Development in Mt. Lookout Updates

Development in Mt. Lookout Update

July 2021

Hello Mt. Lookout –

As you know, Mt. Lookout has been the focus of considerable development activity. In addition, the City of Cincinnati is now proposing changes to the zoning code that will make development easier within city limits. The Mt. Lookout Community Council (MLCC) has been keeping an eye on these activities and wanted to share updates with you.

Several of the larger development projects in our area, as well as the proposed zoning code changes, are approaching points where the City will be asking for public input, and we encourage you to submit your thoughts to the City. Our goal with this email is to provide you with background information that you can use when forming a response to the City’s requests for public comment. The City of Cincinnati has demonstrated that input from neighbors and the nearby community is valued and will be considered before making decisions and approving zoning modifications, development proposals and/or variance requests.

You can also stay up-to-date on these projects by attending our bi-monthly community meetings, the next of which will be held on Monday, August 16 at 7:30 pm. In the meantime, feel free to send us an email at info@mtlookout.org or post on our Facebook page if you have questions.

Thank you for your continued interest and engagement in Mt. Lookout!

UPCOMING DATES FOR YOUR CALENDAR:

July 29 - Public meeting re: proposed text amendments to the city zoning code (affects regulations regarding demolition Urban Design Overlay Districts)
Aug 4 - Public meeting re: removal of density restrictions in the city's zoning code
August 17 - MLCC Community Meeting

(More information about the public meetings is provided in the content below)

PROPOSED DEVELOPMENTS IN MT. LOOKOUT

1009 – 1015 DELTA AVENUE

The Mt. Lookout Community Council has been closely engaged with the proposed redevelopment of 1009, 1011, 1013 and 1015 Delta Avenue. A development group has targeted these properties as the site of a new complex that would consist of five townhouses fronting Delta Avenue, and 22 one and two bedroom apartments built behind. All units, including the townhouses, would be rentals.

The complex, as just described, is the second concept that the developer has proposed for this site. The MLCC opposed the first concept on the grounds that it was not consistent nor compatible with the surrounding business district in terms of scale, mass, bulk, and architectural style. The City agreed with us and denied the developer relief from Urban Design Overlay District development standards.

Earlier this year, the development group submitted a modified design for the complex which included a revised architectural design. The new design also reduced the number of apartments the complex contained, but the overall height of the building only decreased by roughly seven feet on the south end and eight feet on the north end, and its overall length is roughly the same as before.

STATUS

A hearing was held in May in which we again objected to the scale, bulk and massing of the proposed complex. However, the City’s Zoning Hearing Examiner (ZHE) approved the developer’s requested variances that would allow them to proceed with construction. This included a use variance that would permit the current buildings on the site to be demolished. The MLCC appealed the decision, focusing on our position that employing a use variance to bypass demolition restrictions in an Urban Design Overlay District is an improper and illegal application of the use variance. The hearing was held this week and the ZHE's decision was upheld. The MLCC is now evaluating next steps, which may include filing an appeal the the court of common pleas.

This case is the first in which the MLCC has sought out legal representation, and we are proud to have Mt. Lookout resident, Sean Suder, Esq. of Suder LLC, representing us in this effort.

More information about this project is posted on the 1009 – 1015 Delta Avenue Redevelopment page of our website.

BROOKFIELD LANE DEVELOPMENT

As shared previously, a developer is proposing to construct a new, six-home development off of the east side of Delta Avenue, in the wooded ravine between Hardisty and Griest. The properties would created by subdividing two lots on Hardisty and would be accessed by way of a new street to be called Brookfield Lane, located between 1130 and 1200 Delta Ave.

The developer has proposed to construct the access road as a cul-de-sac. One house would be built on the cul-de-sac and the remaining five houses would be built on a series of rear (or panhandle) lots located behind it. To build this development, the City would have to approve the subdivision of 3250 & 3256 Hardisty; the creation of a new public street (or cul-de-sac); the creation of six new properties including five rear (or panhandle) lots; and a total of 27 variances, most of which pertain to setbacks and excavation and fill limits.

