The House of Joy is an iconic structure at Grailville (Loveland Magazine file photo)
by David Miller
Loveland, Ohio – The proposed development of the Grailville site by the Drees Company includes 74 patio homes and 135 traditional-style homes totaling 209 lots. The final acreage of the Grailville site on O’Bannon Road was annexed into the City of Loveland on January 11. The land is situated between O’Bannonville Road and State Route 48 in Clermont County. Fourteen acres were already located within the city’s corporate limits. Both parcels, in total consist of approximately 111 acres.
The Drees Company has submitted a concept plan to the Planning and Zoning Commission for changing the zoning to a Special Planning District.
City staff has recommended that the Commission hold a public hearing on the proposal on March 1.
The Commission will meet on February 1 with the Drees application on their agenda.
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Loveland, Ohio – On Tuesday, December 15, City Council held a public hearing on the proposed Homerama site for the corner of Butterworth Road and St. Rt. 48 in Warren County. The developer is requesting a change in Loveland’s Zoning Map to a “Special Planning District” (SPD) to accommodate building single-family homes for the 2022 Homerama.
The concept plan has now made it through the first three sessions of government scrutiny and again goes back to City Council.
The latest approval was when the Planning and Zoning Commission received the plan again and met on January 5. They voted to recommend to City Council that the zoning map amendment should be made, and that City Council should set a public hearing on the proposal. They followed the recommendation of City Staff that the Council should conduct a first reading of the ordinance on February 9 and schedule a public hearing and conduct a second reading of the ordinance on February 23
The subdivision will be named Chimney Ridge and will be a Home Builders Association of Greater Cincinnati 2022 Homerama site. The developer is CB Butterworth, LLC 3333 Madison Pk Suite C Ft. Wright, KY. The homes would sell for $600,000 to 1,300,000.
The proposed development includes 30 single-family dwelling units with a maximum density that shall not exceed 1.15 units per acre and a minimum lot size of 16,000 square feet.
Jack Baldwin who lives on County Down Lane in the next-door subdivision of Brandywine told City Council on December 15 that he has talked with about a third of the homeowners in his subdivision and received no objections to the layout of the proposal, except concerns about traffic leaving the subdivision at the intersection of Butterworth Road and Brandywine Lane. Baldwin said he was representing the subdivisions of Brandywine and Butterworth Glen. He also said that residents had concerns about the traffic impact to the intersection of Butterworth Road and St. Rt. 48.
Representing the developer, Greg Berling, noted that he completed a traffic study for Chimney Ridge, Brandywine, and Butterworth Glen to get a comparison. He said that Brandywine and Butterworth Glen have around 553 daily trips and Chimney Ridge is estimated to have 71 daily trips.
Here is the proposal currently on the desk of council members:
Loveland, Ohio – On February 4, the Loveland City Hall was filled with a crowd to witness and hopefully influence a vote for or against the building of an apartment complex at Loveland’s 102 Oak Street. As the meeting commenced, the public heard Rodney Sabo of Sabo Design Associates, describe the plans for the complex, budget, and method of parking and traffic.
The proposal the Planning and Zoning Commission was considering during the public hearing was to build four 16 unit apartment buildings on Oak Street in the Clermont County side of the City. “Oak Apartments” would have been four levels each with parking garages below each building. The proposal was for 106 total parking spaces with 1.6 parking spaces per unit. The lot is 1.033 acres.
Sabo Design submitted the application on behalf of their client, Hunt and Whitacre. To build the project the City would need to create a Special Planning District (SPD) which if approved would have erased the existing zoning restrictions and protections for the immediate neighborhood and create a separate zoning district with distinct restrictions, permissions, and guidelines.
The current zoning of the immediate neighborhood is Residential-Medium Density (R-MD). The existing R-MD zone does not permit high-density multiple-family uses.
Commission Chairman Al Kressler, Mark Redmond, Michael Kady, Brian O’Neill, and Tim Butler posed questions for the plan such as the possible rewards and pitfalls from the building of this complex before they each voted, “No”.
In opposition to the plan, the public bound together to declare and stand for the preservation of the land and current zoning, as each speaker presented individual points to support their cause. Many of the points included environmental damage, blockage of people’s home views, out-of-place aesthetics, lowering of the water pressure, and the promotion of in-and-out rental, not community bound estates.
The Commission heard both sides and decided with a 5-0 vote to not develop the land into an apartment complex.
