Double post from SSP.  If you don't like it, complain to your moderator  :crack:

 

Residents decry 'big box'

 

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Vow referendum if rezoning approved

 

By Reid Forgrave

The Cincinnati Enquirer (1/28/04)

 

 

GREEN TWP. - Residents in homes and condominiums off Harrison Avenue in this western Hamilton County community are stepping up opposition to a zoning change for a proposed 75,000-square-foot retail "big box" development that would abut their properties.

 

Some 50 residents at a Green Township meeting Monday night said that if the zoning change, from residential to commercial, makes it through the approval process, they will obtain thousands of signatures to put a referendum on the ballot that would stop it.

 

"We all know this property is going to be developed; we just want it to be done in a way that's compatible with the community," said Jerry Ferguson, president of the Chateau Lakes View Condominium Association.

 

 

http://www.cincinnati.com

Double post from SSP. If you don't like it' date=' complain to your moderator :crack:

 

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LOL!!! :clap:

This type of resistance is usually successful in delaying projects, but in my non-scientific observations in the past the box unfortunately ends up being built.

 

Alas, more sprawl...

Residents along Harrison Ave. near the Rybolt Rd. area should be careful. That place is booming now with new development, and it could quickly spin out of control if not handled properly.

I wish someone had stood in the way of the new Super Wallmart up here in Dayton. It is pure evil. I make a point to shop at the smaller local stores, however its hard to stay away....You want Cap'nCrunch at 3am....walk across the street to wallmart. I wish they sold beer.....

A related article, in today's Enquirer

 

'Big box' zone change pushed back

The Cincinnati Enquirer

 

GREEN TWP. - The Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission has moved back the hearing dates until March for a controversial zoning change on Harrison Avenue in northwestern Green Township.

 

The regional planning commission now will review the proposed zoning change from residential to commercial for a 75,000-square-foot big-box retail building on March 4, said Todd Kinskey, a senior planner for the county. The rural zoning commission set its hearing date for March 18, after which Hamilton County commissioners will make a final decision.

 

Nearby residents in the Chateau Lakes neighborhoods have protested the zone change, saying a big-box retailer wouldn't be compatible to the area and would bring unwanted traffic, lights, noise and storm run-off to their woodsy development. Residents say that if commissioners approve the zone change, they would fight the big-box development by gaining enough signatures to get a referendum on the ballot to block development.

 

 

http://www.cincinnati.com

From the 11/20/04 Enquirer, a new "boom" area:

 

 

448 homes coming to Green Twp.

Fischer plans single-family houses, condos near I-74

By Jeff McKinney

Enquirer staff writer

 

GREEN TWP. - Fischer Homes plans to build 448 housing units in this community in western Hamilton County.

 

The subdivision, to be known as Bridge Point, will have 174 single-family homes and 274 condominiums on 127 acres along Rybolt Road, just south of Interstate 74.

 

The homes will be geared to homeowners with children looking for their second or third homes, while the condos will be targeted to young professionals and active older couples, said Kevin Wilzbach, marketing manager at Crestview Hills-based Fischer.

 

The homes will be priced from $215,000 to $275,000 and range from 1,800 to 3,200 square feet. Eighteen home sites are available for sale, and the rest are expected to be ready by mid- to late 2005.

 

The condos will range from 1,200 to 2,000 square feet. Fischer has not finalized pricing, but hopes to soon.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041120/BIZ01/411200342

I'm also trying to find the article about a new single-family and condo development going up in Crosby Twp. near New Baltimore (between there and Fernald).

The area around New Baltimore (I think) is pretty scenic, in the valley of the Miami River. Lots of wooded hills and valleys..

sprawl-tastic!

Yeah, Jeff, the area around New Baltimore and the Great Miami River valley is very pretty. New Baltimore itself is pretty junky with its rotting bridge and shacks built along the river. Everyone dumps their garbage, refrigerators, tires on the river banks. It's pretty sad.

It's always helpful to have a plan.  From the 1/11/05 Enquirer:

 

 

 

Green Township adopts plan for Harrison Ave.

By Kevin Aldridge

Enquirer staff writer

 

GREEN TWP. - Adam Goetzman, the township's director of development, has heard the line from township residents on more than one occasion.

 

"They always tell me, 'We don't want Harrison Avenue to turn into a Colerain or Beechmont Avenue,' " Goetzman said. "But rarely do they finish that thought by articulating what they do want.