STATUS

The developer has not yet submitted a complete application for subdivision and development to the city, however, we are expecting this soon. Once they do, the City will post a sign on Hardisty announcing the proposed subdivision and send out notice to adjacent property owners. A public hearing will be held within 30 days of the filing. This will be a tight response turnaround for all parties involved.

SENDING QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

We will share more information as it comes in. In the meantime, you can send any comments or questions regarding this proposed project to the city’s project contact, Stacey Hoffman. You are welcome to also cc us at info@mtlookout.org.

Stacey Hoffman, Senior City Planner

City of Cincinnati | Department of City Planning and Engagement

Stacey.Hoffman@cincinnati-oh.gov

(513) 352-4890

Additional information about this project is posted on the Brookfield Lane page of the Mt. Lookout website.

PROPOSED CHANGES TO CITY ZONING CODE

PROPOSED TEXT AMENDMENTS TO THE CINCINNATI ZONING CODE AFFECT URBAN DESIGN OVERLAY DISTRICTS

The City is proposing a number of text amendments to elements of the City Zoning Code. The list is long, and many are minor. However, one set of proposed changes caught our attention in that they would make it significantly easier to demolish existing buildings within Urban Design (UD) Overlay Districts. The purpose of a UD Overlay District is to protect the physical character of designated business districts and ensure that infill development does not adversely affect that character. Mt. Lookout Square is an UD Overlay District.

MLCC's concerns regarding the proposed changes focus on the following:

The language of the proposed amendments is too broad and creates opportunities to bypass the protections of the Urban Design Overlay designation.

The proposed changes would allow the destruction of any building in the district, even if it is a contributing part of the community’s aesthetic. This goes against the purpose of the Urban Design Overlay District.

The new language would also allow the City to approve demolition of an existing building in a UD district based solely on an owner's claims of economic hardship. This too easily favors developers who proactively purchase viable properties then claim they cannot collect an adequate return on their investment unless the existing building is demolished and replaced.

The proposed language allows the decision to demolish existing buildings in UD districts to rest with a single person, the City's Zoning Hearing Examiner, rather than a panel of decision-makers, such as the City Planning Commission.

Further, the MLCC is deeply concerned that the process to appeal decisions made under these new guidelines (which favor developers over communities) will require legal assistance for communities to achieve equal standing with developers. This is a very time consuming and expensive process, which puts undue strain on local community councils.

More information about the proposed changes is available on City Planning's website.

We encourage you to review the summary of the proposed modifications and share your input with the City either by sending an email or participating in the upcoming Virtual Public Staff Conference on July 29.

Mt. Lookout Square Urban Design Overlay District

UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETING

(hosted by the City):

Virtual Public Staff Conference

Thursday, July 29 | 5 p.m.

This City meeting will be held virtually via Zoom.

To listen and/or participate, send a meeting link request to Andy Juengling, Senior City Planner, at the email address below. Questions and comments submitted by email are also welcome.

andy.juengling@

cincinnati-oh.gov

(513) 352-4840

Notice of Virtual Public Staff Conference

PROPOSED REMOVAL OF DENSITY RESTRICTIONS FROM CITY ZONING CODES

The City of Cincinnati also wants to increase density within its 52 neighborhoods as well as the availability of affordable housing. To make development easier, the City is proposing changes to its zoning code which will remove all density limitations in certain zoning districts including two found Mt. Lookout:

RM - 2.0: Multi-family

RM - 1.2: Multi-family

WHAT DOES THIS MEAN FOR MT. LOOKOUT?

For areas zoned RM 1.2 and RM 2.0, the current space requirements per unit in a single building would be eliminated and more units can be built within the structure (the overall size of building itself would remain the same). In the "Same Building Size More Units" graphic included in this enewsletter, the City shows that under these proposed new rules, a multi-family building that currently is only allowed to have one unit per floor could be reconfigured to contain as many units as the property owner and/or developer desires (in the case of the example provided, the number of units per floor increases from one to nine).