The filled room disbanded in agreement around 9:10 PM.
Scroll down through this story to see a photo slideshow and watch post meeting interviews. You can watch the speeches during the open-forum, the proponent explaining the proposal, the staff report, and the questions P&Z had for the applicant.
Oak Street Apartments Interviews
Connie Crawford on Oak Street Apartment Proposal
Julie Fuson comments of Oak Street Apt. proposal
Neil Kluender wants his neighborhood protected
Becky Hasselbeck speaking about preventing more apartments
Steve DeFosset explains potential water supply problems if Apartments are built
Todd Osborne talks about proper use of SPD Zoning
Rocky Carpenter speaks up to preserve sanctity of his neighborhood
Mary Ann Bird discusses Oak Apartment proposal
Scott Lindgren talks about traffic conditions if Oak Street Apartments are built
Mark Krum talks about tearing down a home built in 1870s to built apartments
Cati O’Keefe lives immediately downhill from Oak Apartment and talked about how unstable the hillside is
Real Estate Agent Keli Williams’s take on Oak Apartment proposal
Tom Smith introduces staff report
Rodney Sabo with Sabo Design Associates explains his proposal for Oak Apartments
Sabo Design Associates wants readers to be aware that even though they applied for SPD designation for “Oak Apartments” that they are not the “Developer/Owner” of the property. They said in an Email to Loveland Magazine, “Sabo Design Associates is not the Builder, nor are we the Owner for this project. We simply designed the building for clients.”
Sabo Design Associates declined to name their client however Loveland Magazine has since learned that the Client is Hunt and Whitacre, 550 Wards Corner Road and the current owner of 102 Oak Street is Wilma Conley.
Loveland, Ohio – Sabo Design Associates with offices on Wards Corner Road has applied to build four 16 unit apartment buildings on Oak Street in the Clermont County side of the City. “Oak Apartments” will be four levels each with parking garages below each building. The proposal is for 106 total parking spaces with 1.6 parking spaces per unit. There will be 0′ set-back to the side and rear of existing properties.
Sixty-four apartments are proposed in four-story buildings. The most recent apartment complex constructed and nearby is Loveland Station with 94 units on approximately 3 acres. Loveland Station was also made possible by SPD zoning.
The parcel for Oak Apartments is approximately 1.033 acres.
Sabo Design will need for the City to create a Special Planning District (SPD) which if approved will erase the existing zoning restrictions and protections for the immediate neighborhood and create a separate zoning district with distinct restrictions, permissions, and guidelines.
The current zoning of the immediate neighborhood is Residential-Medium Density (R-MD). The existing R-MD zone does not permit high-density multiple-family uses.
According to a memo written by Assistant City Manager Tom Smith to the Planning and Zoning Commission (P&Z) the applicant must first make a written finding that one or more of the following conditions exist, or will exist, within the proposed SPD:
(a) A concentration of retail and service oriented commercial establishments serving as a principal business activity center for the community.
(b) Land that is occupied by substantial natural characteristics worthy of preservation or which are historic aids to the identification of residential communities which help residents relate to their communities and to relate the social organization of communities to their physical environments.
(c) Lands which permit for ingenuity, imagination, and design efforts on the part of builders, architects, site planners, and developers that can produce residential developments which are in keeping with overall land use intensity and open space objectives of the Comprehensive Plan while departing from the strict application of use, setback, height, and minimum lot size requirements contained in the Zoning Code.
Smith said that if the P&Z determine the application meets the requirements for an SPD they should set a public hearing of the Planning and Zoning Commission for February 4. P&Z has voted to set that date for a public hearing.
The property currently has one single-family home on 1.1496 acres. The property is on Oak Street and wraps around the bend to Second Street. The Northwest side of the property has significant to extreme slopes according to the application.
In the application, Sabo Design said, “As proposed, the development would provide 64 new apartment residences with remarkable views and walkable to Downtown Loveland. Additionally, with the self-contained parking provided, there would be no additional burden to the Business District.”
The application will be first reviewed by P&Z. If the Commission feels that the SPD, as proposed in the Preliminary Review, does not fall within the SPD purpose and scope the Planning and Zoning Commission may deny the application or suggest an alternative action.
The Planning and Zoning Commission meets next on Jan 27 at 6 PM.
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![[Videos and Photos] Citizens successfully organize to preserve their neighborhood](https://lovelandmagazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/feature-julie-fuson-2.jpg)