 

"There are certainly folks who feel that no change on Harrison Avenue is a good thing, and there are other folks who are of the mindset that any- and everything should go on Harrison," he said. "What we are trying to determine is, how do you balance those two?"

 

Trustees unanimously adopted a plan Monday that they hope will bring the township's vision for a four-mile stretch of Harrison Avenue into sharper focus. The plan, composed by a consulting firm and a 13-member committee of township officials and residents, makes recommendations ranging from road and streetscape improvements to requesting more stringent design guidelines for development than the minimum standards contained in the Hamilton County zoning code.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050111/NEWS01/501110382/1056

 

Here are the plans (PDF) from the Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission as they were shown on March 21:

http://www.hamilton-co.org/hcrpc/review/Green%20LUP/Harrison_OpenHouseMap.pdf

 

Hopefully they will result in more orderly development.

 

If anyone is interested they also have the following plans for corridors in Green Twp.:

Cheviot and North Bend plan (PDF)

Glenway Ave. plan (PDF)

Bridgetown plan (PDF)

 

This isn't specifically about Harrison/Rybolt, but it's related to development issues in the western part of the county.  From the 8/21/05 Enquirer:

 

 

Adam Goetzman on a bridge in Green Township's Monte Vista subdivision. He helped plan the 550-home project as the township's development director.  The Enquirer/Keli Dailey

 

Green (Twp.) life is good life

West Side area's development pace is picking up

By Cliff Radel

Enquirer staff writer

 

GREEN TWP. - Adam Goetzman looks nothing like the Maytag Repairman. He's tall and lanky and 45. Old Lonely has a lumpy physique and an older birth certificate.

 

Yet, Goetzman, the development director - the first in Green Township's 196-year history - and the repairman share one thing in common. When they came on the job - in Goetzman's case, 1995 - cobwebs covered their phone.

 

Not any more.

 

Goetzman has had no time to sit back and snap his suspenders since plans landed on his desk for Legacy Place.

 

A proposed $125 million, 99.8-acre shopping center, Legacy Place has called attention to the development potential of what often has been considered a sleepy township on the west side of Cincinnati.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050821/NEWS01/508210393/1056

 

 

ABOUT GREEN TOWNSHIP

Green Township was formed in 1809. By 1920, it boasted more than 800 farms.

 

Westwood, an early part of Green Township, was annexed by Cincinnati in 1896. In 1900, the area known as Beech Flats was incorporated as Cheviot.

 

By 1940, the township had 18,500 residents. By 1960, more than 37,300. The 1990 census showed 52,600 residents. The 2000 census counted 55,666.

 

Communities within Green Township include Bridgetown, Dent, Mack, Monfort Heights, White Oak and Covedale.

 

Source: Green Township Web site

The article makes some good points. Development on the West Side does seem to follow the sewer lines, and the pace of development of the West Side relies a lot on infrastructure improvements. It's very easy to tell where the sewer lines have been recently laid, look no further than to Harrison Avenue. While development does seem to follow sewer lines, sewer lines appear to be placed at a rather sluggish pace. I remember reading an article in the Northwest Press about the cost overruns with the addition of a sewer line on Wesselman Road, which had amounted to over a million dollars.

 

The other thing about Development, at least in Green Township, seems to be around the Harrison Avenue corridor, or collector roads that lead to Harrison Avenue or North Bend Road. As such, both roads have become or in the process of becoming severely overloaded. Traveling either the North Bend/ Cheviot Rd corridor or the Harrison / Rybolt Area during rush hour can be an especially frustrating experience. I am still waiting for them to place a light at Harrison Avenue and Sheed, as during rush hour there is a ton of stacking on Sheed. I look forward to when they make the roadway improvements for both corridors, since I live a stone's throw from either of them.

 

The last thing I'll comment on is about the development himself. The development director made a lovely comment about Legacy Place about how the tenant mix did not seem to be upscale. Kudos to him for noticing that. As a West Sider, I find it slightly irrating that Mr. Silverman would think that Target and JCPenney are upscale to West Siders. Truth is that there not, and the West Side is becoming more and more affluent. It's appalling how many 250K-300K houses are going up in the area, and those houses definitely suggest that West Siders deserve something more upscale than Target or JC Penney. If I want to go to Target, I'll go to Colerain or Glenway Crossing, and if I want to go to JCPenney, I'll go to Northgate, or just skip JCPenney altogether since Northgate has become a rather frightening place. In addition to the Legacy Place Development, Mr Goetzman mentioned the other Developments going on in the township, which are quite a lot. The interesting thing about these developments is that the vast majority of them are in the Harrison Avenue corridor, and when you drive the corridor, there is site development everywhere. Condos, outpatient centers, restaurants, banks, and offices -- they're all there, and they will all add to the Traffic Volumes in the corridor. Those who worry about the volumes that Legacy Place would create should be weary of all the other development as well, as they will put their own volume of cars on there. Harrison Avenue is destined to become a rather congested, major road, and we are only beginning to see this happen.

