Zoning changes, land sale approved for Concordia property

by Laura Bednar

Sept. 10 city council meeting

With a 5-2 vote, Independence city council approved adding an overlay district to the city’s zoning code, applying that overlay to two land parcels the city purchased at Brecksville and Stone roads, and selling those parcels to Petros Homes to develop maintenance-free homes on site.

The final vote was Councilpersons Kevin Day, John DiGeronimo, Tom Narduzzi, Jim Trakas and Chris Walchanowicz voted in favor of the three pieces of legislation. Vice Mayor Anthony Togliatti and Councilperson Dale Veverka against them.

Two public hearings were held prior to the regular meeting. The first was a continuation of last month’s hearing regarding adding an overlay district to the zoning code, and the second was related to applying that overlay to the parcels the city purchased from Concordia Lutheran Church in February 2023.

Resident Mike McClendon said council had a choice to develop small luxury homes on the site or leave the wooded area alone.

“Residents have clearly indicated at previous meetings that they would prefer the old growth forest be left intact and be used to create a park,” he said, adding that both residents and visitors would benefit from the green space. He concluded by asking council to “abandon this misguided project altogether.”

Pam Dengler, Stone Road resident, said the tree canopy minimizes the amount of water runoff when it rains and the water volume will increase if a development with impervious surface is built.

Resident John Kapusta said he respected the passion of the opponents to the development but “this housing project is decades overdue.” He asked for council’s approval to create this option within the city.

Another proponent of the development was resident Bruce Riha, who said it has become more difficult to manage the second floor and yard of his Tulip Trail home. He added that he wanted to stay in Independence and was impressed with the homes that New Leaf – one of the finalists for development – had built in Fairlawn.

Resident Tom Dedo said he hoped council had the foresight and planning to push the decision through to create the maintenance-free homes.

Stone Road residents Jeff Blumenthal and Matthew Benkner said while this type of housing is needed in the city, it should not be built in this location.

Resident Katie Saylor said the property will still be valuable next week, or next month, and asked council to take more time with a decision.

Mike Passalacqua, also a Stone Road resident, said the whole community should be involved in the decision. “These varying opinions only solidify the need to send this to a vote of the residents,” he said.

Togliatti made a motion to send the legislation to the ballot for voters to decide. The motion was voted down 4-3, with Day, DiGeronimo, Narduzzi and Walchanowicz voting against and Trakas, Veverka and Togliatti voting in favor.

Environmental impact

One of the points Togliatti brought up during council’s discussion was the environmental assessment completed on the Concordia property in January 2023 by Hayley & Aldrich.

The report stated, “A historic dump site, comprised primarily of glassware such as bottle and jars, was observed in the northern portion of the subject property close to Stone Road. In addition to the glassware, old refrigerators, as well as scrap metal and old car parts were also observed. The contents of the dump site were limited to surficial observations; therefore, it is unknown if environmental impacts to soil and groundwater exist at the dump site.”

It went on to say that this was the only recognized environmental condition in the phase I assessment and “further assessment is recommended at this time.”

Trakas asked Engineer Don Ramm why the city hadn’t conducted a phase II assessment. Ramm said that a phase II of the property is better suited for the developer who purchases the property to complete.

Togliatti said the city should perform phase II before selling the property. “It should be our responsibility … since we’re currently aware of it,” he said.

Narduzzi said, “We didn’t find anything in phase I that was alarming, so why should we worry about phase II?” he said.

Greg O’Brien, legal counsel for the city, said generally, a due diligence period is included in a purchase agreement for the developer to complete an environmental study.

Veverka voiced his concern that Petros’ site plan excluded the portion of land with the dump site, which would then be retained by the city. Ramm said the plan is to sell the parcels in their entirety.

Development

Togliatti also noted his concerns that the overlay district did not include a minimum footprint requirement so the overlay cannot be applied to smaller lots and that there was no HOA mandate.

DiGeronimo said the overlay district would only be applied to other areas if a zoning change were needed. In that case, the project would have to go through the planning commission and city council for final approval.

Economic Development Director Jessica Hyser said the expectations for the development including the HOA, infrastructure design and Hemlock Trail connection through the property would be part of the purchase agreement.

The purchase agreement with Petros sells the land for $1.26 million for the developer to build 53 single-family homes. Togliatti said there had been “no public discussion” about choosing Petros and he hadn’t heard other council members’ developer preferences.

Mayor Greg Kurtz said the city administration spoke with the city engineer and building commissioner and determined Petros was the best choice. He said the city had spent approximately $550,000 on the property and due diligence and the sale price would result in the city gaining extra funds. Trakas suggested using some of that money to restore the city’s tree canopy that will be lost.

Kurtz reiterated that the legislation just starts the purchase process. He said Petros would still have to come before council for members to determine if “the proposal is consistent with what’s been articulated.”

Public hearing

A public hearing on the city establishing regulations for small box discount retail stores will be held on Oct. 8 at 5 p.m. prior to the city council meeting. ∞