In Mt. Lookout, this affects areas in the included map that are highlighted in light and dark brown. These include:

The intersection of Delta & Griest
Portions of Linwood Ave, east and west of the Square
Portions of Ellison, Nash, Totten, Van Dyke, and Mowbray
West side of Delta, south of the Square

If these zoning changes are approved, the existing buildings in these areas could be retrofitted to add more units or torn down to accommodate new buildings that house more units than are currently allowed.

At this point, it is unclear what the ramifications related to parking, traffic and public services in our neighborhood would be (including sewer, stormwater, schools, emergency services), but we are highly sensitive to these issues. It's for this reason that we request your participation in these discussions by either attending the public meeting on Aug. 4 or submitting letters with your comments to the City.

More information about this proposed change is available on City Planning's Planning Projects & Studies webpage.

Mt. Lookout Zoning Map: The dark brown areas in the map above are zoned RM 1.2 Multi-family; the light brown areas are zoned RM 2.0 Multi family.

UPCOMING PUBLIC MEETING

(hosted by the City)

Virtual Public Staff Conference

Wednesday, Aug. 4 | 5 p.m.

To listen and/or participate, send a meeting link request to James Weaver, Senior City Planner, at the email address below. Comments sent by email are also welcome.

James Weaver, AICP, Senior City Planner james.weaver@cincinnati-oh.gov

(513) 352-4882

OTHER DEVELOPMENT UPDATES

LINWOOD AVENUE DEVELOPMENT

As we’ve shared previously, the Redstone development group is currently proposing new development that would create a new micro-neighborhood located along Linwood Avenue, between Beverly Hill Drive and Sheffield Drive. The size and layout of this proposed development continues to fluctuate and a formal application for development has not yet been filed.

The Mt. Lookout and Linwood communities have formed a Community Advisory Group (CAG) that is working to stay engaged with this proposed project and up-to-date on any changes in concept. At this time, our understanding is that the developer has moved away from the cluster-style development initially proposed and is now pursuing a more traditional-style subdivision concept that would consist of 18 townhomes built in two, back-to-back rows along Linwood Avenue with 23 homes on new, independent parcels built into the wooded hillside bounded by Beverly Hill, Richwood and Sheffield. This proposed development will require significant excavation and removal of the hillside and much of the surrounding vegetation.

STATUS

The CAG has studied the information provided by the developer thus far and has outlined a detailed list of concerns regarding the proposed development. These focus on the removal of significant portions of the hillside including potential destabilization and other geotechnical issues; impact on limited sewer and stormwater infrastructure; impacts on the natural environment and wildlife population; increases in traffic flow and traffic management issues; as well as the impact on surrounding properties and their values. These concerns have been filed with the city.

SEND QUESTIONS AND COMMENTS

The CAG will continue to stay engaged with this proposed project and will share new information as it becomes available. In the meantime, questions and comments can be sent to Andy Juengling at the City of Cincinnati.

Andy Juengling, Senior City Planner

City of Cincinnati | Department of City Planning and Engagement

Andy.Juengling@cincinnati-oh.gov

(513) 352-4840

MOBRAY MANOR

Construction of the 19-unit condo complex being built on Mowbray Lane, off of Van Dyke, is nearing completion. Developer Christian Dial of Dial Residential, LLC, expects work to be finished this month.

PARKLAND VIEW TOWNHOMES

Sterling Homes’ seven townhomes, currently under construction on Linwood Avenue, just south of the Square and across from Christ the King, are also nearing completion. The sidewalk along Linwood has been replaced and is once again open to pedestrian and bicycle traffic.

JOIN THE MLCC TO

SUPPORT YOUR COMMUNITY

The Mt. Lookout Community Council (MLCC) is a non-profit, volunteer organization with a mission to inform, serve, and improve the quality of life for Mt. Lookout residents and visitors.

Annual memberships are just $20. All funds received are directly reinvested back into our community. To learn more, please visit our MLCC membership page.

Joining the MLCC or renewing your annual membership is easy! Simply click on the blue BECOME A MEMBER seal or visit the membership page on our website. Can't wait to have you join us!