You are dead-on about the traffic.

Somewhat related, from the 9/7/05 Enquirer:

 

 

PHOTO: Township Trustee Keith Corman looks over the Vinoklet Winery property in Colerain. He says he is concerned about greenspace in the populous township.  The Enquirer/Michael E. Keating

 

Greenspace vs. growth argued

Builders in county complain rules hamstring them

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

COLERAIN TWP. - When Keith Corman and Jeff Wieland look at Colerain Township's future, both see lots of green.

 

Corman, a Colerain Township trustee, sees green space he believes will make his community an attractive place to live for generations.

 

Wieland, a home builder and head of the Greater Cincinnati Home Builders Association, sees a chance to make money.

 

The difference in the views illustrates a battle that will determine how Hamilton County, especially its western section, will be developed.

 

Wieland and other home builders complain that governments and politicians have erected so many roadblocks to development that they want changes or they will build in other counties.

 

"Green space is always an issue with government officials and I don't know why that is," Wieland said. "I think they want to preserve land, but green space isn't preserved land, it's wasted land."

 

Preservation is an investment, Corman countered.

 

Allowing a limited number of homes per acre results in beautiful green space that encourages people to live there, Corman believes.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050907/NEWS01/509070367/1056/rss02

 

No roads or sewers or growth

Developers say western Hamilton Co. is lacking

 

By Kimball Perry

Enquirer staff writer

 

 

To construct 1,000 homes in Crosby Township, builder Doug Meyer has to build his own sewage treatment plant to serve the development.

 

That will either cause the homes to be more expensive or eat into his profits, neither of which he wants - and not what is needed if Hamilton County wants to stem the loss of people and jobs, Meyer believes.

 

Bureaucratic difficulties in getting sewers and roads built, especially in western Hamilton County, isn't the message commissioners want to send if they hope to stabilize population or attract residents.

 

"When you take four years to get a site on line, that's not helping Hamilton County," said Meyer, president and owner of Meyer Builders/Douglas Homes. "The infrastructure is not in place."

 

Meyer's complaint was made Tuesday to an economic development task force chaired by Commission President Phil Heimlich.

 

"It's real simple. We want jobs and people coming back to Hamilton County," Heimlich said.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051012/NEWS01/510120360/1056/news01

I have a vested interest in this issue...I live 5 min. from Harrison Ave.  This area will be doomed for the fate of many other infamous streets in the Greater Cincinnati area if these trends continue.  I dread the day when my part of town turns into the next Florence Ky, Colerain Ave., Springdale, Forest Park, or Montgomery Rd.

OK, so Harrison is a city and really the only incorporated area around there.  They have their own sewer system, etc I am assuming.  Is Harrison city not allowed to give access to Crosby Twshp. etc to their system.  I know that the newer developments in Harrison Township are getting absorbed by the city of Harrison and with that, they have city sewer lines.  Can Harrison not do that and not incorporate it?

An editorial from the 12/26/05 Enquirer:

 

 

We will regret unfettered growth in western HamCo

Your voice: Timothy G. Mara

 

I have been monitoring the meetings of the Hamilton County Economic Development Task Force when my schedule permits. The Task Force goal of stemming the loss of population in Hamilton County is certainly laudable.

 

However, the Task Force is making a serious mistake in promoting policies to facilitate development in Western Hamilton County as the key to reversing the ongoing loss of population.

 

The western townships are already growing at a substantial pace, so much so that it is difficult to provide basic public services for the ever-increasing population. The loss of population for the county as a whole is occurring mainly in the City of Cincinnati and older communities just outside Cincinnati. The reasons for this phenomena include fear of rising crime, perceived inadequacy of public schools, failure to reinvest, etc.

