new petition, although he’d have to collect a lot more signatures in order to get his zoning issues on an earlier ballot. Or Osborne could bypass the Charter’s initiative petition rules entirely by convincing five Council members to put zoning issues on the ballot for him instead.

I’ve been told that, during their recent Sun Messenger endorsement interview, all of the Council-at-large candidates (except for Councilman Frank Legan, who was absent) opposed the idea of putting a mega Get-Go on the Catalano’s property.
If that’s the case, the second option may be a dead end for Osborne.

To be continued…