Loveland, Ohio – After residents spoke at Tuesday’s council meeting about the demolition of a house in the Downtown Historic District, Mayor Kathy Bailey raised her rhetoric to the level of describing the “firestorm” in opposition to the demolition on social media as “pitchforks and torches” to “run us out of office.”

Speaking in open forum at the 30:20-minute mark of this video during Tuesday night’s Loveland City Council meeting, Sherry Hamlin cast doubt on the cost of renovating the home submitted by the developer. She sees a need for an independent evaluation and would also like to see a comprehensive review of the history associated with the home.

Former City Councilmember Todd Osborne told Council there is a procedural problem with how the Historic Preservation and Planning Commission can approve the demolition of a historic structure. He said that the public currently has very little opportunity to weigh in. He said that, “the public is shut out of the process.”

At the 39:45 mark, Councilmember Neal Oury said the the building does not have, “Any distinctive attributes or characteristics that make it historic.”

Mayor Kathy Bailey followed Oury by saying there is “firestorm” of misinformation on social media about the demolition because residents are linking it to a proposal for six, three-story apartments adjacent to Nisbet Park on Loveland Bike Trail.

She said that the three-story apartment complex that would replace the home has not yet been discussed by the Historic Preservation and Planning Commission.

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The Mayor said that there was been no plan submitted to the Historic Preservation and Planning Commission for consideration for an apartment complex on Railroad Avenue. She said that the Commission has “not looked at it” and “not discussed it”

The fact is that the Commission has a plan in front of them for Loveland Apartments proposed by John Hill Construction and the proposal was discussed at both their June 26th and October 2nd meetings.

The Mayor also stated that the Drees proposal for more than 200 homes at Grailville was never on the plate at City Hall. For background read: Drees submits application for 209 homes at Grailville and Rezoning of Grailville denied.

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