 

 

http://news.enquirer.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051227/EDIT02/512270303/-1/rss

 

Medical complex would boost I-74 health corridor

BY LAURA BAVERMAN | CINCINNATI BUSINESS COURIER

January 18, 2008

 

GREEN TWP. - A $25 million medical office complex planned for the intersection of Interstate 74 and North Bend Road could position Green Township as a new hotbed for outpatient care.

 

Hyde Park-based Schuermann Properties has the 12-acre site under contract from DHP Realty LLC and will ask Hamilton County for a zoning change in March. Construction on the first of three 40,000-square-foot buildings - pending signed leases - could begin in summer, said Ken Schuermann, president of the development group.

 

"This is an opportunity to tap into an underserved medical market," he said. The community likely has been neglected by developers because of challenging topography and a general scarcity of land, he said.

^ I think that the medical office is a great fit for that site!

^ I think that the medical office is a great fit for that site!

 

I completely agree...and it is not stealing a company/business away that might potentially locate within the city.  This is a project that is expanding its presence outwards.

 

However...I think they might have meant to say I-74 and Harrison Ave - not North Bend Road.  I don't really think there is any land near that interchange.  Unless this is the site further south on North Bend Road that has been cleared for awhile.  I just thought they were talking about the site on Harrison Avenue just North of I-74.

What about the large field that sits past St I's ballfields on the right going toward Cincy?

well what are they currently constructing at North Bend behind Sams? 

well what are they currently constructing at North Bend behind Sams?

 

Grasscat informed me that is part of that retirement community.  I'm not sure what the building will be used for (maybe some kind of assisted living thing where you move from your place in the community to this one as your health deteriorates).

 

What about the large field that sits past St I's ballfields on the right going toward Cincy?

 

I'm not sure if that is large enough, and I think it is owned by some church (at least that's the impression that sign gives me).

well what are they currently constructing at North Bend behind Sams? 

 

Renaissance West Assisted Living.

 

However...I think they might have meant to say I-74 and Harrison Ave - not North Bend Road.  I don't really think there is any land near that interchange.  Unless this is the site further south on North Bend Road that has been cleared for awhile.  I just thought they were talking about the site on Harrison Avenue just North of I-74.

 

I can't place where there would be enough land near Harrison.

There are two quotes, in the article, that make me think they meant to say Harrison Avenue:

 

The community likely has been neglected by developers because of challenging topography and a general scarcity of land, he said.

 

There really isn't a topo problem on the North Bend exit, as there is on the Harrison Avenue exit.

 

Other medical users have noticed. Group Health Associates established doctors' offices just north of the exit several years ago. And Prexus Health Partners recently opened a surgery center down the street.

 

These projects were done on Harrison Avenue and, once again, not on North Bend Road.

Harrison ave exit? You mean The Rybolt exit?

Harrison/ Rybolt exit, yes.  They are both the same exit.

 

I am still confused where it will go.    Google map it, and see for yourself.   

 

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&ie=UTF8&ll=39.195911,-84.658327&spn=0.015366,0.032229&t=h&z=15&om=0

 

There is a little land behind the Meier and Kohl's buildings.

Look to the other side of the highway than that...Here is what I was thinking of:

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=39.2041,-84.671685&spn=0.003799,0.007231&t=h&z=17&om=0

Very possible,  that site has been on hold for years now.  Originally I thought it was to be more condos.

^ I have long thought that this area would be well suited to office development.  The west side has very little suburban office.  Mid-Rise office building in this area could compete with other suburban offices (Mason, Blue Ash).  The condos and apartments that have been built on the hills  have really spurred development, but it is kind of a shame that they have developed strip malls (almost exclusively).  My favorite example of wasted real estate in the area is the self-storage area on Harrison Ave between Sheed and Pinnacle.  This would be a prime location for some office, considering the visibility and access to the highway.

Yea, well Harrison Ave is by no means a model of smart planning.  Sprawl is king here!  No matter how steep the hillsides are.

Yea, well Harrison Ave is by no means a model of smart planning.   Sprawl is king here!  No matter how steep the hillsides are.

 

The only thing even close to being decent is that large new housing development (along Rybolt) right across the street from BP.  The neighborhood is somewhat compact, includes roundabouts, has mixture of single-family and condos, and the roadway connects through from Rybolt all the way down to the other end Wesselman Road.

 

It was also nice to see the interparcel connections made with the Skyline, Wendy's, etc...that too is a step in the right direction, but still VERY suburban in concept.

Look to the other side of the highway than that...Here is what I was thinking of:

http://maps.google.com/maps?ie=UTF8&ll=39.2041,-84.671685&spn=0.003799,0.007231&t=h&z=17&om=0

 

This area was supposed to be a medical complex. I don't know what happened to it, but if you look at the access road it looks as though it was poorly designed, as the base course of roadway that exists on the site has shown signs of land subsidence. It's possible that there is a second go at this site.

 

It should also be mentioned that the realignment of Rybolt is supposed to open up some developable land. I'm not really sure how, but perhaps when Imperial House transforms into a Holiday Inn Express they'll vacate some buildings on the site. If you haven't seen what Rybolt will look like in the end, it can be found here.

 

Access Management is here to stay. Around interchanges, there are extremely stringent access management requirements per ODOT. Combined with the Hamilton County Access Management Regulations, you see what was designed at Harrison Avenue.

 

As for "what if this project was actually at North Bend," well, I would say that aside from Behind Bob Evan's that interchange is pretty much built out. Perhaps this complex could be south of Boomer.

Yea, (good catch) I thought about behind Bob Evans too yesterday when I was going through that area.   Topo not the most desireable but is nothing like Harrison.

Well, this clears that up.

3 buildings  - 120,000 sq.ft. total!!!

behind Bob Evans on North Bend.

 

 

 

Plan in works for medical complex

BY KURT BACKSCHEIDER | [email protected]

GREEN TWP. - A new medical office complex could open shop at Interstate 74 and North Bend Road.

 

Ken Schuermann, president of Schuermann Properties, said his company is working on a proposal to build a cluster of medical offices at the Monfort Heights interchange.

 

"We're just starting the process," he said.

 

"The preliminary plan is for three medical office buildings."

 

He said he's preparing to appear before the Green Township Board of Trustees and the Hamilton County zoning commission to request the zoning of the proposed site be changed from residential to office.

 

The 12-acre site he has under contract sits behind the Bob Evans restaurant on North Bend Road.

I'd love to know where their access is going to be placed. Certainly, North Bend is being upgraded, but I don't believe that at this time North Bend is being widened to 4/5 lanes south of the interchange. Additionally, ODOT will throw a fit regarding any proposed signals between Boomer and 74, so it is likely that any access will have to be unsignalized.

Just think...Green Township officials could have backed the proposed light rail plan and been set up for a boom along the I-74 corridor.  I could have easily seen lots of office growth pop up off of the North Bend and Harrison/Rybolt exits.

On West Side, developer has action aplenty

http://cincinnati.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/09/22/story3.html

 

Land developer Joe Allen might be making a little less money off the lots he sells these days, but builders have snapped up more than 60 of his West Side parcels so far in 2008. This, in a year many in the residential real estate industry would rather forget.

 

Allen claims it’s a combination of land prices and the value his builders give to homeowners who are selling property. But it also could be location. Building permits for communities west of Interstate 75 make up 70 percent of the 185 total new single-family permits issued in Hamilton County so far this year, according to county records. That’s a higher percentage than a year ago, when the county issued 60 percent of its 380 permits to West Side townships. Historically, this is an even bigger shift: West Side townships made up 39 percent of all county permits in 2003 and 2004. Not all West Side builders are seeing such activities, but it’s clearly an oasis.

 

“You never get the highs you do during the boom times on the West Side, but you never get the lows either,” said Allen, a longtime West Side developer and builder known for his decade-long buildup of land around Interstate 74’s Rybolt Road exit.

 

He has sold 40 sites this year in his Blue Meadows subdivision, a 90-lot Ryan Homes development off Blue Rock Road in Colerain Township, opened last December. Just up the road in the Monfort Heights neighborhood of Green Township, nine of 24 high-end lots have sold in the last two months at Whispering Oaks, a Dennis Ott Builders project. And in Delhi Township, Allen has just four of 60 lots left at Victory View, a moderately priced Ryan Homes subdivision.

ew ew ew.  The development going on along the I-74 corridor from Rybolt to the I-275/I-74 merge is disgusting.  I remember driving through that valley and seeing nothing but forested hillsides.  Now, almost every hillside has been developed/raped.  And now, a new hilside close to Miamitown overlooking the Great Miami River valley has been completely cleared and looks disgusting.  So sad.  :(  And dont get me started on the 'Go West 275' campaign I see around there.  bah!  (sorry, random rants)